Warning: Spoilers for Batman #152!The feud between theBirds of PreyandWonder Woman’sAmazons is far from over. Anyone who has been following the Birds of Prey’s title series knows that their first arc from last year put them in conflict with the Amazons, albeit for a reasonable reason. However, an Amazon never forgets, as the saying goes.
As such, the Amazons make it clear that they still consider the Birds of Prey enemies of themselves and Wonder Woman, perBatman#152’s backup story, “Emotionally Compromised” by Kelly Thompson, Mattia De Iulis, and Clayton Cowles. It’s obvious from the outset thatthe tension between the Amazons and the Birds is still simmering, and it might take a lot for those fences to mend again.
Anyone familiar with what the Amazons can do as a connected, cohesive unit should be afraid of what they could do to the Birds if things escalate between them.
The Birds of Prey vs. Amazons Feud Continues
Dating Back to 2023’s Debut Arc forBirds of Prey
Winding the clocks all the way back toBirds of Prey#1 by Thompson and Leonardo Romero, the series' first arc foresaw a prophecy come to fruition. Gotham Academy’s Maps Mizoguchi visits the Birds from the futureas the adult Meridianto warn them ofan apocalyptic future where a god on the Amazon’s island named Megaera sought Sin Lance as its host. If this prophecy came to pass, not only would Dinah’s sister become possessed, butthe Amazon equivalent to Ragnarökwould take place, killing them all and the rest of the world.
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The Birds of Prey conceived of an elaborate rescue mission to retrieve Dinah’s sister from Themyscira. The mission in question required the Birds to fight the Amazons head-on, including Wonder Woman ina notable skirmish with Big Barda. Although the Birds' plan backfired,Sin Lance and Megaera agreedto mutually merge with each other for the sake of saving the world, creating DC’s newest god-blessed hero. Still, needless to say,there were sour grapes from the Amazons regarding the ambush they endured by the Birds.
The Amazons Refuse to Forgive the Birds of Prey
Even If They Understand the Birds' Reasoning
Now, fast-forward to the Birds-centric backup story forBatman. As meta-humans and superpowered individuals are being hunted by Amanda Waller duringAbsolute Power,the Birds of Prey are forced to take refuge on Themyscira on orders from Nightwing. The Amazons comply out of respect for Nightwing. While Zealot and Cassandra Cain spar in the distance, Birds of Prey leader Black Canary and the Amazon’s andWonder Woman’s Queen Nubiahave an uncomfortable conversation.
For more about what led the Birds of Prey back to Themyscira, check outAbsolute Power#3 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora, avaialable now from DC Comics.
As much as Nubia and her sisters understand Dinah’s love for her own sister and her desire to protect her, the way her team went about it is what sizzles their rivalry. Wonder Woman is probably the only Amazon forgiving the Birds for their crimes against Themyscira. To an extent, even Nubia says they understand the Birds' reasoning behind their actions, as sherelates to the emotional stakes regarding Dinah’s family, which is the only thing keeping the Birds alive. However, Nubia does not mince her words, making it clear that invading Themyscira is an act of treason that will not be taken lightly.
The Amazons Are Most Dangerous When United
Even More So When They Feel Angry and Betrayed
There’s something incredibly haunting about Nubia’s words here. It’s not just blind rage, but well-thought-out bitterness stemming from the need for the Birds of Prey to live with their actions, or rather the consequences of those actions.There isn’t necessarily revenge on Nubia or the Amazons' minds,but instead a reckoning and a punishment ahead that needs to be reconciled. And for the Birds' sake, that kind of debt needs to be reconciled, knowing the kind of power the Amazons wield.
Wonder Woman’s Most Heroic Trait Completely Separates Her from the Amazons
Wonder Woman holds a tight-knit relationship with her sisters among the Amazons, but one distinction in her character sets her apart even from them.
Readers saw a glimpse of what happens when the Amazons are truly united in theAmazons Attackminiseries by Josie Campbell and Vasco Georgiev. Nubia, Yara Flor (who, in the same breath, manages to finally accept theWonder Girl pseudonym she once dreaded), and the rest of the Amazons - with some assistance from Mary Marvel - join forces to defeatWonder Woman’s anti-feminist opposite, Asylum. A nearly impossible threat to face suddenly becomes feasible to defeat when all the Amazons are on the same page. Moments like these show that when the Amazons join forces, then anything is possible.
Amazons Attackis available now, both digitally and in a collected edition, from DC Comics. The miniseries serves as a fascinating “side mission” relating to the ongoing persecution of Amazons by the United States government, as established in theWonder Womanongoing series by Tom King and Daniel Sampere.
As a united front, the Amazons have the power to reshape the DC Universe and can beon par with the Justice League. They are not the kind of enemy that the Birds of Prey want to have. Together, the Amazons are practically unstoppable, and as such, could destroy the Birds of Prey without much trouble at all. LikeWonder Woman, the Amazons can be forgiving, reasonable, and a symbol of hope for the world, but when even allies like theBirds of Preyevoke their wrath, there’s no going back - not without bloodshed.
Batman#152is available now from DC Comics.
Birds of Prey (2023)
Dinah Lance is one of the DCU’s most elite fighters, and combined with her sonic scream, she’s a fearsome foe in any scenario…but sometimes even the Black Canary needs help. Faced with a personal mission brought to her by a mysterious new ally, and up against near-impossible odds, she re-forms the Birds of Prey with an unrivaled group of badasses — Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot, and Harley Quinn — and only one goal: extraction without bloodshed. What could possibly go wrong?
