The WB’sBirds of Preyshow featuring Mark Hamill’s Joker is an incredibly overlookedDCTV show that was ahead of its time despite its early-aughts cheesiness. DC has had dozens of movie and TV continuities, from the beloved 1960sBatmanshow and film toJames Gunn’s expansive DCU. Some DC franchises have thrived longer than others. For instance,The CW’s Arrowverse encompasses six TV showsand several adjacent series and movies, released from 2011 to 2023. Meanwhile, the DCEU dominated the big screen from 2013 to 2023, but its many behind-the-scenes issues led to an early reboot in 2024.
The massive success ofSmallvillein 2000 raised interest in the development of new DC TV shows.Some DC TV shows were scrapped before they were released, like the 2006Aquamanshow starring Justin Hartley and the 2011’sWonder Womanpilot starring Adrianne Palicki. Others, likeBirds of Prey, managed to hit the small screen and gather a small fanbase before cancelation. In the comics,the Birds of Prey is an all-female vigilante team created by Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Oracle and Dinah Lance a.k.a. Black Canaryto fight crime in Gotham separately from Batman and the Bat-Family.
I’d Never Heard Of 2002’s Birds Of Prey Until I Found Out Mark Hamill’s Joker Was In It
The Birds Of Prey Show Is One Of DC’s Least-Known TV Shows
Birds of Preyadapted DC Comics' eponymous team only three years after its comic book conception. Back when The CW was called The WB in 2002,Birds of Preywas developed as a standalone TV show separate fromSmallville’s continuity. AlthoughBirds of Preydoesn’t directly connect to any other DC title, it does include the Batsuits from Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’sBatmanmovies. Most notably,Oracle’sBirds of Preyorigin story features a comic-accurate Jokerplayed by Roger Stoneburner and voiced by legendary Joker actor Mark Hamill, whose Joker voice became synonymous with the Clown Prince of Crime inBatman: The Animated Series.
Birds of Prey’s trailers included footage fromBatman Returns' Batman and Catwoman scenes.
Like Batman and Catwoman,Birds of Prey’s Joker only appears in a brief cameo, obscured by the blur of the camera’s focus on his gun.In hisBirds of Preycameo, Mark Hamill’s Joker recreates his famous murder attempt on Barbara Gordon from Alan Moore’s graphic novelBatman: The Killing Joke, where the Joker shoots Barbara right as she opens her apartment’s door, leaving her paraplegic.Birds of Preyalso includes flashbacks to Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl days and reveals that Batman chose not to kill the Joker, which gave the Joker the opportunity to hurt Barbara when she least expected it.
Birds Of Prey Is A Unique Batman Show With Some Fascinating Takes On DC’s Characters
Naturally,The WB’sBirds of Preyis quite different from the DCEU’s movieand the several iterations of the team from the source material. In theBirds of Preyshow, Huntress is Helena Kyle — daughter of Batman and Catwoman.Instead of just enhanced fighting skills,Birds of Preygives Huntress cat-like abilities; and instead of powerful screams,Birds of Prey’s Black Canary possesses premonition skills.Birds of Prey’s Harley Quinn isn’t a full-time villain, but an active psychiatrist with a double life as the Huntress' archnemesis and the Birds of Prey’s main antagonist.
Alfred Pennyworth
Ian Abercrombie
They might seem unremarkable today, butBirds of Prey’s adaptation of Huntress, Oracle, Black Canary, and Harley Quinn were bold risks in 2002. For instance, Oracle’s origin story features extremely comic-accurate takes on Batman, Catwoman, and the Joker on the small screen three years before Christopher Nolan’sBatman Begins.Birds of Preymarks not only the first live-action adaptation of Harley Quinn, but the first-ever appearance by Harley Quinn following her introduction inBatman: The Animated Series. Alfred Pennyworth’s role as Batman’s secret informant also puts a fresh spin on Batman’s right hand.
The WB’s Birds Of Prey Series Is A Time Capsule Of Early 2000s DC TV Shows
For better or for worse,Birds of Preyisn’t a show that could be made the same way today.Birds of Preyis the epitome of early-2000s angst and camp, with its leather costumes, nu metal soundtrack, and overdone editing — all unpopular elements at the time for drawing too much inspiration from theMatrixmovies. Some of these elements suitBirds of Prey’s plot quite well. For instance,Birds of Preydoesn’t delve too deep into the intricacies of Gotham City’s crime-ridden streets, but the show’s gloomy cinematography and its CGI-enhanced skyline create a unique live-action Gotham.
The New DCU Has The Perfect Opportunity To Redo DC’s Most Underrated TV Show
DC’s most overlooked live-action series has enough potential to be rebooted in James Gunn’s DCU due to its unique take on superhero stories.
The early 2000s weren’t an era where a female-led superhero TV show with a complex comic-based backstory and ambitious visual effects could be green-lit easily.Birds of Preymay not compare to shows likeSmallville,Arrow, andPeacemaker, but it’s an important stepping stone in DC’s small-screen history. Over a decade later, the DCEU’sBirds of Preymovie used a similar concept with a much bigger budget, and The CW’sCrisis on Infinite Earthscrossover event honored the originalBirds of Preyshow by naming its universe as Earth-203 and bringing Ashley Scott back as Helena Kyle.
