With just over a week until Birds of Prey hits theaters, we thought it would be important to share some of the most notable stories featuring the standout characters of the film. Whether you're new to DC comics or a lifelong fan, there's plenty of content to check out ahead of the movie's release.
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) features a large ensemble of popular DC characters. The film stars Margot Robie as Harley Quinn, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, Ewan McGregor as Black Mask and Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz. Directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson, the story doesn't focus on one specific story from the comics, but it seems to be a unique amalgamation of the character's best stories. So, where do you start?
Watch To Watch
There is a plethora of great Harley Quinn/Birds of Prey related stories to watch right now. Topping the list is the recently released Harley Quinn animated series. It's a crazy, heartfelt series featuring Harley and her new team following her split with the Joker. Meanwhile, the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor," the first appearance of Harley Quinn in any media, as well as The New Batman Adventures episode "Mad Love," and Batman: Assault on Arkham are worth checking out.
To learn more about the rest of the Birds of Prey, check out Justice League Unlimted's "Double Date," starring Huntress and Black Canary, and "The Cat and the Canary." Also worth watching are the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episodes "The Mask of Matches Malone!" and Night of the Huntress. It would be tragic if we didn't mention the musical episode "Mayhem of the Music Meister," as well. To learn more about Renee Montoya, watch the Batman: The Animated Series episode "P.O.V." & "Harley & Ivy."
When it comes to the film's main antagonist, the Black Mask, we recommend checking Batman: Under the Red Hood as well as Batman: Bad Blood. To see Black Mask's screen debut check out the episode "The Breakout" from The Batman.
What to Read
Harley Quinn hasn't been around for a long time, but there's still a TON of stories to check out ahead of Birds of Prey.
If you want to learn more about Harley we recommend checking out The Batman Adventures: Mad Love #1, Harley Quinn, Suicide Squad (Rebirth) and Gotham City Sirens. For the other lead characters, check out Batman #567 (first appearance of Cassandra Cain), Batgirl (Cain's first solo series), Huntress: Year One, Black Canary (2015), and Detective Comics #854 (Renee Montoya as The Question). If you want to learn more about Black Mask, we suggest reading Batman #635, which is the start of the classic Red Hood storyline.
There's plenty of great material to check out before Birds of Prey comes to theaters. All of the comics, movies and TV shows mentioned above are available on the DC Universe app. Birds of Prey comes out on February 7th, 2020.
