The premiere of Birds of Prey brought some new characters to the DCEU, bringing some much-needed girl power to the mix. The movie got some mixed reviews with the plot being all over the place and them underusing and misinterpreting the comic book equivalents.
With Harley Quinn at the forefront, Margot Robbie once again showed she was the perfect person to play the crazed and misunderstood anti-hero. This time she had the help of other very well known actors and made a fun and entertaining movie. Here is what each character should actually look like according to the comics.
Harley Quinn
Introduced in Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn proved to be a fan-favorite and her look even inspired Harley's in DC Rebirth. The pink and blue ponytails, the short shorts and black and red top, to top it off with her signature mallet, she's almost ripped from the comics.
Even down to her origin story and pale skin, Robbie proved it's not that hard to make a comic book character look like the comics.
Black Canary/Dinah Laurel Lance
Black Canary is one of the most well-known female superheroes and also one of the most powerful. Known as one of the best fighters in all of DC and a supersonic scream make her someone you don't want to mess with.
When Jurnee Smollet was cast as Dinah Laurel Lance, it was met with a lot of controversies due to her skin color and unorthodox looks compared to the original blonde-haired blue-eyed canary. Luckily, she proved her haters wrong by standing out with her performance as the complex Black Canary. Although her costume isn't exactly like the comics, her personality and leadership ability match the comic counterpart perfectly.
Huntress/Helena Bertinelli
Helena Bertinelli was the daughter of one of Gotham's most well-known mob families and witnessed her entire family being murdered where she was the only one left alive. As a result, she dedicated her life to avenging her family and getting revenge on those responsible for leaving her an orphan.
There have been several iterations of Helena Bertinelli aka Huntress, including appearances in the DCAU, and the Arrowverse. As far as costumes go, Mary Elizabeth Winstead has all the others beat and as far as personality, it falls a little short. Her backstory and role in the Birds of Prey were ripped straight from the comics so we're hoping that the character develops into the bada** we loved to see in the comics.
Franco Bertinelli
Franco Bertinelli made a brief appearance in a flashback, where he was killed along with the rest of his family, where only his daughter managed to survive. Before he was brutally murdered by a rival gang, Franco was a respected mob boss with a network of bad guys.
We didn't see much of Franco but from the comics we know he ruled the underground with an iron fist, rivaling other gangs including that of Black Masks and the Jokers. His appearance had changed due to him not being a major DC character so its tough to really nail his look.
Cassandra Cain
Cassandra Cain had some of the most negative reviews out of everyone in the entire movie. In a movie about girl power, deducing one of DC's deadliest assassins to a 13-year-old pickpocket who can't even throw a punch, is a slap in the face to fans of the character. Cassandra Cain is daughter to two very dangerous villains, which makes her a perfect killing machine, even at a young age.
In the comics, she's even gone toe to toe with Batman and has even beaten him on several occasions before becoming a part of the bat-family.
So it's safe to say the Cassandra Cain in Birds of Prey and the Cassandra Cain in the comics are nothing alike. Not in personality, costume, or background.
Renee Montoya
Renee Montoya is a somewhat new character, being introduced at around the same time as Harley Quinn. Her backstory is very complex but entertaining as she took on the mantle of the Question.
Renee is a big deal in the comics as she is one of the first openly gay characters and she represents the LGBTQ community greatly. Thankfully, that representation made it to the big screen as Montoya is shown with an ex-girlfriend who is played by comedian Ali Wong.
Like in the comics Renee is a cop who resents her department and decides to take matters into her own hands with the help of her other customed friends. Hopefully, we get to see Renee become the Question in later films.
Maria Bertinelli
Maria, like her husband, only makes a brief appearance in the movie as she is part of the massacre that traumatizes the young Helena. In the comics, she's al sot always simply a character that dies to drive Huntress much like Uncle Ben to Spider-man or The Waynes to Bruce.
Her appearance isn't very specific and it's tough to find a signature look for the minor DC character.
Black Mask/Roman Sionis
The antagonist to the movie and a longtime Batman villain, Black Mask rivals the Joker as one of the most intimidating crime bosses in Gotham. Roman Sionis is eccentric, he's used to getting what he wants and when he doesnt...all hell breaks lose.
We saw it many times in the movie, where he was played beautifully by Ewan Mcgregor who captured the character perfectly. From his signature mask and white suit combo, its another character almost ripped straight from the comics.
It's a shame that we don't get to see more of him in the DCEU.
Victor Zsasz
One of Batman's most dangerous rogues, Victor Zsasz is one of the most unpredictable and unstable murderers in all of DC. In the comics, Zsasz stands out from other rogues due to his signature marks on his body he uses to tally all of his kills. The scary part is that he has them all over his body, only saving one spot for Batman.
In the movie, Zsasz was seen as unpredictable and psychotic but unfortunately, he was easily defeated and we didn't see much of him being the lunatic he is in comics. We didn't even see all his body marks.