Top 10 Things Birds of Prey Got Right & Wrong

Right
Jam-packed with numerous action set pieces, it’s fair to say Birds of Prey showcases a wide arsenal of unique weapons throughout the film. While it takes some time for Harley to use her signature baseball bat and mallet, she makes do with other insane weaponry like a grenade launcher that shoots bean bags and confetti. The box in which the team gets their gear before the final battle contains numerous references to Harley Quinn’s past in comics and animated series. Of course, the gear that Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya all use throughout the film are totally in line with their source materials as well

Right
In Birds of Prey, Harley makes good use of her roller skates both on and off the roller derby track, but what you may not realize is that all of that stuff is taken directly from the comic books. When Harley makes the jump from villain to anti-hero in the DC comics, she tries to live a slightly more balanced life, and takes up roller derby as a hobby to let out aggression. In the movie, Harley also tears it up in roller derby and makes good use of her roller skates during an action scene later in the film. We don’t know if the movie version of Quinn took up roller derby before or after breaking up with Joker, but either way, it’s a nice inclusion.

Right
Margot Robbie was one of the few good things about 2016’s Suicide Squad, but because the movie was such a mess, her relationship with the Joker felt really dumbed down. When it comes to the Joker, Harley has no real agency over her own actions, which is a pretty big disservice, not only to her character but also overly simplified a toxic relationship. Going back to her original appearance in the cartoons, Harley still made decisions on her own, and even went behind Mr. J’s back from time to time. 2020’s Birds of Prey does a fantastic job at displaying Harley’s obsession with the Joker without making her one-dimensional.

Wrong
While this new movie acts as both a Harley Quinn movie AND a origin story for the superhero/villain team Birds of Prey, there’s one key member of the original comic line-up that’s left out. The squad was originally started by Dinah Lance (DIE-nuh) (aka Black Canary) and one Barbara Gordon, who you might know as the daughter of commissioner James Gordon, or by her superhero alter ego of Batgirl. This badass duo made their debut in 1995, and would later be joined by other comic book A-listers like Huntress and Lady Blackhawk. Whether Batgirl was left out in favour of her own standalone movie, or to make room for Harley Quinn, remains a mystery but we hope to see this essential character in a future Birds of Prey movie lineup!

Right
Harley Quinn does some evil stuff and doesn't shy away from torture, murder, beatings, etc... But she has always drawn the line with children, even if it came down to disobeying the Joker if the alternative was hurting a child. So Harley's overall character arc and treatment of Cassandra (kasAWNdruh) is very true to the source material. In the comics, Harley Quinn even has a daughter named Lucy, so her pseudo adoption of Cassandra Cain is also right in line with the original character. No matter how you shake it, Harley isn’t a truly evil person, she’s manipulated and misunderstood.

Right
Harley may be deeply infatuated with the clown prince of crime, aka the Joker, but hardcore fans know that Quinn has a lesser-known fling with another DC villain. The film’s animated opening shows us Harley Quinn’s upbringing, making reference to a few romances in her early years. While talking about her time as a psychiatrist, we see her animated avatar fall in love with numerous unnamed cartoon characters, with the final fling being with a female. Harley has identified as bisexual in the comics before, most notably dating Poison Ivy. Now that Joker is out of the picture, could we see Harley go back to Ivy in the sequel? We can only hope!

Right
You might wonder what a villainous character like Harley Quinn is doing alongside a roster of traditionally heroic characters, but Harleen Quinzel has appeared with the Birds of Prey in the comic world. Though she has never quite been an official member of the team, her usual squad, The Secret Six, has come face to face with the Birds of Prey on multiple occasions. This is echoed in the movie as Quinn never fully becomes a member of the titular team. The rest of the Birds of Prey line-up remains pretty intact from the comics as well, with Black Canary and Huntress being regular members, while Renee Montoya has worked alongside them in the source material.

Wrong
The biggest change from the source material to the movie is definitely Cassandra Cain. In the comics, Cassandra was raised by the League of Assassins, but left the group early on when she realized that it wasn’t in her to become a cold-blooded killer. Soon afterwards she meets Commissioner Gordon and Batman, and becomes the new Bat Girl. In the movie Cassandra is a small time pickpoket with no combat, or assassination experience. The shift in her attitude and character origin might be frustrating to fans of her comic book counterpart, but at least the Birds of Prey movie makes reference to the comics by making Cassandra an orphan. In the comics “Orphan” is one of the superhero names she takes on later in her career.

Right
In the comic books, Renee is also a cop who loses her faith in the justice system and leaves the force to become a vigilante. She turns in her badge for two reasons. One, she is constantly harrased for being openly gay and two, she loses faith in Gotham’s corrupt justice system. In the Birds of Prey film, the chacrater is still openly gay but she is never harrased for it, and only leaves because the system prevents her from doing her job properly. Huntress' origin in the movie is also very true to the comics, almost identical in fact. For both versions of the character she is the daughter of a mob boss whose entire family is killed and she trains for many years to return to Gotham City as a vengeful vigilante.

Big Right
Margot Robbie takes Harley to even more bizzare and fantastic places with the charcater, further than in 2016’s Suicide Squad. Robbie took a character that was already unhinged and pushed Harley to new heights that line up a lot more closely to the original cartoon character. At first, her antics in Birds of Prey may seem over the top but everything from the wacky take-nothing-seriously hijinx to the movie's narration and even her fourth wall breaks are all very-much on brand. Harley is a brilliant, but chaotic and tortured individual who never holds back and Robbie translates this to the silver screen with excellence.