Why Birds of Prey?

[Arkham Resident]

question for batverse historians out there..why,when and how they came to be called the Birds of Prey..and who named them as such.

[Lorendiac]

question for batverse historians out there..why,when and how they came to be called the Birds of Prey..and who named them as such.

I think the short answer is: "Chuck Dixon wanted it that way." :)

I own a copy of the TPB that reprints his earliest work on the concept, before it got a regular title. I think it contains stuff that was originally either 2 or 3 single stories, followed by a 4-part miniseries in which Huntress and Catwoman also got to play.

Now, it's been awhile since I reread that TPB, but I have this nagging feeling that nobody in any of those early stories ever actually said, "We are Oracle's 'agents' for the duration of this mission -- and we call ourselves Birds of Prey!" Nor do I remember that happening during the first two years or so of Dixon's run on a regular BoP monthly title! (Can't swear to what happened after that.) :)

Now, this could have changed at some point, but as far as I know, to this very day, Babs, Dinah, Helena, Selina, etc., don't know they are the "Birds of Prey"! They probably just think they are "Oracle and her occasional helpers!" It's only us fans in our separate universe who use the BoP label when we're referring to the characters and their published adventures!

I think. (Watch. Now someone will tell me how wrong I am!)

[carabas]

Recently (#86) Zinda said that the team really should have a name, and suggested 'Birds of Prey'.

It didn't catch on.

[Steel Spider]

Oracle called her team the Birds of Prey in a recent issue of the new Blue Beetle. It hasn't been adopted by the team in Birds of Prey itself though.

[Brack360]

Originally, the name "Birds of Prey" was used as only the title of the comic because it was a cool-sounding name and certainly better than "The Adventures of Oracle and Black Canary" or something like that. The name was not used by the characters themselves in the fictional context of the series until issue #86, in which Lady Blackhawk suggested it as their team name.

[glennsim]

Sorta like "Star Trek". Years and years before any of the characters actually said the words.

[CanaryNoir]

It was originally known as "Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey" -- I believe Jordan Gorfinkle, the actual creator of the series, came up with the name rather than Chuck Dixon.

Not sure why BoP except it sounded cool ;) There is the historical precedent of Black Canary being referred to as a bird of prey (like, way past -- GA/GL days and in the 80s there was a backup story titled "The Canary Is a Bird of Prey")

[Arkham Resident]

Thank ya'all for the reply.

It just seemed weird that a regular team like BoP existed and thrived in continuity as a team, without a group name for quite sometime. Unlike, JLA, Teen Titans, etc. which are recognized by their peers collectively. Maybe one explanation to this is that basically they don't need to be known because one of their benefactor is Batman who usually operates in the shadows of Gotham. Just a lame thought.

[Brack360]

Thank ya'all for the reply.

It just seemed weird that a regular team like BoP existed and thrived in continuity as a team, without a group name for quite sometime. Unlike, JLA, Teen Titans, etc. which are recognized by their peers collectively. Maybe one explanation to this is that basically they don't need to be known because one of their benefactor is Batman who usually operates in the shadows of Gotham. Just a lame thought.

Well, until Gail Simone came aboard as writer, they weren't really a "team" but just a partnership between Oracle and Black Canary. Gail added the Huntress, Lady Blackhawk, and Gypsy and made them a larger team. And like you said, Oracle, like Batman, is not publicly known and tries to keep out of the spotlight.

[carabas]

They're not really a superteam.
It's Oracle, two of her friends, and their pilot.

And you really only need a team name for PR reasons. If on the other hand you work behind the scenes, do a lot of undercover stuff, and generally don't want to attract attention to yourself, you really don't want an official team name.