The Most Dangerous Women in the World(s): Brief Reviews of Birds of Prey #101 and #102

When the Crisis was over, Gentle Reader, and the dust had settled, we didn't know What Would Happen in the One Year Later jumps. Where would Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman go? Would we be able to revive our fallen brethren? And, one of the questions most important to This Humble Author was, of course, Who is the Father of a Certain Feline-hero's baby? It was a time of change, of excitement, of The Unknown. And those Who Like Plots, and those Who Enjoy Change, were quite thrilled to be presented with the opportunity to wait, 52 entire weeks, for the interim to unfold.

Meanwhile, we were given One Year Later stories to help us Wait, and make us Wonder, over the changes wrought in our absence. As Mr. Rucka, Mr. Johns, Mr. Morrison, et al reminded us With All Certainty that we were *not* to forget The 52, we jumped into the future, an entire year forward, to see the aftermath of those dozens of weeks.

I've read My Fellow Bloggers grumble a bit over some of the OYL jumps; Teen Titans, for example, seems to receive some flack, as well as Supergirl—-both of which are two runs I find handling the OYL jump The Best. The third run in that grouping?

The Birds of Prey.

Gentle Reader, I believe I've mentioned before that I have The Big Five of comic book writers. These are Five Authors whose works I would read even—-truly, even, Friends!—-if those works were about watching paint peel or detailing how grass should grow. Those Big Five-—Mr. Meltzer, Mr. Rucka, Ms. Simone, Mr. Whedon, and Mr. Vaughan—-are supplemented, of course, by some treasured favorites, Ms. Pierce and Mr. Liebe, Mr. Bendis, Mr. Morrison, and Mr. Johns, among others. But The Big Five have consistently produced some of The Best comics have to offer, and if ever in their presence, whether in Reality or in Cyberspace, I find myself reduced to the Gushing Fangirl version of the Articulate and Well-Mannered Ms. Reads you've come to know over the past several months. It's Quite True, Friends, and believe me, Gushing Fangirl Reads is a bit too crazed and hysterical, even for me.

That being said, I want to remind you that I don't believe in sycophantism. While I adore The Big Five, as well as my dozens and dozens of favorite writers, artists, performers, and actors, I don't believe that my adoration should exist separately from my criticism. I've said before that criticism is not hatred, or disrespect, or, goodness forbid, dislike. In fact, I don't think you can have good and honest criticism without respecting and liking something.

That being said, I want to assure you that you are reading Articulate and Well-Mannered Ms. Reads at the moment, and not Gushing Fangirl Reads. That is to say, despite all previous positive reviews, and the following review you are about to read, I am in no way a sycophant of Gail Simone and her work.

I just really, really like it.

Birds of Prey #101 and #102 by Gail Simone

I'd not read Manhunter before, Gentle Reader, but Ms. Simone's inclusion of her in the Birds of Prey, as well as the recent issues of Manhunter with The Amazon Princess have intrigued me greatly. I have her run ready and waiting to be read; now all I need is another ten-hour plane ride, and I should Be Fine.

I've not read Manhunter, and to be fair, I really didn't know who she was. But Barda, ever gorgeous Barda, has been A Recent Favorite in my DC Lineup. Not only is she big and beautiful and oh-so-strong, she has a sense of humor as well. As the Birds are trying to escape, rescued American on board Zinda's plane, they are, as these things happen, being chased. "Tell Oracle I'll give her a few minutes," Barda says. "I'm going to 'futz' with our pursuers." Then the next shot, an entire page of Barda halo-jumping sans parachute but certainly with halo, has the Apokolips Warrior saying, quite simply, "That's my gift."

Indeed, it is her gift, not merely "futzing" but sheer fearlessness. She is not the suicidal fighter we occasionally see in Batman, or the justice-blind warrior we see with The Amazon Princess. Instead, she is a woman who rescued herself, and knows the expansive capacities of her strong body. "What a splendid afternoon for peeling fruit, eh?" she asks the pilot of the plane she has just landed on, a very large smile gracing her face. Barda enjoys what she does, very, very much.

You may wonder, Gentle Reader, why I keep comparing Barda to Wonder Woman. The reason is quite simple: they are vastly different characters cut from the same archetype of the strong warrior woman. But more importantly, the Amazon Princess is a more familiar face than the Apokoliptik Warrior. Occasionally, we must compare to define.

But more importantly, we must *remember*. This is not merely a conglomeration of women with varying but complementary strengths. Rather, they are, as issue #102 reminds us, The Most Dangerous Women in the World. Not because one has a substantial Mega-Rod (a definite phallic symbol that even Zinda understands: "You know it's bad when even I know y'all are talkin' dirty," she tells Huntress and Judomaster, as they continue to marvel-—and recount—-Barda's Instrument of Power) or a preternatural understanding of computers (traditionally-—and still-—a knowledge stereotypically associated with men) or even strength, skill, or dexterity. No, rather, these women are dangerous because they are not mere female versions of male superheroes.

Huntress, Gypsy, Oracle, and Big Barda are all superheroes In Their Own Rights. Even Judomaster and Manhunter, whose mantles have more male-friendly pasts, seem to fit—-and fit Quite Well—-into their new, female-centered presents. They are dangerous because *they* are dangerous; despite a long history of intangible powers in the female superhero community, these superheroes are, for the most part, body-oriented.

But the one heroine who arrives on the scene, the one that Oracle claims is "the most dangerous woman in Metropolis," has neither super-strength, nor weaponry. Spy Smasher sends A Very Dangerous Woman Indeed to "futz" with Oracle. And Barbara admits that she'd rather go up against the Joker because "He's been known to give up on occasion." Not so this woman.

Not so Lois Lane, with a Mega-Rod Of Her Own. The pen, they say, is Mightier than the Sword.

We've come a long way, baby, since the days of Anne Bradstreet, whose manuscript was taken from her, and published without her consent. When asked to write a Prologue for her collection, Mrs. Bradstreet added the following:

"I am obnoxious to each carping tongue
Who says my hand a needle better fits.
A Poet's Pen all scorn I should thus wrong,
For such despite they cast on female wits.
If what I do prove well, it won't advance,
They'll say it's stol'n, or else it was by chance."

Lois Lane advances, on her own merits, and certainly not by chance. And she has Gotten The Better of Oracle, an action of which many have dreamed, but few find a reality. Lois Lane, with the power of the press and Pulitzer behind her, is an unstoppable force. And she, like her Quite Famous Husband, Fights the Good Fight, too. In short Gentle Reader, she, too, is a hero.

As Barbara is about to play A Card Of Her Own, as she is about to reveal that Superman is Lois Lane's Weakness, Lois has the final word. She admits that she has dirt on half the world, but that doesn't always matter. She says, "I choose a side. I do it all the time. We all do. But Lois Lane is no one's pawn." And in these few short sentences, Lois speaks to the Hero In Us All. Why do the Birds of Prey fight for good instead of evil? Because they made a choice to do so. Ms. Lane reminds Barbara—-as she reminds us all-—that we all make choices.

Lois Lane, the most dangerous woman in Metropolis?

Ms. Simone, DC, I ask you: how about the newest member of The Birds of Prey, as well?