By Cat Wyatt

Things have been changing for the Birds of Prey ever since the Calculator upped the ante on his hunt for them. First, they lost Gus (poor Gus), immediately followed by some of their trust in Barbara. Then Huntresses mom got broken out of Arkham, and the Canary is still afraid to use her cry. Combine all of that with the mess they’re still dealing with (the Calculator is still determined to hunt down the Oracle, and they’re some of the last known connections to her) and you’ve got an overwhelming set of circumstances for our heroines.

Issue number 21 starts off with a scene focused on Maria Bertinelli (Helena’s mom). The Calculator, Burnrate, and Blackbird have already made a happy little team together, but they’re hoping to gain Maria’s mafia connections and intel. Unfortunately for them, Maria seems less than inclined to help them out. Which is understandably a bit confusing for them. They don’t see any reason for why Maria wouldn’t be helping them, nor can they see any potential reason for her refusing to hurt the Birds of Prey.

That is…until Blackbird forces the truth out of Maria. With her powers, it takes just a couple questions phrased the right way, and boom! Now they know that Huntress is Maria Bertinelli's daughter. Suddenly they have so much more leverage than they were originally hoping for. With Maria under their thumb (again, thanks to Blackbird’s powers) they have access to the mafia connections she has; and by likewise holding her hostage they now have something over Huntress (at least that’s what I’m assuming they’re going to do, but I don’t actually know that for sure).

So here’s the good news/bad news scenario. Good news is that Maria’s breakout from Arkham was caught on camera, so the Birds of Prey know what’s coming. The bad news is that Helena likely is about to lose any trust she had for her mother. Sure, we could argue all day about the fact that Maria was forced to reveal Helena’s identity; but the truth of the matter is Helena will never know for sure if the truth was forced out or given freely. Combine that uncertainty with a rocky relationship founded on the crimes Maria has committed and…well…it certainly won’t help things.

The situation forces Helena to confess to the girls (and herself) that she willingly let Maria see her alter ego as a form of trust. Because of that Helena is now at risk, and potentially (read: incredibly likely) compromised. So obviously Helena/Huntress can’t really afford to leave the Tower more than necessary (hopefully that doesn’t last too long – I don’t see her enjoying being cooped up like that). Barbara is likewise staying put, though I think that has more to do with solidarity and guilt than anything else.

That leaves Canary. In all fairness she probably is the best equipped for this situation. Plus she can call Green Arrow for backup (pretty sure that guy can’t say no to her, just saying). They’ve been wanting to hunt down Blackbird anyway, so it’s kind of a win-win.

The whole mess with Helena’s mom is bringing up some bad memories (or lack thereof) for Dinah. Her mother is gone, leaving nothing but loss and loneliness in her wake. In an ironic way, I think Dinah is almost jealous of Helena. While her relationship with her mother may not be the greatest (okay, it’s pretty messed up), it does actually exist, which is more than Dinah has.

While Oliver and Dinah are on the hunt for Blackbird, it appears that Burnrate was on the hunt for Helena. Knowing her true identity really did accelerate the process – as he (it?) showed up at her apartment that very night (good thing Helena isn’t there!). Unfortunately for Burnrate, Helena is an ex-spy, and as you know, spies love their traps. If you’re wondering if she rigged the apartment to blow, you’d be right. It’s pretty smart actually; she set the place to go, but at a certain temperature that would ensure only her apartment was compromised (leaving the rest of the apartment building nice and safe, though perhaps a bit shaken).

As if the Birds of Prey didn’t have enough on their hands, a sudden twist of events occurs that forces Canary to drop her hunt. It also is going to force Batgirl and Huntress out into the open, but I’m sure that was the plan all along. To their credit, the Birds of Prey do try to resolve this without a fight; I mean technically speaking Oracle is no more, and Gus was the last one using the mantle (even if he did so without permission)…so the Calculator’s hunt is over, whether he knows it or not (though he likely doesn’t care if Oracle is retired or not, revenge is revenge, plain and simple). On the bright side, they also brought some pretty awesome backup for the inevitable fight.

The Birds of Prey have the numbers and pure awesomeness on their side (okay, my bias might be showing there), but like any good villain Calculator has plans upon plans. And in this case those plans are leaving us with a surprising ending. I’m really curious to see what will happen next.

This was a solid issue, lots of emotions, debates on trust, and action all smushed together. I love the ethical and moral debates circling around Maria and Helena’s relationship, and hope to see more of that in the future (hopefully this plot doesn’t completely ruin what they’ve been working for). The surprise cameos at the end were brilliant; though again I think my bias might be showing there (they’re two of my favorite Batman villains, after all).

I loved the artwork for this issue. You could really see Helena hurting, the anguish in her face when she realized that no matter how much she wants to, the truth of the matter is she just can’t trust her mother. Likewise I loved the panels showing Canary’s abilities. They did a fantastic job showing us the increase in power scale for her, leaving us just as worried as she undoubtedly is.

Score: 4/5

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #21
DC Comics