Big Barda Joins DC's Birds of Prey Relaunch

By Jenna Anderson

DC is bringing some fury to its new Birds of Prey relaunch. On Wednesday, it was confirmed that Big Barda will be a part of Birds of Prey's new roster, which will launch in a new series this fall from Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero, and Jordie Bellaire. Barda joins a roster that is confirmed to include team leader Dinah Lance / Black Canary, as well as Cassandra Cain / Batgirl. Additionally, PopVerse debuted a Big Barda-themed variant cover by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, which you can check out below.

Barda previously appeared on the Birds of Prey roster amid Gail Simone's run, joining the team just as Black Canary was leaving it to raise her surrogate daughter, Sin. 

Who are DC's Birds of Prey?

Initially pitched by DC editor Jordan Gorfinkel, the Birds of Prey began as a team-up between Black Canary and Barbara Gordon / Oracle, with Helena Bertinelli / Huntress being added to the team during Gail Simone's run on the title. Over the years, the group included a number of female characters from the DC universe, including Lady Blackhawk, Batwoman, Manhunter, Starling, Katana, and Poison Ivy.

There has been a lot of speculation about who will make up the remainder of the newest Birds of Prey roster, and according to Thompson, the goal is to create a perfect team for the particular mission at hand.

"Big Barda has long been one of my favorite characters. But she wouldn't be here if we didn't need her for this specific mission," Thompson wrote on her Substack. "Which is something I'd like to say about the book in general – especially as people get excited and upset (in equal measure?) as we reveal these characters. It's of course a bit of a cheat to say that I needed THESE characters for THIS specific mission, since *I* designed the mission. But... that's just the best way I know to build a story? Finding something juicy with good tension and stakes and potential emotional fall out and building the most exciting and emotionally resonant story around that idea."

"In this case, I'm especially excited about this idea, and I think we built the right team for the best story for this first arc," Thompson continued. "But without overwhelming the book, there are only so many characters I can include. Some favs are gonna be left in the toy box (as always), but the BIRDS OF PREY format it very bendy in a beautiful way, and the right cast for THIS mission is not necessarily the right cast for the next mission. And by that same token – there are some big surprises in this first arc that I think will make a lot of things make sense to everyone."

What do you think of Big Barda joining the new Birds of Prey roster? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The new Birds of Prey series is set to launch in the fall of 2023.

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