Birds of Prey, Vol. 6

#25D

Gabriele Dell’Otto Variant

Release:	Sep 10, 2025
Cover:	Nov 2025

Creators

Writer	Kelly Thompson
Artist	Cliff Richards, Sami Basri
Cover Artist	Gabriele Dell’Otto
Colorist	Adriano Lucas
Letterer	Clayton Cowles
Editor	Jessica Berbey
Editor in Chief	Marie Javins

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Sometimes heroics chafe.

I probably should have done an Unbagging of the latest iteration of Birds of Prey a while ago, and as it is, this one is a month behind, as I just picked up #26 on Wednesday.

But I’m doing it now and doing this this specific issue because it’s the start of a new arc (and it’s available on DC Universe Infinite Ultra, so I don’t have to do any scanning).

Sadly, it’s the start of the final arc, as it’s been announced that the series is ending with #28.

The fact that I say “sadly,” as well as the fact that I’ve bought 26 issues of it should clue you in to the fact that I’ve really enjoyed this series.

Kelly Thompson is one of the best writers working in comics today, and that’s been on display in this title as well as Absolute Wonder Woman, and this has been the best run for the Birds since Gail Simone.

Better, in some ways, as Gail didn’t have the duo of Big Barda and Small Bat (what Barda calls Batgirl).

Their friendship is one of those things that I never knew I needed but now can’t live without, and that I never would have thought of even though it makes perfect sense.

Batgirl – Cassandra Cain – grew up non-verbal, trained by her assassin father to be a living weapon, one who could read her opponents’ body language and predict their next moves perfectly and precisely.

She learned to speak later in life, but action is her first language, and it’s through people’s actions that she understands the world, as she’s able to read intention and see past any verbal obfuscations.

Action is how Barda speaks. For her, thought and deed are as one, and when she uses words, there is no pretense. She is exactly who she appears to be.

In a world filled with people for whom that is very much not the case, it’s natural that Cass would be drawn to Barda.

And of course Barda would adore Cass, a warrior whose small stature belies her fighting prowess.

In any case, as seen above, this issue opens with Barda and Bat at a quarry blowing off some steam.

Their most recent adventure put both of them through the wringer, as it was largely a mission to rescue Barda who had been abducted and forced into joining with a team of villains known as the Shadow Army who are are in many ways the Birds’ opposite number.

Barda’s actions were being controlled by the villainess Inque, a character who made her debut on the Batman: Beyond animated series. Inque can take on the quality of a viscous, inky liquid, allowing her to shift into different shapes and sizes, an ability she used to encase and control Barda.

Though the Birds were able to rescue Barda, they didn’t fully defeat their opponents, and now Inque has come to the Birds to offer her assistance in taking down her former employer, as she claims to not be on board with what he has planned next.

(She also reveals that she has traveled to the past from the future.)

Naturally, the Birds are suspicious, and Barda is furious, as this is the person who violated her autonomy coming to them and asking for help.

Despite their wariness, the rest of the Birds are willing to take a chance in the hopes of taking down their enemy, and Black Canary manages to get Barda on board.

Their first order of business is taking out some of the members of the Shadow Army and gathering some materials they need, and they break up into pairs to do so, with Barda having to pair up with Inque and to pretend to once again be under Inque’s control.

In the process of completing their mission, Inque gets hurt while protecting Barda, and though it pains her, Barda cannot bring herself to leave Inque behind. (Refer to the opening quote.)

The primary mission that this was all merely the prelude to is infiltrating some sort of game called The Unreality, which involves wearing special suits that allow the wearer to project a holographic avatar over and exposure to a drug that modifies the players’ behavior.

A test of the suits and of the effects of the drug.

First the suits and the selection of game character appearances. Cass and Sin have a lot of fun with it, and Black Canary picks a persona that is near and dear to her heart.

Barda, naturally, picks the best look possible, albeit one that’s not ideal for going undercover.

Eventually, they find a suitable look for Barda, one that makes the others jealous, and it’s on to testing the drug.

Oracle and Batman have determined that its effects are temporary and ultimately harmless, but they still need to see how it will affect them, so Oracle locks them in a room and doses them.

The effects seem…not great.

It’s a fine start to an arc, but this specific issue wasn’t really the point of the Unbagging. I just wanted to take a look at the series before it ends and share my enthusiasm for it and my sadness that it’s ending.

Of course, this issue did have the benefit of being largely Barda-focused, which is always a plus.

I do wonder if the split in art chores – with Cliff Richards handling the bulk of the action and Sam Basri handling the suiting up sequence at the end – was a deliberate choice or was deadline driven. If it’s not the latter, I suspect that the idea was that Basri’s style was better suited to the look of the Unreality versions of the Birds.

In any case, the art from multiple teams has been solid throughout the run of the series, though there was an arc that had a somewhat unfortunate effect applied to it that made it look blurry, as if some Photoshop effect was applied to the finished art before going to press. It was very distracting from the otherwise solid linework.

(Sorry; that weird blurriness just really, really bugged me.)

Again, I’m sad to see the series ending, as I’ve enjoyed it from the start, though I have to admit that before it launched, I wasn’t thrilled to see that Harley Quinn was going to be a member of the team.

Not that I dislike Harley – though I reject the idea that was put forth that she is too unpredictable for Cass to get a read on her – it’s just that at the time at least she seemed to be everywhere and a little goes a long way.

Fortunately, as is traditional with BoP, the line-up doesn’t stay completely consistent for too long, with members coming and going, so we’ve been Harley-free for a while, and the book has been better for it.

If the past has taught us anything it’s that the Birds will most likely be back again someday, and when that someday comes, I hope they end up in hands as capable as Thompson’s.

And in the meantime, I hope we get the continued adventures of Big Barda and Small Bat in some form.

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