Nightwing is in the Birds’ neck of the woods, tracking down a shapeshifting metahuman named Gemini. He finds her, but the Birds step in to help when he gets injured. They discover she’s working for someone named Nightingale, and Black Canary volunteers to go undercover to unravel what she wants with teenage metas like Gemini. Meanwhile, Gus, the new Oracle, is starting to act strange. He’s having unprecedented mood swings and is suddenly secretive. He has a connection to a big bad from the Birds’ past, and it’s working its’ way out into the open. Barbara in particular is growing suspicious. Is it possible that Gus’ tenure with the Birds is over, before it’s truly begun?

Being a huge fan of the original run, I am overjoyed that the Rebirth Birds of Prey has the same feel to it. Though this is only Volume 2, the unbreakable bond between these three heroines has already been established. Though they are all different, they come to find a home within each other, and their friendship. That’s what made the original run so special for me, and it’s immensely satisfying to see that theme carry over to Rebirth. There’s no team stronger than the Birds, and it shows – this is the strongest Rebirth title I’m reading.

That said, I feel that this Rebirth title isn’t as welcoming to new readers as other titles. So far, this run relies heavily on past events, and unfortunately there’s not enough page time to explain everything. I recommend the original run to everybody anyway, but I feel it’s almost essential reading to get into the Rebirth run… which wasn’t the point of Rebirth. I almost feel I need to go back and read New 52 Grayson as well, which explains his and Helena’s (Huntress’) past connections in Spyral.

There’s a little bit of everything in this volume. Undercover missions, cyber espionage, heart-to-heart talks, girl power, guest appearances from some of your favorite male counterparts 😉 And, of course, plenty of action! Looking forward to the next volume.

– Kathleen

Benson, Julie, Shawna Benson, Roge Antonio, Claire Roe. Batgirl and the Birds of Prey (Vol. 2): Source Code. 2017.