WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the "Batman" chapter of Infinite Frontier #0, by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey and ALW's Troy Peteri, on sale now.
Infinite Frontier #0 serves as a new jumping-on point for the DC Universe. Following the cosmic events of Dark Nights: Death Metal and the possible future glimpsed in Future State, the DC Universe is starting fresh with a fixed timeline and inclusive continuity. Now, the superheroes are heading towards a new beginning filled with new characters, new mysteries and new threats, from the puzzling heroics of Black Adam to Earth Omega.
In Gotham City, Infinite Frontier kicks off with an attack on Arkham Asylum that leaves very few people alive. Given the Laughing Gas involved, the Joker seems to be the one responsible, but the mystery might be more complicated than that. Luckily, Gotham's heroes are back in action. Barbara Gordon, who has once again reclaimed the mantle of Oracle, is the first to pick up on the attack. And while Batman is the one who jumps on the case, Infinite Frontier hints at the return of a fan-favorite Gotham City team of superheroes: the Birds of Prey.
The Birds of Prey are a team of female Gotham City superheroes that debuted in 1996. Although the team's roster has gone through many iterations over the years, Oracle, Black Canary and Huntress are essentially the three foundational pillars of the Birds of Prey. Outside of the DCEU, the team last appeared together in 2018, in the Batgirl and the Birds of Prey series that was published under the DC Rebirth banner.
Now, three years later, DC is undergoing another major relaunch, and it seems like the Birds of Prey are poised to make a return in Infinite Frontier.
In 2020's "Joker War" event, Barbara Gordon stopped operating as Batgirl and dusted off her Oracle persona to help the entire Bat-Family deal with the crisis in Gotham City. Now, the attack is over and Gotham has is in the rebuilding process. But in Infinite Frontier #0, we find Barbara in her Watchtower and there, and she's still operating as Oracle, overseeing the heroic antics of Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain's Batgirls.
In the Watchtower, Barbara is accompanied by Huntress, and she tells her that she intends to focus on being Oracle for the foreseeable future. She'll still be Batgirl, but these occurrences will be more rare. And it's during this conversation that Huntress hints at reuniting the Birds of Prey.
"You know, this reminds me of something," she muses. "I can't put a name to it... Maybe I'll call Dinah and see if she can jog my memory. Something about Birds."
Barbara quickly dismisses her with an absentminded "Yeah, yeah" before changing the subject, but the tease doesn't appear to be there by accident. The mention of Dinah Lance, especially combined with the fact that Black Canary herself appears later in Infinite Frontier #0, indicates that all three superheroines might soon reunite.
If that happens, then we will finally get a Birds of Prey reunion that calls back to a time before 2011's New 52 relaunch, with Oracle at the helm and Huntress and Black Canary to complete the team's ranks. And given Barbara's close connection with Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see the team's roster widen to include both two Batgirls.
While there's no confirmation about their future, Infinite Frontier #0 may have planted the seed for the Birds of Prey's long-awaited return.