I’m So Glad Mark Hamill’s Live-Action Joker Convinced Me To Watch 1 Underrated 2002 DC Show That’s Been Lost To Time

The WB’s Birds of Prey show featuring Mark Hamill’s Joker is an incredibly overlooked DC TV show that was ahead of its time despite its early-aughts cheesiness. DC has had dozens of movie and TV continuities, from the beloved 1960s Batman show and film to James Gunn’s expansive DCU. Some DC franchises have thrived longer than others. For instance, The CW’s Arrowverse encompasses six TV shows and several adjacent series and movies, released from 2011 to 2023. Meanwhile, the DCEU dominated the big screen from 2013 to 2023, but its many behind-the-scenes issues led to an early reboot in 2024.

The massive success of Smallville in 2000 raised interest in the development of new DC TV shows. Some DC TV shows were scrapped before they were released, like the 2006 Aquaman show starring Justin Hartley and the 2011’s Wonder Woman pilot starring Adrianne Palicki. Others, like Birds of Prey, managed to hit the small screen and gather a small fanbase before cancelation. In the comics, the Birds of Prey is an all-female vigilante team created by Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Oracle and Dinah Lance a.k.a. Black Canary to fight crime in Gotham separately from Batman and the Bat-Family.

I’d Never Heard Of 2002’s Birds Of Prey Until I Found Out Mark Hamill’s Joker Was In It

The Birds Of Prey Show Is One Of DC’s Least-Known TV Shows

Birds of Prey adapted DC Comics’ eponymous team only three years after its comic book conception. Back when The CW was called The WB in 2002, Birds of Prey was developed as a standalone TV show separate from Smallville‘s continuity. Although Birds of Prey doesn’t directly connect to any other DC title, it does include the Batsuits from Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies. Most notably, Oracle’s Birds of Prey origin story features a comic-accurate Joker played by Roger Stoneburner and voiced by legendary Joker actor Mark Hamill, whose Joker voice became synonymous with the Clown Prince of Crime in Batman: The Animated Series.

Like Batman and Catwoman, Birds of Prey‘s Joker only appears in a brief cameo, obscured by the blur of the camera’s focus on his gun. In his Birds of Prey cameo, Mark Hamill’s Joker recreates his famous murder attempt on Barbara Gordon from Alan Moore’s graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke, where the Joker shoots Barbara right as she opens her apartment’s door, leaving her paraplegic. Birds of Prey also includes flashbacks to Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl days and reveals that Batman chose not to kill the Joker, which gave the Joker the opportunity to hurt Barbara when she least expected it.

Birds Of Prey Is A Unique Batman Show With Some Fascinating Takes On DC’s Characters

The Birds Of Prey Show Was Ahead Of Its Time

Naturally, The WB’s Birds of Prey is quite different from the DCEU’s movie and the several iterations of the team from the source material. In the Birds of Prey show, Huntress is Helena Kyle — daughter of Batman and Catwoman. Instead of just enhanced fighting skills, Birds of Prey gives Huntress cat-like abilities; and instead of powerful screams, Birds of Prey‘s Black Canary possesses premonition skills. Birds of Prey‘s Harley Quinn isn’t a full-time villain, but an active psychiatrist with a double life as the Huntress’ archnemesis and the Birds of Prey’s main antagonist.

They might seem unremarkable today, but Birds of Prey‘s adaptation of Huntress, Oracle, Black Canary, and Harley Quinn were bold risks in 2002. For instance, Oracle’s origin story features extremely comic-accurate takes on Batman, Catwoman, and the Joker on the small screen three years before Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Birds of Prey marks not only the first live-action adaptation of Harley Quinn, but the first-ever appearance by Harley Quinn following her introduction in Batman: The Animated Series. Alfred Pennyworth’s role as Batman’s secret informant also puts a fresh spin on Batman’s right hand.

The WB’s Birds Of Prey Series Is A Time Capsule Of Early 2000s DC TV Shows

For better or for worse, Birds of Prey isn’t a show that could be made the same way today. Birds of Prey is the epitome of early-2000s angst and camp, with its leather costumes, nu metal soundtrack, and overdone editing — all unpopular elements at the time for drawing too much inspiration from the Matrix movies. Some of these elements suit Birds of Prey‘s plot quite well. For instance, Birds of Prey doesn’t delve too deep into the intricacies of Gotham City’s crime-ridden streets, but the show’s gloomy cinematography and its CGI-enhanced skyline create a unique live-action Gotham.

The early 2000s weren’t an era where a female-led superhero TV show with a complex comic-based backstory and ambitious visual effects could be green-lit easily. Birds of Prey may not compare to shows like Smallville, Arrow, and Peacemaker, but it’s an important stepping stone in DC’s small-screen history. Over a decade later, the DCEU’s Birds of Prey movie used a similar concept with a much bigger budget, and The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event honored the original Birds of Prey show by naming its universe as Earth-203 and bringing Ashley Scott back as Helena Kyle.

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