Warning: Spoilers for Birds of Prey #12!

Summary

• Batgirl's most important relationship is with Black Canary, not Nightwing, showcasing the significance of their friendship.
• Their professional relationship blossomed into a genuine friendship over decades, with Black Canary becoming a protector of Batgirl.
• Platonic love between Black Canary and Batgirl holds a true significance in DC lore, emphasizing that not all intense relationships need to be romantic.

DC Comics is finally itting that Batgirl's best relationship isn't with Nightwing. Granted, that doesn't mean that Dick Grayson isn't Barbara Gordon's best romance. After all, the two are more than just endgame for each other — they're DC's ultimate hero romance. Yet, how could Dick not be Barb's best relationship? Because not every intense relationship, even in superhero fiction, needs to be a romantic one.

Birds of Prey #12 by Kelly Thompson, Javier Pina, Sophie Campbell, and Gavin Guidry showcases how Batgirl's best and most important relationship isn't with Nightwing, but with Black Canary. These two have been closely tied together for decades, thanks largely to their work with the Birds of Prey, and the way they embrace each other upon reuniting in this issue is a testament to that fact.

Dinah and Barbara have been close friends for decades, despite any and all DC retcons, and that friendship has been significant in the grand scheme of DC storytelling — as well as Barbara's overall career as a superhero.

Batgirl's Most Important Relationship Is with Black Canary, Not Nightwing

Best Friends and Teammates

The beginnings of Barbara Gordon and Dinah Lance's relationship can be traced back to at least Chuck Dixon and Gary Frank's 1996 one-shot, Birds of Prey: Black Canary/Oracle #1. The success of the comic was enough to justify the production of an ongoing Birds of Prey series released shortly after, where their dynamic was further fleshed out. It was Barbara who brought Dinah to Gotham, asking her to become an agent of Oracle and asg her different missions as founding member of the Birds of Prey team.

Black Canary's relationship with Barbara Gordon helped steer a new stage in her life post-Batgirl.

In time, the Birds of Prey's network would expand to additional , and the closer they worked together, the more that Dinah and Barb's professional relationship would blossom into the genuine friendship that it is today. In the current Birds of Prey title, meanwhile, their friendship has grown so great that Black Canary has become hellbent on protecting Barbara Gordon at all costs when Batgirl starts getting killed mysteriously throughout the multiverse. That's a testament to how close they've become, as is Birds of Prey #12, where their reunion is littered with hearts, as it would be for romantic lovers.

Black Canary and Batgirl's Love Has True Significance in DC Lore

Love Doesn't Always Have to Be Romantic

It would be easy to assume that the hearts depicted in Birds of Prey #12 are an implication of some hidden romance between Batgirl and Black Canary — and some fans likely will — but those hearts also signify their deep platonic love for each other. Romantic love is often highlighted in superhero storytelling because everyone loves a good romance, especially at DC. But in this case, the platonic love between Black Canary and Batgirl is positioned with the same level of significance as the latter's love for Nightwing, if not more so.

Black Canary's relationship with Barbara Gordon helped steer a new stage in her life post-Batgirl. When she could no longer reach the battlefield, becoming Oracle breathed new life into Barb's character and her journey, with Black Canary being the anchor to help steer the ship. Even now that she's Batgirl again, DC isn't discarding that history nor underestimating the dynamic that comes with that history. Batgirl being the founder of the Birds of Prey, as well as her friendship with Black Canary, became even more essential to her character growth than her romance with Nightwing.

Birds of Prey #12 is available now from DC Comics.