Catwoman dies, but leaves her legacy behind.
Birds of Prey was the first live-action Gotham City television series to air since the Batman series stopped running on 14 March 1968. Though it did not last long, it still offered top-notch acting.
And Catwoman factored heavily into the premise.
Ashley Scott played the Huntress, AKA Helena Kyle Wayne, the love child of Batman and Catwoman. She is a meta-human with the qualities of both her father and mother. In other words, she is a heroine with an edge.
We learn in the pilot that her mother dies, and that she is working with Oracle, AKA Barbara Gordon (played ably by Dina Meyer); and Black Canary, AKA Dinah Lance (Rachel Skarsten). The late Ian Abercrombie played Alfred Pennyworth and Shemar Moore played Helena’s love interest, Jesse Reese.
The show deviated somewhat from the comic book, especially when it came to Huntress. In the comic book, she is Helena Bertinelli, the surviving member of a Mafia family that had been slain. And in the show, the main characters wore no masks to conceal their identities. It seemed as if everyone knew the Birds’ secret identities.
Still, the show had a special personality, and many good human moments. Huntress performed in a manner worthy of the Feline Fatale, and some references were made to the mother. The cast members were also superb, from Ms. Scott to Mr. Abercrombie. Mia Sara was also superb as Harley Quinn.
The show seemed to have a fighting chance to survive, but The WB chose to cancel the series in early 2003. As of 2019, we haven’t seen the last of this show, as we’ll see with the CW’s Batwoman series.