Introduction
Birds of Prey Inspired Dog Names in Pop Culture
We're not talking about the DC Comics heroine with the power to imitate each member of the Animal Kingdom. We're actually referring to Gail Simone's beloved black-coated dog! Anyone who follows Simone on Twitter - or who's even taken a peek at her social pages from time to time - is likely familiar with Vixen, as the dog is mentioned in every other post! Based on the way Simone paints her, Vixen is a cool and collected dog who likes to take life nice and easy. Simone often describes Vixen as being an independent pup who doesn't need her paws held. In many respects, Vixen acted as one of Simone's muses while she wrote for the Birds of Prey. Vixen is sure of herself and confident while also being very friendly and patient with others. If you think about it, Vixen actually shares a lot of similarities with another independent black-furred dog that exists in the DC Comics world. We're talking about none other than Ace the Bathound - Batman's canine confidant and a personal friend of Barbara Gordon's.
Ace has been around for a long, long time. He first appeared in the DC universe all the way back in 1955! For added context, the Dark Knight made his first appearance all the way back in 1939. When Ace first showed up, he didn't have black fur; he was a brown haired, German Shepherd-type dog that Batman and Robin first encounter when a man named John Wilker was kidnapped. At the time, Wilker was Ace's sole caretaker. Wilker's disappearance caused Ace to go into red alert, searching high and low for his master. When Ace bumped into to Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, the Dynamic Duo was impressed by the dog's initiative. Batman and Robin were also impressed by Ace's extraordinary skill set.
The Dark Knight and the Boy Wonder decided to bring Ace in on their mission, giving him his very own cowl! Ace showed everyone what he was made of when he helped Wayne and Grayson track down Wilker as well as the villains that had abducted him. He also gave the bad guys good reason to forever fear dogs when he helped Batman and Robin put the smack down on the smugglers. When the dust settled, Ace returned to Wilker's side - his master being none the wiser of the events that transpired. Ace would go on to join the Bat Family in later years as well as have his appearance and breed changed by later artists. Currently, Ace looks like a kind of Black Greyhound/Sheepdog mix.
Birds of Prey Inspired Dog Name Considerations
Gail Simone and Ed Benes' run with the Birds of Prey became legendary for building upon the foundation Dixon and Frank laid down. Together, Simone and Benes revolutionized the Birds, adding in many of the characters that have now become synonymous with the team as well as hitting on topics that were considered taboo at the time. Simone and Benes managed to make the Birds feel both powerful and human at the same time - paragons of virtue who were also still works in progress. With the Birds of Prey live action film coming out in 2020, hopefully, the next team of writers will build on Simone and Benes' foundation in turn. Look to characters like Canary, Helena and Nightwing as inspiration or draw from other sources such as the team's early locale, considering a play on Metropolis by naming your new addition Metro.
Male Birds of Prey Inspired Dog Names
Votes | Name | Vote |
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Monarch
Another of Hawk's other names
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Ace
In honor of the Bathound
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Bat
Referencing the Bat Family
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0 |
Hawk
Dove's partner and a Bird of Prey
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0 |
Henry
The first Hawk's first name
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0 |
Hank
Henry Hall's nickname
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0 |
Richard
Richard Grayson was the first Robin
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0 |
Dick
Richard's commonly used nickname
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0 |
Nightwing
Dick's name as an independent hero
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0 |
Grayson
Dick and Oracle are thick as thieves
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0 |
Batman
Alluding to the Dark Knight himself
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0 |
Bats
Joker's name for Batman
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0 |
Bruce
Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same
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0 |
Gotham
Batman's hometown
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0 |
Arkham
The famous asylum within Gotham
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0 |
Wildcat
One of the Canary's mentors
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0 |
Ted
Wildcat's first name
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0 |
Theodore
The full version of Ted
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0 |
Grant
Ted's last name
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0 |
Jake
Ted's late son who took up the Wildcat mantle
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0 |
Blue
Ted Kord is a friend of the Birds, a Blue Beetle
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Kord
After the second Blue Beetle's last name
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Metro
The team works in Metropolis
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0 |
Justice
For the Justice Team of America
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0 |
DC
In reference to DC comics
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0 |
Creote
An Ex-KGB Agent
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0 |
Aleksandr
Creote's first name
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0 |
Savant
A famous soldier of fortune
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Brian
Brian Durlin is Savant's birth name
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Beetle
Dan Garrett was the first Blue Beetle
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Female Birds of Prey Inspired Dog Names
Votes | Name | Vote |
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0 |
Barbara
Commissioner Gordon's crime fighting daughter
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Babs
A fan nickname for Barbara
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Oracle
Barbara's alias later in life
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0 |
Batgirl
Barbara's first hero alias
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0 |
Amy
Amy Beddoes is one of Batgirl's old aliases
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0 |
Canary
After the Black Canary
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0 |
Dinah
Black Canary's first name
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0 |
Laurel
The Canary''s middle name
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0 |
Myra
Myra Kallen is one of Dinah's other names
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0 |
Ivy
In reference to Poison Ivy
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0 |
Huntress
Another core member of the Birds of Prey
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0 |
Helena
Helena Bertinelli is the Huntress' name
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Rosa
The Huntress' middle name
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Janice
Another of Helena's middle names
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Iron
After the Huntress' Iron Owl persona
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Lady
Lady Blackhawk is a Bird of Prey
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Blackhawk
After Lady Blackhawk's moniker
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Zinda
Lady Blackhawk's first name
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Shark
Zinda is also known as Queen Killer Shark
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Strix
Strix is a former Talon
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Dove
A Bird of Prey alongside Hawk
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0 |
Dawn
Dove's birth name
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Marie
Dove's middle name
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Holly
Dawn's Sister and another Bird of Prey
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Maire
Dawn and Holly's Mother
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0 |
Vixen
After Simone's dog and the DC Heroine
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Mari
Vixen's first name
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0 |
Jiwe
Mari's middle name
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Katana
A samurai warrior
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0 |
Alice
In reference to Black Alice who has magical powers
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