Birds of Prey has wowed critics, but it probably hasn’t gone down too well with fans of Oracle. Currently sitting pretty as one of the DCEU’s best-reviewed efforts, Birds of Prey centers around Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn following her breakup with The Joker, while also introducing other DC heroines such as Huntress and Black Canary. The basic premise sees the titular superhero group forced to come together after each being individually targeted by Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask, and what follows is a colorful and crazy thrill ride that charts the origins of the DCEU’s Birds of Prey.

One character who doesn’t feature in Birds of Prey, however, is Oracle. In the DC comics, Oracle is the second alias of Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham City’s famed commissioner. Barbara begins her vigilante career as Batgirl, and remains the best-known character to take up the mantle, but a tragic run-in with The Joker in The Killing Joke left Barbara with life-changing injuries, forcing her into a wheelchair. Rather than give up crime-fighting, Barbara becomes an expert information specialist, organizing Gotham’s ever-growing roster of vigilantes and providing them with remote backup thanks to her computing and surveillance skills.

In the DC comics, Oracle is essentially also the founder of the Birds of Prey. Though the group’s origins are humble, it’s Gordon who first begins working alongside Black Canary, and the team grows from there, with Oracle remaining their center of operations throughout. In the Birds of Prey movie, however, things play out very differently. Although the film ends with Renee Montoya, Huntress and Black Canary officially becoming the Birds of Prey (without Harley and Cassandra Cain), Ms. Quinn is the catalyst that brings the group together and encourages their cooperation, thus creating the Birds of Prey. With Harley taking on this role, there’s no room for Oracle in the film’s story.

This is largely because Birds of Prey was intended as a vehicle for Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. After her standout performance in Suicide Squad, Robbie began developing more Harley material for DC, first with Gotham City Sirens, and then ultimately dropping that for Birds of Prey. The origins of both projects trace directly back to “we want more of Quinn,” so it’s only natural that she became the center of the film and the core factor in bringing together the Birds of Prey. Nevertheless, some fans will no doubt be disappointed that DC made a Birds of Prey movie in which Oracle plays no part. It could also be argued that forming superhero teams is far more in keeping with Barbara Gordon’s character than Harley Quinn’s, even if Robbie’s version is now 2 for 2, first helping keep the Suicide Squad together, and now acting as the catalyst for the Birds of Prey’s formation.

Fortunately, this inconsistency with the comics hasn’t gone unnoticed by those involved in making Birds of Prey. The coming together of Montoya, Huntress and Black Canary in the film’s climax paves the way for a sequel, and Robbie stated in a recent interview with Good Morning America that she’d be interested in seeing Poison Ivy and Oracle in any potential future follow-up. Although Oracle can’t now be a founding member of the Birds of Prey like she is in the comics, Barbara Gordon still could play a major role with the group if the Birds of Prey fly back onto the big screen.

More: Birds of Prey: 8 Biggest Spoilers From The Harley Quinn Movie

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