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Big Barda Reading Order, The Fiercest of DC Comics Furies

With a name like that, it’s no surprise that Big Barda is no ordinary warrior among the DC Comics superheroes. She’s one of the New Gods. Created by writer and artist Jack Kirby, Barda made her first appearance in Mister Miracle #4 (1971), as part of Kirby’s “Fourth World” saga.

A warrior raised on the planet Apokolips, Big Barda was trained to lead the Female Furies, an elite fighting force in the service of the tyrant Darkseid. After aiding Scott Free, also known as Mister Miracle, to escape from their world, she accompanied him to Earth, where the two built a life together outside of Darkseid’s control. Their marriage became one of the most enduring partnerships in the DC Comics universe.

Depicted as physically imposing (way more than her husband) and exceptionally skilled in combat, Barda quickly distinguished herself as one of the most powerful female characters in the DC Universe. On Earth, she has been a member of the Justice League and also joined the Birds of Prey. 

Big Barda Comics Guide & Reading Order

Jack Kirby launched Mister Miracle in 1971 as part of his Fourth World titles. In issue #4, Big Barda is introduced as a warrior from Apokolips and the leader of the Female Furies, beginning her long association with Scott Free. After her introduction in the series, she became a supporting character, appearing in almost every issue that followed.

Mister Miracle #18 was the finale of Kirby’s original run on the series, and he concluded with Big Barda and Mister Miracle’s wedding. In 1977, DC Comics revived the Mister Miracle series, picking up where Kirby left off a few years earlier. This book was written by Steve Englehart and later by Steve Gerber. This era was short-lived and was later retconned. Kirby ignored it completely when he came back in 1984, relegating these stories to being considered alternate-universe adventures.

When Crisis on Infinite Earths happened, nothing changed in the New Gods mythos. Big Barda, Scott Free, and his friend/manager Oberon came back with a Mister Miracle one-shot special in which they go back into show business. 

However, this was a short engagement. Mister Miracle made a bigger comeback, finding with Oberon a place in the new Justice League (International). Barda would appear on occasion at first, but played a bigger part in the stories, starting with the Manga Khan arc (beginning with issue #15), when Scott is kidnapped. 

  • Justice League International Omnibus Vol. 1
    Collects Justice League #1-6, Justice League International #7-25, Justice League America #26-30, Justice League Annual #1, Justice League International Annual #2-3, Justice League Europe #1-6, and Suicide Squad #13.

Big Barda may not have been a full-time JL member, but she still had the opportunity to meet Superman… in the sleeziest of situations. In the depraved streets of Metropolis, someone snatched Barda’s bag with her mega-rod in it. The despicable Sleez used it against her and later Superman, controlling them. This is the time the Man of Steel famously almost launched a career in the adult film industry…

Following some housing problems, Barda moved with Scott to the suburbs, where she tried to become a regular housewife. Of course, the life of the New Gods is anything but regular. This is chronicled in the Mister Miracle (vol. 2) series written by J.M. DeMatteis with art by Ian Gibson, as well as her struggle to keep her marriage afloat with a robot version of Scott (introduced in JLI Special #1, before MM #13), her short prison time, her career in wrestling, and finally, a meeting with the woman she never knew was her biological mother.

Around MM #10, Big Barda, without Scott but with the Female Furies, became embroiled in a Suicide Squad storyline.

Scott and Big Barda went back to live on New Genesis with the other New Gods in the short-lived Mister Miracle (vol. 3) series written by Kevin Dooley with art by Steve Crespo (and others). After only four issues, the couple is sent back to Earth.

Big Barda and Mister Miracle’s story didn’t stop here; it continued in New Gods (Vol. 4) #13, then in Jack Kirby’s Fourth World by John Byrne.

Starting with JLA #17, following Takion’s orders, who knew that a threat was coming to Earth, Big Barda and Orion joined the official roster of the Justice League. The series was then written by Grant Morrison with artist Ivan Reis. The New Gods left in issue #41, when the creative team changed. You can find a dedicated guide to this era of the JLA.

Later, Barda joined Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman in a rescue mission on Apokolips to save Supergirl in Superman/Batman (Vol.1) #11-13 (collected in Superman/Batman: Supergirl).

Once she had left the Justice League, Barda was invited to join another team. Recruited by Oracle, she became part of the Birds of Prey with issue #100, written by Gail Simone with art by Nicola Scott.

Big Barda didn’t stay long, as her last appearance was in BoP #109. There’s a good reason for that. Barda and the New Gods were slain during the Death of the New Gods miniseries by Jim Starlin (The Birds of Prey held a memorial in issue #112). But fear not, they quickly came back during the Final Crisis, soon after. Barda reappeared in issue #7 of the event by Grant Morrison, J.G. Jones, and Carlos Pacheco.

Barda and Scott went back to their quiet suburban life in Bailey, but they were quickly disturbed by Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, who needed help to save the world once more. This was in Booster Gold (Vol. 2) #34-36. After that, the last official appearance of Barda during that era was in the last issue of Lee and Mike Allred’s miniseries Bug! The Adventures of Forager, but it’s nothing more than a cameo.

A Different Big Barda (New 52)

During the New 52 era, Big Barda and Mister Miracle were reimagined as inhabitants of the alternate universe known as Earth-2. They first appeared in Earth 2 #11 (2013)

This is not the same Barda as before. Her and Mister Miracle’s story was changed. Here, she was the one who recruited and trained Darkseid’s Furies at Granny’s Finishing School. At some point, she was sent to retrieve Scot Free on Earth by Steppenwolf, but became his ally. The couple had a role to play, but were minor characters in the series.

When it comes to the regular “Prime Earth” continuity, Barda barely appeared in anything except to save Scott during The Darkseid War, the final storyline to feature the Justice League in the 2011 New 52 continuity.

During the Rebirth era, DC Comics published Female Furies by Cecil Castellucci and Adriana Melo, a flashback story inspired by Jack Kirby’s Mister Miracle #9, going back to the formation of the Furies in the male-dominated world of Apokolips. It was presented as a satire of sorts. 

  • Female Furies
    Collects Female Furies #1-6, plus Jack Kirby’s Mister Miracle #9

Out of continuity, Tom King wrote a Mister Miracle miniseries with art by Mitch Gerads in 2017-18, in which Barda is naturally present. 

Big Barda, the Bird of Prey

In 2023, during the Infinite Frontier era, Big Barda made a comeback, joining once more the Birds of Prey team, but for a longer run this time. Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Leonardo Romero, this series starts with Black Canary (Dinah Lance) assembling a new Birds of Prey team to rescue her sister, Sin. The lineup also includes Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), with whom Barda develops a friendly relationship, but also Zealot, Harley Quinn, and Barbara Gordon.

The Absolute Power event happened here (Barda and the BoP appeared in Batman #152 and AP #3), putting an end to the Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC era, and launching the All In era. The continuity is not affected, though. Birds of Prey continues, but Barda pulled double duty by joining The New Gods series by Ram V and artists Evan Cagle and Jesse Lonergan. It’s not clear when this takes place in relation to Birds of Prey, as Barda is now a new mom in The New Gods, but no previous mention of her having been pregnant recently anywhere before that.

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