For birders, the most famous line in all of superhero mythology is a terrible letdown. Imagine yourself heading for the park, binoculars around your neck, right at the peak of migration, and hearing somebody yell out “It’s a bird!” But it’s not. It’s not even a plane, one of those objects so frequently mistaken for a bird that it has its own avian nickname (“Diesel Hawk,” “Boeing’s Warbler,” etc.) No, it’s just some guy in a leotard. And as disappointed as these imaginary birders might feel, we real ones often feel similarly unimpressed by the combination of birds and superheroes, whether on a page or on a screen. Why? Because naming a comic-book hero after a bird is frequently a recipe for mediocrity. It’s a harsh assessment, but the roster of ornithological heroes proves its truth: Nighthawk. Snowbird. Golden Eagle. Lady Lark. Not an A-lister among them, is there? Sure, there are a few major villains with bird names, including the Penguin and the...