Last night Corrie and I finished the last of HBO's Harley Quinn adult animated show. I found it hard to express how much I enjoyed this show. It's crass, violent, hilarious, bright and colorful, and sprints through so much of the DC comic universe it makes a knowledgeable fan's head spin.
Where else can we see Commissioner Gordon being such a drunk that he can't recognize his own daughter as Batgirl, and then after the reveal, she sadly laughs, "Yeah, I even slipped and called you dad a few times..."
How about a world where Joker:
- Starts off the antagonist you'd expect in a Harley Quinn show;
- Gets turned up to 11 as he destroys the Legion of Doom and essentially turns Gotham into a no-longer-part-of-America wasteland;
- Ends up a normie, a regular-looking dude bartender and stepdad with no memories of being Joker;
- Then returns to being a supervillian, only to remain the stepdad to his 'kids';
- Becomes so irate his kids don't get into the dual immersion program that he runs for mayor;
- WINS MAYORAL CAMPAIGN on a ticket of Free Healthcare and Free University, and by now you're really rooting for him;
- As mayor, the Joker: 1) helps Harley and Ivy's relationship, because, of course; and 2) ARRESTS BRUCE WAYNE for tax evasion and/or creative tax loophole use. Bruce agrees to go to prison!
That's a taste of the craziness. I had things I wanted to say about this show, but it never felt right. I wanted to grab screenshots of various cameos by other characters, like the randos from around the DC universe, but that would take too long. I decided to just list out the various characters below. Remember, this show, so far, is comprised of 36 episodes that are 22 minutes each and 1-45 minute Valentine's Day special just released this year. That's a total that's a few minutes short of 14 hours. ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS are featured in 14 hours of rip-roaring cartoon program, and all of them were featured at some point previously in the comics:
- Harley Quinn (duh)
- Poison Ivy
- Clayface
- King Shark
- Doctor Psycho
- Batman
- Batgirl
- James Gordon
- Two-Face
- Joker
- Bane
- Riddler
- Mr. Freeze
- Mrs. Freeze (Nora Fries)
- Penguin
- Nightwing
- Robin (Damian Wayne)
- Alfred Pennyworth/the Macaroni
- Catwoman
- Sy Borgman
- Man-Bat (hilariously as a lawyer)
- Ratcatcher
- Dr. Trap
- Firefly
- Maxi-Zeus
- Kite Man
- Golden Glider
- Lex Luthor
- Superman
- Lois Lane
- Wonder Woman
- Zatanna
- Flash
- Amanda Waller
- Plastique
- King Clock
- Aquaman
- Mera
- Ocean Master
- Queen of Fables
- John Constantine
- Scarecrow
- Darkseid
- Condiment King
- Mad Hatter
- Music Meister
- Etrigan (the Demon)
- Hawkman
- Hawkwoman
- the Court of Owls (as an (orgy) organization)
- Killer Croc
- Enchantress
- JB Smoove as the sentient plant Frank (not sure he's in the comics, he's just cool as shit)
- freaking Swamp Thing
This list probably isn't exhaustive, but it's exhausting to type up and look at. Not to mention the show's desire to represent characters that are survivors of abusive relationships as well as queer characters.
This show is so funny it could take a few viewings to view all the (small) jokes, but even the big ones will deliver again and again. Like when there's a water crisis and only Riddler University (snort) has water and Gordon is secretly living with Barbara in her dorm and keeps leaving the shower to grab beers and fart all the while Harley and Ivy are interrogating Barbara---and she covers for them, pretending they're friends and doing some new yoga thing.
How about Bruce Wayne starting a zombie apocalypse while raising his dead parents from the grave? How about the episode "Batman Begins Forever," in which the show takes a serious turn as they enter Bruce Wayne's psyche and relive his parents murder over and over. This show offers so much!
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