Season 1 of Harley Quinn comes to a close, and what an enjoyable debut season it turned out to be. DC is well known for its exceptional animated features and series, and Harley Quinn has joined the godly animated pantheon. The more relatable yet turned-up-to-11 versions of your favorite villains and heroes (Jim Gordon is a manic treasure) was the pitch-perfect choice to form the world around Harley. Each new character introduction gave us a slightly off-kilter take on famous characters.
Following Harley’s toxic love life and witnessing how it infects her entire life was a bold choice for a cartoon. It also makes her and the people who genuinely love her more sympathetic and relatable. Did you ever think you would care about the well-being of Poison Ivy or King Shark? I certainly didn’t, but here we are.
The season finale brings the season-long arc to a close with Harley taking on Joker in a final battle. With the season’s end, we get widespread landscape changes, and major characters have their stories closed, but our central Harley team is back to full strength and ready for their next adventure. As with all comic book heroes and villain’s tales, nothing is permanent, and no one stays gone for long (perfectly illustrated in the climax of this episode). My question is, after such a unique and bombastic season, where do the writers go for their sophomore outing? May I suggest Harley vs. The Terrifics?
Let’s close out season one with five thoughts on the arcs of our main characters. In case this is your first Harley feature, minor spoilers ahead.
1. Harley & Joker
Ladies and gentlemen, the most toxic relationship ever animated. Woof. Harley took a while to come around, but she finally saw Joker for the horrible clown he has always been. All it took was Joker harpooning her best friend in the chest. A slow but steady arc none the less, and realistic to boot. People backslide into terrible relationships all the time. Supervillains are no exception.
Joker is Joker through and through. The revelation that he hires union workers and obtains permits for his city projects adds an odd layer of complexity to the madman. Does he support union work, or does Mr.J enjoy torturing himself with paperwork and bureaucratic red tape? Either way, he is a bastard the entire season, as we expect from old smiley. That’s what makes Harley’s blindness harder to understand.
2. Poison Ivy & Kite Man
Poison Ivy was the most well-rounded character we had the pleasure of watching. She was a friend trying to help someone trapped in an abusive relationship. Ivy went through her own issues with love and trust as well as had some bad-ass “villain” moments to round out her character. She even got a new look at the end of the season. She is by far the most likable character in Harley Quinn, and I am glad she will be around for season two.
I had to add Kite Man here. Not only because he was Ivy’s lover, but also because he’s fantastic. His stupid kite was able to save our team from a certain big-dicked giant. That should be enough to give him his own section. I hope, at some point in this series, we get a full episode dedicated to Kite Man, Booster Gold, and Blue Beetle getting wasted and into trouble together.
Hell yeah.
3. Clayface & King Shark
Two standouts from this series are the duo of Clayface and King Shark. The boisterous, unhinged performer within Clayface allowed for several great moments, including a Clayface Batman unable to hold back singing Happy Birthday to the Joker. His delivery and overall demeanor gave the proceedings some much-appreciated levity outside of the cursing, gore, and general mayhem.
King Shark was a surprise favorite, balancing his rather straight-laced career as a Social Media Consultant with his unhinged savagery. Could anyone else take over Arkham Asylum as quickly and definitively as a King Shark? I think no. His violent outbursts juxtaposed with his generally positive attitude were always a treat to watch.
4. Dr. Psycho & Cy Borgman
These two fellas had the least amount of growth this entire season. Psycho remains a woman-hating telepath with a giant fetish. Psycho stays true to the man you meet at the start of the season with one significant change. He does begin to care about the people around him, illustrated by his need to save Harley from herself in the season finale. Cy is still an old crank yearning to murder like he did in the early days. Outside of his powerfully unsettling transformation into a station wagon, Cy offers little in the way of usefulness or interesting anecdotes. I suppose his weird monster sister stands out as well, but let’s be honest, no one knows what the hell that whole situation was about.
Continued below5. Justice League & The Legion of Doom
The preeminent unions of good and evil were obstacles for our heroes to overcome. By the end, both factions find themselves out of the picture, which is huge for Harley as she and her crew are now the top factions in the ruined Gotham. I do have a gripe with some of the more powerful characters being generally ineffective and getting dispatched with ease. However, that has to happen for a superpowerless Harley to be successful. Let’s face it, Harley isn’t defeating Superman or Wonder Woman, so you have to magically trap them all in a book.
The Legion of Doom’s not-so-subtle nod at evil corporate culture was not lost on me. The pointless meetings, inane break room conversations, and general inefficiency packaged in a supervillain wrapper. And of course, with most corporates, one corrupt exec can bury the whole company. Literally.
If I had to throw a review out there, I am going to give season one a solid 8. Mostly because nothing is perfect, and I am hard to please. A delightful, fresh take on a great character. Harley Quinn’s elevation to top tier DC character is only helped by such a wonderfully done series. To think, she was but a side character in the Batman: The Animated Series. Look at her now. They grow up so fast.
Thanks to all who followed along with the Harley Quinn Season One Five Thoughts series. Be great, and see you next season, Hyenas!
