From “Batman: The Animated Collection” to the Michelle Pfeiffer-starring “Batman Returns” to the “Darkish Knight” trilogy to “Birds of Prey,” I’ve lengthy cherished good tales set within the Caped Crusader’s world. (“Suicide Squad,” “Batman v Superman,” and the like don’t depend. I received’t watch them and you’ll’t make me.) However my very favourite might be “Harley Quinn,” the raunchy, hilarious, gleefully gory animated sequence that has simply kicked off its third season. Following the titular Gotham antiheroine (voiced by Kaley Cuoco), her associate in crime Poison Ivy (Lake Bell), and their pals and foes, the present punctures the self-seriousness that has come to outline Batman narratives lately — and flips the fowl at its poisonous fandom.
For those who’ve by no means seen “Harley Quinn,” the primary scene of the third-season premiere tells you all you must know: after having pushed off into the sundown collectively on the finish of Season 2, Harley and Ivy are formally a pair. Whereas co-opting Superman’s Fortress of Solitude as their new love pad, they’re snacking on popcorn and laughing at a porn parody about, nicely, themselves. Kylie Kryptonite’s Harley and Britney Bionic’s Ivy get it on; oral intercourse is concerned and portrayed explicitly. And similar to that, “Harley Quinn” has displayed a wholesome humorousness about itself, established its unapologetic intercourse positivity, and made clear it has zero curiosity in being deferential to fanboys. Most likely most significantly, that scene doles out a deserved fuck-you to DC Leisure for the entire “heroes don’t do this” debacle regarding a possible love scene between Batman and Catwoman. (If you recognize, you recognize.)
Actually, what’s to not like?
After all, this season isn’t all meta jokes in regards to the powers that be, even when its takedown of the Golden Globes’ fuckery is particularly pleasant. In its third outing, “Harley Quinn” continues to do what it does greatest: cheerfully skewer the tropes and traditions of superhero films, notably these about Batman; effortlessly weave in cameos from characters massive and small from the DC canon, typically with side-splittingly humorous outcomes (the introduction of Harvey Guillén’s unhappy boi Nightwing is a specific spotlight); and characterize each “villain” and “hero” because the nuanced folks they really are. Keep in mind, Ivy identifies as an eco-terrorist — a central focus within the new episodes — not a villainess. And as chaotic and impulsive as she may be, Harley is an efficient, inspiring chief. She’s additionally a survivor of associate abuse, a proficient gymnast, and greater than something, desires to make Ivy pleased.
And if which means hijacking Marvel Girl’s Invisible Jet or kidnapping Suicide Squad head Amanda Waller (Tisha Campbell), so be it. Harley Quinn, like many of the characters on her present, isn’t strictly one of many “unhealthy guys” — however she’s not thinking about being a saint, both. A lot the higher. She and her discovered household are a hell of much more fascinating to look at than any blockbuster that includes a super-powered bro with a god advanced.
Season 3 of “Harley Quinn” premieres right this moment, July 28, on HBO Max.
