“Harley Quinn” is a Must-See For Comic Book Fans
HBO Max just renewed Harley Quinn for a third season, so now is your chance to catch up on this show!
After breaking up with the Joker (Alan Tudyk), Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) sets out to become the biggest supervillain in Gotham. To do so, she brings together a rather unconventional team: her best friend — and maybe more — Poison Ivy (Lake Bell), aspiring thespian Clayface (Tudyk), the recently canceled Dr. Psycho (Tony Hale), and the all-too-innocent King Shark (Ron Funches).
Harley Quinn is certainly an adult-targeted animated comedy series, going places that are sometimes quite surprising. However, even with all of the comedy, it remains a comic book series. It’s filled with gags and riffs on all of DC’s characters, while also having big bombastic comic book action and spectacle. The overarching narrative of the series is incredibly bold, telling an unexpectedly dark story. The most important thing the series does, however, is it gets you invested in its characters.
As a comic book fan, it’s a blast to see a show poke fun at all of your favorite characters. From Batman to the Riddler to Condiment King, everyone is the butt of the joke in this series. However, Harley Quinn wouldn’t work as a show if all it was was making fun of DC characters. It establishes its main characters as genuine, three-dimensional human beings (or clay creatures or humanoid sharks or what have you) who grow and evolve over the course of the show. There is a purpose behind their mission, and there are actual consequences to their actions.
The relationship between Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn is the show’s strongest element. These characters are so well established, and their arcs over the course of the two seasons are incredibly strong. I don’t want to spoil where the arcs go, but seeing where these characters end up by the season two finale is certainly rewarding. The showrunners have already said that they will follow through with the promise of the finale.
Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn’s dynamic isn’t the series’ only strong suite — all of the ensemble characters are a blast. I found Clayface to be a little bit annoying at first, but his constant pursuit of acting became one of the show’s funniest running gags. I think the stand-out supporting character for me, however, is King Shark. He has some of the best lines and some of the most unexpected moments. All of these characters together make for an incredibly entertaining series filled with hilarious exchanges, countered by some strong drama.
Overall, Harley Quinn is such a fun series. I am not typically a fan of animated comic book material (with some exceptions), but Harley Quinn is definitely worth the watch. It is filled with great humor, compelling drama, well-developed characters, and an exciting story. It is one of those shows where when you start watching it you can’t stop until you’re completely done.
With a third season now confirmed, this is the perfect opportunity to jump on the Harley Quinn bandwagon. If we’re going to get a fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth season, and more, we need to get more people watching this show. If Kaley Cuoco’s The Big Bang Theory can get twelve seasons, then surely Harley Quinn can do at least the same — right?
Harley Quinn seasons one and two are streaming now on HBO Max.
