I am so sick of having Harley Quinn shoved in my face by DC. Yes, I understand that she’s popular, yes, I understand that nerds think she’s hot, and yes, I understand she was one of the only good things about the Suicide Squad movie… DC has been parading her around so long that I honestly think that there is no way I could ever be interested in such an overexposed character.
Then, I caught this new show on DC Universe and it’s become a favorite of mine almost instantaneously.
Lemme tell ya why.
Every time that anyone tries to tell a story from a villain’s point of view, they try to make the titular villain a hero. Maleficent, Suicide Squad… the one exception to this rule, at least recently and most ironically, has been the Joker movie. It just seems like no one is comfortable letting the bad guys be bad.
Harley Quinn, however, not only allows the bad guys to be bad, but actively revels in it. Quinn, Poison Ivy, The Riddler, and Joker… they’re established as the villains, they accept it, and they’re not going to change. Batman is the straight man in a world gone crazy and… it’s marvelous.
The first episode involves Harley determined to break off her toxic relationship with the Joker and, true to form, there’s little serious introspection, next to no real drama… just jokes and violence.
This series is hilarious. It’s a foul mouthed comedy stuffed with hilarious rapid-fire jokes and, most astonishingly, almost all of the jokes land.
Harley Quinn is high energy lunacy with great characters sharing great chemistry. It definitely does not take itself seriously and finds no sacred ground that it cannot gleefully trample upon. The voice cast is superb, the animation is wonderful, and I loved every minute of it.
I only hope that future installments continue to hold the bar as high as the premiere.
Jason Gaston 