Harley Quinn season 3 review: Growing, loving, making fun of Batman

It’s kind of a wonder that taking the piss out of Batman hasn’t been a bigger thing. Fans, comic book creators and comedians have all done this many times over the years. There’s plenty to work with. The child soldiers he trains, Bruce Wayne as a member of the 1%, the bat costume, the fact that his whole deal is an idea he cooked up when he was 8 — the guy is just begging for someone to come along and own him daily. Luckily, Harley Quinn has found a way to mainstream Bat-mockery, centering its raucous third season antics in part on lambasting Batman — but also, maybe, helping him grow as a person. That’s what I tell my friends, when I joke about them.

The second season of Harley Quinn ended with its heroine (voiced by Kaley Cuoco) driving off into the sunset with her girlfriend, Poison Ivy, season 3 begins with them on the tail end of their romantic “Eat, Bang, Kill Tour,” getting down (doing crimes) and Getting Down (the other stuff) all around the world with the help of Wonder Woman’s stolen invisible jet.

However, Gotham City’s many problems make their newly found gay happiness a little less sweet. Frank (J.B. Smoove), their friend and sapient plant, has mutated. He was kidnapped. Alan Tudyk, the Joker is running to be mayor. Bruce Wayne’s (Diedrich Bader), is deepening his feelings following Catwoman (Sanaa Lethan) breaking up with him. James Gunn (James Gunn), makes a biopic on his parents. Making it hard to deal with all of this is the fact that Harley is trying to do something she’s never really done before: be in a healthy adult relationship.

Image by Max

All the Gotham dramas this season Harley Quinn doesn’t really feel that much like it’s about Harley Quinn this time around. Granted, she’s still important; her relationship to Poison Ivy, Joker, and the Bat-family still drives a lot of the action, but the real dramatic weight is shouldered by Poison Ivy as she struggles to deepen her plant powers and eco-terrorist vision while not losing herself in her new relationship. Batman and his companions are still a major part of the comedy saga.

You have a wider range of options Harley Quinn’s writers have slowly staked for themselves across three seasons puts the show in the unique position of being the only DC Comics adaptation to occupy the place Deadpool has in the Marvel Universe — a self-aware semi-parody that is AlsoIts own honest themes and interests to explore. Thankfully, Harley QuinnAlthough it doesn’t display the same kind of fourth-wall breaking humor as Deadpool has, these characters were adapted to the point that both are more than just jokes.

Image by Max

Unterstreichen Harley Quinn’s comedy is the way that it has always taken Harley herself quite seriously. Prior seasons had her never undercutting her agency. She was determined to make her own decisions after cutting ties with Joker. In this season Harley’s story is about learning the difference between supporting your partner and enabling them, and also using her degree in psychiatry to maybe get at the bottom of Batman’s whole deal.

However, we hope that she does not. Harley QuinnYou might have run out jokes and that is the true crime.

Three episodes from the first season of Harley QuinnNow streaming on HBO Max New episodes drop on Thursdays.