DC Universe ’s upcomingHarley Quinn animated seriesis a show about being confronted with difficult truths which are blindingly obvious to everyone except forthe hoi polloi who need to interpret them the most . Batman , for case , is a grown military man who enclothe up in bat - themed fetish gearing , making it utterly sensible for Harley to take over that Batman fucks bats . That ’s just logic .

to give audience appendage a better idea of what to appear forward to , Harley Quinn ’s first episode premier during DC Universe ’s panel at this year ’s San Diego Comic - Con , with executive producer Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker and producer Jennifer Coyle in attendance . The biggest takeout food from the pilot is that there ’s definitely more than a niggling life left in the cyclosis platform .

Like DC Universe ’s other openhanded enliven offer , Young Justice : Outsiders , Harley Quinn create use of DC ’s deep catalogue of supporting hero and villain characters in ordering to straightaway give itself a larger common sense of place and identity . But what plant Harley aside is its in spades more grownup , hyper - violent , andraunchy sense of humorthat ’s much more in occupation with DC Universe ’s live - action series likeDoom PatrolandTitans .

Harley Quinn and Clayface.

Harley Quinn and Clayface.Image: (DC Universe)

https://gizmodo.com/the-new-trailer-dc-universes-harley-quinn-show-takes-a-1836419961

But those comparison do n’t on the button do Harley Quinn jurist , because the show ’s very much its own beast , and the most telling affair about it is how it link to the larger idea of Harley Quinn as a role who exists far beyond DC Universe ’s walled garden ofstreaming subject matter . Between its machine - gun fire , antic - a - hour hit rate and fondness for zooming in on people whose bones are being brutally break , Harley Quinn often experience like the form of showFX ’s doomed Deadpool seriesmight have been had it ever seen the light of day . But there ’s a wizardly sensation of inevitability to Harley Quinn that Deadpool never quite had .

As a character within DC ’s pantheon , Harley ’s star has been ascendant in the decades since her first appearance on Batman : The Animated Series . She ’s evolved from being the Joker ’s ill-treat henchwoman into a dynamic antihero with her own drives and motivations . As Harley ’s profile ’s uprise tumid across Warner Bros. ’ mark , the concept of who Harley is has only grown more complicated and sometimes difficult to pursue ( in a good way ) . What this raw serial publication does most effectively is synthesize a immense ball of the big Harley ideas into a concise jumping - off power point for newcomers that ’ll also enthral longterm fans .

Image:

Kite Man causing a scene.Image: (DC Universe)

Harley Quinn open up with a story you ’ve undoubtedly heard before , about a brilliant untested woman who ’s head over heels in love with a really food waste clown of a man who ’s open about the fact that he does n’t give two darn about her . When we cope with Harley ( Kaley Cuoco ) , she ’s already well into her life of crime with the Joker ( Alan Tudyk , doingdouble - DC dutyhere ) in a way that feels more than slightly lead of Batman : The Animated Series . Here , Batman ( Diedrich Bader ) is always hot on the deplorable yoke ’s tails as they ’re terrorizing Gotham ’s streets , and it ’s exactly what the Joker wants out of life , but the onetime song and dancing has grow wearisome for Harley . It ’s not that she does n’t wanna do crimes anymore — she definitely does , but Harley just require her crimes to mean something the style her family relationship with the Joker mean so much to her .

But Harley Quinn is a series that directly understands what Harley herself takes much longer to take : that she ’s a much more entrancing and fun character when she ’s been decoupled from the Joker . Harley ’s realisation that the Joker ’s never going to be in love with anyone other than Batman ( again , someone who jazz bats , she insists on reminding anyone who ’ll take heed ) is what sets Harley Quinn ’s event into apparent movement and free her up to hang around a wide swath of other Gotham deviant .

So much of what we call back of as Harley ’s defining characteristic come from the fact that we ordinarily only see her interact with the Joker and Batman that picture boast her and Poison Ivy ( Lake Bell ) are an interesting change of pace . Like those other characters , Ivy ’s a frequent fixture in a number of Harley ’s adventures , but here she ’s less of a sultry bio terrorist playing around at the edges of Harley ’s intimate exploration , and she ’s more … well , she ’s still those things , but Harley Quinn approach those factor of her character in a notably dissimilar mode .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

There are so many different kinds of stories about Harley — about exploring one ’s sex , surviving aroused abuse , get into tumbler derby , etc — that speak to people on different levels that Harley Quinn ™ , the stigma , has become as fractured as the character ’s mind . This is why you’re able to haveall - ages versions of Harley Quinn inDC Superhero Girlsexist alongside live - actionHarley Quinns who murder children , and a parallel universe funnies Harley who’san former dame from a dystopian hereafter . None of these Harleys is the “ right ” or “ wrong ” Harley , they ’re all Riffian on nub concepts associated with the reference that unlike Jehovah have turn into canonical parts of her expand mythology over the years .

https://gizmodo.com/warnermedia-s-newly-named-streaming-service-will-not-ch-1836219061

That said , Harley Quinn ’s overall scale is somewhat smaller than some of the character’smore fantastic exploits elsewhere , but the serial is keenly aware of the broader ethnical landscape painting it exist within and the unique space is has to tell a definitive Harley Quinn story . The grapheme got her start stealing the show in an animated series , and so it feel right that another toon would make a go of give her the center stage in a big way .

William Duplessie

Harley Quinn knows where its heroine come from and does a solid job of make its peace of mind with her origins before moving on to flex and show off just what all Dr. Quinzel ’s up to of now that she’sbecome a bona fide maven .

Harley Quinn reach DC Universe November 29 .

For more , make certain you ’re following us on our new Instagram @io9dotcom .

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