Harley Quinn declared herself independent from theJoker back in the first season, and rightly so! A fascinating, even seductive character with self-determination unseen in other former sidekicks, especially when placed against Marvel’s answer: Bucky fromCaptain America: The Winter Soldier(2014).
Seemingly endless variations of Joker’s former sidekickHarley Quinnhave popped up in media from time to time, fromBatman: The Animated Series(1992-1996) toBirds of Prey(2000). Yet lately, Harley’s proven herself capable of insane popularity in her own right. Has Kaley Cuoco stolen the tiara from her big-screen Margot Robbie counterpart, or has the veteran comedy actress fallen on her face due to the animated action series format?
Let’s Get Something Straight…
Kaley Cuoco has played a superhero before. And not as a voice actor, and not including the many Wonder Woman costumes she wore onBig Bang Theory. No, at the start of her career (post-Canadian cereal commercials), Kaley was on a little show calledCharmed. Before the CW rebooted the franchise in recent years, Kaley played a wayward witch in need of a mentor. Well, mentors – as in the blessed sisters.
One episode in particular (Charmed: Battle of the Hexes- Original Series, 2005) features Kaley (as Billie) finding a strange belt in the dusty cold-case files of Homeland Security that end up granting her superpowers familiar to any comic book aficionado. As the natural-born superheroine easily tears doors off taxis, dodges bullets, and tosses bad guys, it’s clear to see from this early outing that Kaley Cuoco was meant for a role in the comic genre.
Related:How Harley Quinn Went from Sidekick to Leading Lady
Having faithfully served Harley, Kaley Cuoco is tacked on to continue onto season five. With the upcomingJoker 2(2024), fans of the darker side of DC will get a glimpse of Lady GaGa playing Harley Quinn. This perfect counterbalance creates a beautiful, symmetrical juxtaposition from which to judge the competency of character execution. For the sake of argument and putting aside Lady Gaga and Margot Robbie, Kaley Cuoco presents incredible assertions as to why she may be, in fact, the bestHarley Quinnof all time.
Put Aside The Suicide Squad
Despite mega-budget incarnations of Harley fromBirds of Prey(2020) toThe Suicide Squad(2021), the current canon of the animated Harley Quinn episodes correlates much more closely with contemporary comics than the movie franchises. Back in the late 90s, it was a trend to take a villain and turn them into a hero, as was evident with the film releases of theVenomfranchises, as well asDeadpool. More recently, Poison Ivy has changed pace from her villainess role as portrayed by Uma Thurman in the not just awful but God-AwfulBatman and Robin(1997).
Poison Ivy’s transition to hero alongside her de-facto conscience, Harley, will be most evident in the upcoming season 4 ending. The finale,Metamorphosis(coming Aug 03, 2025), will see a stunning conclusion in which Harley investigates an unexplained murder; meanwhile, Ivy tries to take down the Jons, and the Joker announces a sudden, surprising career change. Will Batman make a guest appearance? Will this prove abreaking point for Poison Ivy– and will she break badly?
Related:Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy’s Relationship, Explained
Traditional DC comics prove a semi-romantic foil for the love triangle that eventually arises between Batman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. Forget Catwoman; the dark knight has his hands full of sociopathic bridezillas! Luckily for the younger viewers, this particular plot thread hasn’t woven its way into episodes yet, as Max is sticking with the action inHarley Quinn. But as far as Poison Ivy is concerned, don’t be surprised if her nature-wielding powers don’t attract the attention of Swamp Thing.
Will She Land on Her Feet?
Luckily for fanatics of Harley, the director recentlydropped a season 5 teaser imageto alleviate enthusiast anxiety about the ongoing writers' and actors' strike. True, the WGA and SAG (Writer’s Guild of America and Screen Actor’s Guild, respectively) have slowed things down over at HBO’s new Max streaming service, but that doesn’t mean our plucky and unorthodox wild card won’t show her pasty face soon enough.
For four seasons, Harley’s independent animated series has proven itself irreverent to the Batman mythos and capable of enveloping occasional serious topics like loyalty and betrayal within a more palatable context of humor. Comedy serves the series well, and alongside the award-winning animation team, it’s unlikely that even an ongoing Hollywood strike will hinder more Harley. Stay ahead of Harley’s crazy antics bycatching Harley Quinn on Max.
