As an adult animated series, it can push boundaries that most live-action DC productions have never crossed, incorporating a central queer romance and an abundance of gore and profanity. Developed by Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, and Dean Lorey, Harley Quinn pulls ( almost) no punches in its treatment of DC’s beloved characters, playing off the audience’s familiarity with superheroes and their infamous nemeses to poke fun at and deconstruct their firmly established identities. With each subsequent season, her path has led her further away from the Clown Prince of Crime, leading her to become an antihero who’s found a much healthier relationship with Poison Ivy (a romance that follows the trajectory of the comics). Harley’s first animated solo series, which premiered in 2019 and is now in its fourth season, chronicles her transformation from Joker’s sidekick and his manipulated love interest into a villain in her own right. In fact, cocreator Timm told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016 that Quinn was always intended to be a “one-shot character in just one episode.” More than 30 years after Harley made her debut as a henchwoman for the Joker, her eponymous series showcases how much she’s evolved.Ģ9 Burning Questions Following the ‘Hijack’ Season Finale Unlike the vast majority of her contemporaries, she originated not within the pages of the comic books, but on a TV show: Batman: The Animated Series. The character holds a unique place in the company’s history. In recent years, Harley Quinn has become one of the most popular characters in DC’s massive roster of heroes, villains, and everyone in between. These animated series are taking two very different creative approaches, but both are bringing fresh perspectives to decades-old characters. With new episodes streaming on Max on back-to-back weekdays (Thursdays and Fridays), DC’s Harley Quinn and My Adventures With Superman are combining to keep that trend alive. (Sony’s recent Spider-Verse movies aside.) Marvel Studios invested in its animated output with the establishment of Marvel Studios Animation in 2021, but in an inversion of the rivals’ theatrical records, Marvel is attempting to play catch-up, while DC has consistently delivered exciting animated stories even as its live-action counterparts have faltered. There’s a lot of TV out there. We want to help: Every week, we’ll tell you the best and most urgent shows to stream so you can stay on top of the ever-expanding heap of Peak TV.Įven though the Marvel Cinematic Universe has dwarfed the DCEU’s box office earnings and critical acclaim, DC’s achievements in the animated arena have long outshined Marvel’s. In animated films like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, some of that success has also carried over to feature-length projects. The success of that series, which ran for 85 episodes until its conclusion in 1995, paved the way for subsequent animated TV shows like Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Teen Titans. But even as the vast majority of DC’s live-action projects continue to flop in theaters, the DC Universe is thriving on the small screen in the world of animation, with the latest standouts being Harley Quinn and My Adventures With Superman.īeginning with Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski’s Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, DC has had a rich history in animated storytelling under Warner Bros. What with recent box office bombs like The Flash, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and Black Adam, the transition from the former DC Films regime to the DC Studios era under the direction of James Gunn and Peter Safran has been a costly mess, with every misfire further diminishing the brand’s credibility. Next year, the rollout of a new cinematic and TV universe will offer a fresh on-screen start for DC, but in 2023, the old DC Extended Universe is still in its death throes.
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