Harley Quinn has been a fan-favorite character since her first appearance on Batman: The Animated Series. However, since Margot Robbie's performance as the character in both Suicide Squad and Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) she's become somewhat more of a household name, even bagging herself an R rated animated TV show on the DC streaming service.
If you haven't checked it out yet then what are you waiting for? It's a laugh riot with some brilliantly animated bloody violence and a biting satirical wit to boot, with some of the best comedy coming out of the shows satirical versions of characters from the DC universe. Here are some highlights of the frequent one-liners, because there's nothing funnier than explaining a joke, right?
"Your idle gossip distracts me from my master plan"
Throughout the first season, we get several glimpses into the daily goings-on of the villains that make up the Legion of Doom, some of the funnier moments coming from the interoffice banter around the Legion headquarters. One such example of this, and one of the best, comes when Bane and Scarcrow are in the office kitchen making coffee.
Scarecrow gossips about Joker and Harley's breakup, to which a frustrated Bane, with a The Dark Knight Rises mumble, reply's "Your idle gossip distracts me from my master plan; break the Batman, punish Gotham for its transgressions, and stand atop the mountain of skulls left in my wake." Scarecrow simply ignores this and continues with his gossiping.
"I need to keep my mouth shut when I bust through walls"
Harley Quinn doesn't just have some great comedic takes on the supervillains of the DC Universe, it also does a great job portraying some self-aware versions of its heroes too. One such hero is the one and only Superman, who shows up while Harley is looking for a new nemesis.
Harley kidnaps Lois Lane in order to get an add for a nemesis into the Daily Planet when Superman flys in through the wall to save her. He floats in a heroic pose for a moment, fanfares in full effect, then spits out a chunk of drywall, remarking "I need to keep my mouth shut when I bust through walls." That's some top-notch superhero quip subversion.
"So this must be where you f*** the bats"
Harley Quinn, like most comedies, has its fair share of recurring gags. One of the better ones, and likely one that landed the show its R rating, comes in the form of what Harley thinks Batman does with bats. First popping up in the first episode Til Death Do Us Part, and again in Your a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon.
In the latter, Harley accidentally teleports herself into the Batcave using some of Batman's experimental technology. As she dangles from the ceiling she takes an impressed look around before lamenting "So this must be where you f*** the bats." It's a simple line, but it's so funny they used it twice.
"I made him make it"
Throughout the same episode, Finding Mr. Right, Harley grapples with the press branding the Damian Wayne version of Robbin as her new nemesis. This is a take on the character that plays up his more winey, self-entitled brat side, and as a result, the episode ends with him being disgraced on live TV and saved by Batman.
Afterward, as Batman's ward sulks in the Batcave, Batman comes in with a grilled cheese sandwich to cheer him up. Robin points out that Batman didn't even make it, Alfred did, to which Batman reply's "I made him make it." No wonder Robin's a brat, he takes after his dad.
"Is that what it stands for? I thought it was Legion of Dildos"
There have been many different interpretations of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn's relationship over the years. From crime buddies, to romantically involved, to just good friends. This time around though, they're closer to BFF roommates than anything else, as the show presents a more sarcastic millennial version of Ivy.
How sarcastic you ask? Well it's pretty much exemplified in the episode L.O.D.R.S.V.P when Lex Luther meets with Harley and Ivy in the Legion of Doom Headquarters, he calls it the L.O.D explains what it stands for (Legion of Doom, obviously) and Ivy rolls her eyes with a "Is that what it stands for? I thought it was Legion of Dildos." It's childish, but it's pretty funny.
"Now everyone hold hands and squeeze your butt cheeks together"
In the episode titled Being Harley Quinn, Doctor Psycho uses his powers to transport the crew into Harley's mind following her paralysis due to an identity crisis. It takes some convincing to get him to agree, but when he does he warns the group that it's going to be a weird time.
As they prepare he instructs them, "Now everyone hold hands and squeeze your butt cheeks together." Doctor Psycho is portrayed as a total creep in the show, so whether or not the butt cheek squeezing was necessary is up for debate.
"Is it because when we go out to eat I always ask for the dessert menu and that makes dinner last 5 minutes longer?"
The season's eleventh episode, Harley Quinn Highway, sees the crew once again enter someone's mind via Doctor Psyco's powers, this time though it's Poison Ivy that's the subject. Once inside they aim to defeat Ivy's greatest fear to wake her up from a dose of Scarecrow's fear toxin.
Surprise, Ivy's greatest fear is actually Harley. After clubbing herself to death, Harley confronts Ivy as to why this is the case, barely letting her get a word out before suggesting that "Is it because when we go out to eat I always ask for the dessert menu and that makes dinner last 5 minutes longer?" It's a mundane fear, but waiting for someone to decide they don't want a dessert is a valid form of torture.
"Look, I'm stomping on your fish!"
Honestly, throughout Harley Quinn's first season, it's no surprise that Bane is a standout side-character. They truly embrace a more comedic meat-headed version of the character with the vocal range of a muffled Tom Hardy. He has some of the best lines in the season, one of them coming in the episode L.O.D.R.S.V.P.
Harley finally joins the Legion, but when her welcome party is crashed by Aquaman she tricks him into smashing open a giant fish tank, making the King of Atlantis understandably upset. It gets all the more hilarious when Bane jumps in to help, shouting "Look, I'm stomping on your fish!" Real helpful, Bane.
"Hell Yeah..."
It's hard to talk about the first season of Harley Quinn without bringing up Poison Ivy's reluctant relationship with a certain kite crusader. Presented here as more of an enthusiastic jock that can't quite get anything right, he's one of the more lovable standouts of the cast.
Of course, no incarnation of Kite Man is complete without at least one utterance of his now-famous catchphrase, "Kite Man, Hell Yeah!" Something we get in slapstick fashion in the episode A High Bar, when Poison Ivy and Kite Man make a smashing entrance through the window. Ivy lands with grace while Kite Man lands headfirst covered in glass, whining "Hell Yeah..."
"That's actually standard goon operating procedure"
As the show ramps up to its final two episodes, Harley's crew leaves her because of her selfishness and Ivy is kidnapped by Scarecrow, leaving Harley and Frank the Plant (yes, this show has a talking venus fly trap voiced by J.B. Smoove) the save her.
Initially, Harley tries to go it alone, but Frank stops her when they realize how many of Scarecrow's goons are guarding his lair. He points out that they have guns and won't just come at her one by one, Harley replies "That's actually standard goon operating procedure." Calling out every other superhero media in existence.