Harley Quinn: 9 DC Easter Eggs You Missed In The DC Universe’s Adult Cartoon

DC Universe’s Harley Quinn cartoon is a fun animated series that features tons of references you probably overlooked.

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Debuting last year on DC Universe, Harley Quinn is an adult animated series that revolves around the pursuits of the titular character. While Margot Robbie’s portrayal of the character in Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey definitely increased the anti-heroine’s popularity, Kaley Cuoco’s voice acting on the show is no less. It is currently in its second season and is already garnering a cult status with a hilarious take on classic DC villains and a fresh feminist narrative on Harley that feels more relevant than preachy.

And then, of course, there are various pop culture references and Easter Eggs in Harley Quinn, most of which are from the DC universe.

9 Bane From The Dark Knight Rises

Bane might be one of the most notorious villains of Gotham but in Harley Quinn, he’s a mostly a dumb, gentle giant. A clear reference that you might have noticed is his voice, which is like Tom Hardy’s in The Dark Knight Rises.

Bane watches a quiz show and one of the questions asked is regarding the football team that has won the most games in Gotham Stadium. Bane gets his answer wrong, and in a petty fit of rage, he says that he would blow up Gotham Stadium. This is clearly a callback to the chilling scene in The Dark Knight Rises when Bane triggers the destruction of all of Gotham City, starting with the stadium.

8 Batman’s Adam West Gadgets

The retro Batman live-action series starring Adam West is a campy throwback but still an iconic show. It puts the ‘comic’ in comic books, with hilarious action cards like ‘POW’ and ‘BANG,’ and Batman’s various gadgets like Bat tweezers, bravery tablets, and of course, the classic Shark Repellant!

A reference to this show comes when a Shark Repellant is in Batman’s utility belt in a blink-and-miss moment when he’s taking out King Shark. The gadget is shown in a zoom-in shot with a campy background, true to the tradition of the Adam West series.

7 Harley’s Olympics Background

One might wonder how Harley is so agile and quick while fighting. It’s not like she was trained in martial arts. She was just a psychologist before turning into a baddie. The show gives more background to her athletic abilities, informing audiences that she was an amazing gymnast who could have gone to the Olympics. However, her father asks her to lose a major tournament for a wager he had with some men from the Mafia.

That marks a sad end to Harley’s career as a gymnast but thankfully, those skills come in hand on her adventures later. Her background is a good callback to Batman: The Animated Series which also mentioned her as an Olympic-level gymnast.

6 Endless Artifacts At Doctor Trap’s Lair

In a recent episode, Harley is trapped in Doctor Trap’s lair. He seems to be collecting several iconic memorabilia in his lair like Two Face’s giant coin and Deathstroke’s sword.

It also holds a T-Rex model, which is mostly seen in Batman’s cave in the comics. Not only comics, but there are also hidden references to the iconic Arkham range of Batman games. For instance, the anti-hero Azrael’s armor and sword are there. There is even a reference to Watchmen too. Nite Owl’s mask is in a glass box containing other masks like that of Black Mask and Talon.

5 ‘Joke’s on you, Joker’

When introduced to Batman in the pilot episode, Joker and Harley are robbing a ship. The caped crusader drops on deck and greets Joker with the lines, “Joke’s on you, Joker.” You might have heard a variant of this quote as Joker usually says “Joke’s on you.”

A more recent and popular example of this quote would be in a subtle yet significant still from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. A Robin costume in the Batcave that has “Joke’s on you Batman,” spray-painted all over it. Fans have speculated that this might be Jason Todd’s Robin costume who was probably killed or tortured in the DCEU by Joker.

4 Recurring Voice Actors

Harley Quinn brings back several reputed voice actors who have had worked with DC animation before Alan Tudyk voices Joker and Clayface. He has lent his voice for Green Arrow (in Young Justice), he has also had live-action relations with DC characters playing Bruce Wayne’s goofy cousin in the comedy series Powerless, along with portraying Mr. Nobody in Doom Patrol.

There’s Tom Kenny who cameos as Clayface’s hand. The voice behind SpongeBob Squarepants has voiced various DC characters before including Plastic Man in a series of shorts for Cartoon Network. Ron Funches, who voices King Shark, was also a part of the cast of Powerless, while Christopher Meloni, who voices Commissioner Gordon, acted in Man of Steel.

3 Paralyzed By A Killing Joke

In one of the earlier episodes, a dark remark from Harley explains her enmity with Jim Gordon. “Gordon wants revenge because I paralyzed his partner,” she says. It might be a stretch to call it a reference to Alan Moore’s tragic graphic novel The Killing Joke but it’s easy for one to think about.

Even though Harley was never involved and Gordon’s partner wasn’t harmed, the comic is infamous for its graphic scene when Joker barges in Gordon’s apartment and shoots his daughter, Barbara, paralyzing her for a little while. It has been decades since The Killing Joke but the scene still haunts DC fans.

2 Joker’s Fun House

Joker initially bases his operations in an abandoned carnival at the start of the show. This is a reference to Joker’s Fun Land, his base of operations in the Arkham games. He also purchases an abandoned carnival in his flashback in The Killing Joke. Another version of the Fun House was featured in one of the earliest DC animated films, Batman: The Mask of Phantasm.

In Harley Quinn, he plans on rebuilding the Fun House after Harley breaks up with him and ends up turning it into ruins. Joker tussles to rebuild his headquarters as he apparently needs a municipal permit! It’s funny to see supervillains have normal everyday problems.

1 Big Bang Theory Connection

Harley Quinn is related to The Big Bang Theory as she has been voiced by two actresses from the long-running comedy series. There’s Kaley Cuoco who currently voices Harley in the show, and played the part of Penny in The Big Bang Theory.

Earlier, Melissa Rauch voiced Harley Quinn in the 2017 animated film Batman and Harley Quinn. Both actresses worked closely in their live-action project and added different charms in their animated turns as Harley. Although Kaley’s lead role in the adult animated series might just get her more roles in DC animated films.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/harley-quinn-dc-universe-hidden-references/