My Song 8 (1)
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[00:00:00] You're listening to the multi-verse podcast today. Harley Quinn.
I'm going to slightly switch gears here because while we're talking about Batman the Animated Series, I would like to just kind of leap in here with just a little acknowledgement that we've lost Kevin Conroy.
Unfortunately, we've also lost Arlene Sorkin. So the one and, I mean, Tara Strong does a great job. There's absolutely no denying it. I think, uh, Katie, what's her name? The Big Bang Girl? Oh, that, wait, it was, uh, Uh, Katie Cork, Kaylee Koko does. If I say big fan current, everyone will know She does that. I think she does a fine job.
Yeah. Um, I think Melissa Rouch Rouch in that one movie that then that's a show that really is a show all on. It's not, we're we're not winging Harley. Uh, yeah. A little roll in the hang. It's all just a horrible, horrible dream. Um, I actually think, [00:01:00] uh, no, no, I, I did, I disliked the Killing Joke movie more than that because at least, um, I watched the Melissa Rogers thing all the way through to the end.
My kids loved it. But again, that's another show. But Arlene Talking is gone. And, uh, the good Mr. Scott and I were having a conversation about this, uh, the other day. That, um, the, because, uh, Scott asked, He sort of asked me this question without asking me it, which is very, which is, which is brilliant that you can do this.
You have no idea what I'm talking about. Nah, you know. But we'll get there. I say so many things I don't remember anyhow. That, that's, uh. There you go. And the question kind of was, um, so who is your Harley? So when you think of Harley Quinn, who is your Harley? Because there have been these very different versions of that character.
Because again, and this goes back to the conversation that we I think we had in one of our previous [00:02:00] podcasts But where somebody I think I forget which one of you it was you said that the superior spider was me Somebody's first spider man. Yeah, so if they've been printed on that version of the character when they get to Peter Parker It's gonna be Well, this Spider Man's a complete joke.
I mean, the Spider Man that I started reading, he's smart, ruthless, he's got his, you know, crap together, he had it going on. This guy's an absolute, he can't even hold on to the redhead. Um, but, uh, but for Harley Quinn, there are these very differing, you know, uh, uh, things. And I know mine, and, and we get an opportunity to, to talk about that.
Um, but I'm going to fire it straight over to you, young man, because I want to know, who's your Harley Quinn? Well, remember, Batman Animated Series was prime time for me. Okay, there we go. So, Mr. J. Mr. J. Yeah. Mr. J. Yeah, the [00:03:00] classic, uh, Animated Series Harley is probably mine. I do like what Margot Robbie did with the character.
I think it's fun. What Robbie's interpretation that you liked? I like her, um... She, I think she plays the devil may care attitude really well. She does that really well. And I'm, I'm different than most people in that I really liked in The Suicide Squad I loved the, um, the way that they managed the Harley Joker relationship And sort of this, the way that he, like, how twisted that Relationship is and how he manipulated her in such a way that she had this sort of almost addiction to him, right?
Yeah, I I liked that. I actually liked that because I think that's more realistic like if you have like a Narcissistic person that's that's really, you know twisting the the partner that [00:04:00] they're with and that The psychosis that you would expect from Joker There are bad guys in the world that do this to women.
And that's how things end up. You know. So going to come back to that in a minute. Yeah. Because you're setting me up beautifully. Okay. But that's. Yes. Okay. So no. You. That. I think that works. That. That Harley Quinn. Uh huh. Under my. Works. Because of the. In many respects. Because of the nature of the Joker. In that movie.
Right. Because. You almost, you can't, well, you can't have a Harley Quinn without a Joker because the whole reason that Harley Quinn is Harley Quinn is because of the Joker, whether, now to what degree that's going to depend on which Harley Quinn you like, but you cannot, Harley Quinn doesn't exist in any universe, I know
they've done a couple of those crazy black [00:05:00] label, uh, books. It may be in one of those, but who are we kidding? Well, the Joker Harley, uh, black label book. Yeah. It, it took what they kind of started to work on in the, uh, in Suicide Squad. We got bits and pieces of it. Right. And it's a, it's a full out, beautifully illustrated story.
Incredible. So good. But it plays into that whole, that whole relationship. Sort of that, um, oh gosh, the, the bank robbers from, the thirties, the Bonnie and Clyde, sort of a Bonnie and Clyde thing, but where Bonnie was sort of enraptured with Clyde the whole time. Right. And, and Stephen, and you know, invoked some thoughts in me after, after we had this discussion about this Harley, and I...
Well, I'm gonna ask you that question as well, Scott. Okay, well, when I started... Kind of [00:06:00] pulling back together. And when you said Bonnie and Clyde, it just, it just triggered me because it's, it's almost what version of the joker and Harley's relationship are we getting? Is it the, is it the severe and the David acres, I'm still going to group it into the Snyder verse and forgive me.
It's really not, do we, do we get, are we getting that because while You needed that kind of Joker to get Margo's Harley. I'm not a fan of that Joker, that portrayal, portrayal of Joker. Yeah, I didn't love the, like, gangster, like. It's, but it also, it fit that world. Yes. Which, which leads more to where you're going with that.
Um, but then in the comics, you get Frank Cho's, Harley Quinn, then you get the Palomari's, Harley Quinn, [00:07:00] which is trying to be a detective. The crazy was tapped down, then you get the slapstick. Then you get the New 52 where they, they crammed her into Suicide Squad for, uh, not Frank Cho, Terry Dodson. Terry Dodson.
Thank you. Cho did the B covers. Yes. That's where I'm going. That's it. And that's why it sticks in my head. Cho did those covers. Oh yeah. And, and instead of the Gnort book of those covers, you should have a Frank Cho covers of Harley Quinn. It's the one good thing that happened out of, uh, I guess Frank Cho's time on Wonder Woman.
Yeah. That's another show. That's it. Um, but there, It is, it is another example in the Bat Universe is that there are very different versions of what Harley is because, because the, the, the Joker girlfriend Harley is not a government sniper, but she fit what they did in the movies because I just, I just need someone, I just need a, I got a big bowl of spaghetti and I'm going to throw it at this problem and hope that Rick Flagg solves it.
Right. I don't care if any of them make [00:08:00] it. Right. Then you jump to the, yeah. You know, New 52, and then the next Suicide Squad, and now Harley's become a staple of the Suicide Squad universe. More than Flag. You know, Rick Flag stays dead a quarter of the time. The two to three you can count on in the Suicide Squad is Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang.
Maybe now Killer Croc. He seems to pop up. Top of time. Right. The shark guy. The shark, yeah. He's getting more popular. Going out shark. It's, it's. And then the, um. What? What's the guy with the, Peacemaker. Peacemaker. Yeah. he's locked in. John Cena. We'll just say that. It shows. Because now when I think of Black Adam, I only think of The Rock too.
So I want The Rock and Peacemaker just for the WWE reunion. The big smackdown. Yeah. You haven't seen Peacemaker yet? No. Oh my lord, you gotta stop, like, don't watch anything else. Watch nothing else until you see Peacemaker. Look, everything going on in the world, you need some lowbrow stuff. Uh, [00:09:00] yeah, but I'm, see...
That's all another show. So, did you guys like James Gunn's Suicide Squad? Uh, did not like the second one, for sure. I liked the first one. Most people don't, but I did. I'm split. Right. I liked how he did Rick Flagg. Versus what the first one was, because that's more of my Rick Flag. Harley stayed the same. Um, I didn't need rip off Will Smith.
Um, running around is bloodshot. I don't need that. I like the actual Will Smith. I did like the actual Will Smith. Um, I, I liked the representation. Will Smith. Yeah, that's, that's, that's in them calling right there. Um, easy tiger. I like Starro. Because I didn't think anyone was ever going to pull that off.
Yeah, no, that's true. And I like the supporting staff. Yes. Um, and I like the fact that at the very beginning they brought back some characters from the other movie, and did what you should do with a [00:10:00] Suicide Squad movie, and slaughtered them. Yeah, that was, yeah. But as far as, it's a, it's a, it's another one of these, It's a rough movie.
It's another one of these DC movies that you know that whoever's putting it together, and, sorry Mr. Gunn, Um, you don't really understand. You think you understand the property. And you were given a pile of crap to deal with. Because this was your job interview for what you're going to be doing with the rest.
I don't care what it was. And I hope you can pull it off. Hope you can pull it off. But going back to Harley. In the comic world, The 75 issue run that just wrapped up, That was my favorite comic Harley. Because that rang truer. You're talking about the Palmiotti in comic one? Yes. Right. Well, it wrapped up and you know, had Punchline in it there at the end, those variant covers.
Okay. Yeah. No. Yeah. That, that, that, that was [00:11:00] my favorite Harley comic. Okay. Interpretation of her because I'm, the only way I can get the original is the Batman animated comics and they, those are. They do season one and stop season two. So I got to get her a little bit there. That's my kind of favorite.
Right. Very eclectic. I almost just treat them, I steal this from you. That's a different universe. Yeah, I think you have to. Because the Harley I'm getting now, with the ongoing series, that's ridiculous. I mean, that, that, you're trying to take it too far. Into the silly slapstick. So I've kind of given up on that.
It's been about six months that I've read... The Harley and Ivy book? No, the current one that's going on. The current Harley Quinn monthly. I don't love Harley, so I don't pick up any of her books. And I'll thumb through it. Yeah, since Rebirth. Yeah. Because when they started to use her in E52, She was in Suicide Squad first.
And, um, [00:12:00] I forget the guy who wrote that. Um... It's gone. Um, I think, I think the first trade is like kicked in the teeth or something like that. And, um, she's, she's psychotic. She's a dangerous psychotic. And so, yeah, stick, you know, stick a bomb in her neck. And, uh, let her go out and do jobs for Amanda Waller.
And, uh, that makes perfect sense. Adam Glass. Adam Glass. Thank you very much. Um, the costume, there was a, a change in the costume. Um, which I think really kind of played into the TNA aspects of the character. Uh, that weren't necessarily there to begin with. And played into the new 52 world they were trying to.
Something different. Yeah. Something different. Yeah. Something trashy because... Uh, I'm sure there's another show that we can discuss, uh, the treatment of, um, Starfire and, uh, uh, uh, and that in the New 52. I'm specifically talking about the Red Hood and the Outlaws, not the Palmiata and, uh, uh, Connor [00:13:00] miniseries, 52, they gave Wonder Woman more clothes.
They gave her pants. Didn't they? Yeah. No, no, no. That was before. That was before. That was, I think, when... Oh, I forget, I forget who was writing it. Yeah. I wonder when we got pants. No, no, not with New 52, because her New 52 story was the Brian Azarello and Cliff, uh, Chang, uh, thing with the Greek gods. Which, that was like one of the only things I liked about the New 52, that was, that was pretty good stuff.
That's why I stopped reading, by the way. Ah. Yeah, I, I stopped it. I was so mad because I had built up this lore. Like, uh, you know, I knew these characters, it's like watching a soap opera for years and years and years and you know all the stories and what happened and they restarted so none of the stuff I ever read mattered, nothing counted.
I was so pissed, so I was like, I'm done. But [00:14:00] you, then you got to experience what it was like when Crysis hit. Yeah. Because that's kind of what happened then as well, it's like, oh shoot, it's no more of two, three. But you know, at least they brought in some talented creators at the time. Like, you know. If you had to take my Wonder Woman away, at least you gave me George Perez rebooting it.
It was a different book. It was, it was. And then there's some talented people in New 52 as well. But yes, you, you, you, you had a lot more not. Oh yeah, an insane amount of not. Um, the Rebirth was better because there was some much... Like the Aquaman take on rebirth was really good, I thought. Anyway, we're getting far from Harley.
Yeah, so we'll go, yeah, circle back to Harley. So, yeah, so, Harley Quinn, uh, New 52, there you go. And then, they have this, oh gosh, it was such a wonderful thing. You've got, uh, Connor and Palmiati launch a Harley Quinn [00:15:00] book. With, is it John Timms, I think or not? I think. Um, which was funny and irreverent and wacky and silly and all the things you kind of expect to be done with Harley Quinn, uh, as a character.
Um, and it's not really got anything to do with the main DC universe, which is even better. They stick her on Coney Island, there's lots of dead beaver jokes. And, and it's just, it's a wonderful run, and I think because they were able to end it, that's like, okay, that, that works really well. But it's still not my Harley, because it's, it's something different, um, and it's, I don't know, it's just, it's, it's, it's a different voice, and that is okay.
We've talked in previous podcasts about there are some characters who I really think you can't, You can't step away from the characterisation, the pre established characterisation. [00:16:00] You're just going to make a mess or a mockery or both. Captain America, Superman are the two that I gave as examples.
Obviously with Harley Quinn I think you can do that. Um, but it brings up this interesting question which is what Scott and I were talking about. My Harley Quinn, just you, animated series. I hear Arlene Sorkin's voice and the way that that relationship plays out. But here's the interesting thing. And it ties in with what you were saying about Margot Robbie.
Is that Harley Quinn in Batman the Animated Series, I don't really view her as being in a, in an abusive relationship. And I'm, I'm, hopefully what I'm trying to say here comes across well. Because the last thing I want is anyone to hear this and thinking that I'm somehow advocating for abuse. Absolutely not.
But just the way it plays out, it, I mean, yes, of course, it's an abusive relationship, but not like Jared [00:17:00] Leto's relationship with Margot, uh, I almost said Margot Kidder, uh, that in another universe, Margot Kidder was Harley Quinn, um, and how awesome would that have been? Um, that is like abuse, clear, I mean, I'm gonna hurt you bad, or whatever, the electrodes.
And it's all just, oh my gosh. Really, in the animated series, the worst that you really see, to my memory, Um, which is in the, um, the Mad Love story, Is that you've got Harley and, yeah, Harley's in the pink, uh, uh, nightie. And she's, you know, the Joker's there at the table and he's got his tongue sticking out and he's trying, he's got his box of crayons and his paper, and he's trying to draw some new death trap that he can get Batman in, and it's driving him insane, he can't focus, and Harley jumps on the table in, in her, in her [00:18:00] underwear, again, can't, can't, uh, uh, under emphasize that enough.
In a children's cartoon, by the way. Absolutely. Oh, my gosh, stand up practice has had a field day with it. And she does the, the great line about, you know, you want to rev up your Harley. Oh, man, it's so good. And the Joker, he's, he gets this look on his face. It's a moment of exasperation. And it's also a moment where part of that exasperation, part of that frustration has to be that he is genuinely tempted to stop what he's doing, even though that is the most important thing to him.
We know this, this is Joker. He's plotting the demise of Batman, but for a moment there, he has to be tempted by this because she wouldn't do it if it hadn't worked previously. That's my take on it. It doesn't. He ends up throwing it down the stairs and she's down there commiserating with the hyenas still in the aforementioned pink [00:19:00] negligee.
Um, but it's the fact that there's this, it's just this wonderfully comical moment where you, anyone who's ever Been trying to work on something and has been distracted by their partner. On, on that level, the, why don't you come and play with me, you know, that kind of a thing. You, you know, like, I've really got to get this work done.
You know I have to get this work done. You're not playing fair. This is, and it's, it's, it's this almost sort of delightful conflict of. Yes, of course I want to go and play with you, and yes, boys and girls, I'm using play as a euphemism here. I want to go, you know, I could go back to schtipping, I was using that earlier, or whatever.
I mean, maybe they're talking about Legos, you don't know, that's... That's very true, you know, isn't there like some, in one of the cartoons or something, where there's, I brought the whoopee cushion, I don't know, anyway. [00:20:00] Um, but it's, and then of course, yeah, he throws it downstairs. But there's something about the relationship between the Joker and Harley Quinn.
I never fear for Harley's life in the animated series. The thing is, as dehumanized as the Joker may be, and as psychotic as the Joker may be, I never watched that show and I never felt that Harley's just within a breadth of death. Because one day the Joker's gonna get bored with her, and he's, and that'll be it.
I never got that sense at all. There's some, somehow, Harley Quinn got under the Joker's skin. So, whatever affection he is capable of, she has, she's captured. And the, the, the equation that I put to it, And it's, and, and, and I, Jason, I love you because you set me up perfectly for this [00:21:00] because you, you compared them in that, uh, in that movie view with, with Jared Leto and, and, and Margot Robbie, uh, this Bonnie and Clyde relationship when it comes to the animated series.
I actually view them, they're Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Yeah, they do that well. That's, that's, that's exactly, I could actually, and in some other multiverse, I firmly believe that Desi Arnaz got to play the Joker, and Lucille Ball got to play Holly Quinn, and it's I Love Lucy on Acid, and I would absolutely have adored to be able to watch that, because that's the nature of their relationship.
How many times in I Love Lucy was, uh, was, was Ricky To work on something, you know, he's, he's, he's got a tough gig at the, you know, the, at the club tonight and he's got to work on it and Lucy is doing something crazy with a vacuum cleaner, or she's [00:22:00] just, you know, he was writing out music and she accidentally.
Screwed that up and turned it into a firelighter, and it's, you know, and he rattles off a staccato of Cuban, and, and Lucille does a, you know, but that's it, that's, that's that relationship right there. That's exactly what it is. Because you never, Lucy makes Ricky's life a living hell sometimes. But I never believed that Ricky's like, you know, one of these days, Ricky's just gonna beat the living crap out of her, because I've had enough.
But I never got that sense for the Joker as well. Um, all the injuries that Harley sustains in that cartoon are very much byproducts. They're not necessarily directly from... Although I think there is one cartoon where, like, there's a bomb, and the Joker is like, Bye! You know, he's gonna leave her. I think you're thinking about, that was the first one, uh, Kaley Cuoco.
No, no, there is, there is. They did that in that one too, where [00:23:00] he leaves her on a boat, and he's waving. And that's an abusive relationship. I see the abuse there, and it bleeds in with that version of the character. But, Arlene Sorkin, I was reading, uh, um, the, uh, um, What do you call it when somebody passes away?
Obituary. Obituary, thank you. Suffer on that all night. I can remember the stupid lines in that killing joke song, but I can't remember the word obituary. And the Mandela effect, of course. Well, you know, you don't have time to put, you don't have time to store all those pedestrian words like obituary, so you just push those out of the hard drive.
And the best thing is, mate, is that you just used the word pedestrian in a context that I absolutely would have used it in, so that's fantastic. Um, is that they were talking about how, I think it was when Arlene's talking, because she... She went to college with Paul Dini. And so, Paul Dini kind of developed this character around Arlene [00:24:00] Sorkin.
And, uh, she was in the car going to the, um, you know, to the job interview, basically. Audition. Audition. Thank you. Another word that escaped me. And she sang, um, Adelaide's Lament. From Guys and Dolls. So here's a bit of homework for you kids. When you get done with this podcast, Go queue up Apple Music or go on YouTube or something like that.
What you really want to hear is the Faith Prince recording, the original stage recording of Guys and Dolls, and listen to Adelaide's Lament, and you hear that and it's like, oh, I can completely see where she got that character from. This kind of helium, ditzy, woman But there's a depth there. There's a pain there, but it's kind of come, that pain is kind of coming out in a ridiculous perspective and it's like, Oh yeah, and I'm so glad that I learned this now and not then because [00:25:00] 30 years ago I would be watching animated series with like, Oh, this is almost a definition of what Harley Quinn is, is kind of like, but I heard that I'm like, yeah, I know that movie.
Hold on a second and I went and played him like, Oh my God. Yeah, it's right there. It's brilliant. And it's the, the, the, the slapstick humor, the, the funny, again, my favorite line. And only, only Arlene Sorkin could have delivered this. Is when Harley, I forget what the setup is, but Arlene, they're talking about Harley Quinn and, and Harley Quinn goes, and I'm not even a real blonde.
And it's just lands so well. As do again, we talked about it in the last podcast, her playing the amazing grace on the kazoo. While the joke is giving this eulogy that Harley Quinn, that type of Harley Quinn works very, very well with that Joker. That Harley Quinn, let's say with Jared Leto's Joker. There's more.
Grant [00:26:00] Morrison's version of the Joker. I mean, there's a, um, I don't remember the issue. Six, uh, it's in the, it's in the low 600s. There's a text issue in, in Morrison's Batman run. It's the clown cries at midnight or the clown dies at midnight or something like that. There's a... Ooh, we've got the omnibuses right here.
We've got the omnibuses right here, yeah. Actually, it might even be in one of these. Um... The, uh, it's a text issue, and John Van Fleet did spot illustrations, and it's where we get the idea, Morrison's take on the Joker, which is, he's got a super, he's, actually the Joker's not insane, he's not crazy, Joker is suffering from a form of super sanity, which pushes him past The confines of what we understand sanity and insanity to be.
And because of that, he [00:27:00] changes. He's, he's in this, he's locked in this metamorphosis, which is why sometimes you get a Joker who's playful. Sometimes you get a Joker who's sadistic. Sometimes you get a Joker who's, you know, something else. And he goes through these changes and every time he does, that Joker's worldview changes around him.
So the previous. Kind of charming, rogue y, gangster, I need a, you know, every good gangster needs a mole. Okay. And, and, and this
podcast is brought to you by whatever that was. Um, is that, that, you could see Harley Quinn with that Joker. But when you get to Grant Morrison's thin, white Duke of Death Joker, which is, which is where the Joker suddenly looks like he's, you know. Part of the cast of Hellraiser. That Harley Quinn is going to be killed.
Like everyone else. Because it's all about the [00:28:00] death. It's got to be in the first volume. Um, so, What makes the Harley work, Whichever version of Harley you're looking at, Actually has, And I know this sounds like it's a disservice to the character, And I don't mean it that way at all. But it really also depends on what kind of joker made her that Harley Quinn.
Or what kind of joker contributed to that Harley Quinn. Because if you think about that Suicide Squad movie, Murder Doof, as Gail Simone so brilliantly called him, Murder Doof, with his damaged tattoo on his bloody forehead and his grills, Um, number one, It was Batman number 663. 663, okay. Um, check it out if, if you, if you want to read a really interesting Batman story, but it's, it's, it's, it's prose, it's not, it's not a comic book.
There are spot illustrations in it, but they published it in the issue. It's, it's quite a chilling, it's quite a chilling, kind of a creepy ass story [00:29:00] actually. But there's no way that I could see Arlene Sorkin's Harley Quinn putting up with Jared Leto's Joker for a second. She wouldn't even, there would be no attraction.
Yeah. He's a monster. Mr. J is charming. Right. Yeah. She, she'd be out. She'd be out. Yeah. She's not interested. No. So what, what Harley Quinn you like is really going to be influenced I think by what, what Joker did you care? So did I like Marco Robbie's Harley Quinn in the movies? No, because I couldn't get away from looking at her like you're an abused woman and somebody should be helping you.
That's, that is, that's actually what Angela said. Your wife goes, why didn't some Yeah, my wife. Yeah. Why didn't somebody help her? Yeah. Why doesn't somebody help her? Don't, don't stick this poor woman in a prison. Don't stick a bomb in her neck and have a go out on wacky adventures in sparkly hot pants.
Yeah. This woman needs help and, and she's troubled and this, this [00:30:00] poor girl. She's clearly suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Yeah. She's clearly been abused. I couldn't find that word. Thank you, Stockholm. We're just not That little space in the hard drive there. It's vocabulary builder kids. Yeah, that's it.
Um, the more you know. That's one to grow on. Um, but yeah, I, I, I don't like it at all. I love Margot Robbie and I think she does a great job at what she does, but I do not like that Harley Quinn. Yeah. Because I'm like, I can't, I can't laugh at this. I can't think, this isn't fun. This isn't sexy. This isn't cute.
This is a, this is an abused woman. This is an abusive relationship. So we had a guy in the shop yesterday and he was looking for the life sized Harley Quinn one to one statue. And, um, we can't order them anymore. We used to be, we, there was a time when we could order that from, from Diamond. And, um, this guy, he's, he's super into Harley.
Like he has a, he's wearing a [00:31:00] Harley shirt. I think he has a tattoo, but he was like, he's super into Harley. Um, And he's a maker of sorts, and he's made a replica gun of her, you know, big revolver. Yeah. He's made, he's made a replica, he actually has two that he's made, and he wanted the life size Harley, I was, but he was totally into Harley, it was that Harley, it was the animated Harley.
Right. And he was like, it's, it's in the original costume, right? The original costume. Yes. The gesture, the, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, before she actually had bleached skin. And, you know, anyway, so there you go, that's, you know, that's my two minute. Some people love Harley. I, I personally don't love Harley. I think she's okay.
I don't think she is, does she have her own book okay? Like, if you can't consistently keep a Joker book, how is it that you're, you've got his sidekick consistently having a book? Well, I, I would, I would take that argument [00:32:00] to the nth degree and say I don't think you should ever have a Joker book because The Joker should be, the Joker should be a force of nature that you bump into in a dark, creepy alley, not, I don't, I don't need to read about the adventures of, It's that Dracula thing.
Well, so, but see, this, I'm tracking, this, you're tracking with me exactly. Yeah. But see, I don't think the Joker's best henchman needs a book. No, and that's why, and I completely agree with you. I, I didn't follow the Terry Dodson run, Gorgeous Art, but I'm like, no, it's, I don't, I don't want to see that. I, I want to, I want, I kind of want to keep that one special.
But I did read the Connor Palmiotti run. Yeah. Because I trusted them from the work that they did on... Uh, Power Girl, and I think The Pro. Uh, so I know they've got a wicked sense of humor, and they're a lot of fun. So I'm like, oh, I'll give this a go, and it was great. But also, it was not mired in any continuity at all.
It just kind of exists on its own plane. And, and I don't think, when I look at a [00:33:00] lot of the Harley iteration, you know, they're not trying to put her up on a pedestal. They're not, they're not playing her as a criminal either, that is seeking any kind of redemption art. I almost treat it as a, here's Harley having another wacky day, you know, and, and, oh, and just, uh, there just happens to be explosions, um, because, because sometimes it's fun just to read a book like that and to be able to just pitch it on the pile and be done with it.
But, so like the beginning of Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey, that movie, the beginning of that movie. That was a pretty fun Harley to watch, like that, what you were talking about, like Harley having a wacky day and there's explosions. Oh, yeah. That, I mean, that's, that's actually what that section was.
That whole Montoya going, oh, Joker, she's broken up with the Joker and here it is. That, that was, that was a little fun.
Going with what you were saying, I lost my train of thought. [00:34:00] I was, well, I originally was saying, I just don't, I, like, I'm not sure why Harley has, Harley's headlining three movies. I haven't been able to get three good Batman movies, three good Superman movies. But I've got three Harley Quinn headlined movies.
Because she taps into... Because Margot Robbie is a good actress. Well, yeah, she's a good actress. I mean, whether it's a good movie or not is, is separate. I don't know. I think there's kind of, there's a bit of a right girl quality to her. There's, uh, she's, you know, there's some danger there. There's, well, you know.
I, I will say, and, and, and. She looks good in everyone's pants. Your, your daughters may have opinions. I know what my grandkids, there's a chunk of them that. You know, they experienced Harley in the Justice League, Bruce Timm cartoon, just once. And I got to see her pop up there. [00:35:00] And, you know, Batman Animated Series, um, reruns.
They didn't get the, you know, it wasn't like us getting to see it right when it popped up. But there was something that grabbed, it's another one of those, it's a generational thing, it's something where they grab on to. She stood up to the abusive, she got away from the guy, she got away and, and for us as three males, we don't know, we don't, we don't know that journey and, and they've, you know, they've turned her from a wacky joker ex girlfriend to now she's with Poison Ivy and that, that resonates with a whole nother group that, you know.
And I applaud, I applaud that, but it's never going to be a story that I'm going to be able to go, yes, I know what, what they're feeling. I know what they're going through. She took back her power. Yeah, I don't know anything about that, but I think that's great. So when three men are sitting here going, I don't know why they keep cranking it out.[00:36:00]
Deep down, we're all like, yeah, Margot Robbie and the Hot Pants, we'll buy that all. I mean, because it did turn the convention circuit into every other female was a cosplaying Harley, Margot Robbie, Harley Quinn. I can't tell you how many puddin collars I found on the ground, you know, just all over the place.
So it's another, it's another one of those, I don't, I don't know if we're meant to know. Well, I, I don't, I don't know. I think, I think it's, this is definitely a, it lives in the, the eye of the beholder moment. So I absolutely do. But I've got, I've got two thoughts for you on this. Um, the first thought is, is that this actually plays into a conversation that my wife and I have had off and on for years.
And it's the difference between. When, when you consider actresses, in particular, this, this really does, this, this conversation really is, is about actresses. The difference between beauty and [00:37:00] sexy, and when you say that someone is beautiful, that doesn't actually mean that they're sexy. And vice versa. So you can have, you can have actresses who can actually play that sexy role.
You wouldn't necessarily, you wouldn't consider them like model esque beauty. Yeah. And it's also, it also kind of falls into the, who would you rather go out with? The girl that's the stunner, or the girl that you can have a laugh with. And, you know, the shallow aspect of us will say, well, the stunner, because, you know.
But really... I think, especially if you've got any intelligence about you, you actually want to go out with the girl who's, who's going to make you laugh. Yeah. Because that's, that's a long term engagement right there. You, you keep each other on, on your toes. Yeah. And you've got, [00:38:00] especially, oh, some wit. Oh, I get, I, I give great wit.
Um. So, when, so the crazy thing about all of this is, crazy. Look at that, look at that, but yeah, there you go, two for two, is who's sexier Margot Robbies, who is a real person and she's very beautiful, Margot Robbies Harley Quinn, or the animated version of Harley Quinn that Arlene Sorkin, uh, voiced. And I would say that's actually the sexier one.
That's the Harley Quinn that I would actually like to get to know. That's how that character became so popular. If that character had begun with the Margot Robbie Suicide Squad thing, I don't think there would be any longevity to that character at all. I really don't. I agree. I think that's a good point.
And my second, my second point, and I, um, um, is this, and I'm reminded of, again, Mandela Effect time. I [00:39:00] think it was Maxim Magazine, but I could be wrong. I probably am. This was years ago. They put forth a question, some men's magazine, they put forward a question, and the question was this. Who is sexier? We're not talking about beauty, we're talking about sexy, we're talking about, I would like, you know, in the common parlance, I'd tap that.
I believe that's what the cool kids are saying these days. Is that what it is? I believe it. I don't think they are. I'm not sure, what does that mean exactly? Well it certainly isn't schtupping, I'll tell you that. That might be. Unless you're Mel Brooks, you're not, okay. And it was who is in your, in your opinion, and I'm going to put this to you gentlemen, and you better tell the truth.
Who do you think is sexier? Here we go. Ready? Raquel Welsh in one million years BC. You know the famous picture. They used it in Shawshank Redemption. There's Raquel with the little fur bikini thing. You know, she's, she's [00:40:00] sexy and she's gorgeous and she's fighting dinosaurs. Or. Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins.
Now I'm going to leave that with you gentlemen for just a second. I might even hum the Jeopardy theme while you're considering your answers. Doo doo doo doo. No that's, okay. So, do you have an answer? I do have an answer. I'm interested in your answer first. I'm probably gonna go Raquel Welch. You're going to go Raquel Welch.
Okay. Something about fighting dinosaurs. Something about fighting dinosaurs. Okay. Luckily, I'm pretty sure my wife will never listen to this. So at first I was like, you're completely safe because you're not married. But this is a safe place. Judgment free zone. Nobody's going to hear. No one will know. And anyone who is isn't going to tell.
Yeah. Cause you know, Lord knows Angela won't listen to it. So, um, I think I'm also Raquel Welch. Like not the Julie Andrews. Like pure sexiness. Definitely Raquel Welch. Okay. [00:41:00] So. Do you feel like we answered wrong? Oh, wait. Here's a punchline. Here you go. The results of this question to the readers, interestingly enough, because you had to kind of explain your answer as well.
Okay. Was Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins? Because those are some twisted. No, no, it's better than that. It's better than that, because when it comes to Raquel Welch, One Million Years B. C., you see everything you're going to get. She is scantily clad, there's no mystery, it's all there. She is prehistoric dinosaur fighting woman.
When it comes to Julie Andrews, and I'm, I can't quote this exactly because it's been years, but I'm close enough to land, to land it, okay, to stick the landing. One of the responders said, no, no, no, it's Julie Andrews, it's Mary Poppins. Because you know, [00:42:00] under all that type of constrictive Victorian outer garb, she's wearing some frickin hot lingerie.
And she... Will be the one to help the medicine go down. She's got a saucy side to her and I remember reading this like Yeah, actually, yeah, you know, she's she you know, she's she's great with the kids during the day. She's great at cleaning up She's presentable. She's respectable. You can you know, Lord and Lady McBlah blah blah have just come in.
Oh, hello This is Mary Poppins. She is our children's, you know, nanny and then at night it's Those clothes come off and, you know, there you go. Yeah, there's a saucy side to her. And, again, it's, do you want the girl who's gonna, uh, you know, is the arm candy? Or do you want the girl who's gonna make you laugh?
And, if you're lucky, you [00:43:00] get both. She does have great wit. She's got an umbrella that flies. She's got a fabulous singing voice. And she can make cartoon penguins whenever she wants. So that works out. The um, So there are some pros here. My apologies to anyone who is even remotely offended. You can email me your complaints at stevesaintjamesatmultiverse.
com We're also multiverse. shop
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See you next time. [00:44:00]
