It has been five years since Harley Quinn originally started on the DC Universe streaming service before switching over to Max (formally known as HBO Max). It’s safe to say that Harley Quinn is a show that puts an adult twist on all the famous DC characters, and while it was unique, funny, and interesting for the first few seasons, the quality of writing has unfortunately declined, and instead of focusing on creating a captivating story, they’ve decided to focus on meta jokes. Now we’ve got our first spin-off, and the villain that’s leading it is none other than Kite-Man.
Kite-Man had a heavy presence in the first two seasons of Harley Quinn, as he was originally dating Poison Ivy and eventually engaged to her, but their wedding came to a halt in the season 2 finale when Harley confessed that she loved Poison Ivy, leaving Kite-Man at the altar and single. Luckily, he came across Golden Glider, who has become his new girlfriend and partner in crime. This new spin-off show, titled Kite-Man: Hell Yeah!, follows Kite-Man (Matt Oberg) and Golden Glider (Stephanie Hsu) as they begin to take their relationship to the next level by buying and running a bar for villains in Gotham. It’s not an easy job, but while trying to run a bar and keep a hold of their relationship, chaos begins to ensue right underneath their feet.
The fact that Kite-Man was chosen over all the villains is hilarious. Originally, it was a meme that the Kite-Man show was going to be the best thing ever, but ironically, it’s very good and makes a lot of sense why they chose Kite-Man out of all the characters. He’s a C-list villain who doesn’t have any powers, is a pushover, and, in all honesty, is quite lame. It’s sad to say, but he’s relatable to most people. Just like in Harley Quinn, this show consists of characters telling Kite-Man how lame he is. At one point, Golden Glider tells him that his power is his heart, and while that may sound cheesy to tell someone with no power, it’s a message that’s strongly important, as many people don’t realise how much power they hold simply by showing that you care about someone.
A lot of characters from Harley Quinn make their appearance in Kite-Man: Hell Yeah!, such as Lex Luthor, who is now voiced by the late Lance Reddick instead of Giancarlo Esposito, Queen of Fables (Janelle James), and Bane (James Adomian). Lex Luthor has a rather prominent role as one of this show’s many villains, as he holds one of the strongest items in the DC Universe that holds so much power that everyone wants it. While I love Harley Quinn’s supporting cast, Kite-Man’s supporting cast feels more in unison; some characters don’t get along and others love each other; it’s a similar set of characteristics, but overall they’re more likeable. With Bane as one of the lead characters, he gets a lot of screen time. With him being one of the best characters from Harley Quinn, it’s great to see him be able to share the spotlight with Kite-Man; he’s this show’s Clayface but is less annoying, funnier, and a better character. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy even appear in the first episode as cameos, and while it was expected to see them at one point in the show, it was still a delight when they showed up.
The first episode of this show is well-paced; it shows us where Kite-Man and Golden Glider are currently in the world, sets them up to buy Noonan’s bar, and has several plot lines that will stretch the entire season. The fourth episode is where it starts to feel like the story is kicking in and is one of the best episodes in the season. What I love about this show is that it remembers to develop these characters. None of them feel one-dimensional and all have depth as they each get development at one point in the show, even when you expect them to forget about certain characters. Kite-Man and Golden Glider grow not only as a couple but as individual characters; they get arcs that revolve around their insecurities, and we get to witness how they come to terms with them. This show felt more serial than Harley Quinn, as each episode almost ended with a cliffhanger that would set up the story for the next episode.
Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! is truly a return to form with how the first two seasons of Harley Quinn felt: extremely story-oriented with outrageous humour. The last two seasons have focused more on their outrageous humour, making countless meta jokes to the point where they became repetitive. When it comes to the humour of this show, it still has outrageous humour, but it feels more courteous as they don’t overdo it with the meta jokes, and it’s more jokes in line with the DC universe itself. There’s a joke where a character says, “Rub my balls and tell me how Brexit actually helps minorities.” If this joke had appeared in Harley Quinn, it would’ve made me roll my eyes, as many other similar jokes would’ve followed suit. We’ve entered an era of shows thinking it’s hilarious to dump their shows with meta jokes, and that’s honestly just lazy writing and an embarrassment to the craft.
In all its entirety, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! feels refreshing to watch; it has a story filled with many plot twists that at one point even made me sit up from my relaxed position; it’s entertaining, captivating, emotional, and has so much humour that makes your cheeks ache (not those cheeks).
The overall villain of the season is Darkseid; even when he’s designed to fit this universe, he can still be threatening and has Keith David attached, who does wonders for the character with their outstanding performance. The overall performance of the voice actors for this show is great, with several characters being recast from the original series, like Lex Luthor, and though Giancarlo Esposito did a magnificent job, Lance’s voice ends up fitting Lex so well, and it feels great to hear his voice once more.
The series leads up to a finale that awards you for watching the previous nine episodes and also teases the future of the show and the possible next threats. This is a set of characters that I want to return to, and I can only hope that this show doesn’t decrease in quality like its predecessor, Harley Quinn.
