Yep, we’re doing this again, kids.
I’m not sure how you restore the Spider-Marriage and undo the devil deal that erased it at the same time. It’s gone on long enough that there are new readers as detached from the Parker spouses as I am from Gwen Stacy. However, she keeps popping back in so who knows? Comics are weird.
I was wondering what I was going to discuss at the end of the week, especially given the busy week I have and then Benny from Comicstorian gave me something to respond to. Put him on the list of people against the Spider-Marriage for reasons I don’t agree with. That means put me on the list of pro-Spider-Marriage people who don’t agree with him. I’ve had this argument with Kurt Busiek himself, one of my favorite writers (provided we never discuss politics), on Twitter about superhero marriages. Not every superhero should be married but Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson were made for each other and the disagreement comes to how we view what Peter stands for as the “everyman” and how that should be approached. As it turns out we also disagree on what role Mary Jane can have when it comes to her life with Peter. It’s actually quite easy to fit her in. Let me show you what Benny said and then I’ll offer my counter position.
The Flanderizing Of Harley Quinn
Ever since the writers at Batman: The Animated Series put Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy together as an occasional team and supervillain besties the pair have been fanshipped even before the term existed. Heck, I even fell for it whether it was the intention of the writers or not. Given Harley’s quest to be loved and accepted you could make the case. Then again nobody ever shipped her with her two pet hyenas….and if I’m wrong about that for the love of God let me remain ignorant! My point is that seeing queer coding in strong friendships isn’t something people just came up with.
However, over time it seems like Harley Quinn has gone from a closeted psychiatrist who tried to keep her feelings bottled up until the Joker did his own mind games to someone was always an evil psychopath and I know that was not the intention. Harleen Quinzell is tied to the Joker because she represents those in a toxic relationship, although it’s possibly being with Pamela Isley, the eco-extremist known as Poison Ivy, isn’t exactly healthy either.
I don’t think Ivy started out as a eco-terrorist though. It was something Batman: The Animated Series added in. She was just a criminal with a plant gimmick when she started out. It’s another example of how the DCAU created iconic versions of characters whether it was their first post-comics appearance or not. Or maybe the comics had her as an eco-terrorist and B:TAS took it from there. I’m not that tied to Harley’s history or the 1990s period because it was the 90, the pre-DiDio period of DC’s going dark and gritty. (He just made it worse and took all the positivity the 90s at least kept going.) The two make a
goodeffective villain team but are they really a good couple?Not according to YouTuber ShineyFX. In an episode of his commentary show The Trooper’s Den Shiney examines the de-evolution in his opinion of Harley Quinn and what role Poison Ivy plays in that. His primary sources are her appearances in B:TAS and in Harley’s HBO Max adult comedy show. In one part he’s joined by Eerie The Ghost, formerly (or should I say “the late”) The Bored Enthusiast, who also goes over why making Harley a “strong independent woman” actually robs her of complexity and regresses her as a character.
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Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on March 14, 2023 in Animation Spotlight, DC Spotlight, Streaming Spotlight, Television Spotlight and tagged commentary, Harley Quinn, HBO Max, Poison Ivy.
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