One of the primary focuses of the Harley Quinn animated series is the friendship between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. Particularly in the first season, the show emphasizes just how strong and powerful friendship can be as the two partners in crime always have each other’s back through thick and thin.
But Harley and Ivy are not the only friendship in the show. In fact, Harley Quinn has a number of unlikely friendships among favorite Batman rogues, lesser-known villains, and even some of the original characters created for the show. While unexpected, these relationships entertain as well as sometimes being essential to the storyline.
Clayface And King Shark
Clayface and King Shark are both key members of Harley’s crew, even if their debuts are an episode apart. In “Finding Mr. Right,” Clayface brings in King Shark to help Harley find a nemesis, claiming that the man-shark hybrid took Clayface’s social media followers from eight to eighteen.
While their friendship is perhaps guaranteed due to both being in Harley’s crew, the fact they were friends before the show’s timeline is unlikely, seeing as one is an over-the-top wannabe actor and the other is a mellow man-shark computer geek. Regardless, their friendship is solid (especially considering everything between their leader Harley and Ivy, and the treachery of Dr. Psycho) and a delight to watch.
Bane And Joshua Cobblepot
An original character in the show, Joshua Cobblepot is the nephew of the Penguin. After Harley accidentally wrecks his bar mitzvah, Joshua puts a hit out on Harley using his uncle’s corporate card, only for Bane to step in and set things right.
The interaction between Bane and Joshua is one of the show’s highlights. Even though this version of Bane is one of Harley Quinn’s most wholesome characters, it is unexpected to see the hulking villain who “broke the Bat” scold a teenager for abuse of a corporate card, and give him a pep talk. The latter is a very sweet moment and it would have been awesome to see more of this friendship.
The Cobb Squad
Named after a previous incident when Catwoman ordered cobb salads for Harley and Ivy without asking, the Cobb Squad is Ivy and her bridal party, which is consists of a ragtag group: Harley, Catwoman, Nora Fries (Mr. Freeze’s widow), and Jennifer, an old school friend of Ivy’s.
The group started off sour for various reasons but soon began to get along and they took down Eris during Ivy’s bachelorette weekend. The friendships are all very unlikely anyway for varying reasons. Catwoman, in particular, is the most unusual, as she is shown to be aloof and disinterested in anyone but herself. Regardless, this team of unlikely ladies is an unexpected delight.
Commissioner Gordon And Clayface’s Arm
One of the oddest and unexpected plotlines is in “You’re a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon,” in which Clayface loses his arm and it develops consciousness. What becomes even more strange is when Commissioner Gordon befriends the arm during interrogation.
While extremely unlikely for a number of reasons, the friendship between Clayface’s arm and Gordon is surprisingly one of the show’s most wholesome moments. Innocent and child-like, Clayface’s arm ultimately helped Gordon mend his relationship with Batman before returning to Clayface.
Frank The Plant And Chaz
One of the funniest characters in Harley Quinn is Frank, a foul-mouthed sentient plant who acts as Ivy’s roommate. Formerly just comic relief, Frank soon becomes a part of the crew, and it is perhaps partially thanks to Chaz, his “pot guy” – both as in weed and as in carrying Frank’s pot around.
This friendship is unlikely due to the fact that they are both original characters, not to mention that a plant has a pot dealer in the first place. Regardless, it is Chaz that gets Frank on the road to rescue Harley after he learns Ivy is in trouble although Chaz’s own endeavors do ultimately hinder the mission.
Batgirl And Harley Quinn
Barbara Gordon is introduced as a university student in season 2, where she befriends Harley and Ivy who are disguised as students. Later, when she decides to become Batgirl, she goes to warn Harley about Gordon’s plans to take her down.
Although Harley is now part of the Bat-Family in the comics, it is still unlikely to see one of Batman’s closest and more logical allies become friends with Harley Quinn, an anti-hero who acts before she thinks. But this friendship is definitely for the better, as Batgirl does see there’s good in Harley and tries to tell her father to call off his attack against her.
Dr. Psycho And The Riddler
Even though it’s more of a partnership than a friendship, the teaming up of Dr. Psycho and the Riddler is one of the show’s unlikely pairings and season 2’s unexpected plot twists. Originally Harley’s captive, the Riddler is ultimately released by Dr. Psycho after he quits the crew.
One reason why their partnership is unlikely is that they are villains of two different superheroes (Dr. Psycho is Wonder Woman’s nemesis.) But perhaps the biggest unlikely reason is their egos, in particular Dr. Psycho, a disgraced former member of the Legion. While unlikely, the partnership ended up being a very effective one, and they nearly succeeded in taking over Gotham.
Members Of The Legion Of Doom
In Harley Quinn, the Legion of Doom consists of Gotham’s most elite supervillains, including the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin, Two-Face, and many more. As a result, members of the Legion behave more like colleagues towards each other, some even bordering on friendship.
This is best shown in the episode “A High Bar.” At the start of the episode, Scarecrow and Bane are gossiping about the Joker and Harley in the Legion’s break room. And later, along with Two-Face, they are seen taking the night off villainy to attend Joshua Cobblepot’s bar mitzvah hosted by the Penguin. With most of them with such massive egos, it’s brilliant to see some of Batman’s most fiendish villains just hanging out together. It’s a pity the Legion of Doom in general didn’t get more screen time in Harley Quinn.
Batman And Commissioner Gordon
Although their relationship varies across the DC Universe, Batman and Commissioner Gordon have always had a strong working relationship. Harley Quinn takes a different approach to their relationship, seeing the run-down commissioner wanting to talk to Batman about his life and issues outside of fighting crime.
Batman is of course uninterested but his screensaver in the Batcave reveals both hilariously and touchingly that he actually does care about Gordon. Seeing the two long-term allies have this sort of relationship for the first time is both refreshing and hilarious, as well as helping Harley realize how important her crew is to her.
Harley And Her Crew
Wanting to find her own crew in the episode “So You Need a Crew?”, Harley ends up deciding to recruit underdogs like herself. Although Harley initially sees them as just her crew to start, she soon realizes how important they are to her and they become some of her most loyal friends.
Being essentially a motley crew of various villains of different leagues, Harley’s relationship with her crew is certainly a very unlikely friendship. Aside from Dr. Psycho’s ultimate betrayal, the strength of the loyalty among them is what essentially makes them a formidable force in Gotham.
