DCAU #295: Mightier Than the Sword

IN THIS ONE... The Joker wants to stop a cured Harley Quinn from writing a tell-all.

CREDITS: Written by Ty Templeton; art by Rick Burchett and Terry Beatty.

REVIEW: So what's been happening while Batman and Batgirl are in Tibet? (Aside from the media saying Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon are an item, of course.) Well, Harley Quinn is released from Arkham with a clean bill of mental health, and just-as-accurate rumors that she's going to write a tell-all about her relationship with the Joker are being floated on television. The Joker finds this unacceptable, hijacks Poison Ivy's escape plans and makes a run at Harley, while Robin and Nightwing hold down the fort.

It's a lot of fun, and not without its thrills (Robin gets Joker-gassed, for example), but mostly, it's quite funny. Harley hides out in a hotel for incognito writers amusingly called the DeMilo Arms, where Salman Rushdie is also staying (oh fatwa jokes!). Her pet hyenas do a number of the furniture. Harley plungers Nightwing's face. And everyone gets at least one funny line.

In the end, it's revealed that Harley's book is a fictional romance between a supervillainess and a superhero, which angers the Joker even more. But disabled by poison ivy (the itchy plant), he lies prone while Harley pulls a Misery on him. The boys intervene, the Joker survives, there are some tears, but at least for now, Harl keeps a hold of her sanity... THIS time. Post-animated show, we seem to be a sweet spot where arcs can play out in longer form. I'm not unhappy about that at all.
IN THE MAINSTREAM COMICS: The name Harley chooses for her heroine's romantic interest is Owlman, which is the name of Earth-3's evil equivalent of Batman.

REREADABILITY: Medium-High - A new chapter in Harley Quinn's life comes with some laughs!

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