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'Harley Quinn' Season 2 Episode 11 offers treat for fans with several references to Joker's comic book history

The episode puts all its Easter Eggs in one basket, with several references to the Joker's comic book past
PUBLISHED JUN 12, 2020
Still from 'Harley Quinn' (DC Universe)
Still from 'Harley Quinn' (DC Universe)

Spoilers for 'Harley Quinn' Season 2 Episode 11 - 'A Fight Worth Fighting For'

After a season of living life in blissful ignorance of his own dark past, the Joker (Alan Tudyk) is back, and this episode is putting all of its Easter Eggs in one basket. 'A Fight Worth Fighting For' contains several references to the Joker's long comic book history though one has been running through the series all season long. The first reference happens right off the bat, as the Joker emerges from the vat of acid his old, bleach-skinned self. His fingers go into his hair, and he immediately starts laughing wildly as a response to his transformation. The moment distinctly mirrors that famed panel from 'The Killing Joke' by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, where the Joker erupts into laughter after seeing his transformed self in the mirror for the first time. 

Still from 'Harley Quinn' besides panel from 'The Killing Joke' (DC Universe, Moore/Bolland/DC Comics)

The next reference is hidden, unsurprisingly, in a file on the Batcomputer as Batman (Diedrich Bader) looks the Joker and Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) up. The Joker's known associates are listed as Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger and Bob Kane -- in other words, the Joker's co-creators, who made history when they created the character in 1940. It's a great blink-and-you'll-miss-it nod, meant for Easter Egg hunters to pause their screen at, much like Harley Quinn's own file a few episodes earlier.

Lastly is the story that's been running all through Season 2 of 'Harley Quinn' -- Joker's life as a sane man. It is a reference to a story that ran in 'Legends of the Dark Knight' called 'Going Sane' by J M DeMatteis and Joe Staton. In it, the Joker believes that he has killed Batman, accomplishing his life's work. He immediately gets his skin and hair fixed, and apparently forgets he was ever the Joker in the first place. He lives the normal life of a man known as Joseph Kerr, or simply Jo Kerr. 

Panels from 'Legends of the Dark Knight' #66 (Matteis/Staton/Mitchell/DC Comics)

Though he's forgotten his life as the Joker, his past still comes back to haunt him, and Joseph Kerr must fight to keep his homicidal self safely repressed. The return of Batman, however, sends him over the edge -- much like the reappearance of Harley Quinn on the show starts reminding the Joker of who he is. A look at the panels above show just how much 'Going Sane' influence the sane version of the Joker, from the extra-long chin to his well-mannered demeanor. Unlike the Joseph Kerr of the comics, however, the Joker actually remembers his life as a sane man and returns to the arms of the woman he'd fallen in love with. It's a happier ending overall of the Joker, but in all honesty, we're not sure he deserves it.

The next episode of 'Harley Quinn' airs June 17 on DC Universe. 

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