'Harley Quinn': What exactly is going on with Sy Borgman, the Jewish, geriatric, cyborg in Harley's crew?
Spoiler alert for episode 11 of 'Harley Quinn'
Sy Borgman's (Jason Alexander) mysterious past has so far only been hinted at on 'Harley Quinn,' but it's certainly been bizarre. He's a former spy with a giant purple tentacle monster for a sister, and is surprisingly wheelchair-bound for someone with cybernetic parts. 'Harley Quinn Highway' finally reveals his origins - albeit in the most horrific way possible. With his strange origins now revealed, it's worth taking a closer look at the character.
Despite his origins being firmly placed in the 1960s, Borgman is a relatively recent introduction to the DC Universe. Created by Amanda Connor, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Chad Hardin he was introduced in 'Harley Quinn' #2 (2014) as a geriatric Jewish man living in a nursing home. When Harley Quinn disguises herself as a normal person to get a job working there, he quickly deduces her identity and enlists her help to settle some old scores from his spy days. He quickly becomes a close ally of hers.
Borgman is a little bit of a 'Bionic Man' parody. He's a spy from the 1960s, whose body was augmented with the technology of the time, saving the world as Syborg. That technology, sadly, has not been updated in over half a century, and in his old age Sy needs a motorized wheelchair to be able to carry his mechanical parts around.
Sy enlists the aid of Harley Quinn in tracking down a gang of underbosses, hiding in the US, and remains an ally of hers through the series. His great-niece, Hannah Borgman, later joins Harley's 'Gang of Harleys' under his advisement and takes on the name "Hannuquinn"
The Sy Borgman on the show remains more or less the same. He's introduced as Poison Ivy's (Lake Bell) disgruntled landlord, before insinuating himself into Harley's crew. His cybernetic augmentations are apparently more extensive than his comic book counterpart's, however, as the latest episode of 'Harley Quinn' illustrates. When the crew's ride is stolen, Sy narrates his origins as he literally tears himself apart to reveal that he can, with excruciating effort, turn himself into a car. He calls himself a Transchanger - an obvious dig at the 'Transformer' characters.
With the latest episode officially making Sy a part of the crew, we're likely to see a lot more of the surprisingly lethal old man. His history as a secret agent appears to be extensive and is a plot point that can be mined extensively to explore the weird history of DC's past. For the moment, though, he's not going anywhere until someone can figure out how to fix an obsolete car-human that's broken down, and in agony.
The next episode of 'Harley Quinn' airs February 14, on DC Universe.