Earlier this week, the internet united as one to protest against DC’s rule that Batman cannot perform oral sex on a woman. The surreal farrago was sparked by an article in Variety which included an interview with Harley Quinn showrunner Justin Halpern. He said that DC and Warner Bros. give them a surprising amount of freedom when writing the show, but they drew a line in the sand when it came to a scene where Batman goes down on Catwoman, saying “heroes don’t do that.”
Social media disagreed, though. Since then, we’ve seen a torrent of hilarious memes springing up all over the place, most rightly pointing out that Batman is canonically a sensitive lover, that there’s no way Catwoman is going out with a guy who won’t go down, and that the Dark Knight wears a cowl with handles for ears. Even Val Kilmer – who played the hero in Batman Forever –Â chimed in, posting a romantic clip from the movie and asking: “Does he or doesn’t he…?”
This wasn’t the reaction Halpern anticipated when he gave the quote, though, and he’s now responded to it by simply saying:
So uhhhh watch Harley Quinn on HBO Max?
— Justin Halpern (@justin_halpern) June 15, 2021
One of the more subtly amusing aspects of all this was DC stating that the rule is because Batman is a character for children and exists primarily to sell toys – which feels like they’ve accidentally said the quiet part out loud.
Anyhow, this should hopefully draw some more attention to the excellent Harley Quinn, which is back with new episodes later this year. So far, we’ve seen Harley and Ivy’s fractious friendship, with season 2 ending with them as a couple. The upcoming story will see the damaged supervillains trying to strengthen their relationship, along with criticism of the useless GCPD and the ominous return of the Joker.
Harley Quinn will be back in late 2021 on HBO Max.
