Where we last left off, Deadshot shot himself dead.. oh hey look at that.
**laughs for ten minutes complete with knee slapping and near choking**
H'oh boy. That was good. Aaaahh... I needed that before I get into....
Yeah anyway, that happened so now we have another tie in comic! This time it's for Death of the Family - a Joker-centric cross over instead of just Resurrection Man (which I still haven't read, I really hope it keeps the editors awake at night!!)
The cover is standard for this event, obviously with different faces depending on which comic you read. It really bothers me how Harley seems to have a more greeny-teal colour to her eyes and a friggin' Glasgow and or Chelsea smile. Also no neck. Good luck eating anything, you clown.
Anyway, somehow the Squad is allowed out of their cells to attend a funeral for Deadshot. I see his family isn't present though. It couldn't have been too short notice though because Harley's had time to go shopping for a funeral corset. Between that and the fact that the angel looks an awful lot like Adam of He-Man fame.. I sure don't know what to make of this funeral.
I mean, damn! I love to dabble in buckles and fishnets but that outfit is the kind of thing super Goths would look at and say whoa man, don't you think you should tone it down a little?
Where would she even FIND that? Did she make it? If so, good gravy why? Where's her belly button? Was her make-up shithouse and runny before she started crying? Why does Harley Quinn wear inappropriate attire to every funeral she attends since the whole New52 thing started?
Predictably - every graveside visit must be followed by rain. This time, it's green rain. Ooh, I wonder what THAT means? A low rent rip off of The Last Laugh? A 'surprise' cameo that no one will be surprised about? Terrible characterisation between Joker and Harley? All of the above?
Harley's overjoyed to see her Joker again and doesn't even question how he made it rain. I sure do though. Yeah, he did it in The Last Laugh but he had an army of crazed villains on his side, some of them with weather powers to help. Here, we have no choice but to assume he has now become a water bender.
Oh okay, he's got two goons spraying hoses... which is somehow really effective and gets everyone at the funeral without them noticing.
I'm also questioning where Harley's buckles and belts went because it looks like she's wearing a much nicer albeit still stupid mermaid dress. Joker punches her in the face because he doesn't like how she's changed.
I'm actually still trying to figure out where Joker was.. the aerial shot of the cemetery combined with the direction Joker called Harley from doesn't match up. The gravestones don't match either and everything is all haphazard and.. man, this is one lousy job at building a graveyard. No wonder no one in comics stays dead, that can't rest with all this annoying stuff happening!
So this is another bug a bear with the New52 universe. THIS Harley and Joker.. you have never seen their relationship apart from a tiny flashback in the Hunt for Harley issues. What we have had is Harley pining over her love, wanting to show him how kewl she is now and reminiscing about fun times in their fun house. Basically, we have nothing solid to go on about what their relationship was actually like because it had pretty much ended by the time New52 rolled in.
Maybe they did have a romance for a short while? Maybe Harley, now being a split personality in this continuity also has a distorted memory of the past. Maybe it's always been this abusive.
Their relationship copped a lot of flack before the New52 but at least it was fairly fleshed out. There were times when you saw the abuse, and times when they worked as a team and seemed to enjoy each others company.
Here though, it's just flat out abuse.
More than that though, it doesn't seem like the Joker. He says he's stalked her, followed her, watched the Suicide Squad come together 'sort of like a family.' Yes, reference another comic featuring Harley that was much better than this one.
Now he's punching her in the face and mimicking fellatio with a frickin' blade.
Where's the funny? Is it in Harley saying "ouchie!" after she got cut? Mmm.... no.
Joker just seems so... obvious.. about everything. He doesn't seem to have the nuance that made him such an interesting villain in the first place. Now he's all "I hate you but you made out with this other guy so now I'm gonna kill them to make you feel bad."
Like, damn. Joker's had jealousy fits over Harley with other men before - real or imagined but wasn't there a time when if the Joker wanted you dead, he'd kill you not just conveniently knock you out?
Now he's teleporting between Gotham and Louisiana in a mechanic's outfit because.. because.....
Pfft. I got nothing.
Anyway Joker choses to defile Deadshot's corpse which I have no problem with but when Joker's talking about finding out if he has a bris (I had to google this, I admit it) or if he's not, he's authorised to perform one it got a bit weird. Is he being sensitive to Harley's needs being a Jew by actually getting certified to do this or is he just being creepy because he wants to snip Deadshot's dead dick?
Then Harley pilfers Waller's gun and tells Joker she'll shoot if he doesn't stop.
He replies: "We both know that's a lie, cupcake. You can't kill me. I made you."
As well as the reference to... ugh... this Harley's lack of agency in her own origin story it's a stupid thing to say considering how many victims of violence will end up killing their abuser. Then again, Batman technically created Joker and Joker can't kill Batman so maybe he's onto something.
Back at Belle Reve/Reeve - apparently an hour later, Waller, Boomerang and some guards/other staff are walking around... knowing they got doused by Joker related toxins and not ONE of them thinks to have a shower or at LEAST change clothes? Damn, you all stupid.
An analyst points out that "Over the years, Harley probably built a tolerance to that lunatic's poison, which is why she was unaffected by it."
From which we can ascertain two things: New52 officially retconned Poison Ivy giving Harley immunity, and apparently Harley and Joker were together for YEARS. Also, they have been reading this issue because they know Harley wasn't affected instead of assuming she was just kidnapped.
Bear that in mind because that gets retconned later as well. Friggin' DC.
Joker asks her for a favour in exchange of mutilating Deadshot's remains.
Can you stop referencing better things please? It makes it that much harder to read these issues.
Here we have probably the only positive female relationship in the whole series and I'm not even sure if this qualifies because I'm fairly sure that Dr Visyak is being kept down here 24/7, made to wear lab clothes that make her body look out of proportion, doesn't get to wear her glasses when she needs them and she doesn't even have a chair to sit on. Look at the height of the desk she's working at - how did that pass WHS&S?
From here, Waller goes and visits the other Squad members because if there is any Joker toxin residue on her, she might as well spread it. Iceberg has rebuilt his hand out of.. well, ice and he's not happy about it. King Shark isn't happy either, but he gets to wear pants for a change. He's in a room that is either deafening him with audio or it's like the fake tanning booths and they're making him sweat it out. Yo-Yo enters... well, his head and a lot of his neck enter the room and taunt him about how he knows what King Shark is doing and why he's really here.
King Shark chooses to ask how Yo-Yo got past security. Wait. I thought King Shark would have assumed Yo-Yo was dead, seeing as how he friggin' ate him and was unconscious when Yo-yo escaped his gut. We don't see what happens after this which is a shame because it's a lot more interesting than the Joker tie in.
El Diablo is also not happy. But he's alive and shit. He has come to accept Satan as his lord and saviour for some reason that's not explained very well. Black Spider or Derrick? Derrick? Urgh, if you gotta give him a dorky name at least spell it right!
Anyway he's still in the cult mentality and tells Amanda that only SHE can save them from people with super powers.
Izzatright? THEN WHY WAS HE TRYING TO KILL HER IN THE LAST ISSUE?!
Gah, I can't even.
At an undisclosed time 'later' where we're told to read Batman #14 (and have been previously told to read #13 for the super secret favour details.) Harley is running along in the Ace Chemical Plant.. how is this place still operational? She's finished the job and is going to go now. That's okay, right, Mr Super Psycho Serial Killer sir?
Joker decides to ask who is in control - Harley or Harleen. Harley replies Harley, but Joker thinks she's trying to keep secrets from him. Well, if he knew, why the hell did he ask?
Also, stop starting your sentences with 'and' Joker - who do you think you are, a blogger??
Harley is wearing opera gloves here and on the rest of the page this panel is from. Her corset is barely hanging on there.. I'm surprised they honestly didn't just give her pasties fora costume at this point.
The very next panel. We've gone back to gauntlets. Even her corset looks like a different design. Plus she's ditched her gun holsters but she still wears a bullet belt! I don't think she even has her little daggers anymore.
Joker ruined this issue for me. As if it wasn't weird enough with him being a mechanic now and the whole skinned face thing, now he's not even funny.
Plus, he's really showing his age. He refers to Deadshot as someone who wears cheap cologne like Hai Karate which I had never heard of before because it came out in the bloody Sixties.
I get they had to tie in as many crappy titles as possible for this event but still. Also, how far is Gotham/Ace Chemicals from Louisiana? Seems like they got there pretty fast and managed to take care of the business in Batman #13/#14 on the way.
Waller: Military burial. Apparently, once a marine always a marine. Even if you're a dirtbag.
Boomerang: Well, gotta give the dirtbag credit. Didn't think he had the walnuts to do something like this.
Joker: Yes, but is there something on your face, Harley?
Harley: My face?
Joker: There it is. Here, let me get it off. *punch* Got it! I think it was a small touch of hubris.
Joker: How about Captain Boomerang? For the record, you don't want to know what this guy is into. And people call me sick...
Visyak: You okay, Amanda? I heard about the Joker.
Waller: For a top secret black ops organisation, there sure is a lot of chatter going on here.
**laughs for ten minutes complete with knee slapping and near choking**
H'oh boy. That was good. Aaaahh... I needed that before I get into....
 |
| "Running with the devil" Jan 2013 |
Yeah anyway, that happened so now we have another tie in comic! This time it's for Death of the Family - a Joker-centric cross over instead of just Resurrection Man (which I still haven't read, I really hope it keeps the editors awake at night!!)
 |
| By the power of greyscale! |
 |
| Yikes. That's so not right. |
Anyway, somehow the Squad is allowed out of their cells to attend a funeral for Deadshot. I see his family isn't present though. It couldn't have been too short notice though because Harley's had time to go shopping for a funeral corset. Between that and the fact that the angel looks an awful lot like Adam of He-Man fame.. I sure don't know what to make of this funeral.
I mean, damn! I love to dabble in buckles and fishnets but that outfit is the kind of thing super Goths would look at and say whoa man, don't you think you should tone it down a little?
Where would she even FIND that? Did she make it? If so, good gravy why? Where's her belly button? Was her make-up shithouse and runny before she started crying? Why does Harley Quinn wear inappropriate attire to every funeral she attends since the whole New52 thing started?
Predictably - every graveside visit must be followed by rain. This time, it's green rain. Ooh, I wonder what THAT means? A low rent rip off of The Last Laugh? A 'surprise' cameo that no one will be surprised about? Terrible characterisation between Joker and Harley? All of the above?
Yep.
 |
| Clown thugs get fatter, Joker gets skinnier. |
Harley's overjoyed to see her Joker again and doesn't even question how he made it rain. I sure do though. Yeah, he did it in The Last Laugh but he had an army of crazed villains on his side, some of them with weather powers to help. Here, we have no choice but to assume he has now become a water bender.
Long ago, the four comic companies lived in harmony.
Then, everything changed when the New52 attacked.
Oh okay, he's got two goons spraying hoses... which is somehow really effective and gets everyone at the funeral without them noticing.
I'm also questioning where Harley's buckles and belts went because it looks like she's wearing a much nicer albeit still stupid mermaid dress. Joker punches her in the face because he doesn't like how she's changed.
I'm actually still trying to figure out where Joker was.. the aerial shot of the cemetery combined with the direction Joker called Harley from doesn't match up. The gravestones don't match either and everything is all haphazard and.. man, this is one lousy job at building a graveyard. No wonder no one in comics stays dead, that can't rest with all this annoying stuff happening!
So this is another bug a bear with the New52 universe. THIS Harley and Joker.. you have never seen their relationship apart from a tiny flashback in the Hunt for Harley issues. What we have had is Harley pining over her love, wanting to show him how kewl she is now and reminiscing about fun times in their fun house. Basically, we have nothing solid to go on about what their relationship was actually like because it had pretty much ended by the time New52 rolled in.
Maybe they did have a romance for a short while? Maybe Harley, now being a split personality in this continuity also has a distorted memory of the past. Maybe it's always been this abusive.
Their relationship copped a lot of flack before the New52 but at least it was fairly fleshed out. There were times when you saw the abuse, and times when they worked as a team and seemed to enjoy each others company.
Here though, it's just flat out abuse.
More than that though, it doesn't seem like the Joker. He says he's stalked her, followed her, watched the Suicide Squad come together 'sort of like a family.' Yes, reference another comic featuring Harley that was much better than this one.
Now I am in no way condoning violence against women, or anyone for that matter but I'm just saying that if this happened... I probably wouldn't mind too much. I mean, red and blue? Get bent.
Where's the funny? Is it in Harley saying "ouchie!" after she got cut? Mmm.... no.
Joker just seems so... obvious.. about everything. He doesn't seem to have the nuance that made him such an interesting villain in the first place. Now he's all "I hate you but you made out with this other guy so now I'm gonna kill them to make you feel bad."
Like, damn. Joker's had jealousy fits over Harley with other men before - real or imagined but wasn't there a time when if the Joker wanted you dead, he'd kill you not just conveniently knock you out?
Now he's teleporting between Gotham and Louisiana in a mechanic's outfit because.. because.....
Pfft. I got nothing.
Anyway Joker choses to defile Deadshot's corpse which I have no problem with but when Joker's talking about finding out if he has a bris (I had to google this, I admit it) or if he's not, he's authorised to perform one it got a bit weird. Is he being sensitive to Harley's needs being a Jew by actually getting certified to do this or is he just being creepy because he wants to snip Deadshot's dead dick?
Then Harley pilfers Waller's gun and tells Joker she'll shoot if he doesn't stop.
He replies: "We both know that's a lie, cupcake. You can't kill me. I made you."
As well as the reference to... ugh... this Harley's lack of agency in her own origin story it's a stupid thing to say considering how many victims of violence will end up killing their abuser. Then again, Batman technically created Joker and Joker can't kill Batman so maybe he's onto something.
Back at Belle Reve/Reeve - apparently an hour later, Waller, Boomerang and some guards/other staff are walking around... knowing they got doused by Joker related toxins and not ONE of them thinks to have a shower or at LEAST change clothes? Damn, you all stupid.
From which we can ascertain two things: New52 officially retconned Poison Ivy giving Harley immunity, and apparently Harley and Joker were together for YEARS. Also, they have been reading this issue because they know Harley wasn't affected instead of assuming she was just kidnapped.
Bear that in mind because that gets retconned later as well. Friggin' DC.
Joker asks her for a favour in exchange of mutilating Deadshot's remains.
Can you stop referencing better things please? It makes it that much harder to read these issues.
Here we have probably the only positive female relationship in the whole series and I'm not even sure if this qualifies because I'm fairly sure that Dr Visyak is being kept down here 24/7, made to wear lab clothes that make her body look out of proportion, doesn't get to wear her glasses when she needs them and she doesn't even have a chair to sit on. Look at the height of the desk she's working at - how did that pass WHS&S?
From here, Waller goes and visits the other Squad members because if there is any Joker toxin residue on her, she might as well spread it. Iceberg has rebuilt his hand out of.. well, ice and he's not happy about it. King Shark isn't happy either, but he gets to wear pants for a change. He's in a room that is either deafening him with audio or it's like the fake tanning booths and they're making him sweat it out. Yo-Yo enters... well, his head and a lot of his neck enter the room and taunt him about how he knows what King Shark is doing and why he's really here.
King Shark chooses to ask how Yo-Yo got past security. Wait. I thought King Shark would have assumed Yo-Yo was dead, seeing as how he friggin' ate him and was unconscious when Yo-yo escaped his gut. We don't see what happens after this which is a shame because it's a lot more interesting than the Joker tie in.
El Diablo is also not happy. But he's alive and shit. He has come to accept Satan as his lord and saviour for some reason that's not explained very well. Black Spider or Derrick? Derrick? Urgh, if you gotta give him a dorky name at least spell it right!
Anyway he's still in the cult mentality and tells Amanda that only SHE can save them from people with super powers.
Izzatright? THEN WHY WAS HE TRYING TO KILL HER IN THE LAST ISSUE?!
Gah, I can't even.
At an undisclosed time 'later' where we're told to read Batman #14 (and have been previously told to read #13 for the super secret favour details.) Harley is running along in the Ace Chemical Plant.. how is this place still operational? She's finished the job and is going to go now. That's okay, right, Mr Super Psycho Serial Killer sir?Joker decides to ask who is in control - Harley or Harleen. Harley replies Harley, but Joker thinks she's trying to keep secrets from him. Well, if he knew, why the hell did he ask?
Also, stop starting your sentences with 'and' Joker - who do you think you are, a blogger??
Harley is wearing opera gloves here and on the rest of the page this panel is from. Her corset is barely hanging on there.. I'm surprised they honestly didn't just give her pasties fora costume at this point.
The very next panel. We've gone back to gauntlets. Even her corset looks like a different design. Plus she's ditched her gun holsters but she still wears a bullet belt! I don't think she even has her little daggers anymore.
The Short End of the Jester Schtick
Joker ruined this issue for me. As if it wasn't weird enough with him being a mechanic now and the whole skinned face thing, now he's not even funny.
Plus, he's really showing his age. He refers to Deadshot as someone who wears cheap cologne like Hai Karate which I had never heard of before because it came out in the bloody Sixties.
I get they had to tie in as many crappy titles as possible for this event but still. Also, how far is Gotham/Ace Chemicals from Louisiana? Seems like they got there pretty fast and managed to take care of the business in Batman #13/#14 on the way.
Wotta Comedian!
Waller: Military burial. Apparently, once a marine always a marine. Even if you're a dirtbag.
Boomerang: Well, gotta give the dirtbag credit. Didn't think he had the walnuts to do something like this.
Joker: Yes, but is there something on your face, Harley?
Harley: My face?
Joker: There it is. Here, let me get it off. *punch* Got it! I think it was a small touch of hubris.
Joker: How about Captain Boomerang? For the record, you don't want to know what this guy is into. And people call me sick...
Visyak: You okay, Amanda? I heard about the Joker.
Waller: For a top secret black ops organisation, there sure is a lot of chatter going on here.
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