Despite over a decade of very serious cinematic universes, it helps to remember that superhero fiction is, in fact, quite silly. This is an empirical fact: it doesn’t matter who wears the batsuit, the mystique all falls away the second they have to do something mundane. This is not limiting, but freeing: You can learn all sorts of things about the world once you stop taking yourself so seriously. This is why Harley Quinn, the animated series streaming on DC Universe and airing on Syfy, is one of the best TV takes on comic books you can catch right now.
Like Birds of Prey, the show follows Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) as she tries to step out from under the shadow of her notorious, toxic ex, Joker (Alan Tudyk). In the first season, this…