Harley seeks a nemesis to raise her profile as a supervillain, but is disappointed when she gets stuck with Robin.
Tropes:
- Afraid of Blood: While this seems to be the case when King Shark says he can't handle blood at the idea of being the shark in their shark tank, it is later revealed that the smell of blood actually makes him go feral with Bloodlust and causes him to actually try to kill Robin when he nosebleeds into the tank. Doctor Psycho and Clayface admit that they both thought it was the former.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Doctor Psycho dismisses Joker robbing a credit union because it's a "poor person's bank".Doctor Psycho: We robbed a real one with a vault, and money, and predatory lending practices!
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Just after having a no-holds brawl against Batman and an unwanted Joker barging in, Harley shifts to squealing at the rescue ferrets.
- Big Damn Heroes: When Batman shows up to rescue Robin and starts fighting Harley, Ivy busts in to rescue Harley from him.
- Big "YES!": Harley says a string of these to her cohorts before cutting to her joyride through Gotham in the Batmobile.
- Break the Haughty: Damian gets this when he inadvertently admits to lying about being Harley's nemesis in Tawny's show, and almost being killed by King Shark courtesy of his own nosebleed driving King Shark into a blood rage.
- Brick Joke:
- Lois suggests she and Superman go out for sushi after the kidnapping. Sure enough, they're watching Tawny's show in a sushi bar.
- When Harley tells Ivy she has a plan on how to get Robin to confess he lied about her being his nemesis, she starts off by saying "I've...", which Ivy misinterprets thinking she's saying a shorten version of her name "Ive". When Harley and Ivy has a Suggestive Collision moment on Tawny's show, they subtitled the moment saying "Kiss ya? Ive Harley even known ya!".
- Bridal Carry: Harley ends up holding Robin this way after rescuing him from King Shark.
- Bullying a Dragon: Harley deliberately tries to antagonize Superman, a being she has no hope of winning against, for the cred of him being her nemesis. Unfortunately for her, Superman knows what she's trying to do and deliberately brings Robin with him to mock her effort.
- Comically Missing the Point: Harley wants to be recognized for her crimes despite Ivy's continued insistence that the whole point of crime is not to be caught.
- Condescending Compassion: Superman treats Damian not unlike how a soccer mom would. Wiping his nose for him when he gets a nosebleed, phrasing his support as though Damian was nervous in facing his "nemesis" and generally embarrassing him.
- Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: Before Harley, Clayface and Psycho barge in, at the beginning, Ivy is whistling the show's theme as she's cleaning the apartment.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Before Robin shows up at the Daily Planet, Superman arrives as he prepares to save Lois. He suspects that Harley is after her because of the Planet's online subscription price and, while it doesn't make it an excuse to threaten Lois, he does agree that it's too steep.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Batman's talk with Robin about finding the right nemesis is framed exactly like The Talk. It's then spoofed when Robin flat-out asks Batman when he can have sex, and Batman ducks out of that conversation by claiming he can hear the Bat-Signal.
- Eco-Terrorist: Ivy insists on being called an eco-terrorist and takes a moment to berate the viewers for wasting water by rinsing recyclables.
- Engineered Public Confession: Harley tricks Robin into admitting he's a liar on Tawny's show by hiding the audience behind a curtain while she dangles him over a shark tank.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- Ivy, despite being an eco-terrorist, isn't going to open Harley's mail before she gets it, since she's "not a rude person."
- While Ivy thinks that Harley killing Robin is wrong for purely social reasons, the rest of Harley's crew thinks that killing a child in general is wrong for the same reason as everyone else.
- Ivy ends up closing the door on Sy Borgman when she thinks his rant is going to get racist.
- Everyone Has Standards: Played for Laughs. Both Harley and Superman agree that a $7.99 subscription to the Daily Planet is a bit much. It doesn't even include the crossword, which Superman thinks is ridiculous. It gets even more poignant if you consider that Superman is an employee of the newspaper.
- Foe Romance Subtext: The whole episode frames the idea of arch-nemesis between superheroes and supervillains as being like celebrity romances.
- Foreshadowing: During the fight in the TV studio, Harley and Ivy have a Suggestive Collision, where Ivy lands on top of Harley, and for a moment it looks like they might kiss. The situation brings a big smile to Harley's face, so it seems she would actually enjoy getting intimate with Ivy, whereas Ivy merely looks confused. Their reactions foreshadow the entire romantic subplot of the next season, where Harley is eager for them to get together, but Ivy is conflicted about the idea.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus:
- "MEAT and GREET" is the name of the meat company at whose warehouse Harley and crew meet Robin.
- Ivy's tea mug reads, GO GREEN HUMANS MAKE GREAT FERTILIZER.
- Fruit Cart: Harley's joyride in the Batmobile includes smashing one. Bonus that the vendor resembles Roger Ebert.
- Heroes Gone Fishing: The fight on Tawny's show cuts to various heroes watching, such as Aquaman watching on his phone while on the toilet (underwater), Superman and Lois at the sushi restaurant, and Wonder Woman at home eating (her brand of) cereal.
- Hope Spot: Harley steals the Batmobile, which would easily get the hero's attention. Instead, she is met with Robin.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen: Invoked by Doctor Psycho about his current circumstances when Robin shows up.Doctor Psycho: Ugh, last week I was in the fucking Legion of Doom, and now this!
- I Resemble That Remark!: Harley describes Doctor Psycho's nemesis as his inability to not use the c-word. Doctor Psycho insists his nemesis is Wonder Woman and nearly calls her the c-word, but catches himself and admits Harley has a point.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: Of all the insults Robin throws at her, Harley is most outraged by Robin calling her old.Robin: I was raised by an elite group of assassins from birth! You're a clown, and an old one at that! What are you, thirty?!
Harley: You little shit! - Lame Pun Reaction: Harley and Robin are in agreement at Superman's bad pun.
- Mêlée à Trois: When Joker shows up to fight Batman during Tawny's show, it becomes a free-for-all. Eventually, Joker grabs Robin and runs off so Batman will be forced to chase him.
- Mirror Character: In the end of the episode, Robin is this for Harley, unable to find a nemesis himself — just like her.
- Mistaken for Pregnant: When Harley walks in on the prank Joker left for Harley at her and Ivy's apartment, Harley briefly thinks that this was Ivy telling her that she was pregnant.
- Mythology Gag:
- Harley does the same Wiper Start in the Batmobile that she did in a helicopter in Batman: Assault on Arkham, first turning on the wipers, then the blinkers, and then some rear-firing weapons.
- Harley and gang first confront Robin in a meat packing plant, like the Gotham by Gaslight heroes' first confrontation against the villain is in a slaughterhouse, with pig carcasses hanging on hooks in both settings.
- How does Batman incapacitate King Shark? With Shark-Repellent Bat Spray!
- Clayface's remark, "Heavens to Murgatroyd!" would immediately be taken as a Shout-Out to the similarly campy Snagglepuss. Except, the phrase might have first originated from the obscure 1944 film Meet the People
, from which also originated the song, "Say That We're Sweethearts Again", that Harley sang in "Harlequinade". - Harley's first nemesis match is the obscure DC sci-fi character Tommy Tomorrow.
- Noodle Incident: How exactly Harley managed to get into the Batcave to steal the Batmobile is never shown. With the scene simply cutting to her flooring it out of the cave and onto the streets of Gotham after her discussion of the plan with her teammates.
- No-Sell: When Harley mistakenly attacks King Shark with her trusty bat, breaking it on his face, his reaction is just a nonplussed "Ow?"
- Not Worth Killing:
- Zig-zagged in regards to Harley and Robin. Harley doesn't feel Robin is worth her time, but the fact that everyone believes him to be her nemesis infuriates her to the point that she considers actually killing him. She's talked into a less-drastic course of action.
- Superman doesn't think Harley is worth fighting, so he brings Robin along to do it for him. Harley is so annoyed she just leaves on the spot.
- Only Sane Man: Or woman, in this case. When Harley plans to threaten Lois Lane into retracting an article about her and Robin's rivalry, Ivy tries to talk her and the crew out of it because of the reporter's connections/relationship with Superman. Because of that, in Ivy's own words, "You can't fuck with Lois Lane."
- Papa Wolf: Batman is pissed at Harley kidnapping Damian and putting his life in danger. He later consoles him when they return to the Batcave, acting like an actual father.
- Pass the Popcorn: When Harley gets into a fight with Batman, and later Ivy and Joker joins in, Harley's crew just sits with the audience and watches the fight. Doctor Psycho is even eating popcorn.
- Poor Communication Kills: When King Shark tells the others that he's not good around blood, they assume he gets faint around it. But when Robin's blood gets in the water and he smells it, he goes on a rampage and tries to eat him.Doctor Psycho: Oh, you know what? This must be that "not being good with blood" thing. I thought it just meant he got a little fainty.
Clayface: I did, too.
Doctor Psycho: It was misleading.
Clayface: How funny. - Pragmatic Villainy: When Harley suggests she could just kill Robin when she can't get rid of him, Ivy points out this would just validate him as her nemesis. King Shark adds that she would also be seen as a child killer, which would be even worse publicity.
- Racist Grandpa: Sy Borgman rants to Ivy about how he doesn't allow certain things in his building. Ivy cuts him off at "communists", feeling he was going in a racist direction. He later evicts her on the grounds that King Shark qualifies as a pet, which King Shark thinks is racist, or at the very least xenophobic.
- Shoot the Television: Joker and Harley both display this tendency, which causes a little friction when Harley is living in Poison Ivy's apartment.Poison Ivy: You have been here two weeks and have destroyed nine TVs.
- Shout-Out:
- Clayface volunteers to play the role of the vicious shark like the one that terrorized "Amity", meaning like Jaws.
- King Shark's reaction to sniffing Robin's blood brings to mind Bruce from Finding Nemo, right down to the way the blood trails in the water and the way his irises enlarge.
- Skewed Priorities: Ivy takes a moment from fighting Batman to give the viewers a lesson on water conservation, giving Batman enough time to free himself from her vines.
- Strange Minds Think Alike:
- Harley complains about the $7.99 subscription to the Daily Planet before deciding to kidnap Lois Lane to make her retract a negative article. When Superman shows up to rescue Lois, he thinks it's about the subscription fee.
- Both Robin and Harley groan at Superman's cheesy sushi roll joke.
- Suggestive Collision: This happens between Harley and Ivy while they're fighting Batman. Whoever's doing the subtitles for Tawny's show even comes up with a pun on the fly:Subtitle: Kiss ya? Ive Harley even known ya!
- Tempting Fate: Harley spends all episode trying to find the ideal nemesis, focusing on Batman. It's when she puts Robin in danger, by accident no less, that she gets his full attention.
- Villain Cred: Harley is trying to get a worthy nemesis so she'll be seen as a legitimate supervillain, and is annoyed that she's stuck with Robin. When she does finally get Batman's attention, Joker shows up, annoyed that she's stolen his nemesis.
- Villainous Rescue: Harley uses King Shark to force Robin to an Engineered Public Confession about their alleged rivalry. When King Shark goes into a frenzy and poses genuine life-threatening danger, she ends up saving him before Batman shows up.
- Visual Pun: Aquaman watches the battle between Harley and Batman on his toilet. In other words, he's sitting on his throne.
- Would Hurt a Child: After Joker sends a condescending message to Harley about her "rivalry" with Robin, Harley decides that she's going to kill Robin to make it stop. Ivy believes she is capable of doing it, but that doing so will only validate everyone's belief that Robin is her nemesis, while the rest of her crew thinks that she would just be crossing the line.
- Wrecked Weapon: Harley snaps her bat in half against King Shark when she mistakes him for an enemy. She's forced to make do with a pipe against Batman.
- Yearning for a Nemesis: The episode is themed around this trope, as Harley is determined to get a nemesis so people will take her seriously as a villain. Unfortunately, she gets stuck with Robin, who's also desperate to have his own nemesis since all the Teen Titans have one except him.
