TheQuartering [6/15/2021]
The animated series got TOO animated.
The creators behind HBO Max’s R-rated “Harley Quinn” animated series revealed that there was a scene involving Batman that was too risque for DC to allow.
In an interview about the series, co-creator Justin Halpern explained that the minds behind the show have been given tremendous leeway to lambaste several of the caped crusader’s villains throughout the first two seasons of the adult-leaning animated show. However, he revealed that there was one scene they wanted to do in Season 3 that would have seen Batman performing oral sex on Catwoman that DC said was too much for one of its primary heroes to participate in.
“It’s incredibly gratifying and free to be using characters that are considered villains because you just have so much more leeway,” he told Variety. “A perfect example of that is in this third season of ‘Harley’ [when] we had a moment where Batman was going down on Catwoman. And DC was like, ‘You can’t do that. You absolutely cannot do that.’ They’re like, ‘Heroes don’t do that.’ So, we said, ‘Are you saying heroes are just selfish lovers?’ They were like, ‘No, it’s that we sell consumer toys for heroes.”
Halpern said he was told that it would be difficult for the company to sell toys to kids if Batman was recently spotted in a cartoon performing a graphic sexual act, even if the show is not meant to be viewed by children.