What You Need To Remember Before Season 5

This week might see the end of Creature Commandos‘ debut season, but DC fans shouldn’t fret: another R-rated animated adventure is heading their way with Harley Quinn Season 5. The latest installment of the popular animated series will see Harley (Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) moving from Gotham to Metropolis, but having to deal with the new problems that Superman’s home city will bring — including the sinister artificial intelligence Brainiac (Stephen Fry). Before Season 5 whisks us into yet another whirlwind of inappropriately entertaining blood, sex, and violence, here’s a recap of everything that happened during Season 4 of Harley Quinn — and don’t worry, we didn’t forget everyone’s favorite sad sack Bane (James Adomian).

Harley and Ivy Try To Balance Their Lives With Mixed Results in ‘Harley Quinn’ Season 4

harley-quinn-season-4-social-featured — Image via Max

When Season 4 begins, Harley and Ivy are at very different points in their life: Ivy has been approached by Lex Luthor (Giancarlo Esposito) to lead the Legion of Doom, while Harley ends up joining Batman’s allies. Despite the duo’s best efforts to keep their relationship and their new lives working, they’re hit with a number of problems. Ivy has to struggle to gain other villains’ respect, especially when Bane ends up sabotaging one of her evil plans, and ends up taking advice from social media managers Luthor recommends to her; eventually, she learns that Luthor is trying to manipulate her in his favor, which leads her to reject his plans. Harley, on the other hand, struggles to fit in with the Bat-Family — especially when she breaks their “No Kill” rule on her first mission and beats Professor Pyg (Tom Hollander) to death. With some help from loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth (also voiced by Hollander), Harley finally learns to work with the others, but ironically gets Alfred sent to Arkham in the process.

Harley and Ivy do end up encountering another major figure who impacts both their lives: Talia al Ghul (Aline Elasmar), the former lover of Batman (Diedrich Bader) and mother of his son, Damian (Jacob Tremblay). Talia causes friction for Harley and the Bat-Family, as she plans to redirect Wayne Enterprises’ efforts now that Batman is in jail, but ends up forming a mutual bond of respect with Ivy during a supervillain meeting. Ultimately, Ivy and Harley do manage to keep their relationship steady while acclimating to their new roles — further cementing the best part of the series. It’s even more impressive given that one episode has them traveling into the future and meeting their estranged daughter (because comics!).

‘Harley Quinn’ Goes to Bat With a Season 5 Trailer and Release Date

Harley and Ivy are moving to Metropolis!

A Fan-Favorite Batman Character Dies (but Not for Long) in ‘Harley Quinn’ Season 4

Batman, Batgirl, and Nightwing looking shocked in the Bat-Cave in 'Harley Quinn' — Image via Max

Harley Quinn Season 4 undergoes its most shocking moment yet when Harley and Batgirl (Briana Cuoco) discover that someone murdered Nightwing (Harvey Guillén), but the killer isn’t revealed until the penultimate episode, “Potato Based Cloning Incident.” Harley learns that she has a clone running around, but that’s not even the most shocking part — she was the person who ended up killing Nightwing due to her bouts of violent sleepwalking. This leads to a literal out-of-body experience as Harley battles her clone, who’s hellbent on bringing her to justice — and though she wins, her failure weighs heavily on her.

Nightwing fans should hardly be worried, as the end of the Season 4 finale “Killer’s Block” reveals that Talia has resurrected Nightwing using a Lazarus Pit. This also may explain the presence of Red X, the mysterious masked figure who shows up in the Harley Quinn Season 5 trailer. While Red X previously appeared in Teen Titans, his mannerisms and mystery bring the Red Hood to mind — and suggests that Harley Quinn might be putting its own spin on the Under the Red Hood storyline by making Nightwing Red X.

Harley Quinn Saves the Day and Forms a New Team in Season 4

“Killer’s Block” ends on a relatively positive note, as Harley and Ivy save the world. The two learn that Luthor is using a device to give himself Superman’s powers, which leads Ivy to quit the Legion and utilize a massive satellite laser to target multiple corporations in the DC Universe — including Wayne Enterprises and LuthorCorp. Harley also saves Superman, while Luthor is carted off to Apokolips for his crimes — and eventually turns up in the spin-off series Kite Man: Hell Yeah!

In the aftermath of this, Harley decides to form a new team consisting of herself, Ivy, Catwoman (Sanaa Lathan) and Batgirl. Longtime fans will recognize this group as the Gotham City Sirens, who take a “shades of gray” approach to problem-solving. But the season also leads to some developments for Bane, Clayface (Alan Tudyk) and King Shark (Ron Funches); Clayface, following his big screen debut, now has a show in Vegas, while King Shark becomes a first-time father. Meanwhile, Bane falls for Nora Fries (Rachel Dratch) and winds up learning to make pasta — and later makes his own appearance in Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, with storylines that will no doubt carry into Harley Quinn Season 5.

Harley and Ivy’s move to Metropolis isn’t just a new status quo for Harley Quinn Season 5; it’s a testament to the show’s long life. So far, the series has managed to survive a regime change at Warner Bros., James Gunn and Peter Safran‘s clearing of the decks for DC Studios, and been renewed twice despite a landscape where streaming is no longer a sure bet for a show’s longevity. That’s an impressive feat for any television series, much less a raunchy animated series set in the DC Universe, but like its protagonist, Harley Quinn thrives when it’s outside the box.