Harley Quinn – Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! – The World’s Finest Review

KITE-MAN: HELL YEAH!
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Air Date: Season One premieres July 18, 2024 on Max, episodes debut weekly every Thursday.
Additional Details: Click here!

Description: Kite Man and Golden Glider take their relationship to the next level by opening a bar in the shadow of Lex Luthor’s Legion of Doom. Nobody said serving cold ones to the most dangerous rogues outside of Arkham Asylum would be easy, but sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and how to hide a body.

Check out more images here!

Surpassing expectations, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! is a twisted workplace comedy that’s just as hilariously violent, foul-mouthed and jam-packed with surprises as its predecessor, Harley Quinn. This sitcom throwback is surprisingly strong, though some of the characters and story-lines don’t really land. Even so, it still ends up a fun, positive, and occasionally affirming spin-off that both shouldn’t exist nor work as well as it does. A testament to the show’s unexpected strength, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! makes it clear that Kite-Man and his crew are worth getting to know.

Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! follows Kite-Man and Golden Glider as they take their relationship to the next level by opening a bar in the shadow of Lex Luthor’s Legion of Doom. With the eclectic staff and kooky regulars, the duo soon find themselves smitten with their worklife. Still, nobody said serving cold ones to the most dangerous rogues in the DC Universe would be easy, but Kite-Man and Golden Glider know they can handle whatever comes their way.

Please note this review of Kite-Man: Hell Yeah!‘s first season will be as spoiler-free as possible, but some specific characters and events will be referenced.

An unanticipated surprise, the creators behind the hilarious Harley Quinn animated series have put together a shockingly strong sitcom spin-off. While it may not hit the same comedic heights as the Cupid of Crime’s own cartoon, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! is still a quirky – albeit frequently warped – romp through the criminal underbelly of Gotham City. As with Harley, Kite-Man skillfully mixes together twisted and dirty jokes and over-the-top violence with big emotional stakes, which again proves to be a winning formula for DC Comics’ adult-oriented animated efforts.

The major push for Kite-Man‘s ten-episode first season follows Kite-Man and Golden Glider as they figure out how to keep their freshly-purchased dive bar, Noonan’s, afloat. Given it’s a Gotham City dive bar that caters to the worst of the worst, things can get a little complicated (and violent). The series also takes the typical sitcom tropes – like overbearing and difficult parents, kooky regular patrons and straight-up evil business rivals – and runs them through the cracked worldview of the Harley Quinn universe. While it may occasionally mock the denizens of its comic book-based world, it’s ultimately a love letter to DC’s funniest and most frightening foes. No joke feels malicious or spiteful, but instead simply silly and absurd.

Despite the show’s title, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! really has two protagonists as Golden Glider gets just as much development and screen time, perhaps more, than Kite-Man himself. Given Kite-Man was a major player in the first two seasons of Harley Quinn, it makes sense to use this show as a vehicle for Golden Glider, and the creators do admirable work building up her character. On top of that, while Glider did make an appearance during Harley Quinn‘s third season, this is really the first time the audience gets to know her and see her and Kite-Man together as a couple.

Check out more images here!

Thankfully, it turns out that not only do Kite-Man and Golden Glider make for a fantastic twosome, but both the duo and their supporting cast end up being an enjoyable group of characters to follow around. None of them break the mold but they do elicit some laughs and get some good beats during the first season. That said, as with Harley Quinn, Bane is an absolute scene-stealer here and is easily one of the show’s best characters. This wacky take on the major Bat-villain brings the guffaws time and time again, especially when he’s paired up with Goldilocks near the end of the season, and he gets plenty of screen time without overstaying his welcome.

This being as Harley Quinn spin-off, yes, we do get a few visits from the main cast of that cartoon, as well. Both Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy make quick appearances early on, and a few others from the old crew – like Clayface and Frank – pop in a little down the road, among other notable cameos scattered here and there throughout the season. Following his stint as Poison Ivy’s main obstacle during the fourth season of Harley Quinn, Lex Luthor hops over to Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! as one of its major antagonists for season one, alongside Helen Villigan and Darkseid.

With its surprisingly hefty roster, it’s easy to see why this show was originally titled Noonan’s. While Kite-Man and Golden Glider are unquestionably the show’s central characters, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! does frequently play out like a distorted take on the classic ensemble sitcom Cheers. Bane, Malice, Queen of Fables, Gus the Goon and even Joe and Moe Dubelz all have their own plots, which all play out to varying degrees throughout the season, though some are a shade more involved than others. There’s also Noonan’s regular Sixpack, but he doesn’t really make (or leave) any impression

And even with the differing levels of focus given to Kite-Man: Hell Yeah!‘s cast, the characters here still end up being ultimately enjoyable even if they’re a little slight or underdeveloped. Just don’t expect deep dives into, well, any of the characters really outside of Kite-Man and Glider (though Bane, Queen of Fables and Malice get arguably the lion’s share of the screen-time after the main duo). The foes our cast of miscreants face are thankfully just as twistedly enjoyable, with Lex Luthor again stealing the show scene after scene after scene.

Luthor in Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! may not hit the same absurd heights from his increasingly twisted stint in Harley Quinn, especially the lengths that character goes to in Harley Quinn‘s fourth season, but he remains a hilarious ludicrous obstacle here nevertheless. That said, a very noticeable change for Luthor between Harley Quinn and Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! is the role being recast from Giancarlo Esposito to Lance Reddick. Reddick does solid work bringing out the ‘slick businessman’ side to the character, even if it’s a discernible switch from Harley Quinn‘s increasingly erratic take on the iconic foe.

Check out more images here!

Sadly, Reddick passed away before he finished recording for Kite-Man: Hell Yeah!‘s first season, with Amuche Chukudebelu stepping in to carry things home. Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! comes with a sizable cast, and it’s clear this talented ground is clearly having a blast making their way through one hilariously twisted scene after another. Led by Matt Oberg as Kite Man and Stephanie Hsu as Golden Glider, there’s nary a poor performer in the bunch.

Outside of Luthor’s recasting, the only other change from Harley Quinn that takes a little bit to get used to is Keith David as Darkseid. Eventually it does click, especially as Darkseid becomes more involved in the plot toward the end of the first season, but it’s slightly alittle jarring initially compared to Michael Ironside’s take in Harley Quinn (not to mentioned his incredible performances as the iconic foe in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League/Unlimited).

While the quality does occasionally waver. Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! is a pretty enjoyable jaunt from start to finish. The animation can definitely underwhelm on occasion, and actually hits the bottom with the first season’s penultimate episode, but it still does the job well enough. Similarly, and unsurprisingly, the writing can also be a little wobbly, resulting in some uneven episodes. While the episode focused around a toilet bowl time machine stands out as one of the season’s best, for example, a latter entry revolving around Malice trying to impress her boyfriend is pretty low on laughs.

Despite clearly being an extension of the world established in the Harley Quinn animated series, both tonally and visually, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! still manages to carve out its own fun little corner to inhabit. Not only that, but this cartoon is way more fun than expected and should be able to pull in fans for the long-haul (plus it’s got a rockin’ 80’s rock-inspired score by Michael Gatt). Hilariously written, albeit not without the odd dud, and with animation that does the job and characters that click well together, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! is a pleasant surprise about some of DC Comics’ most distasteful denizens. Recommended!

Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! is available to stream on Max and available for purchase via select digital retailers.