Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass Sucks (Part 1)

This comic sucks, but I'm not spending too much time talking about it.

[@neroknight11]

The thing about a good writer is that they can look past their biases to help convey the ideas and beliefs of other characters in a believable way. We all as humans will have different views on all types of different subject matters. Making your main protagonists all have similar to exactly the same as their creator is boring and lazy making them all feel the same and flat. This in turn instantly have all antagonists have the polar opposite beliefs to depose the "heroes". This is lazy and limits not only the creativity of the writer but their overall skill.

[@restinwalken]

Also good writers will go get perspective form people with opposing views/have different biases than themselves.

[@rubyy.7374]

Not a writer, but I write on occasion, and my view is that it’s just boring to make everybody exactly like you. I love exploring characters completely different from me and how they tick. The last thing I want is to turn them into clones of me lmao.

[@joe-lewisjavonnelson1523]

I believe that making a protagonist similar or even exactly the same as the creator isn’t inherently a bad thing.

[@needledealer9971]

"It's time to get feminist* *Dresses like a clown* I think she is a bit self aware

[@Chib_Lee]

as a feminist (not this type of one) Im laughing a lung out

[@tayschannel2695]

@@Chib_Lee those feminists aren’t feminists they are just sexist

[@thelastknight6519]

Really loved it when ivy said "stand back everyone I'm about to feminist" and then feminized all over everyone

[@R-eza]

It's feminizing time

[@jeanyeap4229]

You forgot her famous transformation quote: ‘it’s feminising time!’

[@thelastknight6519]

@@jeanyeap4229 thanks for reminding me man I can't believe I forgot that incredible piece of duologue

[@white0thunderwhite0thunder71]

...That sounds dirty.

[@theorangegremlin334]

@@jeanyeap4229 I pefer to morb on the homies

[@porkchop604]

Mariko Tamaki is such an embarrassment to feminists. Shit like IANS and whatever the hell this is supposed to be is why people don't take us seriously. Like, you can make a good piece of feminist media. They're definitely out there. She just doesn't understand shit about writing. Same with her representation of the LGBTQ+ community. Being gay is not a personality trait or an excuse to behave badly. Even unpaid webcomic writers understand that (at least some of them, haha). It's just absurd.

[@setsuki17]

feminists are an embarrassment to feminists and actual writers!

[@lionkingquan]

Well said

[@monstrosity6738]

I don’t know what IANS is, but my name is Ian and I feel offended.

[@kolbymiller3440]

@@monstrosity6738 pretty sure it's an acronym for "I Am Not Starfire" Her other terrible comic.

[@porkchop604]

@@monstrosity6738 IANS= I Am Not Starfire. Another horrible comic. Didn't mean to offend you or anyone else named Ian lol.

[@klulu-kun]

Wait, wasn't Harley Quinn an ordinary girl before she met Joker and went insane for his love? How and why is she this cookey at 15 in high school? It's almost as if they forgot about Harley's real backstory that makes up her character. Her history with Joker and Batman does matter in her personality. Instead, they're just using Harley as a brand to say silly shit, and it's lazy. On another note, it's really disappointing to see writers use their characters and world-building as one-dimensional microphones for their agendas. If you got a message to say, then that philosophy needs to be put to the test. It should get criticized in your own work by characters with genuine points; not easy to dismiss strawman arguments from characters meant to lose. Seeing the "politically correct" character always having the upper hand when you make it too easy for them is boring. They have to earn it with the evidence you actually show in the story. However, whenever you put political buzzwords like "patriarchy" and other cringey phrases we see on Twitter just yanks the audience out of the story and reminds us, "Oh, this is the author talking." It's not immersive dialogue. It's patronizing. We can clearly tell why you chose those words like that. You're not fooling anyone, and that lack of subtlety is painful to see.

[@somedudewhodraws9377]

In the original timeline she was in her 20s from the animated series. She wasnt a stupid teenager. Without the Joker thier Harley Quinn has no reason to exist.

[@CadeSkywalkerEU]

Simple. They made Harley Quinn overly annoying to the point she’s basically DC’s worse Deadpool.

[@stargirlabi_111]

right i thought she was an intelligent criminal psychologist.....oh well

[@jlouisa]

Besides what you discussed about Poison Ivy, this came off uncomfortable to me because the writer wrote the harmful stereotype of the angry black woman. That came off so offensive to me.

[@SunnysFilms]

The fact that Ivy calls a bully out for being a high school stereotype when she's literally two of them in one - the angry black woman and the high-school-girl-activist - really highlights the lack of self-awareness in this comic and Tamaki's writing in general.

[@klulu-kun]

@@SunnysFilms Now that's hilarious.

[@DD-po2hh]

It’s so insulting and that’s fact she got away with it is annoying.

[@aethertoast4320]

@@DD-po2hh usually only minorities get away with that. Funny enough Asians are like schrodinger's minority. Sometimes they are considered to White, sometimes minorities it just flips around to whatever is convenient. Also getting away with making an angry black woman is funny cause of how black and Asian people get along in cities; which is that they don't.

[@white0thunderwhite0thunder71]

I think that was the point. Just because Tamaki talks about the politics of black women doesn't mean she actually LIKES black women, at the very least she doesn't know how to relate to them enough to create a good black woman character.

[@silverscorpio24]

Wasn't Harleen a straight-laced, hard working, compassionate person until she met Joker?

[@billmcdermott9647]

I think it varies. I have read at least one comic that implied she slept her way into the position so was never cut out for the job and always a fool waiting to be taken in.

[@doubleaabattery7562]

@@billmcdermott9647 I'm pretty sure that the canon canon is that she was "Just as Crazy" as the people she took care of

[@doubleaabattery7562]

I could be wrong tho

[@marthademovimaus5140]

She was written as a psychiatrist (that went crazy from dealing with Joker) for the kids cartoon. If she was sluttified, it was done later.

[@nagirondart]

To explain Ivy's race swap is actually easy: Writers like Mariko are always wanting to get into Hollywood, writing tv shows or movies. Mariko is just getting a jump on Hollywood dyslexia: Ivy was a ginger, and now she's black.

[@MrKingkz]

didn't you know as a black man I often wake up to find av swapped places with a ginger person it's quite confusing for me and the person who's loved one av taken the place of 😂

[@Perdix64]

I’m not a massive fan of that, ngl.

[@X0.LA_BRAVA.X0]

You seriously made that joke, didnt you? You just couldn't resist such an opportunity, huh?

[@Perdix64]

@@X0.LA_BRAVA.X0 I just got the joke…

[@X0.LA_BRAVA.X0]

@@Perdix64 heh. Nice

[@SunnysFilms]

Also got to love how Tamaki uses her writing to rant about how evil big corporations are - while writing for DC.....

[@frug5629]

All Corporations are evil unless they're giving me pity positions in their workforce. - Tamaki's real stance.

[@racheltheehermit7314]

It’s amazing how this type of “socialist” low-key loves capitalism more than anything else.

[@LordDawnWreaver]

DC... A... Big... Corporation... I would like to point out that dc is owned by a "Evil" white man.

[@OneClassicalLass]

It's almost like she doesn't practice what she preaches or something 😮

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

I remember the Local Harley Quinn fanatic at my high school was acting like this was a masterpiece Also I really hate the idea that Harley was unhinged before meeting Joker. It really reduces the tragedy of the character

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

@@Lord_Numpty Nah but he had his laptop plastered with Harley stickers with him

[@minespatch]

I liked how Paul Dini's Harleen cheated her way to the top in her origin. She was a manipulative character that didn't realize what kind of person Joker was when she fell in love with him.

[@100organicfreshmemes5]

@@alchemistofsteel8099 Sounds like a Harley simp who will eat up garbage so long as her face is plastered on it.

[@nunyabisness1979]

yeah wasn't she a licensed psychologist until she met the joker.

[@commentdouchery2838]

As someone with knowledge in the realm of psychology and criminology, Harley having underlying traits that lead her to that life style can make sense. But it's never done right. Her being a perfectly adjusted person who simply overworked herself into falling victim of a manipulative and abusive relationship eventually finds herself beyond the point of no return because she rode the dopamine high into an irreparable life of crime. We forget she's even a licensed therapist because her career is so fucked that it's never thought of afterwards, and she's completely subservient to Joker.

[@IndominusGojira]

I don't know what's worse A boring story or a frustratingly bad story.

[@shinysoda6]

And somehow this comic manages to be BOTH, HOW!?

[@white0thunderwhite0thunder71]

Well in this comic you don't have to chose because you got both.

[@patrickwillis13]

Boring is a worst emotion because at least there is entertainment in being angry

[@mariosbae]

I would rather read a bad story because then I can just rage and make fun of it. What is there to feel in a boring story? Nothing. Because it IS nothing.

[@prasetyodwikuncorojati2434]

Both are right

[@blankadams3120]

Ho, god... Couple of things: 1) Harleen was NOT into clowns until the Joker broke her. So, the early teens Harleen chasing the car in a foolscap? No. 2) I still don't know what 'Mama' was trying to say in that one panel... I think it might have been, 'You can call me 'Mama', hun... we're friends now'... which, is still horrible writing, Harleen has done nothing by that point to be friends with 'Mama'. 3) 'Kane Enterprises'? I'm guessing for Bill Kane? The creator of BATMAN? Yes, he created Gotham. And here comes a fourth wave feminist attempting to steal the setting and characters right out from under him to subvert their intended character? 4) Ivy and Harleen is a weird thing that I only just thought about when you brought up that Ivy can hypnotize people through pheromones. Harley has said in the comics that Ivy gave her a special serum so she can't be hypnotized, but, everyone knows Harley falls for the abusive types... Is it possible Harley is just... okay, with Ivy controlling her? And I mean that in the worst possible way. Harley always returns to her thuggish roots when she finds someone to latch on to. 5) Who was the kid who Ivy flipped the double deuce at for talking about film at? A Kane? Edit: on rewatch, yep, John Kane. Which just leads to other questions: I'm guessing the Kane's are rich as sin, since they're 'gentrifying Gotham'? So, why is John going to the public school? Or, why are Ivy and Harleen going to a fancy rich kid school? 6) Ivy was race swapped because Hollywood has been blackwashing redheads for years now. That's it.

[@blankadams3120]

@@nocount7517 Depends on the degree of redhead, I suppose, Irish redheads mostly burn...

[@AmaryInkawult]

Hollywood isn't shy about their fetishes

[@AmaryInkawult]

@@blankadams3120 yes, majority of red heads cannot handle sunlight. They need either sun screen or other protection because they are more susceptible to skin cancer via exposure. Much like Albinos.

[@DarthZ01]

mariko tomaki writing a lesbian romance based on toxic over controlling? imagine my utter and complete shock. willing to bet she treats all her exes like that.

[@blankadams3120]

@@DarthZ01 To be fair, she wasn't the first person to write Ivy and Harley together... it was just something I thought about when Blacklight pointed out how Ivy was written originally...

[@SunnysFilms]

Also, also, the whole Mama thing is unbelievably creepy. It's presented to the audience that it's okay for a minor to live with a grown man she doesn't even know just because he says he's gay. And at no point in the story does Harley ever tell her mother the situation. ........although, I'd have probably liked this comic better if it had turned into The Visit after that point......

[@otakusurnaturelle4501]

Wait, he's a STRANGER ?! I thought he was her uncle or something like this, not a total stranger. So creepy...😨

[@SunnysFilms]

@@otakusurnaturelle4501 Nope. That's her grandmother's apartment and when she gets there, he tells her her grandmother died and she asks to stay anyway and he's just cool with it. No one contacts her mom or anything.

[@otakusurnaturelle4501]

@@SunnysFilms There is so many things wrong in that situation...😨

[@lupinsredjacket3191]

@@SunnysFilms Wait, so then, *WHO* is "Mama"? Is he just some squatter or something? Suuuper unsettling.

[@SunnysFilms]

@@lupinsredjacket3191 He says he's a friend of the grandmother who's been renting her apartment since she died. Harley just takes his word for it because potatoes.

[@monstrosity6738]

17:33 “It’s Morbin Time” is unironically a better superhero catch phrase than this, and it doesn’t even exist.

[@akirafudo4419]

Ur pfp is amazing

[@doubleaabattery7562]

I honestly forgot that was a made up phrase-

[@SweetOrangeGirl]

I feel like Mariko is trying to be like the “How do you do, fellow kids?” meme.

[@akirafudo4419]

I know and she’s doing it with wokeness which makes it more cringey

[@SweetOrangeGirl]

@@akirafudo4419 Yep.

[@shinysoda6]

It hurts knowing that the story actually has some potential. It's just such a shame the idea came to such an untalented writer.

[@frug5629]

And she keeps getting work. Despite her absolutely shit tier writing. HOW?

[@shinysoda6]

@@frug5629 Because she adds "representation" and for some that is all they need to think a story is good. It's why the comic book industry is failing so much

[@white0thunderwhite0thunder71]

All stories have potential when they start. It depends on the direction of the writer that determines if they fulfill it or not.

[@patrickwillis13]

I'm sorry a book where harl and ivy tackle gentrification is a book that has zero potential to me. It sounds like some cheesey 70s comic.

[@lovelycloudyskies]

She rewrote Poison Ivy as a stereotypical loud black feminist to be the voice of her own political views. The REAL Poison Ivy wouldn’t even CARE about people, let alone POLITICS.

[@redunknown2354]

The fact that the art is so good makes me hate writers like Tamaki even more, cause not only is their talent wasted on such god awful writing and stories but there are people out there who would not give these artist a second chance simply because they worked with dip shit hacks like Tamaki. Bad writers, especially ones that think they're smarter than everyone else, ruin not just stories but also the reputation and sometimes even the passion of good artists out there. Edit: To answer your question as to why Ivy was changed from a redhead to a black person it's either one of two reasons. 1. It would've been too on the nose if she was made asian. 2. She's following the trend, in case you didn't know it's actually become a trend amongst people like Tamaki to racebend redheads into black people, you usually see this in tv shows and movies mostly based of comics but there are other examples, the ones at the top of my head are Starfire, Jimmy Olsen, Wally West, Iris West, Heimdall, Electro and Mary Jane.

[@lovelycloudyskies]

It’s annoying how they blackwash redheads. Make your own black characters, leave the redheads alone

[@zalybrainlessgenius503]

At least he got paid. When you're an artist, you have to take what's on the table

[@akirafudo4419]

Poor Steve having to draw such a terrible comic.

[@Chaotic_Jackal]

It takes real talent to make one of the more interesting characters from Batman’s rogue gallery both utterly boring yet somehow equally insufferable at the same time. I mean the first few pages in and I already hate this character.

[@Dogmelter42]

What baffles me, is that this isn't even their first attempt at trying to burn down the character of Harley Quinn. It seems to be a passtime at DC, instead of just remaining true to the character established in TAS.

[@Chaotic_Jackal]

@@Dogmelter42 Yeah I noticed that too. They keep handing her character off to hack writers that struggle to get past the self-insert fan fiction stage of writing and this is the usual end result. It’s sad really as BTAS Harley Quinn was one of my favorite growing up.

[@dragowolfraven3806]

Mine too. I liked Harley Quinn.

[@mugdhashirodkar3451]

@@Chaotic_Jackal A lack ok creativity leads to stagnation. DC and Marvel writers lack the creativity to make new characters so they try to change already established characters.

[@memememe609]

Tbf a lot of Batman's characters are very interesting. It's why Batman falling down like this is so much sadder than Superman or Green Lantern. It's like Spider-Man.

[@tieardragon4919]

Do people forget that Harley IS A FREAKING DOCTOR!?!?!?!? Does no one remember this????

[@richardharrison4762]

Wasn’t Harleen a psychologist who worked in Arkham? Wouldn’t she be focusing on psychology and criminology? Or expressing interest in how people around her think and why? Isn’t Pamerla an environmentalist? Wouldn’t she be angry at littering and pollution over movie directors?

[@Raider8110]

Jack, i congratulate you to survive this cesspool of Garbage without going insane. I myself couldn't fucking bear to even read the most of the initial pages without regurgitating.

[@goodnaturedgamer8181]

He has made it past his one bad day so he's going to be ok 👍

[@white0thunderwhite0thunder71]

Congratulate him for surviving multiple cesspools of this kind of garbage without going insane. Even the Joker is watching these videos saying, "Okay, this is too much crazy even for me..."

[@masavant]

I find it funny that DC Super Hero Girls has a better understanding of the DC lore and youth culture. It is a pity that DC hands over their characters to play a role that is outside their type cast role in these one off books and then complain about about not having or creating new characters. You cannot have Poison Ivy who cares about plant supremacy be taken seriously as a BIPOC BLM activist when Poison Ivy's character doesn't care about human and animal life and Harley Quinn as an activist is laughable when her best role is been in a toxic relationship with the Joker and when freed from it still wants to be in said relationship. The issue they need to address is putting adult characters into high school roles of today, when you already have youth characters like Damian Wayne, Terry Mcginnis and other characters from the Batman Beyond era who are the Batman's future villains. It is pointless to make activist versions of today's characters when the consumer is so bored that they lie down and accept DC Villains using the other shows formula like Friends and The Office.

[@lovelycloudyskies]

I applaud DC Superhero Girls for giving Supergirl a personality and struggles than her being a girl version of Superman. But it’s not about her. I hate it when DC rewrites characters and race swaps them because it’s for ‘diversity’. Harley Quinn now is just the girl version of Deadpool, except more annoying and less funny.

[@rhiannonhamilton4427]

It's such a sad and disappointing thing to see when someone writes/draws something that they REALLY REALLY don't care about. And as you said, miss tamaki just does not care about this story, the characters, or its lore especially when it comes to well-known and beloved characters that the fans hold dear with all their heart. It really bids the question why write about (insert beloved character) when you yourself don't like them and butcher their entire backstory? If tamaki wanted to write a story where she can stand on her soap box and spout her beliefs and garbage, then write something original with original characters. Don't hide behind the characters we love so you can trick REAL fans into buying your shoddy work to promote your ridiculous political beliefs. They will fall on deaf ears and these people will hate you for essentially click-baiting them with the promises of superhero action, drama, and FUN. It's fine if you want your story to have a message to resonate with your audience. They've been doing that since forever! But you need to remember: story and characters must always ALWAYS come first.

[@spectre9340]

Mariko Tamaki reminds me of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. He was the creator of _Riverdale_ , _The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina_ , was responsible for the second two seasons of _Glee_ , some of the worst episodes of _Supergirl_ , and despite all of that, they still want to keep giving him TV shows to write and create. It doesn't seem like people actually care about Mariko's writing. They see her previous work on her presumably lengthy resumé and think "Oh, this writer worked on DC comics. They _must_ be good! Let's give her more stuff to write"

[@kendra_t]

Aquirre-Sacasa wrote a decent Nightcrawler run in 2004. I actually got the impression he was interested in writing for the character and he did a good job making sense of conflicting bits of Kurt's backstory. I got the impression he actually liked and understood the character. I've never read any of his other stuff though so that sucks to hear.

[@vampybyte7812]

The chilling adventures of Sabrina was by far the worst offender as it not only used harmful stereotypes of witches to tell it's story, but it really did not utilize it's source material well. I tried watching it as someone who actually is a witch and the whole thing felt so typical and gross. Real women were killed because people automatically assumed witches worshiped the devil, there are some pagans that do mind you but their really REALLY rare. And on top of that they made Sabrina so out of place to her usual characterizations, It felt like I was watching something that was only made to make Sabrina edgy and dark. So of course throw in witches all worship satan and put in melodramatic 'teen' issues that sound like they were written by a 30-50 year old man. If ya couldn't tell the entire series is full of stereotypes that makes real life witches get a bad rep, Most of us already get harassed if we are public with our faith and shows like this really don't help.

[@Wulf_the_dollmaker]

The phrase “Time to get feminist” kinda sums up this whole dumpster fire tbh

[@AmaryInkawult]

Worst sin a comic can commit is being boring. At least I can laugh at how outrageous TJ Chic Tracts can be. And while Harley Quinn WOULD be first to smash someone's face in with a mallet and say a quip here and there, she wouldn't monologue about it in a YA novella fashion. That would be TOO obnoxious even for her.

[@SzandorQuinn]

yeah. she's a PROFESSIONAL supercriminal, and as we all know... Professionals have standards.

[@Takejiro24]

@@SzandorQuinn Be polite Be efficient Have a plan to *kill everyone you meet*

[@white0thunderwhite0thunder71]

Yet there seems to be a fan base...

[@AmaryInkawult]

@@white0thunderwhite0thunder71 ideologues don't exactly count when they don't buy the books.

[@AmaryInkawult]

They can sing praises from the rooftops all they damn well please but those praises are empty when they haven't read one damn page from these books.

[@Middy666]

If it wasn't you, I'd have clicked off this video the second I heard the word gentrification. I used to make silly little stick figure animations as a kid, and one day I was brainstorming an idea for a plot for the animation I'd make for the upcoming school talent show. My dad (bless his heart) thought of the oh so exciting idea of making an animation about a kid who doesn't do his homework and then gets in trouble for it, with a lesson added at the end about the importance of doing your homework. In addition to nearly falling asleep at the idea, I realized that people go to a talent show to be entertained, not preached at. So I went ahead and made a short about a cowboy and cowgirl wrangling a horse, and when the guy decides to goof off with the horse and gets kicked off, pulls his tail and gets kicked across the screen. Crowd loved it. If a 12 year old could figure out you need to entertain people in entertainment, why can't these supposed adults?

[@soju8217]

I've read fanfiction with deeper plot and characterization than any of those in Tamaki's works, but *she* gets paid for THIS???

[@jimstoesz3878]

The premise of "Harleen Quinzel as a 15yo getting up to wacky misadventures" is a *FANTASTIC* idea for a comic! I'd read the shit out of that! ... if the comic was actually about Harleen as a teenager and not just Mariko stapling a Harley Quinn mask to her face to draw more attention to her ice-cold takes.

[@doubleaabattery7562]

Except it sorta isn't, because Harleen was literally just some kid untill joker ruined her and made her all the things she is now. She doesn't even like clowns because of HERSELF, Joker just sorta made her like them. But yeah i get what you mean, sorry to be a contrarían

[@nocharliedont6895]

@@doubleaabattery7562 agreed🤷‍♀️

[@mastertofu]

It's funny that some stuff can be improved with small changes. Like, Ivy is an environmental activist, have her complain about how badly the school is treating the environment and maybe raise the film club as an example to what she sees as a waste of resource. They could explain why Harleen and Pamela are dressed as clowns by saying that they wanted something striking and noticeable for their protest, all about that theatrics. (Also protests doesn't seem like a thing either of the girls would do, maybe Ivy a bit and then realising protests amount to no change thus ecoterrorism.)

[@julianasohmer6176]

As a woman, I don't feel empowered by this work of "feminism". I don't know who finds this comic empowering, but I don't claim them.

[@ginghinaandrei5013]

Um... wasn't Harleen *already* a psychiatrist (thus adult) when she met Joker? And only after that she became Harley?

[@lunarlunatic]

yup. this isn't the first time mariko tamaki changed a character's backstory

[@trixiebat]

can mariko just stop

[@lovelycloudyskies]

@@Lord_Numpty both

[@nanalisa933]

I believe what's being said at 9.00 by "Mama" were: 1. "Mama" is his nickname, or what his friends called him. 2. However, he felt the need to then clarify that "Mama" (which usually refers to "Mother") does not mean that he's a woman, or trans woman, to object what Harleen initially called him as -"Miss Ma'am", and "Ms. Benny". That he is a man, "a proud gay man" even. 3. He's given his approval to Harleen that she could call him "Mama", without the "Ms." It might also implied that he had viewed her as a friend already at that point.

[@berrych3wy]

I remember seeing this comic at my high school. It’s likely that the librarians just looked at this comic and without reading it first, they thought, “Yep, this should be displayed for students to read.”

[@cartoonking1789]

Well yeah “comics are for kids” to these people.

[@cartoonking1789]

@@inky5574 they’ll say it’s “inappropriate for children”

[@rosykindbunny1313]

It was one of my state's 2022 Teen Book Award nominees. It goes without saying the book lost.

[@Adamguy2003]

As far as Poison Ivy and her passions go, she's supposed to be a plant- specializing environmentalist first and a feminist as a distant second. The Poison Ivy impersonator in this wretched comic has never even once mentioned plants or the environment so far, she's just bitched (In every sense of the word) about "the patriarchy" and whatnot. Oh, and if this is supposed to be partly her backstory as well as Harley's, why did the Ellen Degeneres- looking guy call her "Ivy"? Poison Ivy's real name is Pamela Lillian Isley, she didn't go by anything "Ivy"- related until the accident that turned her into Poison Ivy, which happened when she was college- age if not older. Did Mariko Tamaki never read or see ANYTHING with Poison Ivy before writing this wretched comic? @ 12:50, with the exception of 'Whale Rider,' all of those films she mentioned are rated R. As this takes place in a public high school, they I believe would not be allowed to show R- rated films on school grounds as an official school- club activity. "All you really need to do to them is take away their phones. They hate that." The same thing could also be said about modern obnoxious SJWs like the Poison Ivy impersonator in this wretched comic. They'd probably throw an even BIGGER tantrum over having their phones stolen than preppy guys would, in fact.

[@bacht4799]

I got annoying by those films she mentions.. if she could mention some older ones or something from another countries then I could have a agreement with her .. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night , The Watermelon Woman , ect.. “ sorry can’t remember another then those two right now there are more but I can’t remember or focus on it “ but as said if she have done that it would be more believable I think.. the another thing just seems lazy..

[@Adamguy2003]

@@bacht4799 The only one of the films she mentioned that I've actually seen was 'The Babadook.' It was a decent enough psychological horror film and look at what grief can do to a person, but nothing to really write home about.

[@memememe609]

Pamela turned into Ivy while working in the experiment that turned Jason Woodrue into Plant Master, so she was already of working age

[@lovelycloudyskies]

@@Adamguy2003 The fact that Jennifer Kent (the creator of Babadook) can make a pop-up book and direct a movie better than Mariko can write a decent story is just hilarious honestly.

[@zalybrainlessgenius503]

I though she just generally hates humanity. Her feminism is a by product of her man-eating persona

[@cakefrosting6451]

Pity that the comics are well-drawn, or rather, beautifully drawn, but the author is the thing that makes the story terrible… Art, often more than not, shows the views of the creator in question, and how they view the world. Whether their story in question is meant to talk about a political thing or they do it for the passion of making a story. And by creator, I mean the author for this case, cause your illustrator, if they are a separate entity, can have differing views from the author. But their job is to illustrate as the author scripted. So their illustration is just following a bad script in this case, which they really tried to make the best out of the material they were given. And many times, we judge the story by its writing, not so much the drawings or animations. Just look at regular books like the Chronicles of Narnia, they don’t need to have illustrations to be good, it’s just walls of text and reader’s imagination from what has been described. So unfortunately, for how nice the illustrations are, Mariko doesn’t have good storytelling capabilities.

[@mrdollyman5675]

“Whenever someone calls attention to the breaking of ‘gender roles,’ it ultimately undermines the concept of gender equality by suggesting that this is the exception and not the status quo.” -Knuckles the Echidna

[@izanasato]

Sometimes I feel like wattpad writers are better than these “professional” writers 💀

[@vivianbrights8953]

I agree

[@zalybrainlessgenius503]

These writers are wattpad writers all grown up

[@jameschism6560]

What has Mariko done to 2 of my DC waifuS??

[@Rogue.Rainbow]

And they do their best to make sure the fans waifus aren’t poisoned into…that.

[@mbob4337]

She destroys all good characters.

[@DTylerFultzVA]

(reads dialogue) Charlie from Smiling Friends: "This is the most obnoxious thing I've ever experienced in my life."

[@shadowdante1102]

I hate how Harley was written, but my god, they shit all over Poison Ivy.... like how does she not have even a basic understanding of Ivy??? Also, why does everyone forget that Harley is actualy smart. She has a PhD, shes just insane.

[@MelodyRose96]

I think Tamaki would do better at writing original works. She obviously cannot write already established characters and IPs without inserting her personal beliefs, completely butchering them and making them act OOC as a result. Maybe if she didn't have the name/brand recognition to cash off of the suckers that buy anything DC or marvel, she would actually have to think and improve her skills when nobody buys her radical feminist propaganda disguised as storytelling. I like to think that everyone has potential to make great things, but only if they had the willingness or motivation to improve, and that includes Tamaki.

[@nedeeressarts5310]

0:16 No, why it's she again 😭 She destroyed starfire, now she will do the same with Harley?

[@10superpower]

I'm convinced Mariko Tamaki has never read a comic book. Neither has she watched a TV show or movie based on a comic character. Harley Quinn was invented for the 90's Batman animated series. She was included in the comic lore later because she was so popular. So she couldn't even be assed to sit down for an hour to watch Harley's actual backstory be explained. Instead, she decided to waste days to weeks writing a new one that demonstrates how little she knows about anyone and anything, both real and fictional.

[@tehskullmunkymedia594]

I love how Tamaki disregardes the fact that Harley grows up to be a fucking Docter, & writes her as an airheaded twit. Then again, you write what you know I guess

[@greenbeans9748]

The art is beautiful, but great artwork for a story alone isn't enough to make it good. It has to have a cool plot, interesting characters, natural dialog, and be written for the purpose of telling a story, not to preach propaganda or for representation points. Writing is *extremely* difficult, but that's why we revise our rough drafts several times, ask for feedback on how to improve, and look at both good and bad works to figure out what to do and what not to do. Also, I personally have no problem with minority themes or issues in a story as long as they are written a very specific way (as in not constantly shoved in my face, the characters have an actual personality instead of being just a minority, written for fun and not for praise, etc.).

[@sloomy5847]

13:45 this line hit me in such a weird way, because like, here in Brazil, one of our most famous artists was a woman, her name was Tarsila de Amaral, and her paintings havena pretty high value

[@rurihime4965]

Não esperava um br por aqui

[@aboxinspace]

​@@rurihime4965sempre tem br

[@TheCombatWombat0]

Tamaki writes in what I refer to, "texting" Like, her work reads like you're reading text messages from some annoying person trying to sound cool. She also does a lot of "tell, don't show" How she's considered an award winning writer is shocking.

[@TheEmeraldWeirdo]

Maybe she just showed up at an awards ceremony and was so annoying they gave her an award so she'd shut up and go away.

[@ultra6671]

The whole theory that Mariko Tamaki hated the idea of Poison Ivy using her feminine charm to access her powers is especially funny when The Batman gave us a younger version of the character who managed to incapacitate others without needing to seduce them and ironically, was also portrayed as an angry protestor who didn't get along with others before becoming a supervillain

[@draketheduelist]

Huh. Breaking Glass features a non-white lesbian double-handedly flipping somebody off and calling people dicks. I Am Not Starfire includes a non-white lesbian double-handedly flipping somebody off and calling people dicks. I think Mariko might have a type... if not a full complex. At least these characters are villains... except according to DC's lore, Harlene had a psychology doctorate long before the events that would see Joker mold her into his protégé / "love" interest. This whole excursion is no less than ten years (likely many more) removed from her actual supervillain origin, let alone a modern canon where Bruce is multiple deaths in and has been shown to be past his prime more than once, retcons notwithstanding. (Which makes the mention of _The Hurt Locker_ be a bit of a lurch. That film came out in 2008. And for the record, The Babadook was 2014, Pariah was 2011, and Whale Rider was all the way in 2002. The _oldest_ film directed by a woman that Tamaki thinks is worth discussion is only twenty years old at time of writing. Oof.) If anything, this kind of origin story actually manages to damage her motivations. To the uninitiated, Harlene Quinzel was a psychologist working at Arkham who was dead set on exploiting the various infamous criminals of Gotham by writing about them and selling their stories to get rich. (Think the kinds of people who make documentaries on Charles Manson IRL.) A real opportunistic piece of work, all told. The point of Joker turning her was that Harlene was so arrogantly confident in her ability to use and abuse the "criminally insane" of Gotham that she never considered that she might not be the biggest dog in the yard, and everything that Joker would do to her from then on was her punishment. The Harlene of canon had _zero_ compunctions with trying to make a ton of money unethically. If she had a place in this kind of story at all, it would be as the kid of the corporate big wigs behind the gentrification. If Harlene put that much effort into fighting corporate corruption, what happened to her in the next twenty years to make her do a complete 180 and decide that corruption and sleazy profit are the way to go? I actually buy that there would be a lot of corrupt corporate attempts to gentrify Gotham, especially in the years where Thomas and Martha are dead and Bruce is presumably training around the world. In fact, if you hold _Batman Beyond_ to be canon (and we _do_ because we're good boys and girls around here; might as well given that Harley was born in the Timmverse), those gentrification efforts ultimately succeeded, up to and including demolishing the very alley where Bruce lost his parents. In fact, as you can imagine, Bruce was literally the last holdout. ...Sorry, I got distracted by thoughts of a _good_ story. Anyway, the point of all the corruption in Batman's mythos is that Gotham is rotten to the core, but has good enough PR that most people don't care. Establishments which should stand for helping average people routinely look the other way, line their own pockets, and canoodle with organized (or even disorganized) crime. We all know the line that Batman is "the hero Gotham deserves", and he absolutely is, but what most people miss is what a _stone cold insult_ that's supposed to be to Gotham. The best the entire city has to offer is one solitary (if wealthy and frighteningly skilled) nutcase who has to carry the entire city on his back because he feels that he must... and he's basically right. Tamaki is actually _frighteningly_ close to a real Batman story here. The players are in place... plus some extra ones... but the framing is all wrong. The role of Harley in this story should be as an antagonist. She'd be some construction bigshot's snoody prodigy daughter who gets spoiled completely rotten to the point where she bullies some no-name original characters who do all the diversity protesting stuff. (And fun bonus: due to the time periods, said OCs could be fighting for _actual_ civil rights back in the _actual_ 60's, instead of taking after modern SJWs who cry and burn things until they get their ba-ba.) More Batman stories than you'd think center around some irrelevant nobody who gets wrapped up in bat-shenanigans. I recall one episode of the Animated Series where a guy cuts somebody off in traffic, that somebody turns out to be the Joker, and Joker chases him down and demands a favor at some point in the future. Years later, the guy now has a wife and kid, and Joker shows up to call his favor in. It really shows off how, despite getting his teeth kicked in by the Caped Crusader on the regular, Joker is still one scary, dangerous, unpredictable mofo to average dudes like us. (Also, I don't care _what_ propaganda Wayne Enterprises has been funding, Gotham seriously needs to adopt constitutional carry. Let's see the Clown Prince of Crime try and pull his usual crap on Ted Nugent...)

[@KrisGastrell]

4:56 oh god that one scene it's basically "look I'm crazy look how crazy I am I talk like crazy people I'm so crazy"

[@Bubbleskittymaster]

she does realize progressive people can gentrify too. also the ivey in this version mirrors a good amount of the girls in my high school.

[@leonlinn7910]

And they wonder why Manga is outselling Western Comics I'm still pissed about that Mama thing, just WHY??

[@blankadams3120]

4:28 Okay, way down on the lower right corner is a text bubble that you didn't point out, so, I just want to point at it, and just go, "What?" 'LIKE BUILDING BUILDING BUILDING REALLY BIG BUILDING BUILDING BUILDING-TYPE THING.' Okay, well, first off: Building doesn't feel like a word any longer. Second, that's how she describes Gotham's feel and look. It looks like a building shaped building. Well done, Mariko, have a cookie and go to your room to think about learning some god damn adjectives! That's done, on to my next point: The Red Riding hood analogy. Dear Mariko: The Wolf? In the story? Is a metaphor. It's not necessarily a real wolf. First and foremost. Secondly, Red? Is a child. In a time period where wolves would've been one of if not the most dangerous thing she could've run across in the absolute middle of nowhere. Who's going to save her? Grandma? No, it would be the guy who has an axe in hand already who heard the screams. Not to mention, there's a largely untold part of the fable where the wolf manages to convince Red to eat parts of her grandmother, and drink her blood. Because the wolf isn't necessarily A WOLF!

[@Pandachu123]

UM, WHAT?!?! WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT RED GOING CANNIBALISTIC?! 😱

[@blankadams3120]

@@Pandachu123 It's one of those often ignored parts of the fairy tale, much like Cinderella's step sisters mutilating themselves to get the glass slipper to fit their feet... Red shows up to Grandma's house hungry and thirsty. The wolf tricks Red into eating her grandma's flesh and drinking her blood. I think that happens just before the wolf eats Red, maybe to fatten her up a bit?

[@skrall107]

The point you had about boring comics reminded me of something my favorite director Sam Raimi said: "The worst crime I think a filmmaker can make is to make a boring picture. If it's boring, it's over. You have failed at entertaining them. You've committed a crime. "

[@cheyennesmith3365]

If Poison Ivy was an activist for plants that would’ve worked for this version of the character. That would’ve helped set up her arc into becoming a villain. But the writer doesn’t seem to be interested in plant life activism. She only cares about female inequality.

[@cartoonking1789]

I think she took away Ivy’s fem fatal persona for that exact reason and I think she raceswaped her because you can’t have too many white people in the comic that look good, Harley is already pushing it.

[@ignisvis8867]

and they wonder why manga are selling more than their comics... I'm sorry for the artist that did an amazing job but on such awful story

[@cloudiiqueenofnewtropilis]

I feel like tamaki is the type of person to break everything they touch-

[@engineerskalinera]

I opened the video, not knowing who the comic was written by. 1 second in, I read "Mariko Tamaki" and immediately realized that this is going to be a *fun, fun* series.

[@mcallegory8106]

I feel like at this point I'm starting to go numb to these sort of things but man, I really do feel bad for Steve. I can see that man really is a talented artist and it sucks that his efforts couldn't have gone to a more... lets just say "Professional" project.

[@WladcaPodziemia]

I miss the time when I didnt know anything about Harely's backstory and just assumed she was "average" person that Jocker twisted into crazy form we know now.

[@krnatsu]

My disdain towards Tamaki is half of the fact that she's a terrible writer who recycles the same basic plot over and over again, but what grinds my gears even more is her treatment of iconic and beloved characters and botching them to the point of unrecognisablilty. Whether it's someone as popular as Harley or as well loved as Starfire, Tamaki doesn't care about them, she doesn't care about how hard people like Paul Dini and others have worked to make Harley, Starfire and other characters as beloved as they are. Its one thing to write a poorly written story and characters, is another thing entirely when the characters in question are ones that are loved by so many people and are loved because of how well written they are. It's one of the reasons why fan fiction can get so much flack, because the writer will just change the character to suit their narrative, rather than writing it so as to stay true to who said character is and how they would react

[@spectre9340]

8:07 I'm assuming Ms. Benny is a drag queen or something. I watch a lot of _RuPaul's Drag Race_ and it seems very common for them to refer to each other like that (using feminine titles and pronouns even tho they're not actually trans women). "Mama" is probably just a nickname and not actually their stage name. Kinda like when gangsters would call the Mafia boss "Bid Daddy" or something like that. edit: I think in the context of the scene, it was supposed to be "You don't have to call me 'Ms. Benny'. Just call me 'Mama"

[@conradvallon5661]

If I were to concur what not Ivy said is actually wrong about women in the arts given that with a few Google searches the earliest female writer was a Greek poet in 570 BCE and not only that but the first female film director Alice Guy-Blache was a pioneer in the film industry to make the first narrative film in the world called "The Cabbage Fairy" I could add on with manga authors but you get my point So my question is why doesn't Ivy ever once mentions this or talk about watching one of Alice works for the film club instead she cries and whines about how the club is sexist towards women rather than going to the school board or making a case with the other members of the club and getting majority rule on her side. But instead she decides to say that the world is full of inequality just because? That is just textbook definition of being butthurt for no reason.

[@b3rz3rk3r9]

And stuff like this is why I'm more for pulps and Manga. Seriously, you don't see Q Hayashida, Makoto Yukimura, Kentaro Miura (God rest his soul), Robert E Howard (God rest his soul), and Michael Moorcock doing this s***.

[@Theskeletonemperor]

wait,ivy is a vegan here? with the character i know shed probably eat anything but vegetables just so she doesnt have to hurt plants

[@justaskmonica1013]

Can you possibly review her book this one summer it was banned from some schools because it was inappropriate coming of age story but this story won two awards

[@ChaosoneX]

I would second this. I mean I looked at it once in the library, and I thought it was... okayish, but I fully admit to reading just the first ten-twenty pages of the first chapter and then skipping right to the last twenty or so pages (because, oh god is this book not for me). But the main character remains a "whiny bitch that does passive aggressive things "archetype.

[@justaskmonica1013]

@@ChaosoneX I wasn’t that put off with the character’s attitude because it’s a child plus I’ve seen child characters that I hated like Ben from Ben 10 from example but I’m wondering if it’s good I read this when I was 16 and I thought the writing was good but that was probably my lack of knowledge of what is a good book I haven’t read it again but I’m interested to see other peoples opinions

[@etherealaesthetical]

A comic/ fictional world can be a great way to talk about real life issues, AS LONG AS THE WAY THAT ISSUE IS PORTRAYED IN THE STORY MAKES SENSE IN THE WORLD OF THE STORY. There will always be a better way to insert an idea rather than just saying it how it is in the real world. Saying it how it is (aka, “this race of people who coincidentally have black features are being extremely oppressed by this race of people who coincidentally have white features”, “for some reason all the men don’t think women are equal”, etc) will always pull readers out of a story without them thinking about the issues that you are trying to present. Especially if this world has a completely different backstory than our own, like it has magic and gods or always had gender/racial equality

[@ShioriMizuyamiKyu]

Does Mariko hates gingers(more specifically, gingers who are considered attractive)? Cause between character assassining Starfire and race washing Poison Ivy, you got to wonder.🤔

[@basketbomberslackingson4417]

Little Red is 8. If she throws a punch at the wolf, that hand is coming off. Harley would last a little longer but she’s going down too for jumping the gun. Doesn’t matter who swings that axe as long as they’re an adult lumberjack. They’ve experience with an axe, they’ve some meat on their bones, they’re big enough to make a difference.

[@mcawesomeytyo3312]

I think we all agree that the story and writing must go first. There may be a time and place for political and woke messages but even then, they must be written with subtlety and respect. Unfortunately Mariko Tamaki couldn’t do that, everything is on-the-nose, there is an old proverb written thousands of years ago in the ancient scrolls and it is “show don’t tell.” Crap like “I am not Starfire” and “Harley Quinn Breaking Glass” is too on-the-nose and the woke messages are not treated with respect.

[@kai8618]

I feel like a more accurate depiction of Harleen thinking red riding hood would be like, "How the heck was the girl and the grandmother still even alive in a wolf's stomach anyway? What the heck were they doing in there? Playing cards or something?"

[@DrewFC]

As soon as you said that it was written by the moron who wrote im not starfire. I already knew this was gonna be a fun time.

[@cresoma]

My guess on the whole Benny thing is that ‘Mama’ is a personal nickname, so he lets Harleen know that his friends mainly use it, but apparently since he’s gay she can call him that too?

[@victoriafinlay23hda]

I really hate how hey dumbed down what used to be actually a very smart complex villan and her tragic backstory...she wasn't always a crazy ditizy clown she was a very smart cualified professional who was groomed and got stuck in a abusive pshycotic relationship and only played the ditzy idiot to humor the Joker becuase he doesn't like being out smart ed...to the point she lost who she used to be and can only be what the Joker molded her into

[@kellymacias7340]

The fact that they made ivy a rights activist that cares about other people just shows how Mari whatever her name is doesn't even know what she is taking about Ivy shouldn't care about the human race in general, why would she give a shit about the unequals of a race she literally wants to kill off??????? Mari t tamaki(?) Doesn't even know ANYTHING about the character she's "trying" to write

[@Rogue.Rainbow]

I’m sorry did I just hear him say that this comic has a 4/5?! THAT IS INEXCUSABLE!

[@GoopMeister]

the way bro called it a "waste of trees" is VILE 💀

[@didjargo]

The reason why Ivy was race-washed to black is precisely because she's a redhead. The woke entertainment industry has this thing about replacing ginger character with black ones for the hypocritical sake of diversity. I'm guessing that the only reason why Starfire wasn't black in "I Am Not Starfire" is because Mariko wouldn't be able to draw her daughter to look like her self-insert. Didn't save Starfire in the WB Titans show though.

[@nattiebats]

As a girl I think Harley Quinn is already an amazing, powerful female character. Many of the female superheroes and villains are in DC. I don’t see why people need to politicize everything, it can actually make people and things more divisive

[@criimorh]

Damn is such a shame the illustrations are SOO GOOOD

[@SunnysFilms]

Hard disagree: this comic is lightyears worse than I Am Not Starfire. Also, gotta love that feminist dig at Little Red Riding Hood. How dare a child need to be rescued by an adult!

[@cartoonking1789]

Stuff like this makes me think that Mariko Tamaki and everyone like her in the western entertainment market right now only got there jobs because they hit certain checkboxes or they parrot the right talking points because stuff like this is just boring ideological lecturing.

[@The_miIk]

I feel so bad for the artist.

[@GMan-bn3tb]

why can't they make YA DCcomics on the actual teenagers of DC? why turn a adult into a adolescent? Harley Quinn's story starts when she a therapist working with the Joker, a teenage Harley would be a nerd! not her Jokerfied self. It makes it seem out of place and wonky

[@badrat484]

I never got the appeal of Harley Quinn. I always thought she was annoying and gets way too much attention

[@missmeme3946]

harley overrated character 🙄

[@KingofKrustycrab]

When Harleen Quinzell became "Harley Quinn" she is was a fucking adult, and a therapist at that. It's one thing to change how a character acts, but it's more frustrating and insufferable when you change their origin story.

[@MadGas_111]

Ladies and gentlemen, why is Harley sounding crazy before she was chilling with the joker? I thought she was a sound minded person before then.

[@roadbreach]

One thing I hate about these people who virtue signal is that they feel the need to bring up the bigoted ways of the past, like the police being formed to track down slaves or whining about the fact that female artists weren't propped up back then.

[@daneyal7162]

When you get right down to it, the problem with modern entertainment is that people like Mariko Tamaki are the ones hired to write stories. Not because they are good writers, but because of their political beliefs, for the purpose of writing activist material in the guise of stories for people who spend more time on twitter than actually reading comic books, or watch comic book related stuff.

[@Smackmate]

I didn't recognize the name of the comic but then I saw the artwork and it finally came to me lol. A girlfriend of mine showed it to me years ago and it was a total meme

[@astralengine666]

I think it would have been interesting to check from the backstory she already had instead of just copy-paste the character, but make it younger. Just imagine a teen that witness events, maybe see other hero/bad guys before they change, then takes interest in psychology. Slowly progress in life, with a little bit of curiosity, just to be crashed by a crazy clown. Hum maybe that's not ideal. Anyone have other ideas?

[@jetboyblue4478]

I really love your critique I would’ve loved to have a chance to do a official Batman comic for DC but that probably would never happen well maybe concerning my own stuff.

[@arsd.711]

The Ivy portrayal in this makes me seethe so much and it's not even because of the race bending, but her Actions just doesn't make any sense. Like man she's a well intentioned eco and environmental terrorist first, not just someone fighting against patriarchy. Forget the freaking bechdel test or whatever, she's way more concerned about plants than other things. Her whole fight against men is just an extension to her plant agenda femme fatale character. Also, it just doesn't line up with her college incident that turned her into Poison Ivy. Oh, and what are they even doing attending this rich school if they dislike everything in it.

[@CherryPascalle]

My idea to save Harley Quinn: Harley works as a psychologist and is incredibly intrigued by Arthur Fleck because she herself is a political activist for social justice. She sees the good in Arthur, with whom everything is already lost in the meantime. This idea is so simple and so good that I should actually patent it immediately. This story writes itself. And most importantly, it would perfectly show the negative sides of the SJW "culture" and how it can destroy a person.

[@theredheadwiththread1275]

Why is Poison Ivy *named* Ivy?? Her real name was Pamela Isley.

[@fluidwolf]

The fact that hey have Harley basically taking on the things that happened because of Joker screwing with her before they even make just makes me...really unhappy. Part of the point of her is that Joker manipulated her into being like that. It was a show of how dangerous Joker was from a psychological standpoint. She WASNT quirky and random before him, she was or at least tried to be professional in how she acted. Her zaniness came from the Joker. This is a very basic thing for the character and that it is immediately screwed up just saddens me