Easter Eggs You Missed In Harley Quinn Season 3

Task Force X leader Amanda Waller (Tisha Campbell) makes a brief cameo in "Harley Quinn" Season 3, Episode 1. After claiming that Poison Ivy "hasn't done anything evil in years," Harley decides to kidnap Waller out of spite and present her to Ivy as a sort of gift. Unfortunately, Harley doesn't actually realize who Waller is at the time, so she's wholly unprepared for a retaliatory attack from the Suicide Squad. Of course, the only member of the team who actually shows up is Plastique (Kari Wahlgren).

Despite not appearing in person, the other members of the Suicide Squad still get some flashy intros, which DC fans may recognize as an homage to David Ayer's not-so-beloved 2016 film. In the first live-action "Suicide Squad" movie, each villain gets a colorful introductory montage, complete with their names and talents sprayed across the screen. James Gunn's 2021 reboot used a similar style in its promotional materials, but the particular choice of characters in "Harley Quinn" — Katana, Deadshot, Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang, and Enchantress — seems like a specific nod to the earlier film.

Given that David Ayer's "Suicide Squad" wound up flopping, it's telling that the team doesn't actually show up to save Waller from Harley and Ivy. The show has never shied away from making fun of other corners of the DC universe, and the goofy Suicide Squad intros feel like yet another case of just that.

"Harley Quinn" Season 3, Episode 3 centers on the 83rd Annual Supervillain Awards, or Villies, at which Harley and Ivy are nominated in the category of "Best Couple." The whole episode is a treasure trove of deep-cut "Batman" references due to the sheer number of bad guys in attendance, but it also pokes a lot of fun at real-world award shows.

Early on in the ceremony, Harley chats with the Riddler and Clock King, who reveal that they bribed the head of the Gotham Foreign Press in an attempt to secure a win. This is a direct reference to the real-world Hollywood Foreign Press Association — the group behind the Golden Globe Awards. In 2021, the HFPA was thrown into the spotlight by a lengthy exposé from the Los Angeles Times. The report called up decades worth of controversies and scandals, ranging from the organization's exclusive membership and staggering lack of diversity to numerous allegations of accepting bribes for awards consideration. This resulted in boycotts from studios and NBC refusing to televise the 2022 Golden Globes.

Later in the episode, Kite Man (Matt Oberg) says that he was nominated for "Best D-Lister" at the "less publicized but definitely equally prestigious Technical Villy Awards." This is a reference to the Scientific and Technical Oscars, which are still given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but which receive much less attention than the "regular" Academy Awards. In another thinly-veiled jab at the Academy, Catwoman gives a speech about racism in the villain industry after winning her trophy, referencing the numerous criticisms that have been leveled at the Oscars for their lack of diversity.

"Harley Quinn" Season 3, Episode 3 features a ton of lesser-known DC villains, many of whom are only briefly glimpsed in background shots. As you might expect from the name of the awards show, the Villies bring out a lot of comic book baddies. While some of the characters in attendance are called out directly — like Nora Freeze, Black Manta, and the Riddler — many more are left for viewers to identify on their own.

Among those at the show are "Flash" villains Captain Cold and Reverse Flash, "Wonder Woman" foe Cheetah, "Superman" enemy Livewire, the absurdly dressed Calendar Man, and Doctor Trap, who features prominently in an episode of "Harley Quinn" Season 2. Other antagonists like Sinestro, Solomon Grundy, and KGBeast are also in attendance. At one point, Joker names Catwoman the winner of the Joe Chill Honorary Award, referencing the infamous mugger who killed Bruce Wayne's parents.

There's also a brief "In Memoriam" segment at the Villies, parodying the Oscars tradition. The slideshow features a rundown of the villains Harley and crew have taken out over the course of the series, including Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Penguin, and the Queen of Fables.

While he doesn't actually show up in the series that often, Lex Luthor (Giancarlo Esposito) looms large over "Harley Quinn," including in Season 3. The bald mogul reads like a cartoonish Jeff Bezos or Jim Sinegal-type, with multiple characters visiting the obvious Costco parody More-4-Lex at different points throughout the season. When Clayface tricks Billy Bob Thornton into coming over for dinner, he's seen cooking with a jar of "Luthor's Own" brand tomato sauce — a spoof of the late Paul Newman's charity-focused Newman's Own brand.

In the Season 3 finale, while shopping at More-4-Lex, Poison Ivy is called by Lex on the store's many TV screens. He's shown babying a tiny dog in increasingly silly ways, playing into the trope of maniacal bad guys always having helpless pets to keep them company. When you have such a talented star voicing Lex Luthor, it makes sense to make good use of him, and "Harley Quinn" never forgets who the most powerful villain on Earth really is.

In addition to being a reference rundown of every major "Joker" trope from the past few decades, the "Harley Quinn" Season 3 episode "Joker: The Killing Vote" also takes inspiration from real-life political progressives. In particular, the Joker's new public persona and political platform seem to mirror those of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.

From declaring before the masses that he is indeed a socialist to the demographic makeup of his staunchest supporters, Mayor Joker reads like a purple-suited parody of the Vermont politician. Young fans of his political agenda are referred to as "Jo Bros" — a clear twist on the "Bernie Bros" tag attributed to Sanders' own youthful supporters. Joker's platform includes many of the same big-picture goals that Sanders has championed over the years, including free universal healthcare, free higher education, and tax accountability for the rich. Some might say that these ambitions are simply common sense, but in the world of "Harley Quinn" — like our own — they seem to be radical notions.

In a clear mental lapse, Bruce Wayne alters Poison Ivy's plant super-serum at the end of "Harley Quinn" Season 3 in an attempt to resurrect his dead parents. The result? A horde of the undead laying siege to Gotham from within. The short-lived arc lets the show play with some classic zombie clichés, as well as a curious blink-and-you'll-miss-it Disney reference.

After the initial zombie attack, Doctor Psycho (Tony Hale) is the first living character to get infected. When prodded about his condition, he lies and says that he's fine, prompting a branch to grow out of his nose. The coincidence is a clear reference to the story of Pinocchio, whose nose famously grows longer each time he tells a lie. While no one mentions Pinocchio by name in the scene, Clayface does acknowledge the reference, calling Psycho's transformation "a bit on the nose, even for me."

Of course, this moment is also an homage to the classic zombie movie trope of someone getting infected and hiding the truth from the rest of the group. It's a fate that's laid claim to countless side characters throughout the history of the genre, now including Doctor Psycho.

The odd focal point around which much of "Harley Quinn" Season 3 revolves is the Thomas Wayne biopic "A Hard Wayne's Gonna Fall," starring Clayface as Billy Bob Thornton as Thomas Wayne and directed by DC veteran James Gunn (playing himself). The film lingers in the background for most of the season, and its premiere is the venue for the finale, which sees Bruce Wayne arrested for tax fraud.

Music buffs might recognize the title of the fictitious film as a pun on the Bob Dylan song "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall." However, the reference goes deeper than just simple wordplay. Several of the lyrics in Dylan's ballad could easily be superimposed over Bruce Wayne's life, which is fitting given the subject matter of the movie.

"Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?" the song opens. "And where have you been, my darling young one?" Dylan paints a grim picture of the harsh realities of modern life, and several bits in particular seem fitting for Batman. "I've stumbled on the side of 12 misty mountains," Dylan sings. "I heard the sound of a clown who died in an alley ... where the people are many and their hands are all empty." Obviously, the Thomas Wayne movie is basically just one elongated joke, but it's interesting to see that the song chosen works as both a pun and a theme for Batman.