One of my favorite non-hyphenate supervillains is getting a hyphen in another way. This is what we know about the Kite Man spin-off of Harley Quinn. The series should be coming to Max … at some point in the future. According to Animation Magazine, the streamer assured audiences at the Annecy Festival in June 2023 that Kite Man: Hell Yeah! (formerly titled Noonan’s) is still in development.
Most of the time, I would not condone male characters getting spinoffs from female-led properties. I don’t want to be reminded that even when girls get the spotlight, some people still want to center the boys. I actually don’t think we need a Ken movie, TYVM! But this is a rare exception. Another is the canceled-before-it-began Luke Evans Gaston Disney+ show. Sure it seemed unnecessary, but I was intrigued until the fates decided it wasn’t meant to be.
A Harley Quinn spinoff couldn’t happen to a sillier little guy. But there’s another reason I’m glad this is happening. Kite Man (Matt Oberg) is a great character, but during his tenure on Harley Quinn, he was largely in the way. He spent the first season wooing and dating Ivy when we all knew she was going to end up with Harley. I was happy to see the hilarious himbo, but at what cost, you know? Then he pretty much disappeared. It’s better for all involved that he gets his own show.
What (and who else) is Kite Man about?
Well, for one thing, Kite Man has a new girlfriend. Her name is Lisa Snart, aka Golden Glider, voiced by Cathy Ang (And Just Like That…). If the surname Snart sounds familiar to you, then you won’t be surprised to learn that she is Captain Cold’s little sister. The show will be about the two of them running a villains’ bar in Gotham called Noonan’s. Since Kite Man is a spinoff, fans can expect to see their favorite characters from Harley Quinn popping up in the series. Series co-creator Patrick Schumacker described the series saying, “We have Harley and Ivy appear in the first episode, but after that, we have different goons and villains appearing every episode like Lex Luthor and Bane. It will be kind of like Cheers for supervillains.”
Personally, I liked the old title better, but I get why they changed it to something more recognizable.
When should the show hit Max?
That, like everything else in the film and television industry, is a major TBD. We know Max ordered ten episodes, but unless they were all written and recorded before the WGA and SAG strikes, it’s going to be a long time before Kite Man hits our screens.
(featured image: Max)
