Harley Quinn #70 – Sam Humphries, Writer; Sami Basri, Artist; Hi-Fi, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: It’s time for another shake-up in Harley’s status quo in Harley Quinn #70, as her quest to cope with her grief over her mother’s death leads her to Los Angeles. Running away from her friends in Coney Island and her family in Florida, Harley has taken up as a pro wrestler in a secret metahuman fighting ring. She fights Z-list villains like Crux and tag-teams with her friend and roommate Alicia, who gets powers from a mysterious green gem.
Alicia is also a single mother, and Harley’s quickly slipped into the role of the girl’s bad-influence best friend. It’s a unique new status quo that seems to have a lot of potential, with Harley seeming to finally find some peace here – at least until an unpleasant reminder snaps her right back to her grief. The only negative of her new home in LA? A shady wrestling promoter who wants Harley and Alicia to turn on each other for a highly hyped match that will be rigged in Harley’s favor.
While Harley tries to figure out her next move, she visits a karaoke bar – and encounters fellow deeply-troubled hero Booster Gold, who she last encountered when they were both on the run after being framed by Wally West in Heroes in Crisis.
This raises a lot of questions, since it seemed like Harley’s own title was out of continuity. But now it seems she remembers everything from that event in this title, which puts a much darker pall on the recent events as Harley grapples with far more than a personal loss. Booster may be a less-than-inspiring heroic role model most of the time, but he also turns out to be a good listening ear for Harley and helps her make a decision about the match. That leads to the book’s ending twist, which takes the title in a much darker direction and one that I’m not a huge fan of. While it could be taken in a good direction, it seems to cut off some very interesting plot threads just as they kick off.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
