The following contains spoilers for Harley Quinn Season 3, Episode 5, "It's a Swamp Thing," which premiered Aug. 11 on HBO Max.
One of the most intriguing, welcomed aspects of Harley Quinn has been how it managed to juggle a sprawling cast. The series has worked her supporting crew in pretty nicely, paving the way for Harley and Poison Ivy to embark on a romance, while keeping their vision to rebuild Gotham intact. It's also allowed other villains to shine, detailing Joker trying to redeem himself, and Bane slipping into a depression.
However, the show has subverted its heroes, for both good and bad. Harley Quinn made Jim Gordon a flawed man running for mayor, turned Swamp Thing into a toxic problem, while comically shaping Batman as a hero more focused on pleasing Catwoman than repairing the city. Now, as Season 3 rolls on, it's clear two members of Bruce's family deserve their own spinoff due to how much they've elevated the humor in the series in such a short span of time.
This is none other than Damian Wayne and Nightwing/Dick Grayson. In the past, Damian came off like a whiny, spoiled, entitled brat, which led to Harley and Co. teaching him a lesson. The present, funnily enough, did the same when an emo Dick came back home, annoying his teammates in "There's No Ivy in Team."
Damian was the one who laid into him, calling him "dickwad," and making fun of how he operated like a kid. They'd bicker later on in an escape room as well, creating a wacky dynamic as siblings that didn't match what the comics had. There, Dick was more serious, becoming a dad to Damian after Bruce "died" in Final Crisis, so a spinoff with them at each other's throats would subvert the lore brilliantly.
Such a direction would continue the universe's brand of foul-mouthed, kooky adventures, with Damian learning more about being a Robin. He'd also find himself dabbling in family drama with the al Ghuls hoping he'd become a stone-cold killer -- something Dick did when he left Gotham. It'd even allow former Boy Wonders such as Tim Drake and a resurrected Jason Todd, aka the Red Hood, to factor in, giving the Bat-family its own space to breathe rather than cramming them into Harley's world. As for Dick, he'd learn responsibility, selflessness and how to impress a Barbara he's only just met.
The show can dial into Dick wanting to take over the cape and cowl, once more remixing how scared he was of the symbol in the books. Ultimately, a Dick and Damian spinoff would cover a range of emotions, cover the loss both faced in life, while pushing them to evolve against other Bat-rogues not seen in the series. And most importantly, it'd prove to The Dark Knight that they're not immature screw-ups after all.
New episodes of Harley Quinn debut Thursdays on HBO Max.