Catwoman (episode)

This article is about the episode, you may be looking for the character.

"Catwoman" (originally titled "Trapped") is the third episode of the second season of Harley Quinn, and the sixteenth episode of the series overall. It was released on April 17, 2020 on DC Universe.

Synopsis[]

Harley and Ivy team up with Catwoman to steal a museum artifact that’s been boobytrapped by Dr. Trap. Meanwhile, Dr. Psycho tries to prove himself as a leader.

Plot[]

Harley Quinn and her crew attempt to blast or melt their way into Mister Freeze's frozen fortress, but the thick ice withstands even grenade and rocket blasts. Mr. Freeze's goons mock them, but accidentally reveal that Firefly's plasma flamethrower could burn through the ice, and that the weapon is held by Doctor Trap at Gotham Natural History Museum.

Kite Man flies Harley and Ivy to the museum, bantering with Harley and flaunting his affection for Ivy, which she enthusiastically returns. After he departs, Harley suggests Ivy could do better than him, but Ivy resolutely rejects the idea. Entering the museum, they try asking Doctor Trap to simply give them the flamethrower in peace, but he insists on them besting his traps first. Harley and ivy are immediately stymied, and so they leave to get backup.

Meanwhile at the Gotham Mall, the captive Riddler is needling Doctor Psycho, including Psycho's exclusion from the Injustice League. Psycho ends up throwing a barrage of hygiene products at the Riddler and fails to mind control him, resulting in yet more mockery from the Riddler.

❝ No, no see, you don't get it. Selina's like, she's so confident and cool. And somehow, she just like, draws you in by being aloof. You know, you just see her, and you're like, "Ah, I want to be like that". And then, you see her wearing overalls, and you're like, "Oh, maybe I want overalls". And then suddenly, you have a closet full of overalls that don't look good on you. ❞

— Poison Ivy

At Chéz Féline, Ivy realizes that Harley is seeking help from Catwoman. and becomes upset because Catwoman burned her on the last mission they did together in the Amazon rainforest. In an anxious fury, Ivy rants how she falls all over herself to impress Catwoman, and asks to leave — only for Catwoman to arrive at that very moment. Sheepish, Ivy acts polite to Catwoman while quietly complaining to Harley. Harley decides to respect Ivy's wishes to tries to withdraw the heist, but Ivy suddenly turns on a dime and insists they go through with it; Catwoman agrees to help because the museum has an Egyptian ruby she wants. Harley is flabbergasted as Ivy continues to fawn all over Catwoman, rambling about getting matching tattoos and being completely fine with Catwoman stealing her favorite jacket.

Harley Quinn
Here, kitty, kitty!
Catwoman
Are you always this impetuous?
Harley Quinn
Give me a dictionary, and I'll tell ya.
— Harley Quinn calls for Catwoman because she is late

That night, Kite Man takes them to the museum once again. Catwoman arrives late (as a "power move", according to Ivy) and calls Kite Man a "chauffeur", even though Ivy clearly adores him. Harley prepares an entry plan, but Catwoman tells her not to "catsplain breaking and entering to me" and insists they just follow her lead. Ivy is disappointed that Kite Man won't be joining, but as soon as she leaves with Catwoman, he stalls Harley and announces his intention to get an engagement ring from the museum for Ivy, though Harley is skeptical.

Meanwhile, Catwoman repeatedly saves Ivy from traps while commenting Ivy's new boyfriend and abandonment of misanthropy. She wonders if Ivy has retired from ecoterrorism, in contrast to Catwoman "never not stealing jewels".

Struggling to get Kite Man through traps, Harley suggests they turn back, thinking Ivy and Catwoman have already finished the heist. Kite Man stands his ground, gushing that Ivy deserves the world and that the least he can do is get her a magnificent engagement ring. Finally coming to respect Kite Man's dedication and loyalty, Harley offers to help him get it, although he quickly ends up entrapped again.

Back at the Gotham Mall, the Riddler has now used the "body butter" Doctor Psycho threw at him to slip out of his harness and escape. The crew, mostly Doctor Psycho, panics, and the telepath dispatches Frank the Plant, Sy Borgman, King Shark, and Clayface to sweep the area for him.

Catwoman and Ivy finally close in on the flamethrower, meeting up with Harley and Kite Man. While Ivy is alarmed at Kite Man's many wounds from the traps, Catwoman extracts the flamethrower from its display cabinet as agreed. Just before she leaves, Kite Man once again drops down to one knee to joyfully propose to Ivy, this time with an actual ring. When he opens the container, it is gone - Catwoman has stolen it and bids them a slick farewell. Kite Man is devastated after suffering serious injuries to get the ring for nothing, and then to top it all off, a trap triggers and encases them all in a glass prison.

Back at the mall, Doctor Psycho ends up tranquilized by his own teammate, Sy, who mistakes him for the Riddler.

The glass encasing Harley, Ivy, and Kite Man begins to descend on them, sending Ivy into a panic as enclosed spaces usually do. Although Kite Man tries to recover his bungled proposal before they're crushed to death, assuring Ivy that he'd regain the ring and that he loves her dearly, Ivy is too panicked to pay him heed and begins to agree with Catwoman's suggestions to become a loner again. She tells Kite Man that she doesn't know if she'll ever be ready to get married, much to his dismay. Harley uses the flamethrower to burn out of the glass casing. Advancing on a nervous Doctor Trap, she smashes him in the face with her bat.

Kite Man rejected again — Kite Man, injured from the traps while trying to get an engagement ring, once again fails to get Ivy to accept his proposal

After returning to Gotham Mall, Harley and Ivy find Psycho trapped in Riddler's human hamster wheel, and Harley berates him, Surprisingly, the Riddler appears and willingly returns to the wheel, citing the apocalyptic outside world, this excellent cardio (and resulting physique), regular meals, the amusement of watching Harley's crew stumble as reasons to stay.

At sunset, Harley finds Ivy on a pier, slowly killing the board of directors of Ace Chemicals. Although Ivy wants more freedom to focus on her old goals, she admits that she's better now that she has people who love her, and both she and Harley agree that Kite Man eventually "grows on you". Ivy is cheered up, bitter only that she has to give up her "past self", but Harley takes her hand and assures her that she'll never have to.

Afterward, Ivy visits Kite Man while he's drinking away his sorrows and apologizes for taking her anger and self-conflict out on him, which he once again forgives her for, saying, "I want what you want" and assuring her that she can wait if she needs to. Even so, Ivy coaxes Kite Man to ask her a third and final time. He drops to his knees, and she accepts his proposal of marriage.

Cast and Characters[]

Trivia[]

When first released on DC Universe this episode was listed as "Trapped" although the title card revealed "Catwoman" as the actual title which is also the one used on HBO Max and the DVD release.
This episode references the book series The Baby-Sitters Club, with King Shark and Frank the Plant revealing their favorite characters as being Claudia Kishi and Mallory Pike respectively. Frank listens to the audiobook version of one of the books later in the episode.
In addition to Firefly's flamethrower The Gotham Natural History Museum presented in this episode contains several items formerly belonging to Batman's Rogues Gallery, as well as other DC Comics nods:
- The center of the main atrium of the museum contains a model Tyrannosaurus Rex, a giant American dollar coin with an X-shaped scratch over the head side, Penguin's umbrella in a glass casing and The Mad Hatter's signature hat, also kept in a casing. The arrangement of these items in the atrium mirrors the Batcave, which Batman also uses as a museum for all the weapons and gadgets confiscated over his many battles with various super-villains.
  - The giant dollar coin with the scratch over the heads side alludes to Two-Face's own penny used to decide on whether to let his targets live or die. In modern Batman stories the giant coin was part of a heist perpetrated by Two-Face, but in its first appearance the coin was a giant replica penny owned by the lesser known villain the Penny Plunderer. The two conflicting backstories have caused some confusion over the years as to its exact history, although most writers lean towards the Two-Face origin more.
- Another glass casing located in the atrium contains the masks of Batman villains: Black Mask, two separate iterations of the Owl-Man cowl, the cowl of Wrath and Deadshot's iconic gray helmet with the left red colored eye lens. Noticeably, Black Mask's mask is drawn in the same design as the one from The Batman animated series.
- Other Batman villain gear inside the museum include Scarecrow's burlap mask, Egghead's Fabergé Egg and one of Deathstroke's many swords.
  - Egghead is not a comic book villain, but rather a comedic villain created for the Adam West Batman television series.
  - While an occasional adversary of the Dark Knight, Deathstroke did not start out as one, as he was intended to be an adversary of the Teen Titans. He only came into blows with Batman by association with Robin, Batman's sidekick, something that has been especially played with in other media.
- Placed next to the right of Egghead's Fabergé Egg is the Helmet of Nabu, the source of the magical powers of the various incarnations of the superhero Doctor Fate.