Frank the Plant

❝ See? See see, I don't just eat people. Hurtful words are another weapon in my arsenal. And you just got a verbal ass whooping. ❞

— Frank the Plant^[1]

Frank the Plant is one of the supporting characters of the T.V. series, Harley Quinn.

Appearance

Frank is a giant mutated Venus flytrap with a giant mouth. His roots and stems are red. His "hands" are flower-like organs, which have an eye on each one of them. Although being a plant, Frank has visible butt cheeks.

Biography

Background

Frank spent 10 years at a dog park, where his face was urinated on by a St. Bernard.^[2] He was brought to consciousness by Poison Ivy and became her roommate at her apartment in Gotham City.

Frank was once a friend of a pear tree who survived the 9/11 incident and was planted front and center at the Freedom Tower. Their friendship ended because the pear tree didn't call Frank back. Frank discerned his position caused him to change, although according to Ivy, the pear tree was "a dick" before and after 9/11.^[1]

He continued staying in Ivy's apartment while she was serving time in Arkham Asylum. During that time, many other of her plants withered as Frank ate the neighbor kid that Ivy hired to water them as well as his parents.^[2]

Season 1

"Til Death Do Us Part"

Poison Ivy
Do you remember how you diagnosed me?
Harley Quinn
Sure, a classic misanthrope with abandonment issues who befriends plants to avoid human intimacy.
Frank
Nailed it!
— Frank agrees

When Poison Ivy escapes from Arkham Asylum, Frank is displeased with Harley Quinn staying at the apartment, although Ivy tells him he can make decisions when he pays rent. He reveals that he ate the kid and his parents that were supposed to water Ivy's plants and throws up their remains. After Harley finally realizes that the Joker is no good for her and wonders why she wasted so much time on him, Frank mocks her, saying "buh-fuckin'-hoo", contrasting it to his past in a dog park. Although, Ivy shoves him aside and gives Harley a pep-talk.

"A High Bar"

Frank was watching Howie Mandel's TV show with Harley and Ivy when the Joker hijacked the program and strapped a bomb to Howie's chest, upsetting him tremendously. After Harley angrily smashed the TV with her bat and Ivy revealed she had been hiding the good TV for this very reason, Frank asked where she was hiding that which she ignored. Frank was intrigued when Harley started talking about her plans to get back at the Joker and urged Ivy to just "let it play out". He even chanted with Harley when she was trying to convince Ivy to come along to crash the Legion of Doom's party which she eventually agreed to. However, Frank was devastated when they got the news that Howie had exploded.

When Kite Man started undressing while in Ivy's apartment while she had her back turned, believing they would have sex, Frank refrained from saying something because he wanted to see "how all this played out".

"So You Need a Crew?"

When Poison Ivy was telling Harley how she got by fine without the need for a crew while using her various plant to bring herself coffee and cookies, Frank mockingly told her that "your independence is quite inspiring". She told him to can it, but he quickly shouted that he loves her, which she ignored. He later told Harley, Ivy had no idea how to get a crew because "because plants to all the shit for her lazy ass".

"Anybody feel this shit but me? A man can't show emotion!"

When Ivy once again turned down Harley's request to work together, because it would muddle her brand, Frank told her to stop lying and tell her the real reason, urging her to tell Harley about the Queen of Fables. He even dimmed the lights to "set the mood". Later, Frank was brought to tears when listening to Ivy reassured Harley about believing in her ability to get herself a crew and telling her she loved her. Although Ivy mocked him when he called himself a man.

"The Line"

Frank was watching TV with Poison Ivy at the Gotham Mall when the news reported on Queen of Fables' being released from her Tax Book prison and sentenced to Arkham Asylum. Frank laughed at Ivy's expense when she told Harley why Queen of Fables really did belong in Arkham but left without hearing anything of what she had said.

"A Seat at the Table"

Poison Ivy
You're in a pot, Frank. I'd have to carry you.
Frank
So what? I carry you emotionally. We all carry shit. You bring me there and I'll show you some damage.
Poison Ivy
How, Frank? What am I gonna, like, throw you at people and you're gonna eat them?
Frank
Boom! Look at that. We just figured it out.
— Frank wants in on the action

Frank questioned Ivy's plan to take down the PlanetWide Paver organization as he noted the abstinence of plants around and asked to come with her. Although she questioned how that would even work as he was bound to his pot and she would have to carry him around, besides, Harley was going to help her. When she turned his offer to come down, Frank criticized her outfit, making her doubt herself.

Frank later arrived with the help of Chaz, "my pot guy. Carries my pot around wherever I need to go." Ivy said told him he had misunderstood and he just sells marijuana which Frank confirmed also to be true. Annoyed, Ivy made to leave, at which point Frank discerned that Harley "stood yo ass up". Backpedaling, Ivy assured him that Harley just needed to reschedule, but Frank was certain that Harley had "changed" since she joined the Legion of Doom. Although Ivy disagreed with his analogy to his friend who stopped calling him back after surviving 9/11, she nonetheless began to have doubts.

"Bensonhurst"

Frank was getting high with Chaz at the apartment when a sentient dandelion weed showed up and told him that Ivy had been captured at PlanetWide Pavers and needed him to find Harley to come and save her. He told a disorientated Chaz that he needed him to drive him to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, where Harley was visiting her parents. After passing out in the car, Frank wakes up in the middle of Mexico after Chaz just stole hallucinogenic honey from a cartel. After licking it twice, Chaz passes out, so Frank takes the wheel and drives back to Brooklyn to contact Harley. Frank arrives in Bensonhurst just as a badly wounded Harley stumbles out of her parents' house and passes out on the street. Frank got Harley into the car, and when she eventually regained consciousness, he told her about Ivy's capture.

"Harley Quinn Highway"

Frank
That is a lot of big boys with guns, and you're one petite young woman with a bat. They aren't gonna come at you one at a time. That's not how that shit works!
Harley Quinn
Hmm, that's actually standard goon operating procedure.
— Frank stops Harley from saving Ivy by herself

Harley and Frank are overlooking the heavily guarded building where Ivy is being kept. He stops her from charging in by herself, convincing her that she needs to get her crew back to help her, which becomes especially apparent when they witness an old man being shot down by the guards for simply asking for direction. After she gathers her crew at the mall and they turn her down, Frank exclaims how Ivy has been kidnapped, berating Harley for not putting her "thesis statement at the motherfuckin' top". Later, although he himself was not physically present, he appeared as a sort of tour guide inside Ivy's mind when Harley and her crew entered to find her deepest fear.

"The Final Joke"

After Ivy was killed by the Joker, Frank appeared at her funeral, crying tremendously. He complained about who was going to water his roots now as "I don't trust any of these assholes". As she was buried he complained about her grave not acknowledging her Ph.D. at which point Doctor Psycho used his mind to chisel in a "Dr" before her name. As the city was completely taken over by the Joker, Frank camped out at Ivy's grave with Kite Man although complained because he was an indoor plant and should only have indirect sunlight.

Season 2

"Catwoman"

King Shark
I love The Baby-Sitters Club. Claudia is my girl!
Frank
I was more of a Mallory fan myself. I too went through an awkward period.
— Frank and King Shark share an interest

Frank listened to Doctor Psychos ramblings about being able to run a crew by himself after being provoked by the Riddler who they held captive. Although Frank told him he didn't understand why he needed validation from him, also referring to him as a "crazy hair, weak-minded motherfucker" which enraged Doctor Psycho who used his mind-powers to chock Frank. Only dropping him when King Shark revealed the Riddler had escaped. Frank mocked Psycho for his inability to run a crew but helped the rest of the crew search the mall for the Riddler, although instead of helping, he started listening to The Baby-Sitters Club audiobook.

"Bachelorette"

❝ That's a talking lobster. Have you ever seen anything as crazy as a lobster talking? ❞

— Frank doesn't see the irony

Frank attended Kite Man's bachelor party which consisted of laying puzzles and drinking beer out on a boat. Frank is astonished when a talking lobster climes aboard to plea with King Shark to return to the ocean. While King Shark leaves to settle things with his father, Frank stops Clayface from finishing the puzzle before he returns. King Shark then arrives and reveals he has agreed to an arranged marriage. He tells them they will stay married publicly but will each have secret relationships, exclaiming how he wants a soulmate. Frank and Clayface both look skeptical when Kite Man replies with "just like me and Ivy".

"A Fight Worth Fighting For"

❝ Also I tested well as a character, so the producers like to shoe-horn me into the show whenever possible ❞

— Frank the Plant

Frank appeared in this episode's cold opening, smoking weed with Chaz in the same basement from the cold opening to "Batman's Back Man". He recapped the events of "Dye Hard" as well as what happened to the Justice League in "Devil's Snare", constantly praising the show as "compelling as fuck" and "award-winning shit". After letting the episode play as normal, they return, with Frank singing praises of the show's writing quality while promoting EGOTforharley.com. He asks Chaz to bring him some more popcorn although is upset when he brings him popcorn buttered, declaring that he is "watching [his] cholesterol".

"Something Borrowed, Something Green"

Frank is neutralized by Commissioner Gordon

In order to make thing up with Kite Man after cheating on him, Ivy had Frank eat Condiment King (Kite Man's nemesis) and his fiancée in order to reclaim his dream wedding venue which Condiment King had booked for the same day. Later, Frank along with Harley's crew dressed up as guards to break her out of Arkham Asylum in time for Ivy's wedding, although she insisted on staying put. Before the ceremony, Frank was flirting with a bouquet in the Florist truck when Jim Gordon and the GCPD infiltrated the place and electrocuted him before locking him in the truck. Later, as all Hell broke loose outside, Frank was pollinating the wedding flowers inside the truck while Harley and Ivy fled from the GCPD.

Personality

❝ Anybody feel this shit but me? A man can't show emotion! ❞

— Frank the Plant^[3]

Frank is very talkative and wisecracking, sometimes being sarcastic and foul-mouthed. He loves to talk back to Ivy, occasionally making fun of her. He is quite dramatic, for instance, feeling the need to "set the mood" when it comes to storytelling. He can also be pretty emotional, as seen when he teared up at Ivy and Harley's display of friendship and his devastation at Ivy's funeral.

He likes to drink orange juice and watch TV. He likes Howie Mandel and seemed very sad when Howie was blown up by Joker. Although being Ivy's roommate, he doesn't pay rent. He eats people but is unable to digest the bones. Frank knows how to drive and is shown to be a cannabis user.

Episode Appearances

Season 1

"Til Death Do Us Part"
"A High Bar"
"So You Need a Crew?"
"You're a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon" (cameo)
"The Line"
"A Seat at the Table"
"Bensonhurst"
"Harley Quinn Highway"
"The Final Joke"

Season 2

"Catwoman"
"Bachelorette"
"A Fight Worth Fighting For" (cold opening)
"Something Borrowed, Something Green"

Trivia

Frank is an original character of the show.
Frank is a reference to Audrey ll from The Little Shop of Horrors.
- Frank's name comes from the movie's director Frank Oz.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 "A Seat at the Table" DC Universe (January 24, 2020).
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 "Til Death Do Us Part" DC Universe (November 29, 2019).
↑ "So You Need a Crew?" DC Universe (December 13, 2019).

Harley's Crew
Harley Quinn - Poison Ivy - Doctor Psycho - Clayface - King Shark - Frank the Plant - Sy Borgman

[1x09-1] 1.0 ^1.1 "A Seat at the Table" DC Universe (January 24, 2020).

[1x01-2] 2.0 ^2.1 "Til Death Do Us Part" DC Universe (November 29, 2019).

[3] "So You Need a Crew?" DC Universe (December 13, 2019).

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