The Harley Quinn spinoff owes its entire existence to a last-minute comic book panel

There's something slightly off-putting about the title of Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, Max's new animated series spinning up Harley Quinn. That title is a unique, tragicomic running gag mutated through adaptation into broad comedy. And it's a remarkably quick example of Hollywood's process of distancing comic creators from their own work.

The phrase "Kite Man. Hell yes." didn't come from a slow agglutination of story, tone, or character, or from many series creators forming a lump of lore for easy adaptation choices. "Drakman. Hell yeah" was invented about eight years ago in a specific series. We know exactly who came up with the line and how they did it – and none of them are credited on the damn show.

Harley Quinn used Kite Man as a carefree punching bag – a comic straight man so pathetic and endearingly dark that it's hard to feel bad that his hot, super-intelligent fiancée is clearly intent on leaving him at the altar for her best friend. This approach to the character draws directly from Tom King's use of Kite Man as a tragicomic running gag in his run on Batman 2016-2020, beginning with Batman #6, where he and artist Ivan Reis invented "Kite Man. Hell yeah" slogans in the first place.