Yes, ‘Kite Man’ Just Sent Bane Time-Traveling Through a Toilet
After the first three episodes of “Kite Man: Hell Yeah!” focused on the acquisition of the bar Noonan’s and Kite Man and Golden Glider’s relationship, the fourth episode of this “Harley Quinn” spin-off takes a bit of a turn. After helping the couple move in together, Bane uses their new bathroom — and finds himself back in the ’80s, accidentally (or very much willingly) changing the future. That’s right, it’s a time-traveling superhero episode, but instead of a hot tub or a DeLorean, it’s a toilet that lets you go back in time.
“We were trying to figure out what could be an interesting way for this to happen that’s not ‘superhero,'” “Kite Man: Hell Yeah!” showrunner Dean Lorey told IndieWire. “We didn’t want to have somebody with a power that can send you back or something like it. It just came down to, well, how about it’s just a toilet that sends you back through time?”
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There is never an explanation, and it doesn’t matter. Everyone knows that time-travel narratives are notoriously complicated, and most of them get so caught up in making the science make sense that they forget about the story itself being good. For “Kite Man,” the writers thought out clear rules for how the time-travel works, “perhaps too detailed rules,” joked Lorey, who thought about how different factors, like what exactly you’re doing in the toilet, affect the time you travel to and by how much. There are enough details in the episode to make sense, but not enough that it gets in the way of the comedy. “Nobody’s really coming to this for a lesson in temporal physics, they want an entertaining show,” Lorey added. T
The moment Bane realizes he is in the 1980s, he immediately becomes enamored with the decade — not because of the fashion, music, or pop culture but because of the rampant disregard for safety. He sees trucks filled with asbestos, construction workers lacking safety gear, and more, and he just loves all of it. This being animation, the episode gives the present and past distinct looks by slathering a neon pink color palette all over the ’80s.
Indubitably, the star of the episode is Bane, who finally gets the spotlight in “Kite Man: Hell Yeah” after being a consistently great supporting character in “Harley Quinn.” Lorey confessed to loving writing for Bane and wanting to make him more significant in this show, and the result speaks for itself. It makes sense thematically, too. Bane is the butt of the joke at the Legion of Doom, so in the spin-off, he becomes the best-known villain that frequents Noonan’s — where everyone else is kind of a loser. “We wanted to give Bane an opportunity to put him in an environment where he would be a big deal, where he’s finally getting some of the respect that he deserves,” Lorey said. He even gets a romantic subplot in his episode as he decides to change the past not for a noble reason but in order to seduce Golden Glider’s mom, with whom he falls in love at first sight.
“We really liked the idea of of Bane having a tough romantic decision to make between Betty, who he met in the Valentine’s Day episode, who he has a kind of festering love for, and Bane’s immediate desire for Golden Glider’s mom,” Lorey explained. “Then we realized as we were getting into it that it was all really only in Bane’s head.”
In true sitcom fashion, the vast majority of the runtime takes place inside Noonan’s, which looks completely different in the ’80s. What will one day be a decrepit, decaying bar seems to have once been a thriving business. Instead of seedy drunks and losers, notorious characters show up, like Scarecrow. This is important because, other than Bane, “Kite Man: Hell Yeah!” is not a show about big DC villains. Except for a few cameos, the show’s main ensemble is made up of D-list villains and characters so absurd you’ll swear are actually made up specifically for the show — like Sixpack, whose entire deal seems to be that he’s just a drunk.
Plus, part of the fun of doing a time-travel episode is the chance to revisit dead characters — and “Harley Quinn” has killed a lot of characters. “We thought this could be a fun way to, if we establish the time-traveling toilet as a thing, see these characters again without sort of breaking a rule,” Lorey said. “We also really like the idea of seeing the younger versions of those same characters, particularly Noonan, who it turns out pretty much always looked that age. No matter how far back in time ago, he’s still pretty much bald and looks like he’s 80.”
“Kite Man: Hell Yeah!” releases new episodes Thursdays on Max. The Season 1 finale premieres September 12.
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