Warning: A NSFW clip from the Batman and Harley Quinn movie follows involving Harley and Nightwing, which has caused a lot of controversy.
The clip features Nightwing tied up, with Harley Quinn claiming she has changed her ways.
Harley then gets undressed, which Nightwing apparently takes a liking to, and Harley notices only to “jump on” Nightwing, with it assumed the two “get it on.”
Some fans online are decrying the scene as distasteful, with some even claiming rape and questioning how the scene would be perceived if the roles were reversed.
Noted animated creator Bruce Timm is behind the Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie and was also responsible for the recent controversy in the Batman: The Killing Joke animated movie surrounding Batman having sex with Batgirl.
Regarding the Batgirl and Batman scene, Bruce Timm replied to the contoversy with:
“We were aware that it’s a little risky. There’s definitely some stuff in that first part of the movie that’s going to be controversial. Here’s where we came down on that specific issue: It was really important to us to show that both of the characters make some pretty big mistakes. I mean, his “parental skills” aren’t that great. Maybe never having had any kids of his own, he doesn’t realize that if you tell a kid to not do something, they’re going to want to do it even more. And then she makes some mistakes and then he kind of overreacts to her mistakes and then she overreacts to his overreaction. So it’s very human; it’s a very understandable story. It’s tricky because it’s messy, because relationships are sometimes messy. But to me and to [co-producer] Alan Burnett and to [screenwriter] Brian Azzarello, Alan and Brian, it was all very fascinating to us to explore that angle”.
The WB animated movies have been mature and are R rated for the most part, so the context of the footage isn’t out of line, but many fans do think some things are going just too far.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation from an original story spawned by animation icon Bruce Timm, Batman and Harley Quinn finds Poison Ivy and Jason Woodrue (a.k.a. The Floronic Man) embarking on an ecological quest to save the planet – and, unfortunately, eliminate most of humankind along the way.
To save humanity, Batman and Nightwing are forced to enlist Harley Quinn to catch Poison Ivy, Harley’s BFF and frequent partner-in-crime.
But Batman’s patience is put to the test by the unpredictable and untrustworthy Harley during the twists and turns the reluctant companions face during their bumpy road trip.
The result is a thrill ride of action, adventure and comedy no Batman fan has seen before.
