Written by Dean Lorry And Patrick Schumacker And Justin Halpern And Connor Shin And Chris Marrs And Vidhya Iyer And Katie Rich And Leslie Schapira And Jess Lieberman And Lexi Slater
Directed by Yoriaki Mochizuki And Jeff Wamester And Ben Jones And Joonki Park And Rick Morales And Diana Huh
Kite Man: "Time to wing it!"
If there was an award for a DC spin off show that nobody asked for, wasn't needed and probably would've been better off never being allowed to happen. Honestly, it'd still be Gotham Knights but Kite Man: Hell Yeah! could also have been included in the conversation.
Oddly enough, it might sound like I'm about to be overtly critical on this show, it's just the mentality surrounding it even happening does fascinate me. I mean the title character (Matt Oberg) did seem to have had a divisive reaction on the Harley Quinn show he originated in, so giving him and girlfriend, Golden Glider (Stephanie Hsu) was an odd choice.
The premise being that the madly in love couple decided to buy Noonan's, the shittiest pub in Gotham with the owner, Sean Noonan (Jonathan Banks) still hanging around. As Kite Man and Golden Glider learn to be decent publicans, Lex Luthor (Lance Reddick/Amuche Chukudebelu ) hid the Anti-Life Equation in Noonan's while chaos surrounded the couple and their developing relationship.
The chaos being Golden Glider struggling to control her powers, a toilet that transported anyone who flushed into the 1980s, the recurrence of Glider's selfish mother, Rebecca (Margaret Cho) and a brief arc where secondary villain Helen Villigan (Judith Light) turned Kite Man into the douchey Beast Mode. All of them slightly pale compared to the Anti-Life Equation problem.
There's a lot of fun to Darkseid being a nicely seeded villain in the series. First through having his spoiled niece Malice Vundabar (Natasia Demetriou) and monster cat Cheshire (Dee Bradley Baker) working at Noonan's and then his more aggressive attempts to get the Anti-Life Equation until a well hidden hero thwarted his efforts at the very last minute.
As for the rest of the regulars, the more of Bane (James Adomian), the better. I mean it. He's at his best here, what with standing up to Lex and Helen, nearly winning sexiest villain and taking care of Goldilocks (Carla Delaney). His crush on Rebecca doesn't do him favours but he's a consistent joy throughout the first season.
As for the rest of the characters, there's a nice back and forth between the Queen of Fables (Janelle James) and Joe/Moe Dubrlz (Michael Imperioli) and a slew of familiar faces. Not to mention a few obscure ones to boot. Also not to mention a very deliberate cliff hanger ending to boot.
- The episode titles were Pilot, Hell Yeah!, Grand Reopening, Hell Yeah!, Villigan's, Hell Yeah!, Portal Potty, Hell Yeah!, Prison Break, Hell Yeah!, Mother/Daughter Day, Hell Yeah!, Sexiest Villain Alive, Hell Yeah!, Just Right, Hell Yeah!, To Get To The Other Side, Hell Yeah! and Hero Stuff, Hell Yeah!
- The deliberate cliffhanger ending was of course, the arrival of Brainiac. Martian Manhunter (Phil LaMarr) stopped Darkseid but Rebecca becoming the Evil Fairy Godmother will be a problem.
- Both Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) briefly appeared in the first episode.
- Gotham and Pennyworth fans, the fifth episode had Richard Kind and Ben Aldridge as an unkillable health inspector and Malice's evil boyfriend, Jeremy Karne.
- The penultimate episode proved that even a chicken can be corrupted by the Anti-Life Equation and cause maximum damage.
- Chronology: Not long after the events of the parent show's last season.
On paper, I'm surprised that Kite Man: Hell Yeah! even worked. It kind of shouldn't but it weirdly did with a slew of decent laughs, violence, and, romance and well executed character arcs throughout. A pleasantly endearing spin off show.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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