Kite Man: Hell Yeah! is an American adult animated black comedy superhero television series based on the DC Comics character Kite Man created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang. The series stars Matt Oberg, Stephanie Hsu and James Adomian, and follows the adventures of Kite Man and his current girlfriend Golden Glider who have supported the purchase of a local bar named Noonan's.
Kite Man: Hell Yeah! | |
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Genre | |
Based on | |
Developed by |
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Showrunners |
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Voices of | |
Music by |
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Country of origin | Vereinigte Staaten |
Original language | Englisch |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Joann Estoesta |
Editors |
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Running time | 23–24 minutes |
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Original release | |
Network | Max |
Release | July 18, 2024 present | –
Related | |
Harley Quinn |
The series serves as a spin-off of Harley Quinn, where Kite Man was featured as a supporting character and ex-fiancé to Poison Ivy.[1][2] The first season consists of ten episodes, with Matt Oberg returning to voice Kite Man. Much of the voice cast were revealed in September 2023.
Kite Man: Hell Yeah! premiered on July 18, 2024.
Premise
editThe series follows the saucy adventures of Kite Man and his girlfriend Golden Glider who live together in Noonan's, Gotham's seediest dive bar. They take their relationship to the next level by opening a bar in the shadow of Lex Luthor's Legion of Doom.
Voice cast
editMain
edit- Matt Oberg as Charles "Chuck" Brown / Kite Man / Beast Mode, Fake Calendar Man
- Stephanie Hsu as Lisa Snart / Golden Glider[a], Stephanie Brown / Spoiler
- James Adomian as Bane, Fake Riddler, Lawrence Snart, Young Penguin, Etrigan the Demon[b], Man-Bat
- Jonathan Banks as Sean Noonan
- Natasia Demetriou as Malice Vundabar
- Michael Imperioli as Joe / Moe Dubelz
- Janelle James as Queen of Fables[c]
Supporting
edit- Dee Bradley Baker as Chessure
- Maria Bamford as Baby Doll[3]
- Tisha Campbell as Tawny Young
- Vic Chao as Leonard Snart / Captain Cold[d]
- Margaret Cho as Rebecca Chen
- Andy Daly as Darryl Brown, Sinestro, Toyman[e]
- Keith David as Darkseid[f]
- Phil LaMarr as Detective Chimp, DeSaad, Black Manta
- Judith Light as Helen Villigan
- Eddie Pepitone as Sixpack
- Lance Reddick as Lex Luthor (season 1)[g]
- Rory Scovel as Gus the Goon
- Rhea Seehorn as Insect Queen
Guest
edit- Ben Aldridge as Jeremy Karne
- Lake Bell as Poison Ivy, Barbara Ann Minerva / Cheetah
- Lacey Chabert as Kenneth's Mother
- Kaley Cuoco as Dr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn
- Carla Delaney as Goldilocks
- Brycen Hall as Young Captain Cold
- Richard Kind as Health Inspector
- Araceli Prasarttongosoth as Young Golden Glider
- Cristina Pucelli as Kenneth
- Jim Rash as Riddler
- Katie Rich as Stacy
- J.B. Smoove as Frank the Plant
- Alan Tudyk as Clayface, Ocean Master
- Casey Wilson as Betty
Episodes
editNo. | Titel | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [4] | |
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1 | "Pilot, Hell Yeah!" | Yoriaki Mochizuki | July 18, 2024 | ||
With the Anti-Life Equation in his possession, Lex Luthor reluctantly hires Kite Man as an aerial spy to guard the Legion of Doom against the Justice League due to the Legion's flying villains being unavailable. Kite Man fails at his task, so Luthor takes revenge by attempting to buy Kite Man's hangout, Noonan's bar for $10 million. Kite Man and his girlfriend Golden Glider strive to raise the money first, but are unable to borrow it from anyone. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy advise the two to rob from villains worse than them. With help from former Legion member Bane, the group attack the mansion of Kite Man's father Darryl, who willingly surrenders his money as a reward for Kite Man finally standing up to him. Luthor's "revenge" is later revealed to be a deception so that he can hide the equation behind Noonan's, unaware that Darkseid is also on a hunt for it. | |||||
2 | "Grand Reopening, Hell Yeah!" | Jeff Wamester | Conner Shin | July 18, 2024 | |
While preparing for Noonan's grand reopening, Kite Man hires Darkseid's entitled goddaughter, Malice, as a server despite Glider wanting to hire Bane for the job. Meanwhile, Kite Man grows desperate for Darryl to respond to his invite to the event. Displeased with Malice's attitude, Glider invites Luthor, among other notable Legion members, to the party, unaware that Luthor is throwing his own party to ensure Noonan's stays irrelevant. The latter event is subsequently ruined by Malice's cat Chessure, who escapes and temporarily becomes kaiju-sized after eating several civilians, unintentionally drawing attention to Noonan's. After realizing that he should focus more on impressing people who actually like him, Kite Man fires Malice, but Glider promotes her to social media manager to make Darkseid happy while Bane takes a job as bouncer. Elsewhere, a goon named Gus takes the Queen of Fables' head in as his kindergarten class pet, where she is forced to entertain his students before stealing the body of one boy's mother after being taken home. | |||||
3 | "Villigan's, Hell Yeah!" | Ben Jones | Chris Marrs | July 25, 2024 | |
Villigan's, a villain-themed chain restaurant, opens across the street, threatening Noonan's business. Meanwhile, Kite Man feels that he is not moving fast enough in his relationship with Glider and asks if they can move in together, though she avoids the subject upon noticing that he found her secret relationship spreadsheet. Kite Man tries to reignite their bond by discovering Villigan's intentions, but proves reluctant to kill the manager as he has never killed before. Meanwhile, Glider accepts Villigan's offer for a free spa day with the Queen, Malice, and Chessure. During this, she confesses that she loves Kite Man and has been ready to move in with him, but is afraid that she might kill him due to her unstable powers. The group later learn they stumbled onto a death trap owned by Villigan's founder, Baby Doll, who reveals her intent to kill Kite Man and destroy Noonan's with a rigged gift basket. However, Kite Man throws the basket at the last second, destroying Villigan's. Kite Man and Glider later reconcile and agree to move in together. | |||||
4 | "Portal Potty, Hell Yeah!" | Joonki Park | Vidhya Iyer | August 1, 2024 | |
While moving in above Noonan's, Kite Man notices the lack of photos from Glider's youth, but she refuses to discuss her background with him. Meanwhile, Bane accidentally travels back to 1986 after defecating in the apartment's toilet, where he falls in love with Glider's mother Rebecca Chen. Through her brother Captain Cold, Kite Man learns their alcoholic, bickering parents frequented Noonan's in 1986, which is where Glider accidentally killed them upon using her powers for the first time. After falling out with Glider, Kite Man travels back in time to prevent her parents' deaths, with Glider following soon after. Despite saving Rebecca, Glider's father, Lawrence Snart, is killed in an explosion. Glider ultimately decides to focus on the present instead of the past, only to discover that Rebecca is still not around in the present. Unbeknownst to Glider, Rebecca ran away following Lawrence's death before being trapped in a jail cell and gassed by an unknown figure. | |||||
5 | "Prison Break, Hell Yeah!" | Rick Morales | Katie Rich | August 8, 2024 | |
After returning to the present, Bane learns Rebecca was imprisoned in his old home, the Pit. He, Kite Man, and Glider head there, where they discover Villigan's owner Helen Villigan purchased the Pit from the League of Shadows and is using brainwashed prisoners as slave labor. Braving the workers and various death traps, the trio rescue Rebecca and bring her back safely. When she awakens later however, Rebecca is not enthused to see Glider. Meanwhile, Malice closes Noonan's early to prepare for the arrival of her immortal boyfriend despite the presence of a health inspector. She asks everyone present to pretend she does not work there, but the boyfriend kills several patrons, leading to her telling the truth and him dumping her. These cause her to feel emotions for the first time. Through her actions, Noonan's receives a "D-" from the inspector, narrowly saving it from being closed down. | |||||
6 | "Mother/Daughter Day, Hell Yeah!" | Jeff Wamester | Leslie Schapira | August 15, 2024 | |
Glider attempts to reconcile with Rebecca via a mother-daughter day, with Malice tagging along at Rebecca's insistence. Before leaving, Rebecca tells Kite Man that he is not right for her daughter given his lack of prospects and powers, which gets to him. Rebecca later abandons Glider, confessing that she never wanted a child and left because she did not want to be killed by Glider's powers like Lawrence. Angered, Glider tricks her into using the portal potty to travel back to 1986. Meanwhile, despite his crush on Rebecca, Bane reunites with Betty, an old fling from Valentine's Day,[h] who convinces him to give their relationship another chance. Concurrently, at Noonan's owner, Sean Noonan's suggestion, Kite Man separately meets with Etrigan and Helen to get superpowers, but is told by her that he must give up his kite in exchange. He agrees and becomes Beast Mode, gaining the ability to telekinetically bully others, which costs him his relationship with Glider. Satisfied that her plan is working, Helen burns his old kite. | |||||
7 | "Sexiest Villain Alive, Hell Yeah!" | Joonki Park | Dean Lorey | August 22, 2024 | |
With Bane, Luthor, and Beast Mode in the running for "Sexist Villain Alive," Malice upgrades Bane's wardrobe to increase his chances, completing his look with the briefcase containing the Anti-Life Equation, which she thinks is an accessory. Meanwhile, Glider deduces that Helen can change Beast Mode back into Kite Man, so she nabs Helen's power controller with the help of Clayface, but only the real Helen's eyes can bypass the security. At the award ceremony, the Queen and Moe bring Toyman and Insect Queen as dates, with the latter luring Moe back to her hive to kill him. The Queen and Toyman follow to warn him, only to stumble across the Queen's old body preserved in honey. Helen has the contest rigged in Beast Mode's favor, ordering him to distract Luthor with his insulting victory speech while her hummingbird drones hunt down the equation, which Luthor has also located. The briefcase eventually lands in the possession of Glider, who merges with the equation and finally gains control of her powers. She forces Helen to let her access the power controller, restoring Kite Man, and the two mend their relationship. | |||||
8 | "Just Right, Hell Yeah!" | Diana Huh | Chris Marrs | August 29, 2024 | |
Kite Man and Glider are on the run after obtaining the Anti-Life Equation and are allowed to hide out for one night at a resort owned by Frank the Plant. Given his recent experience with a superpower, Kite Man is concerned that the Equation is corrupting his girlfriend and wants to get rid of it, especially after she attacks random civilians out of paranoia and insecurity. Glider is faced with visions of Rebecca, who suggests that they can rule the world together now that she has control over her powers. Meanwhile, Bane is tasked with babysitting an escaped Goldilocks while the Queen is out enjoying her old body, though her personality gets on everyone's nerves. He has to take her along after being invited to chat with Lex Luthor and Helen Villigan, who have temporarily joined forces to track down the Equation. Though Goldilocks ruins their talk, Bane decides that he should learn from her high standards and leaves, though the Equation's location is outed thanks to a call from Frank. Helen sends an army of robots to get the Equation back, though at Kite Man's insistence, Glider tosses it into a nearby nuclear plant, destroying the robots as well as the resort, and restoring Glider's personality. Ultimately, the Equation remains intact even after the explosion. Note: The episode was dedicated to Lance Reddick, who died in March 2023 during production. |
Production
editDevelopment
editHarley Quinn showrunner Patrick Schumacker revealed at South by Southwest in March 2022, during the "Not Kidding Around: Warner Bros. Animation and the Reimagining of Iconic Characters for an Adult Audience" panel that development was underway for a spin-off featuring the character of Kite Man in the lead role.[1]
In April 2022, HBO Max announced that it had given a series order, which would be titled Noonan's.[2] That July, it was reported that Harley Quinn co-developer Dean Lorey and Katie Rich would serve as showrunners.[5]
In June 2023, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was announced that the series would be re-titled as Kite Man: Hell Yeah!.[6]
Casting
editAfter the show was announced with a series order, Matt Oberg was announced to be reprising the role of Kite Man.[2] In September 2023, alongside the release of the teaser trailer, James Adomian and Rory Scovel were confirmed to reprise their roles as Bane and Gus the Goon, alongside with Stephanie Hsu, Jonathan Banks, Lance Reddick, Michael Imperioli, Natasia Demetriou, Judith Light, Janelle James, and Keith David joining the series, and Kaley Cuoco and Lake Bell guest starring as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.[7]
Release
editKite Man: Hell Yeah! premiered on Max on July 18, 2024.[8]
Marketing
editThe official teaser for the series was released on September 14, 2023, the same day as the release of the season 4 finale of Harley Quinn. The teaser shows scenes of Kite Man saying the words, the Queen of Fables, all the Legion of Doom characters during the quote "Take to Wing it", and finally a few clips of the first episode that was seen that ends with the title card saying the show's title.[9]
Reception
editThe review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 91% approval rating with an average rating of 7.2/10, based on 11 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A properly foul mouthed and spirited spin-off from the already meta and giddy Harley Quinn, this glide through villainous theatrics is a well served home base for Kite Man: Hell Yeah!."[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]
Notes
edit- ^ Hsu replaces Cathy Ang who previously voiced her in the Harley Quinn series.
- ^ Adomian replaces John Stamos who voiced the character in the Harley Quinn Valentine's day special.
- ^ James replaces Wanda Sykes who previously voiced her in the Harley Quinn series.
- ^ Chao replaces Ben Levin who voiced the character in the Harley Quinn series.
- ^ Daly replaces Tom Hollander who previously voiced him in the Harley Quinn series.
- ^ David replaces Michael Ironside who previously voiced him in the Harley Quinn series.
- ^ Reddick replaces Giancarlo Esposito who previously voiced him in the Harley Quinn series.
- ^ As depicted in "Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine's Day Special".
References
edit- ^ a b Motamayor, Rafael (March 14, 2022). "Harley Quinn Spin-Off Series in the Works at HBO Max [SXSW]". slashfilm.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ a b c Flook, Ray (April 27, 2022). "Harley Quinn: Kite Man Spinoff "Noonan's" Gets HBO Max Green Light". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ Nelson, Samantha (July 11, 2024). "Kite Man: Hell Yeah! Season 1 Review". IGN. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ "Shows A-Z – Kite Man: Hell Yeah! on Mac". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
- ^ Acuna, Kirsten. "'Harley Quinn' creators say the Kite Man spin-off will feature Bane and tease that the current show title, 'Noonan's,' may change". Business Insider. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
- ^ "Max Reveals Preview of Its Original Adult Animation Slate at Annecy International Animation Film Festival". Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc Press (Press release). June 15, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
- ^ Petski, Denise (September 15, 2023). "'Kite Man: Hell Yeah' Teaser: First Look At Max's 'Harley Quinn' Spinoff Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
- ^ Flook, Ray (June 21, 2024). "Kite Man: Hell Yeah!: Harley Quinn Spinoff Series Hits Max This July". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (September 14, 2023). "'Harley Quinn' Spin-Off 'Kite Man: Hell Yeah!' Ready to Soar with New Teaser". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ "Kite Man: Hell Yeah!: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ "Kite Man: Hell Yeah!: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved July 25, 2024.