DC Youngverse/Tropes

Tropes for the franchise

 * All-Star Cast: The franchise contains celebrities such as Racheal Zegler, Elizabeth Olsen, and Anna Akana, as well as well-known voice actors such as Kimberly Brooks and Clancy Brown.
 * Art Shift: Several movies in the franchise use different visual styles and evenbdufferent animation styles and techniques.
 * Author's Saving Throw:
 * Following the criticism received by early DC Extended Universe films for fpcuding too much on setting up next installments znd attempting crossovers too soon, the DCATU takes a more Marvel Cibematic Universe-esque approach by introducing characters before making crossovers and keeping all set-ups at bay
 * While mostly well-received, the 2019 version of DC Superhero Girls did saw some criticism for the less comptent potrayal of the male superheroes, woth some even feeling it hampered its message of female empowerement. This franchise, which drew inspiration mainly from DCSHG, avoided those criticism by potraykng both male and female superheroes as being equally competent, and even featuring heroes such as Brainiac-5 in standalone stories.


 * Adaptational Badass: In this version, Harley Quinn is shown to be somewhat more athletic than mpst versions, being team captain at all of her school's sports team.
 * Adaptational Intelligence: While still pretty much The Ditz, Harley is smarter than most versions, mainly due to her failing in love with the Joker due to suspicions of some sort of troubled childhood based on his modus operandi, as she has a terrubky big soft spot for people who got it rough, instead of believing bullcrap from him, and being able to see the monster he is far sooner than most versions.
 * Adaptational Nice Guy: While Harley Quinn still has a crush on the Joker, she ultimately chooses her friendship with Barbara Gordon over him, to the point of helping her defeat the Joker and becoming her crime-fighting partner afterwards.
 * Role Reprise:
 * Michael Keaton reprises his role from the Burton films and The Flash as the voice of Batman.
 * Corey Burton reprises his role from the DCAU as Brainiac.
 * Unexpected Characters:
 * More like unexpected team, but, since the DC Superhero Girls franchise was devised more as a toyline snd only appeared in the comics outside of tie-ins, the fact that the team from the 2019 version was the focus of the franchise's first crossover caught many by surprise.
 * Let's be honest, who actually expected Brainiac-5 to lead his own film?!

Tropes for Batgirl

 * Adaptational Badass: This version has the Joker taking the Man-Bat serum, making him a far more physically imponent fighter.
 * An Aesop:
 * If you wanna change the world, do it in a way that both is morally right and you feel comfortable with.
 * Don't be afraid to be who you are.
 * When it comes to choose between someone you have a crush on and friends who truly love you, choose wisely.
 * Author's Saving Throw: Similar to The Lego Batman Movie, the film avoided criticisms towards the Bruce/Barbara ship by explicity showing them in a mentor/mentee relationship that obky involves into a quasi-father/daughter, to not to mention the age gap between both being too big for even supporters to agree with it here.
 * Awesome Moments: The film's potrayal of Harley Quinn can be seen as one from a meta perspective. The film potrays her as a Nice Girl who becomes Batgirl's crime-fighting partner and even fights against her pudin, The Joker. Yet the entire creative team and Genesis Rodriguez neverthless kept everything audiences love about the character, from her wacky actitude to even her crush to Mister J. That's good writing.
 * Catharsis Factor: Given how horrible the Joker treats Harley in most media, seeing her actually beating the crap outta him can be very satisfying from a meta perspective. The fact that she ends up turning the tables on him in a Mad Love recreation is the cherry on top.
 * Character Relaiment: A franchise-wide example. The film potrays the Batman mythos closer to their pulp science fiction potrayal from the comics, something only The Lego Batman Movie has shown in theatrical Batman films, and avoiding the Badass Normal potrayal shown eber since The Dark Knight Trilogy.
 * Composite Character:
 * This version of Batgirl is level-headed like lost of her potrayals, but occasionally shows a Genki Girl actitudes closer to her 2019 DC Superhero Girls self.
 * This version of Harley Quinn has her usual Ditz/Genki Girl aspects, is best friends with Batgirl like her 2019 DCSHG self, and is a more heroic person much like her New 52 and 2015 DCSHG self.
 * Darker and Edgier: The film noticeably skews the more cartoonish concelts and/ or storues featured in previous Warner Animation Group films and instead focuses more on emotional stories and character development, all while focusing on issues such as self-steem and the consequences of overworking. The film's setting is also noticeable bleaker, being set in a lawless city full of corruption and crime. Additonally, the film os more viokent than previous WGA, featuring tons of onscreen Family-Unfriendly Deaths at the hands of an unsavory villain.
 * Dating Catwoman: A "crush" variant; Harley Quinn still has a crush on The Joker even while fighting him. Also lampshaded and discussed when Batgurl expresses surprise that her friend crushes on their enemy, only for Harley to say: "So? Bruce loved Catwoman even when she was a thief".
 * Fridge Brilliance:
 * The filmmakers admitted The Joker turning his henchmen into the Man-Bat Commandos was a deliberate Ass Pull. Which is something totally in-character for The Joker! After all, he does have a reputation for doing things in a whim!
 * Its already fitting that the song that plsys duribg the Joker's raid on S.T.A.R. Labs is "The Joker and the Thief". Its also fitting that the song playing right before is the song "Born to be Wild", performed by the band Steppenwolf.
 * Funny Moments: Harley and Joker's fight. The fact that these two are really nuts and wacky as hell means that seen them both fighting equals a lot of Toon Physics, funny dialogues between boths, and even a few jokes that are straight out of Looney Tunes.
 * Heartwarming Moments:
 * Barbara and Harley's friendship in general is this! Even througth the two are fans of arch-enemies and Harley is in love with the Creepy Clown, the two are with each other througth thick and thin, to the point that not only Barbara admits her secret to her right after becoming Batgirl and even taking her to the Batcave while working, but Harley is very supportive of her, delivers sweet and sound advice, and is generally geniunely happy for her friend.
 * And even througth she spents part of the film torn between her friendship with Barbara and her crush on the Joker, Harley ultimately chooses to actively help her friend by fighting the Joker. She even does the failing-to-chemicals thing just so she can be in the same state of mind as Mister J and be able to fight him in equal grounds. Talk about true friendship!
 * The origin of Harleen Quinzel's codename "Harley Quinn" in this version? "Harley" is Barbara's Affectionate Nickname for her. It really gives her Catchphrase "Call me Harley" a lot of emotion behind it.
 * The scene where Barbara discovers Bruce gave her one of his Batmobiles. And not just any Batmobile, Its the Tim Burton version! Which they both said was their favorite!
 * And then is Barbara's reaction. The same one any fan lf the Burton films would have if they were in her shoes.
 * A more subtle one: The shot revealing her new Batmobile is a direct homage to the opening shots of the Joel Schumacher films, down to Elliot Godmenthal's theme playing in the background. No Take That! No mocking. Pure awesomeness. It's a straight up homage. Considering how both of the Schumacher films are seen as the worst luve-action Batman films, and he never got a chance to redeem himself after his planned third, Darker and Edgier, film got axed, this feels like a great Throw the Dog a Bone moment towards a fellow Batman fan who never got the chance to make, in his words, "a true Batman film".
 * Bruce also left a message for Barbara in the Batmobile: "Do whatever you please with it. Just don't scratch it". Its his way of saying "Do your own thing, Barbara. Don't copy me if you don't want to". It shows how Bruce didn't actually cared if Barbara did things her own way or like he does. He just wanted her to be happy.
 * Also, remember this: Early in the film, Barbara was shunned by everyone but Harley for being herself. Now, her personal hero is showing that he loves her like a daughter because of who she is.
 * He Really Can Act:
 * While no one doubted Genesis Rodriguez would have the comedy chops required to voice Harley Quinn, she also manages to deliver some surprisingly heartwarming lines while still feeling pretty much in-character gor Harley.
 * Everybody agrees that Mark Hamill's vocal performance as the Joker is one hell of a Tough Act To Follow, but it is unanimously agreed that Tom Hiddleston more than managed to live up to the task by providing a performance just as creepy and entertaining as Hamill while giving the character a level of eloquence that allows his interpretation to stand on his own.
 * Hilarious In Hindsight: Loki's boast in his self-titled series' fourth episode of having lost track of how many times he died becomes a lot funnier now that his actor, Tom Hiddleston, appears in this film as the voice of The Joker, who has defied seemingly-impending dooms so many times he even had an entire trope about that named after him.
 * Lighter and Softer: In spite of being Darker and Edgier than previous WGA films, it is at the same time lighter in tone than most Batman films, featuring a more optimistic and upbeat vibe product of a lead character who is more joyfull and energetic than Wayne, as well as a greater amount of jokes and humour.
 * Nightmare Fuel: Not because is one of the Lighter and Softer versions of the Batman mythos dosen't mean its not terrifying. Its not the 60s, you know!
 * The Joker. He is as much of a Creepy Clown as he is in the comics. And Tom Hiddleston's lines are both eloquent and truly wild, making up for a truly chilling performance.
 * His introduction is nothing short of terrifying, even througth we don't see his face yet. He throws knives at a tied bank security officer like in a circus act just to scare him for his own sick amusement, all while telling him he won't kill the officer. But when Batman shows up, the Joker chooses to go for the kill, simply telling the officer he changed his mind about not doing so, followed by a shot of the knive approaching the guard, who screams for his life, right before cutting to Batman and the police hearimg the scream. Tge way Hiddleston so sincerely says both "I'm not gonna kill you" and "Oh, heah, then... i changed my mind" makes it even scarier, since it shows the Joker truly changed his mind on wbether kill or spare the security officer.
 * Also, how the Joker randomly changes targets during a fight, unless he's that close for the kill. One second he tries to shoot Batgirl or Batman, and the next he targets the first person he sees instead. And not only enemies, but he can change his mind and kill an innocent bystander for the hell of it in an instant. Indeed no one's truly safe when the Joker's around...
 * ...And that "no one" dosen't exclude even his lackeys. The Joker can does randomly shoot the first of his allies ha can kill even througth they didn't even were near him.
 * The scene in which Batgirl and the police attack what appears to be the Man-Bat. The filmmakers admittedly drew inspiration from the equally terrifying bottle factory scene in The Incredible Hulk, and it really shows. The scene becomes even more terrifying when its revealed kt wasn't Langstorm who attacked, but The Joker himself, having taken the Man-Bat serum. And unlike him, he's perfectly aware of what he's doing and enjoyed it.
 * And right before leaving, he drops a captive Langstorm to his death cackling like hell. And after his henchmen congrakute him on killing him before he coukd provide the heroes with a cure to the serum, he asks: "Wait, do you really think he would've give them a cure?". The fact that his voice tone is completly sincere manages to mame the line even more chilling.
 * His plan this time? Combine the Man-Bat serum with his Joker Poison and unleash it on Gotham City. But he firsts tests it on a civilian. And tp the results are creepy would be an understatement. The victim starts to painfully turn into a mindless monster while laughing uncontrollaby, and all that's left is a dead giant werebat with an offputting smile. And he plans to do it to all of Gotham.
 * Right before his final clash with Batgirl, The Joker chooses out of nowhere to turn his henchmen into the Man-Bat Commandos with the remaining of the original serum. And the scene is predictably horrifying, with tons of Body Horror to spare. Even worse is that this is followed by the Joker unleashing them on Batgirl wkth a delivery of the line "Fly, my pretties. Fly. Fly" that would make the Wicked Witch of the West proud.
 * The film dosen't even try to sugarcoat how Gotham City is a lawless hellhole. Most of the city's design looks straight out of a zombie apocalylse movie. Also, police sirens, gun shots, and even screams can be heard in the background. Thank goodness Batgirl managed to correct that by the end of the film.
 * Meaningful Echo: Upon being given the mantle of Batgirl, Barbara exclaims "I'm Batgirl!". She later repeats these words after choosing to make the world a happier place and do things her way, when a poor man asks her who she is.
 * Mythology Gag:
 * Before fighting the Joker, Harley Quinn says "Hey, Joker. You wanna get nuts? Come on! Let's get nuts!"
 * Harley's entrance at the climax causes the Joker to ask Batgirl "Is she with you?". The shot also resembkes the scene in which Catwoman met Batman and the Penguin in Batman Returns.
 * Shirley Walker's The New Batman Adventures theme appears througth the film.
 * At one point in the film, Batgirl says to Bruce that he should have tried with contacting Wonder Woman if he tried go fight Kryptonians due to their weakness to magic.
 * This version of Harley uses a javelin to fight as well as her maze, a nod to her being given one in The Suicide Squad.
 * A joke at the start of the film has Gotham City being referred as "the one place worse than Corto Maltese",
 * Barbara's school is called "Faust's School for Gifted Young Minds", a nod to 2019 DCSHG creator Lauren Faust. Additionañly, the school's baseball team is the "Gotham Hyenas", a referebce to Harley's love for hyenas.
 * Barbara's room has posters with nods to Batman composers from Shirley Walker to Michael Giacchino.
 * The Joker's death scene was done as an homage to Two-Face's death in Batman Forever (1995).
 * Once again, the Joker attacks the Batcave of an elderly Bruce Wayne and destroys everything.
 * At one point, the film recreates the Joker's dance in the stairs from his solo film.
 * While showing his Man-Bat form for the first time, the Joker jokes that "it was either that or a pit", a reference to Lazarus' Pit, a mystical pit used by Ra'as Al Ghul in the comics to return himself and other (most notably Jason Todd) to life at the cost of their sanity.
 * The scene near the end where Harley throws the Joker off Gotham Bay and into the ocean was meant to be a reversal of the scene in the comic Mad Love, where the Joker threw Harley off a window. Additionally, before throwing him, she calls him a "lousy scum-sucking creep", the same insult she used towards him in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Trial".


 * Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The Joker faces three at the film's conclusion:
 * When fighting against multiple enemies, make sure to ambush one alone after checking in were the others are to prevent them from interfering in time to save the first one. The Joker learns this the hard way when he tries to take Batgirl hostage and escape, only for Harley Quinn, who happened to be close by, to save Batgirl by attacking Joker by surprise, resulting in her literally kicking the crap outta him and launching him onto the river.
 * Also, the Joker expects to be sent to Arkham Asylum due to him having put on sn "insane" façade, but Harley, a gifted student on psychiatry, to reveal that she made a pdychological profile on him that shows to the authorities he is actually a perfectly-sane psychopath. Façades can only take you so far for so long, and you'll eventually get exposed no matter what, especially if the lie involves an area full of professional on the subject.
 * Due to his years of false insanity pleas, Joker ends up with an even bigger sentence than if he didn't get one. After all, he did lied to law enforcers on a subject where doing such thing is illegal.
 * Take That!:
 * After the Joker is done dancing on stairs, he starts dancing on the ground in a manner simikar to Emo Peter's mementically famous Spider-Man 3 dance... only that this clearly is meant to be intentionally ridiculous.
 * At the start of the film, while mocking Batman due to his age, Joker says he "kinda looks like Iron Man".
 * Tearjerker:
 * The opening scene is heartwrenching to its core. A shot even shows tombstones revealing that everyone Bruce was clode with, from Selina Kyle to Alfred, ended up dying eventually. The following shot is of Bruce sitting in solituded until the Batsignal appeared ála Batman Returns. However, whereas that was an awe-inspiring if solemn image of Batman waiting for duty to call, thus one is a downright depressing look of a man who's job is practically the one thing he has left.
 * Barbara giving up being Batgirl. While serious, she was still an upbeat young person who felt she was meant to be the new Batman, so seeing her giving up and falling into a Heroic BSoD just because she wasn't able to be like Bruce is truly gut-renching,
 * Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: While the film is relatively lighthearted, specially for a movie based on the Batman franchise, it neverthless dosen't sugarcoat how much of a monster the Joker is, being as every bit as terrifying as always.
 * Unexpected Character:
 * Man-Bat surprised auduences by actually showing up here. Ehile in the actual film his alter-ego dosen't habe a big role, at least the serum does.
 * On that note, nobody expected to see the more unknown Man-Bat Commandos making their theatrical debut here.

Tropes for Supergirl

 * Composite Character: While Supergirl's personality is mainly modeled after her DC Superhero Girls (2019), her character arc if copi g with the destruction of Krypton is partially based on her Superman/Batman: Apocalypsis incarnation.
 * Prequel: The film is set a few years before Batgirl.
 * Mythology Gag:
 * Supergirl overcoming Brainiac's manipulation was inspired by the clinatic scene from Zack Snyder's Justice League where Cyborg overcomes the Mother Boxes' influence.
 * John Williams' Superman theme appears througth the film.
 * The Stinger:
 * In a mid-credits scene, Lex Luthor uses Brainiac's computer and discovers somethibg that sets him to got to Gotham City in order to recover something even if it meabs fighting the Joker. Anyone who's seen Batgirl knows he'll have it easy.
 * A post-credits scene shows Brainiac-5 in the middle of the ocean, as he glitches and his eyes turn blue instead of red.
 * Tainted by the Preview: While the trailer overrall received a positive reception, many fans protested over how the film seemed to potray Brainiac-5 as The Dragon to Brainiac, as they felt it was disrespectful to the character. Fans changed tune, however, when the film's post-credits scene indicated subsquent DCATU films would feature a more faithful potrayal of the character.

Tropes for Zatanna

 * Casting Gag: Elizabeth Olsen and Kathryn Hann once again play comic book magic users who are put against one another.
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall: During the post-credits scene, when Wonder Woman shows up, she says "I suppose you know who i am", to which Zatanna nods in agreement.
 * The Stinger: Wonder Woman ask Zatanna for help.

Tropes for DC Superhero Girls

 * Central Theme: Friendship. The girls slowly become Fire-Forged Friends as they bond over the course of the story and learn to work together as a team, leading to their victory, while Lex Luthor slowly isolates himself, leading to his defeat.
 * Mythology Gag:
 * The heroes join after a villain tries to use a Mother Box to conquer the world, much is pretty much the plot for blth versions of Justice League. All films also include Wonder Woman as a main character.
 * The still poses the Superhero Girls make in the credits resemble those of the Justice League in the opening credits for their own animated series.

Tropes for Harley & Ivy

 * Adaptational Intellegence: Comic!Ivy's motivation was pretty much a case of Evil Is Petty, since it was mostly her wanting payback towards all of humanity for her neglected childhood and heartbreak with a college professor, this version acts more in defense of the only family she ever had, making her more emotionslly intelligent in comparation.
 * Adaptational Nice Guy: Whereas Comic!Ivy pretty much forces her will iin nature to make plants grow unnaturally, DCATU!Ivy does this only with plants willing to let her do it. Additionally, her motivation is changed so, in addition her lashing out against humanity due to their damage to nature, she also commits her acts of eco-terrorism to prptect the only thing that ever treated her kindly.
 * Author's Saving Throw: This film can be seen as one towards films based on comic book superheroes, as it skews most of the cliches seen in the genre in favor of a road buddy movie plot, making it somewhat different and unique within the superhero genre.
 * Awesome Moments: The fact that a film focused on Harley Quinn centered on morality and provided commentary on how to deal with criminals is awesome in and of itself.
 * Central Theme: How not all people who do bad things have bad intentions, and can actually be reasoned with and become good if given the chance.
 * Fridge Brilliance: As noted brlow, the film essentially follows many plot points from Harley's backstory in Mad Love, so why did Film!Harley succeded where the rest failed? Simple, she is doing it to Poison Ivy instead of the Joker, and it is well-known that Ivy truly cares for Harley to the point of doing good for her sake. This is pretty much an extension of that.
 * Friendly Enemy: The entire plot for the film centers on Harley Quinn befriending ecoterrorist Poison Ivy while still being a hero.
 * Heartwarming Moments:
 * When a captive Harley concedes that Ivy has a point in how humanity treats nature, Ivy seems geniunely touched by that. As her backstory would later reveal, this would be the very first moment a human being was nice towards her.
 * In the climax, Harley not only manages to reconcile with Ivy, but also shows her that there are good people in the world. This in turn inspires Ivy to try to stop her own plans of releasing deadly plants througth the world by way of a Heroic Sacrifice ála Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2. Luckily, Harley saves her in time.
 * Later, both Harley and Batgirl go to Ivy's defense when Harvey Bullock wants to kill her, in spite of Ivy stopping her own plan nearly at the cost of her life.
 * At the end of the film, it is revealed that Harley regularly visits Ivy at Blackgate, while Ivy shows gratefulness towards Harley for showimg her that Humanity zis Good.
 * Just the fact that, upon learming of her and Ivy's friendship, Batgirl never shows jealousy nor does she thinks she's gone bad. If she likes Ivy, there has to be a good reason.
 * Jerks are Worse Than Villains: Poison Ivy may be an ecpterrist planning the downfall of humanity, but she is also shown to be Affably Evil, has a point, and is later revealed to have a sad backstory, making her very likeable for audiences. Harvey Bullock, on the other hand, is an absolute Jerkass more than happy to use violence toget rid of anyone insteadbof trying a diplomatic approach first and has a Houlier Than Thou actitude, making him detestable to the audiences.
 * Mythology Gag:
 * When Ivy points out to Harley that humanity has done nothing but damage nature, Harley responds by saying "Good point. I mean, we do have some idiots running the show".
 * At the end of the film, Ivy says a variation of the "men are still good" monologue Bruce Wayne said at the end of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
 * Tearjerker:
 * Ivy's backstory. As a child, she was an outcast much like Harley once was. Following a lab accident that gave her the power to communicate with and control plants, they treated her with far better kindness than any human bring at that point, making Ivy extremely protective of nature as a result.
 * Upon finally arriving to a plant-filled area, Harley realizes a trap was set up, so she tells Ivy to wait and she tries to convince Batgirl and Bullock to stand down, but Bullock refuses and shoots Ivy in an attempt to kill her. While she avoids the bullet, she assumes Harley secretly set the trap up and cuts off their newfound friendship, believing she only lied and manipulated her, while also making her belive once more that Humanity Is Evil. As Ivy escapes, Hatoey is left crying at the ooss of her new second best friend.
 * Spiritual Antitesis: The film centers on Harley trying to convince a member ofvBatman's rogue gallery to abandon their evil ways, eventually coming to sympwthize with them for their backstory and Harley ends up personally liking them. This is pretty much what happened to her in her backstory as depicted in the comic Mad Love. However, whereas the Joker manipulated her into liking him by coming up with a bullshit backstory and ebds up making her his henchwoman, Ivy is truly sincere in her words, the two form a mutual friendship, and she pulls a Heel-Face Turn.
 * The Stinger: Poison Ivy unknowingly gives some hallucinogen pollen to the Scarecrow.
 * Villain Has a Point: Deconstructed. Througth her interactions with the kind and optimistic Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy realizes that being right about nature needing protection does not give her any right to take human lives.
 * Wham Line: At the end of The Stinger, Ivy asks "What are you gonna do with the pollen, Crane?", tipping off fans on who is she talking to.

Tropes for DC Superhero Girls: Fear State

 * Adaptational Badass: The worst Scarecrow ever got before was a national threat in the Batman: Arkham games. This Scarecrow is a worldwide terrorist able to use his wit, agility, and fear gas to fight off a demigodess.
 * An Aesop:
 * You can't get rid of fear, but you can resist it.
 * To cope with your fears, you must first open up to your friends.
 * Central Theme: How to cope with fear.
 * Darker and Edgier: Whereas the film was a lighthearted story about teamwork, this film focuses on overcoming fear, has psychological horror-esque imagery, and includes a villain who carries literal Nightmare Fuel to use as his weapon of choice.
 * Disney Villain Death: Subverted. Scarecrow nearly falls to his doom after exhailing his own fear gas and hallucinating, but Supergirl manages to catch him in time.
 * Heartwarming Moments: Througth the film, it is shown that all the Superhero Girls, annoyed as they are of her antics, geniunely care for Harley as much as Batgirl does and do see her as a teammate and a friend. A far cry from her status as an outcast alongside Barbara back in Batgirl. Conversely, Harley also shows that she truly cares for the girls.
 * Hoisted by His Own Petard: Scarecrow ends up being defeated when his mask breaks and ends up exposed to his fear gas.
 * Mythology Gag:
 * The subtitle is a nod to the Batman: Fear State story arc.
 * The way Supergirl prevents Scarecrow from falling to hus doom is an homage to Superman saving Lois Lane in Superman (1978).
 * Tearjerker: Supergirl's fear is losing the Superhero Girls, who are the few friends she had ever since arriving to Earth.