What are the major Superman suits to feature in the Harley Quinn Season 5 premiere? Explained

The first episode of Harley Quinn Season 5 finally began streaming on January 16, 2025. Kaley Cuoco, i.e. Penny from The Big Bag Bang Theory returns to voice the insane antiheroine Harley Quinn. Harley Quinn Season 5 Episode 1 begins with dropping a huge bomb on the fans. Love Birds Ivy and Harley decide to leave Gotham City and move to Metropolis, i.e. Superman and Lois Lane's city.

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What happens in the Harley Quinn Season 5 premiere?

In the Harley Quinn Season 5 premiere, things are worse than usual in Gotham. When The Clock King and Riddler point out that Harley and Ivy are in a rut, they decide to visit the Superman Museum in Metropolis. At Metropolis, Ivy and Harley encounter super-fast drones that kick them out. It is revealed that they make even Superman obsolete, because of which Harley convinces him to take a sabbatical outside Metropolis.

However, later Lena Luthor, Bruce Wayne's new girlfriend covers for them and offers Ivy an opportunity to run a green initiative in Metropolis. Because of this, the couple decides to move to shift their base to Metropolis. In the concluding moments of the episode, it is revealed that the drones are controlled by the Superman antagonist Brainiac, the central antagonist of Harley Quinn Season 5.

In the trailer, we can see that Brainiac wants Metropolis to have 100% perfection so that he can shrink the entire city. In the comics, he has bottled the entire Kryptonian city of Kandor, along with its citizens.

With Superman away, Brainiac the same fate for Metropolis was inevitable until Harley and Ivy set foot in the city. So, only time will tell how the rest of Harley Quinn Season 5 will play out. But the first episode also had something special for Superman fans.

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The Superman easter egg in the Harley Quinn Season 5 premier explained.

Ivy and Harley are stunned while entering the Superman Museum at the quietness of Metropolist in comparison to the hellish Gotham. As they do that, we see several artifacts related to Superman inside the museum. One of them is the two rows of Superman suits that Superman wore in the comics and animated shows throughout different eras of DC. Here are the Superman suits on display:

The black recovery suit

The Black Superman suit first appeared in the 1990s Superman storyline The Death of Superman. The suit helped Superman recover from the injuries inflicted upon him by Doomsday, because of which he was considered "dead". We saw Superman wearing this suit in 2021's Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Space Suit

Another popular Superman suit seen in the first Harley Quinn Season 5 episode is the space suit that millennials saw in Superman: The Animated Series. In that show, Superman used that suit for cosmic missions. The suit can protect Superman from harmful cosmic radiation and offers life support systems while simultaneously retaining classic Superman suit elements like the symbol.

The New 52 Armor

DC Comics rebooted their entire continuity to a new universe named New 52 in 2011. In this continuity, Superman wore armor, that looked a lot look the usual Superman suit, but without the red boxers.

Imperiex War Suit

Ma Kent helped Superman design a new suit in 2001’s Superman #174 following the “Our Worlds at War” event. The suit is a dark blue and the iconic yellow background of the “S” is black. This costume reminded the Man of Steel’s emotional state.

Electric Suits

Superman #123 from 1997 transformed Superman into a being made of pure energy, because of which special containment suits are needed. He is also split into two beings and both versions have unprecedented abilities. Even though this change was controversial, some of the powers these of two versions are occasionally referenced in Elseworld storylines.

Power Armor

In Action Comics #659 from the 1990s Mr. Mxyzptlk temporarily depowered Superman. Therefore, Superman donned this silver mechanized suit that allowed him to protect Metropolis with some powers. Created by Superman's supporting character Professor Emil Hamilton, this armor is one of the human attempts in DC Universe to replicate Kryptonian powers with the help of technology.

Brave New Metropolis Suit

“Brave New Metropolis” is an episode of 1997's Superman: The Animated Series. The episode is set in an alternate timeline where Superman makes a deal with Lex Luthor after losing Lois Lane. He wears an all-black suit with the yellow background of the shield being replaced by a black color with a modified "S" that looks like lightning.

These suits in the two rows of the Superman Museum in the Harley Quinn Season 5 premier serve as a fun call-back to the Man of Steel's history through the years.

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You can catch the rest of Harley Quinn Season 5 on Max every Thursday.