Season 5 of Harley Quinn took Harlivy to Metropolis, where they try to start a new life away from Gotham’s chaos. It hasn’t been easy, though. First, Ivy (voiced by Lake Bell) had to face Jason Woodrue (voiced by John Slattery), a classic DC villain with deep ties to Pamela’s villain origins. Now, Harley’s (voiced by Kaley Cuoco) chaotic energy puts her at odds with Brainiac (voiced by Stephen Fry), the legendary Superman villain operating in Metropolis. Episode 4 finally explains Brainiac’s end goal, as the villain is trying to perfect Metropolis before stealing the city for himself. However, instead of being motivated by a search for knowledge, this version of Brainiac travels the cosmos, visiting planets while guided by grief.
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While peering at Brainiac’s past, Harley Quinn shows the villain traveling through different galaxies, looking for planets he can fix. During this journey, Brainiac crosses multiple planets with funny names. As it turns out, every named planet in the latest episode of Harley Quinn has a comic book counterpart, with many of them connected to classic heroes and villains. Here’s every DC planet shown in Harley Quinn, explained:
Zur-En-Arrh
First introduced in Batman #113 in February 1958, Zur-En-Arrh emerged from the creative minds of writer France Herron and artist Dick Sprang during the Silver Age of comics. This alien planet was home to Tlano, a scientist who modeled himself after Earth’s Batman and sought to protect his own world. In the original story, Tlano teleports Bruce Wayne to his planet to help battle giant robots piloted by an unidentified alien race. The planet’s unique environment granted Batman temporary “Superman-like” powers, adding to the narrative’s fantastical nature. While the original story left readers uncertain whether the adventure was real or a dream, the planet became a significant part of Batman’s canon. In later interpretations, particularly during Grant Morrison’s run on Batman in the 2000s, Zur-En-Arrh transformed from a literal alien world into a psychological construct—a backup personality Bruce Wayne created to protect himself from mental compromise. After that, other stories confirmed the existence of Zur-En-Arrh as a place in the cosmos, adding to the planet’s unusual mythology.
Czarnia
Czarnia was the homeworld of the infamous bounty hunter Lobo. Created by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen, Lobo first appeared in Omega Men #3 in June 1983, initially introduced as a villain before becoming a prominent anti-hero. The planet was once a utopian world with extraordinary properties, most notably its inhabitants’ ability to regenerate and clone themselves from a single drop of blood. However, Lobo’s origin story reveals the planet’s ultimate downfall: as a school science project, he released a plague that decimated the entire Czarnian population within a single week, earning himself an “A” grade for the assignment. This act of planetary genocide left Lobo as the last Czarnian, transforming him into an intergalactic bounty hunter with a reputation for extreme violence.
Htrae
A peculiar cube-shaped planet created by Bizarro, the imperfect clone of Superman, Htrae (literally “Earth” spelled backward) is one of the most bizarre places in DC’s cosmic geography. Populated by Bizarro versions of Superman, his family, and various Earth characters, the planet operates on a fundamental principle of doing the opposite of standard logic. Bizarro created this world as a home for himself and other Bizarro duplicates, establishing a “Bizarro Code” that mandates inhabitants behave in the most illogical and contradictory manner possible. It’s no wonder Brainiac scanners in Harley Quinn show the planet is only 8% perfect, reflecting its intentionally flawed design, where everything is a twisted, nonsensical version of regular existence.
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Thanagar
Home to the Hawkman and Hawkwoman, Thanagar is a militaristic planet with a complex social hierarchy. Originally a world of technological advancement, Thanagar developed a culture based on conquest, mining other worlds to maintain its high standard of living. The planet’s society is deeply stratified, with a privileged upper class and an oppressed lower class. Katar Hol, one of Thanagar’s most notable heroes, was born into a privileged family but became disillusioned with the planet’s expansionist policies, eventually becoming the hero Hawkman. The planet’s history is marked by constant conflict, including wars with neighboring worlds like Rann and internal struggles between social classes.
Rann
A planet with a tumultuous history, Rann nearly faced extinction following devastating atomic wars that rendered most of its male population sterile. Salvation came through the innovative Zeta-Beam technology developed by scientist Sardath, which brought Earth archaeologist Adam Strange to the planet. Rann’s strategic importance grew as it became a focal point of interstellar conflicts, including a significant war with neighboring Thanagar. The planet’s perfection stems from its advanced scientific achievements, particularly in teleportation technology, and its ability to overcome near-total destruction through innovation and adaptation. Rann’s culture is also defined by its complex relationship with Earth through Adam Strange, who became the planet’s greatest hero and protector.
Tamaran
A planet in the Vega system, Tamaran is the homeworld of Starfire (Koriand’r), an alien princess with a tragic history and a classic Teen Titans member. Koriand’r was originally heir to the throne but was betrayed by her sister Komand’r (Blackfire), who sold her into slavery. Tamaranean society is characterized by its unique physiological traits, including the ability to absorb languages through physical contact and convert ultraviolet radiation into energy.
Colu
Once a near-perfect technological utopia, Colu was home to the most outstanding scientists in the universe, most notably Brainiac (Vril Dox). Sadly, the planet was destroyed by the Multitude, an interdimensional threat that annihilated over a hundred planets. Brainiac, in an attempt to save his world, miniaturized his own city and created an army of robotic servants called Terminauts. In Harley Quinn, the planet has a 99% perfection rate, with Brainiac insisting that the final 1% is not important enough for him to change it. However, during a work trip, Colu gets destroyed, and Brainiac’s family is killed, with the planet’s score dropping to 0%. Brainiac believes he could avoid the calamity by fixing that 1%, so he travels the cosmos to perfect other cities. Both in DC Comics and in Harley Quinn, Colu’s legacy lives on through Brainiac.
Bryak
A planet mentioned in Brainiac’s complex origin story, Bryak is more of a footnote in cosmic history. In one version of Brainiac’s backstory, Bryak is referenced as a potential homeworld, with the character returning from a space voyage to find the planet devastated by a plague, not unlike what happened in Harley Quinn. This planetary tragedy became a motivating factor for Brainiac’s later quest to collect and preserve civilizations, albeit through incredibly destructive means. In Harley Quinn, Bryak is also the home of the shrinking ray technology Brainiac acquires.
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Daxam
A planet of extraordinary potential, Daxam is home to the Daxamites, a humanoid race with powers rivaling those of Kryptonians under a yellow sun. The planet’s history is marked by deep xenophobia and multiple invasions that threaten its existence. During one such invasion by the Sinestro Corps, led by Mongul, Green Lantern Sodam Yat—a native Daxamite—made a desperate and transformative decision. By infusing the planet’s red sun with the power of the Ion Entity, he converted it to a yellow star, temporarily granting all Daxamites Superman-like abilities. This moment of empowerment came with significant sacrifice, as Yat became trapped within the star’s energy. While far from being a well-known planet in DC’s mythology, Daxam’s mention in Harley Quinn is nevertheless timely, given that DC Studios’ Lanterns series is set to explore the Corps’ rich history.
Krypton
The pinnacle of scientific achievement in the DC Universe, Krypton was a world of incredible technological advancement and cultural sophistication. Located in a star system with a red sun, Krypton developed an incredibly advanced civilization that mastered genetic engineering, space travel, and complex societal structures. Despite its near-perfect technological status, the planet was ultimately doomed by the scientific hubris of its leaders, who failed to heed warnings about the planet’s impending destruction. The planet’s sole survivor, Kal-El (Superman), became a living testament to Krypton’s potential and tragic fall. The fact that Krypton is marked with a 93% perfection score in Harley Quinn makes its destruction more tragic.
Bismoll
Bismoll is a unique planet of genetically engineered humanoids with an extraordinary ability to consume any matter and the homeworld of the hero Matter-Eater-Lad. The planet’s inhabitants developed the power to eat virtually anything, from metals to complex technological devices, as a survival mechanism in their initially inhospitable world. Bismollian society developed unusual cultural traits, including a government that drafts citizens into office and the creation of the Calorie Police to monitor food consumption.
Did you catch all these references by yourself? Let us know in the comments!
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