In this review of Harley & Ivy: Life and Crimes #6, welcome to the epic finale of the Gotham-fueled romance story where the happy couple find themselves in mortal danger from the arrival of an old nemesis. Also, you know that thing people do when they try on their old outfits for some reason? Ma Hunkel does that.
Harley & Ivy: Life & Crimes #6 main cover by Erica Henderson (DC Comics)
HARLEY & IVY: LIFE & CRIMES #6
Written by ERICA HENDERSON
Art and Main Cover: ERICA HENDERSON
Variant Covers: LEIRIX and AMY REEDER
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 6/3/26
This review contains spoilers
Harley & Ivy: Life and Crimes #6 starts with a flashback (within the previous flashback) as Ivy recalls both her first meeting with Harley and her traumatic captivity by Clayface in a devastated Gotham City during the No Man’s Land event. The story shifts back to Harley and Ivy’s time in Brooklyn, as the pair find themselves trapped by Clayface after discovering the villain’s nearby abandoned house complete with a bag of stolen cash.
Ivy digs deep, remembering how she defeated Clayface before and channels her rage against Harley and Clayface her against the shape-shifting villain. Across the street, Ma Hunkel dons her old hero outfit to rescue Harley, Ivy and her teenage charges Scribbly and Sisty but the devastation she finds makes her fear the worst. Moments later, a relieved Ma finds Scribbly and Sisty unharmed (and they know it’s her under the helmet). Ma urges Harley to talk to Ivy as rain begins to fall.
Harley tries to get Ivy to open up as the thunderstorm mirrors the roiling of emotions between them. Finally, Ivy relents, realizing that Harley is right, that somehow, their connection works. Cut to the present day where the pair have been biding their time in a bridal shop waiting for the right moment to pull off a heist.
Harley & Ivy: Life and Crimes #6 ends with the duo swooning over a particular wedding gown. The series wraps with a close-up on a very spicy open-mouth kiss.
Analysis
Harley & Ivy: Life and Crimes #6 wraps up the story with yet another flashback, although this one goes straight to the heart of Ivy’s character and the growth she has experienced since connecting with Harley. Writer/artist Erica Henderson taps into the tension that is fueled more by Harley and Ivy’s emotional vulnerability than from the threat of Clayface, although he also plays a role.
Harley and Ivy are a lot alike, both having experienced more than their share of trauma over the years, they just dealt with it differently. Henderson has never shied away from both the emotional scarring the women endured or the bad behavior that resulted from it (lots of crime), but she doesn’t have to dig too deep to unearth the good in both women. Harley is flaky but optimistic and supportive while Ivy cares deeply for nature and most living creatures (not so much humans though).
The heated argument “inside” Clayface was interesting as Ivy was more ticked off at Harley for not listening to her when she said they needed to leave than for the physical danger they found themselves in at that moment. Ma Hunkel gets a moment to shine as she dons her old “Red Tornado” outfit while also failing to keep her identity secret from Scribbly and Sisty despite the helmet.
Henderson’s art impresses, with the approaching thunderstorm a metaphor that mimics the emotional turbulence between Harley and Ivy. The sequence complete with the falling rain, cracks of thunder, bursts of lightning, heavy shadows and close-ups on the two women channels a range of emotions with minimal detail, but Henderson sells the scene because of the panel composition and tightening focus on the title characters.
The coda at the bridal shop illustrates how well Harley and Ivy work together and how likable they are as a couple, (even when pretending to shop while preparing for a heist).
Final Thoughts
Harley & Ivy: Life and Crimes #6 sends off the happy couple with a few more recovered memories (not all of them good) with a promise for more stories at some point down the road. The story balances the mix of darkness and light while the art expresses without excessive detail.
