Herman Cizko

* Herman
* The Cowled Critic

*❝ I hate you, Dad! ❞*
— Herman Cizko

**Herman Cizko** is a minor character in the T.V. series, *Harley Quinn*. He is the son of Doctor Psycho and Giganta.

## Appearance

Herman Cizko is a goth stereotype, with shiny jet black hair in a spherical shape around his head, dark eyeliner (or bags), and dark clothes. He has grey eye shadow on his right eyelid. He is obese, very pale, and has light blue eyes. He wears black pants, black shoes, and a black shirt with a bright white pentagram. He is seen with a black net sleeve on his right arm.

As his online persona, The Cowled Critic, he is a skeleton in a hoodie with the hood up illuminated by green lighting. There are small red dots in the skull's eye sockets in place of actual eyes. He uses a voice modulator to make his voice deeper and ominous, to fit his persona and his videos, likely also uses the modulation for the sake of not being tracked down by fans, haters, or his father.

## Biography

### Background

Herman is a well-known critic of supervillains on the internet under the alias Cowled Critic.

### Season 1

#### "So You Need a Crew?"

*Main article: So You Need a Crew?*

Herman first appeared when Doctor Psycho went on the Tawny Young show along with Herman and Giganta to clear his name after calling Wonder Woman a cunt. However, he only managed to make things worse by talking over his wife and ended up calling her a cunt as well. This resulted in the end of their marriage after which Herman continued staying with his mother.

#### "You're a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon"

*Main article: You're a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon*

After a failed heist at WayneTech, the Cowled Critic gave Harley's Crew a bad review and took an out of context photo of Poison Ivy holding Doctor Psycho to declare that they were in a relationship. Doctor Psycho and Ivy then decided to track the critic down and when they traced him to Giganta's house, Phycho initially blamed her but German soon appeared and revealed he it was him.

Doctor Psycho was surprised that his own son would slander him, but Herman shot back that Doctor Psycho made his life a "living hell". He accused Doctor Psycho of locking him in a basement for days, killing anyone who even remotely seemed to like him, never buying him a WayneStation4, and of deliberately naming him "Herman" for insult, all of which Doctor Psycho didn't deny. Doctor Psycho calmed his son and said that he made his life hell because he cares for him, saying that supervillains don't grow up in happy homes. Doctor Psycho wanted to foster his "evil potential", and Herman admitted that he only wanted to impress Doctor Psycho, to which he said, "I couldn't be more proud of you, my terrible son". They then hugged each other in mutual hate.

The Cowled Critic later made a more positive review of the crew, saying they had more than proved themselves worthy of being nominated to the Legion of Doom, especially shouting out Doctor Psycho and correcting his statement about him and Ivy being a couple.

## Personality

Herman is a bitter and moody teenager due to the abuse he suffered from his father, Doctor Psycho, whom he resents for "making [Herman's] life a living hell". The abuse included his father locking him in the basement for days, killing anyone who seemed to like him, never buying him a game console he wanted and was especially bitter at his father for naming him 'Herman'.

Herman was genuinely touched in their heart-to-heart when his father admitted he did the things he did because he cared and saw potential in Herman for true evil, which he wanted to foster. As a result, Herman finally confessed all he'd ever wanted was to impress his dad, and they made amends.

Herman doesn't appear to have any bitter feelings towards his mother, presumably because Doctor Psycho had kept her under mind-control.

As his internet alias, the Cowled Critic, Herman is critical in criticizing supervillains, although he let his anger at his father judge his and Harley's team in a biased manner until making up with his father led him to redo his critique and judge them more fairly.

## Media Appearances

**Season 1**

* "So You Need a Crew?" (cameo)
* "You're a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon"

**The Real Sidekicks of New Gotham**

* "Wild Ride"
* "Tawny Tawks"