Harley Quinn

For the Agatha Christie character Harley Quin, see The Mysterious Mr. Quin.

Harley Quinn
Cover to Harley Quinn #26. Art by Mike Huddleston and Troy Nixey.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batman: The Animated Series "Joker's Favor"
First comic appearance	The Batman Adventures #12 (September 1993)
Created by	Paul Dini Bruce Timm
Voiced by	Arleen Sorkin Hynden Walch (The Batman) Tara Strong (Batman: Arkham City)
In-story information
Alter ego	Dr. Harleen Quinzel
Team affiliations	Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Six
Abilities	Immunity to most poisons and toxins due to Poison Ivy's injections Trained in the field of psychoanalysis Talented gymnast High human agility and strength Above average fighting skills and martial arts

Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel) was first introduced as a villain on September 11, 1992, in the animated series Batman: The Animated Series, later adapted into DC Comics' Batman comic books. As suggested by her name (a play on the word "harlequin"), she is clad in the manner of a traditional harlequin jester. The character is a frequent accomplice and the girlfriend of Batman's nemesis the Joker, and is also close to Poison Ivy, from whom she gained her immunity to poisons and toxins, as well as her advanced physical abilities.

The character was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm and was originally voiced by Arleen Sorkin in Batman: The Animated Series and its tie-ins. The character was portrayed by Hynden Walch on The Batman television series. In the Birds of Prey series, she was portrayed by actress Mia Sara, and by Sherilyn Fenn in the pilot episode. Throughout her portrayals, she is shown to speak with a pronounced Brooklyn accent.

IGN's 2009 list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Harley Quinn as #45.^[1]

Fictional character biography

Origin: Batman: The Animated Series

Harley Quinn first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor",^[2] as what was originally supposed to be the animated equivalent of a walk-on role; a number of police officers were to be taken hostage by someone jumping out of a cake, and it was decided that to have the Joker do so himself would be too bizarre (although he ended up doing so anyway). Dini thus created a female sidekick for the Joker. Arleen Sorkin, a former star of the soap opera Days of our Lives, appeared in a dream sequence on that series in which she wore a jester costume; Dini used this scene as an inspiration for Quinn.^[3] Having been friends with Sorkin since college, he incorporated aspects of her personality into the character.

The 1994 graphic novel Mad Love recounts the character's origin. Told in the style and continuity of Batman: The Animated Series and written and drawn by Dini and Timm, the comic book describes Harley as an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who falls for the Joker and becomes his accomplice and on-off sidekick/lover. The story received wide praise^[4] and won the Eisner and Harvey Awards for Best Single Issue Comic of the Year. The New Batman Adventures series adapted Mad Love as the episode of the same name in 1999, making it the second "animated style" comic book adapted for the series (the other was Holiday Knights).

She becomes fascinated with the Joker while interning at Arkham, and volunteers to analyze him. She falls hopelessly in love nearly instantly with the Joker during their sessions, and she helps him escape from the asylum more than once. When the Joker is returned to Arkham after a battle with Batman, the sight of her badly injured patient drives Harley to don the costume and become Harley Quinn, the Joker's sidekick and on/off girlfriend. She later becomes fast friends with Poison Ivy, who injects her with antitoxins to give her the same immunity to poisons she has (which explains why she is not affected whenever the Joker releases his lethal laughing gas).

Expanded role

After Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, Harley makes several other animated appearances. She appears as one of the four main female characters of the web cartoon Gotham Girls. She also made guest appearances in other cartoons in the DC animated universe, appearing in the Justice League episode "Wild Cards" (alongside the Joker) and the Static Shock episode "Hard as Nails" (alongside Poison Ivy).

She appeared in World's Finest: The Batman/Superman Movie as a rival and foil for Lex Luthor's assistant Mercy Graves; each takes an immediate dislike for the other, at one point fighting brutally with each other as Luthor and the Joker have a business meeting. In the film's climax, Harley nearly kills Mercy when she duct tapes her mouth shut and tapes her to the top of a gigantic killer android, although she is rescued and untied by Batman and Superman.

The animated movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker takes place in the future, long after the events in Batman: The Animated Series, but it does include a flashback scene with Harley's career apparently ending by her falling down a deep pit during a battle with Batgirl. At the end of the movie, two twin juvenile girls who model themselves on the Joker are released on bail to their grandmother, who angrily berates them — to which they answer: "Oh, shut up, Nana Harley!"

Comics history

The character proved so popular that she was eventually added to the Batman comic book canon (although she had already appeared in the Elseworlds Batman: Thrillkiller and Batman: Thrillkiller '62 in 1997). The comic book version of Quinn, like the comic book version of the Joker, is more dangerously violent and less humorously quirky than the animated series version. Despite her noticeably more violent demeanor, Harley does show mercy and compassion from time to time; she notably stops Ivy from killing the vigilante Thorn, instead convincing her to leave the heroine hanging bound and gagged from a large statue.^[5]

Harley with the Joker on the cover of Batman: Harley Quinn.
Art by Alex Ross.

Quinn's DC Universe comic book origin, revealed in Batman: Harley Quinn (October 1999), is largely an adaptation of her animated origin from the Mad Love graphic novel.

A Harley Quinn ongoing series was published monthly by DC Comics for 38 issues from 2001 to 2003. Creators who contributed to the title included Karl Kesel, Terry Dodson, A.J. Lieberman, and Mike Huddleston. The series dealt with her going solo, eventually starting a gang and then fleeing Gotham for the city of Metropolis with her friend Poison Ivy. Quinn eventually dies, only to be resurrected and return to Gotham. The series ends with Harley turning herself in to Arkham Asylum, having finally understood that she needs help. We also learn in issue #8 of the comic that Harley had a relationship in college with fellow psychiatry major Guy Kopski whose suicide started her obsession with the Joker. Harley later appears in the Jeph Loeb series Hush. She is next seen in a Villains United Infinite Crisis special, where she is one of the many villains who escape from Arkham (although she is knocked unconscious the moment she escapes).

In the One Year Later continuity, Harley Quinn is an inmate at Arkham, glimpsed briefly in Detective Comics #823.

Harley next appeared in Batman #663, in which she helps the Joker with a plan to kill all his former henchmen, unaware that the "punchline" to the scheme is her own death. Upon realizing this, she shoots him in the shoulder.

Harley resurfaces in Detective Comics #831, written by Paul Dini. Harley has spent the last year applying for parole, only to see her request systematically rejected by Bruce Wayne, the layman member of Arkham's medical commission. She is kidnapped by Peyton Riley, the new female Ventriloquist, who offers her a job; Harley turns the job down out of respect for the memory of Arnold Wesker, the original Ventriloquist, who attempted to cheer her up during her first week in Arkham while the Joker was still on the loose. She then helps Batman and Commissioner Gordon foil the impostor's plans. Although Riley escapes, Bruce Wayne is impressed with Harley's effort at redemption, and agrees with granting her parole.

In Birds of Prey #105, Harley Quinn is revealed as the sixth member of the Secret Six. In issue #108, upon hearing that Oracle has sent the Russian authorities footage of teammate Deadshot murdering the Six's employer as payback for double-crossing them, Harley asks, "Is it a bad time to say 'I quit'?", thus leaving the team.

In Countdown #43, Harley appears to have reformed and is shown to be residing in an Amazon-run women's shelter. Having abandoned her jester costume and clown make-up, she now only wears an Amazonian stola or chiton. She befriends the former Catwoman replacement Holly Robinson, and then succeeds in persuading her to join her at the shelter, where she is working as an assistant. They are both brought to Themiscyra by "Athena" (really Granny Goodness) and begin Amazon training. Holly and Harley then meet the real Athena, and encounter Mary Marvel. The group reveal Granny's deception, and Holly, Harley, and Mary follow her as she retreats to Apokolips. Mary finds the Olympian gods, whom Granny had been holding prisoner, and the group frees them. Harley is granted powers by Thalia as a reward. Upon returning to Earth, the powers vanish, and Harley and Holly return to Gotham City.

Harley Quinn has joined forces with Poison Ivy and Catwoman in the series Gotham City Sirens. Having moved in with Pamela Isley at the Riddler's apartment, she meets up with Catwoman, who offers for the three of them to live and work together. A new villain who tried to take down Selina Kyle named Boneblaster breaks into the apartment, and the three of them have to move after they defeat him. Later, after a chance encounter with Hush, the Joker attempts to kill her, apparently out of jealousy. Quinn is rescued by Ivy and Catwoman, and it is later revealed that her attacker wasn't the real Joker, but one of his old henchmen impersonating him.

Gotham City Sirens #7 establishes that she was born and raised in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn into a Jewish-Catholic family. Her father is a con artist who is still in jail. Her brother, Barry, is a slob with dreams of rock stardom, and her mother, Sharon, wants her to stop the "villain and hero stuff".

Following a number of adventures with Catwoman and Ivy, Harley betrays them and breaks into Arkham with the goal of killing the Joker for abusing her as often as he did. However, Harley ultimately chooses to instead release Joker from his cell, and together the two orchestrate a violent takeover of the facility that results in most of the guards and staff members either being killed or taken hostage by the inmates.^[6] Harley and the Joker are eventually defeated by Batman and Catwoman, and Harley is last seen being wheeled away while bound in a straightjacket and muzzle.^[7] Shortly after this, Poison Ivy breaks into Harley's cell and attempts to kill her for her betrayal, but instead offers to free her if she helps kill Catwoman, who had left both of her fellow Sirens behind in Arkham. Harley agrees, and the two set out to trap Catwoman.^[8] During the ensuing fight, Catwoman says that she saw good in them and only wanted to help. Just as Batman is about to arrest them, Catwoman helps the two of them escape.^[9]

Now sporting a new costume, Harley is later arrested by Black Canary after murdering one of the prosecutors who put the Joker behind bars. She is then tortured and forcibly inducted into the Suicide Squad by Amanda Waller.^[10] It is eventually revealed that she no longer wears face paint, and that her bleached skin is now part of a permanent condition.^[11]

Other versions

A picture of Harley Quinn from The New Batman Adventures

• Harley Quinn's first major appearance outside the Batman animated world was in the Elseworlds miniseries Thrillkiller. As with the other characters, her background is very different from the established version: Bruce Wayne, for instance, is a full-time detective in the Gotham City Police Department who becomes Batman after being framed for murder, teaming up with Batgirl (aka Barbara Gordon) who has already been active for some time. This version of Harley is a schoolgirl named Hayley Fitzpatrick who dresses up in order to help a female version of the Joker called Bianca Steeplechase. The relationship between this lesbian or bisexual Joker and Harley Quinn is short-lived but noticeably more egalitarian than its heterosexual counterpart in mainstream DC continuity. After Batgirl kills Bianca, Harley is shown killing her own family, intent on revenge in the final frames of the story.

• In the Elseworlds 80-Page Giant, one of the stories is about Lex Luthor as a music producer. One of his groups is, as the press puts it, "alternative lifestyle folkies Ivy and Harley."

• On the new Earth-3, Harleen Quinzel is the Jokester's business manager. She is killed by Owlman.

• In the 2008 graphic novel Joker, Harley Quinn appears as the Joker's helper and aide-de-camp. She at one point acts as a stripper (though this may be a ruse), and is never shown speaking.

• The character Yo-Yo in the Flashpoint series is likely that universe's equivalent to Harley Quinn, as she is shown as the right hand of the Flashpoint Joker, Martha Wayne. She is captured by Batman (Thomas Wayne) and Cyborg. After her capture Batman comments to Cyborg that she almost "fell" off of the roof he caught her on, implying his intent to kill her as he did with Hush, Killer Croc, the Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy.

In other media

Film

Justice League

In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Harley is the name of a monkey owned by the Jester (Joker's Parallel Earth equivalent).

Batman Triumphant

Prior to the release of Batman & Robin, Mark Protosevich was commissioned by Warner Bros. to write a script for a fifth Batman film titled Batman Triumphant to be directed by Joel Schumacher. Harley Quinn was allegedly included as one of the film's three villains, opposite Scarecrow and Man-Bat. In July 2000, Protosevich confirmed Scarecrow and Quinn as the only two villains. Madonna was rumored for the role, which he had rewritten as the Joker's daughter seeking revenge, not his lover and henchgirl as portrayed in the animated series and Batman comics. Due to Batman & Robin's poor box office run, bad Internet buzz, and several negative reviews from critics, Triumphant was never made, and the film franchise went on hiatus for eight years until Batman Begins in 2005. The unmade film served as a testament for Quinn's popularity, as the film's production and initial planned release was set before she had been introduced into DC's continuity.

Television

Birds of Prey

In 2002, a live-action television series called Birds of Prey, loosely based on the comic of the same name, included Harley Quinn as a psychotic psychiatrist and main villain. The character was portrayed by actress Mia Sara, who replaced Sherilyn Fenn (originator of the role in an unaired pilot episode). The show aired only 13 episodes. In this show, Harley is portrayed as an older, far more calculating and sinister character than her bubbly comic and cartoon personas. She also does not wear a costume, although she does wear an outfit that is reminiscent of her cartoon costume in the series finale, "Devil's Eyes". In that episode, she used experimental technology to transfer metahuman mind control powers to herself. It is unknown about this version's relationship with the Joker, although she does make reference to him as "Mr. J." on a few occasions, laments his loss as Gotham's crime boss and hints at a past relationship reminiscent to that of the animated series.

The Batman

Harley Quinn is introduced to the Kids' WB series The Batman in the Season 4 episode "Two of a Kind." This version of the character, voiced by Hynden Walch, is originally the host of a pop psychology television show called "Heart To Heart With Harley". Claiming to have obtained an online degree for psychology, she gives off-the-cuff advice to her callers that usually hurts more than helps. Her boss, Jimmy Herbert, fed up with her irresponsible behavior, cancels the show on the air after she stages an ambush on Bruce Wayne during her show, after falsely promising she would allow him to promote a charity-drive for crime victims. The Joker sees the episode and proceeds to take advantage of the situation. Initially thinking getting a tell-all from the Joker would restore her career, Harley Quinn ends up rampaging the town with the Joker. Eventually, she is arrested after the Joker deserts her, and seemingly regrets taking up with him. Once loaded into a police car, she sees that Joker has left her an affectionate message, and instantly falls in love with him again. This incarnation of Harley Quinn wears a slightly different costume than the one she wears in Batman: The Animated Series, as the black parts of the original are dark red here, the headdress is larger here than the original, the inverted diamond pattern on the shoulders and thighs is absent, her gloves are fingerless, and her mask conceals her eyes.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

In the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Legends of the Dark Mite!" while Bat-Mite is giving a speech at the Comic-Con, there is a brief cameo of Harley Quinn's creator Paul Dini dressed up as her. Harley Quinn appears alongside the Joker in "Emperor Joker!", voiced by Meghan Strange. This version is a henchwoman of Joker, modeled after a 1920's flapper woman, shown in black-and-white, and does not sport her traditional costume, but Bat-Mite does. Though she has a mutual crush on Bat-Mite, she ultimately proves to love the Joker more. Alongside virtually every other character that appeared duing the show's three season run, Harley makes a cameo appearance in the series finale, "Mitefall!" She is shown with the Joker at the show's wrap party, and kicks Gagsworthy when he tries to approach the Joker.

Young Justice

A teenager dressed as Harley Quinn appears at a costume party in the Young Justice episode "Secrets".

Video games

Harley with Warden Sharp in Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Harley Quinn also appears in several video games based upon the animated series.

• She appears in a cameo role in The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Super NES, and as a boss in The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Sega Genesis.

• She also appears in The Adventures of Batman & Robin (voiced by Arleen Sorkin) for the Sega CD and Batman: Chaos in Gotham.

• Harley Quinn played a major role in the game's storyline in Batman Vengeance voiced by Arleen Sorkin. She first appears posing as "Mary Flynn" in a trap for Batman set by the Joker; she later does the Joker's dirty work after he fakes his death.

• She appears in Lego Batman: The Videogame with her sound effects provided by Grey DeLisle. She appears as an enemy of Batman and a 1st deputy of the Joker..^[12][13] Harley Quinn in Lego Batman is a playable character and can be unlocked through the villain levels, and carries a pistol. She can perform high jumps like most women in the game.

• Arleen Sorkin reprises her role of Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham Asylum, as one of the main antagonists of the game, here with a new costume based on a nurse uniform. Her friendship with Poison Ivy is referenced here, where she hesitates on releasing Ivy from her cell in fear of angering the Joker. She is finally caught after her attempt to trap Batman in a cell in the intensive treatment ward failed, Batman defeating a swarm of henchmen before trapping Harley in a cell. After her capture Harley is shown in one of the Scarecrow's hallucinations as one of the villains escorting Batman into Arkham, similar to the guards who brought the Joker into Arkham Asylum at the beginning of the game.

• Harley Quinn was also seen in the initial teaser trailer for Batman: Arkham City alongside the Joker. She appears to be wearing a biker-girl themed costume in this game, using a low-key version of her usual makeup, with only black eye shadow in lieu of her domino mask and with the tips of her hair dyed red and black. It is mentioned that Joker's illness has put great stress on Harley, and she is more erratic and irrational. She is voiced by Tara Strong.^[14] The game's prequel comic reveals that Harley was able to free the Joker from Arkham after attacking a female guard and stealing the woman's uniform. She then murdered a number of other guards and was able to take the Joker to an abandoned factory.^[15] Harley is eventually attacked by Talia al Ghul, who leaves her bound and gagged in the factory after stealing the cure for the Joker's condition, which she gives to Batman. She somehow frees herself and is present at the end of the game, where she breaks down and begins sobbing after the Joker dies of his condition. After completing the game, the player can enter Harley's room, where a positive pregnancy test can be found. In the ending credits, Harley is heard singing to a baby, promising the child that she plans on killing "the whole damn world", leaving a cliffhanger for a possible sequel. After Joker is killed most of the clowns talk of either quitting or revolting, as Harley is hated and feared by her subordinates. If there are any Harley-Heads left after beating the game you can hear Harley crying over the Joker's death.

• Harley Quinn appears in the DC Universe Online video game, with Arleen Sorkin returning as her voice.

See also

• List of Batman Family enemies

References

1. ^ "Top 100 Comic Book hero". 2009. http://comics.ign.com/top-100-villains/index.html.  "Harley Quinn is Number 45". IGN. News Corporation. http://comics.ign.com/top-100-villains/45.html. 
2. ^ "Joker's Favor" (episode #7, original airdate: September 11, 1992)
3. ^ Jankiewicz, Pat. "Quinn-tessentials. Arleen Sorkin gets a kick out of being the Joker's wench". Starlog magazine. http://www.harley-quinn.com/oldsite/ainterview.html. 
4. ^ "Mad Love". http://www.harley-quinn.com/oldsite/madlove.html. 
5. ^ Harley Quinn #14
6. ^ Gotham City Sirens #20-23
7. ^ Gotham City Sirens #24 (June 2011)
8. ^ Gotham City Sirens #25 (July 2011)
9. ^ Gotham City Sirens #26 (August 2011)
10. ^ Suicide Squad #1 (September 2011)
11. ^ Suicide Squad #3 (November 2011)
12. ^ Stephen Totilo (2008-02-15). "Exclusive: See A New ‘LEGO Batman’ Villain". MTV Multiplayer. Viacom. http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/02/15/exclusive-see-a-new-lego-batman-villain/. 
13. ^ Game Informer magazine features a two-page gallery of the many heroes and villains who appear in the game with a picture for each character and a descriptive paragraph. See "LEGO Batman: Character Gallery," Game Informer 186 (October 2008): 93.
14. ^ http://community.batmanarkhamcity.com/forums/showthread.php/951-The-Voice-Behind-Harley-Quinn
15. ^ Batman: Arkham City #2

External links

• Harley Quinn's Haven - the largest and most comprehensive website dedicated to Harley Quinn since 1997
• Harley Quinn on the DC Animated Universe Wiki, an external wiki
• Harley Quinn at the Open Directory Project
• Collecting Harley Quinn
• Harley Quinn on the official Superman/Batman Adventures homepage