Harley Quinn

Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, also known as Harley Quinn, first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor" (episode #08, original air date: September 11, 1992) where she served as a humorous female sidekick to the Joker. In her first appearances she was depicted as a character completely devoted to the Joker, totally oblivious to his psychotic nature and his obvious lack of affection for her - a characterization that has remained more or less consistent throughout her subsequent appearances. Her name is a play on the word 'harlequin'.

The origin of the character was recounted in a 1994 graphic novel The Batman Adventures: Mad Love. Told in the style and continuity of Batman: The Animated Series and written and drawn by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm (two of the producers of the animated series and Harley's creators), the comic book revealed Harley's origins as an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who fell in love with the Joker. The story was widely praised and won the Eisner and Harvey Awards for Best Single Issue Comic of the Year.

The Mad Love story was originally thought too violent for the animated series, though it was eventually adapted in The New Batman Adventures series episode "Mad Love" in 1999. This made it the first "animated style" comic book which was adapted for the series (the other being a holiday special adapted into the episode "Holiday Knights").

Origin
Harleen Quinzel was a psychiatric intern at Arkham Asylum. A model student, in addition to receiving high grades in college, she was also a dedicated gymnast, winning a scholarship to Gotham City University. While researching the lunatics at Arkham, she became fascinated with one particular inmate. Ambitiously volunteering to analyze him, she pleaded with the doctors at Arkham for three months before she could treat him. After he gained her sympathy during their sessions, he seduced her, causing her to fall madly in love with him. After helping him escape from the asylum more than once Harleen was suspected by the authorities, who revoked her license and placed her in her own cell. During an earthquake in Gotham City, she fled and became Harley Quinn, the sidekick to the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker.

Quinn's relationship with the Joker is one of the most complex and twisted love affairs in comics. As with all people, Joker is abusive and manipulative towards Harley, but just as often there's evidence of camaraderie, playfulness, and genuine affection towards her. She's the only person who's managed to become intimate on such a long term basis with the Joker and, while he generally accepts their relationship, we even see the Joker's occasional moments of confusion and discomfort which results in attempts to kill her.

One time, when Joker realized the very deeply hidden away feelings of being able to love he was beginning to recall, he sent Harley off in a rocket. She crash landed in Robinson Park in the center of Gotham and was found by Poison Ivy. When Harley regains consciousness, Ivy initially planned to kill her. The prospect of her own death totally fails to move Harley, and Ivy is curious as to why. She convinces Harley to tell her story, and soon feels a kinship to her. Considering her another castoff, Ivy offers to help Harley take her revenge on both Batman and the Joker. Ivy took her back to her lair in a toxic waste dump and nursed her back to health. This included injecting Harley with a serum that Ivy had developed which has given Harley immunity to various assorted toxins and Ivy's own poisonous touch and also dramatically enhances Harley's strength and speed. Ivy intends to give her new friend an edge on Batman and the Joker. Quinn and Ivy teamed up and conducted a number of successful capers. Hot-blooded Harley, however, is angrier at the Joker than at Batman, and even initially works with the Dark Knight to help bring down the Clown Prince of Crime.

While Batman eliminates the villain's muscle, Quinn chases the Joker up a damaged building, intending to send him falling to his death. Before she can do so, however, the Joker apologizes. Falling in love with him again, she forgives him on the spot, and serves as his lieutenant throughout the rest of No Man's Land, as well as the Emperor Joker storyline. After this, Ivy dissolved the partnership in disgust. Ivy remains, however, her usual first point of call when she and The Joker are going through a rough patch. Ivy adopted the role of older sister and teller of harsh truths to Quinn about her helpless infatuation with The Joker. She frequently refers to the Joker as "Puddin" and "Mr. J." and she refers to Poison Ivy as "Red" (a reference to her red hair).



In the One Year Later storyline, Harley Quinn resurfaces as an inmate at Arkham Asylum, 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.

In Birds of Prey #105, Harley Quinn joins the Secret Six as the sixth member. 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'?"

Gotham City Sirens
Harley Quinn has joined forces with Poison Ivy and Catwoman in Gotham City Sirens. Having moved in with Poison Ivy at The Riddler's townhouse, she meets up with Catwoman who offers for the three of them to live and work together. Ivy resolves that she and Harley would provide Catwoman with "positive female reinforcement", and the three then agree to become a team. However, Harley and Ivy have one condition: they demand that Catwoman reveal to them the true identity of the original Batman. Suddenly, however, 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 who she thought was Bruce Wayne (but was really disguised Hush), the Joker attempts to kill Harley, apparently out of jealousy. Quinn is rescued by Ivy and Selina, and it is later revealed that her attacker wasn't the real Joker, but one of his old henchmen impersonating him.

During the Holidays, Harley travels to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, where she visits her family. Her brother seems to be lazy and unwilling to work, causing Harley to fuss at him about the situation. Her mother also voices her disapproval for Harley's status as a wanted criminal, even though her daughter tries to say that she has changed her ways. The meeting leads to Harley going to visit her father in prison. She and her dad talk of why he is in jail once again, and he tries to tell her that he will also change his path if Harley has done so. They share a moment, but Harley realizes that her 'Pop' is trying to find out where she has stashed money away for him. As Harley goes to exit the building, a guard asks for a picture. She tries to refuse, but the guard claims that her father promised she would and he had given him money for the photo: This angers Harley even further.

Quinn soon returns to Gotham City, not wanting to stay anywhere near her family. She then goes back to living with Catwoman and Poison Ivy in an abandoned animal kennel, which she warmly regards as her new home. 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. 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. 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.

During the ensuing fight, Catwoman says that she saw good in them and really only wanted to help. Just as Batman is about to arrest them, Catwoman helps the two of them escape.

DCnU
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. It is eventually revealed that she no longer wears face paint, and that her bleached skin is now part of a permanent condition. She also seems to be attracted to Deadshot, as she sees an abusive leader in him just as she saw in the Joker. Despite having no powers at all, she proves to be a valuable asset to the Squad, though she is easily the most mentally unstable (Deadshot described her as "cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs). Surprisingly, she does not show any visible reaction upon hearing of the Joker's "death" beyond stopping in her tracks and staring off into space, though after Deadshot snaps her out of her day dream and tells her to focus she replies "Focus. Yeah. Consider me very focused right now". In the fourth issue she is moved into isolation and separated from the rest of the Suicide Squad, which confuses the Belle Reeve guards as she is a powerless unstable woman, though as her guards ask what she could possibly do Waller insults the guard's intelligence and Quinn smiles at the guard. She is not seen with the rest of the Suicide Squad when they are sent to put down the break out at Belle Reeve. It's revealed at the end of the fifth issue that Quinn somehow orchestrated the breakout and deactivated her bomb as a diversion to escape from Belle Reeve, and is shown to be going to Gotham City to learn about Joker's death.

Quinn returns to Gotham and begins a crime spree with henchmen in her image. During the issue Quinn flashbacks to her first meetings with Joker, though her origins have been slightly altered as of the reboot. Unlike her DCAU counterpart and previous versions, Harleen never believed any of the Joker's tales about his childhood and is shown to be both incredibly intelligent and has some fighting profiency as shown when she threatened the Joker upon realizing he has brought a knife into their first session. In their tenth session Joker reveals what he learned about Harley, that her father had been killed in a hit-and-run by a drunk, wealthy rich man who had enough connections to escape the charges and jail time. Joker then presents her with the man's finger, explaining it would be difficult to sneak the man's fat corpse into the Asylum, but that he had already tried as much. She tortures a psychologist and former friend for the location of Joker's body before slitting the woman's throat. In order to get to his face Harley allows herself to be arrested by the GCPD and brought into their building.

Inside the GCPD, Harley retrieves Joker's face and trys to escape with it, to go to Arkham, but is stopped by Savant. She and Savant fight, until she outsmarts Savant by trapping in a pressure cell, where if there is an attempt to escape, it blows up, and mockingly says to stay there. She tries to escape, but she notices Deadshot. She drops infrared red bombs, blinding Deadshot, and sneaks up behind him, knocking him out with her sledgehammer. He wakes up unmasked and is forced to wear Joker's face. Harley, believing that Deadshot is Joker, asks him why he didn't come back for her. Going along, he asks her that if she truly loves him, she would try to kill the Bat family. So happy, she runs towards the Joker, but is stopped after Deadshot shoots her in the gut. It is seen that she lived, but is getting surgery as she was injured really bad. She is still part of the Suicide Squad, but Amanda Waller threathened her if she pulled this stunt again.

Harley's near brush with death seemed to cure her of her psychosis and now she refers to herself as 'Dr Harleen Quinzel' later in the series it was revealed this was only temporary. It is possible she has developed multiple personality disorder.

Harley returned to the team after her betreyal and since she left the team, Deadshot seems to be against her returning to the squad and when she trys to 'make it up to him' she receives a punch in the face. Later it is revealed, when a gunman working for Basilisk who was being taken in for interrigation was poisoned, there is a traitor in the group. Deadshot seems to belive the traitor is Harley after her rampage earlier on in the series. When the plane they are flying on is destroyed by a member of Basilisk they land somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico where a tribe of Mayans capture them and get ready to sacrifice many of the members.

DCAU
In the animated series Quinn often teamed up with Poison Ivy to take on Batman. Quinn's friendship with Ivy was also one of the few villainous team-ups in the animated series seemingly rooted in genuine friendship. When Ivy demanded during one episode that Quinn stand up for herself, Quinn said "I'm nobody's doormat—am I?" Ivy replied, "If you had a middle name, it would be 'Welcome'."

Her eventual fate is shown in the movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. She disappeared, and was presumed dead, after falling into a deep crevasse during Batman's final showdown with the Joker; however, bottomless pits are a notoriously unreliable means of death in fiction. Indeed, a scene toward the end of the film reveals that she survived to start a family, with her granddaughters (Delia and Deidre Dennis) inheriting her devotion to the Joker and eventually joining the Jokerz Gang as Dee-Dee. This scene exists primarily because Harley is Paul Dini's admitted favorite character (not to mention being his main original addition to the Batman mythos), and he was unsettled by having to kill her off, so he snuck that scene into the script on his own. It survived thanks to Bruce Timm, who felt the lighter moment was a perfect relief after the intensity of the climax. It should be noted that her reaction to Dee-Dee's involvement with the Joker's plan seems strange; she scolded them for getting involved in Joker's crimes after "struggling to make a good home for them." This is odd considering Harley's previous devotion to the Joker and would suggest that she no longer feels any true attachment to him after all the years he had been dead.

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

 * See: Harley Quinn (The Batman)

Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Harley Quinn is introduced to the Batman: The Brave and the Bold series in the episode "Emperor Joker". She is voiced by Meghan Strange. This version is a henchwoman of the Joker and wears an outfit similar to that of a 1920's flapper woman. Quinn never appears in her original costume, though Bat-Mite does in the episode, and Paul Dini had a cameo in Harley's costume in a previous episode. She holds a brief crush on Bat-Mite in the episode, but ultimately proves to love the Joker more. She makes a cameo in the series finale, "Mitefall!", as part of the wrap-party for the now-canceled Brave and the Bold series. She kicks Gagsworthy when he tries to approach the Joker.

Young Justice
A teenager wearing Harley's DCAU costume is seen in the Young Justice episode "Secrets".

DC Universe
The character proved so popular that a version of her was eventually added to the more serious Batman comic book canon. She first appeared in Batman #570, "The Code" as part of the "No Man's Land" story. The comic-book version of Quinn, like the comic-book version of The Joker, is more dangerously psychotic and less humorously kooky than the animated-series version.

Quinn's DC Universe comic book origin, revealed in Batman: Harley Quinn (October, 1999) is largely an adaptation of her animated origin from the Batman Adventures: 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 and Terry Dodson.

Harley Quinn continues to appear in other DC comic books. She should not be confused with Harlequin, a distinct Teen Titans character originally appearing in the seventies.

She is a member of the Suicide Squad — part of the DC Comics "New 52" reboot in 2011.

Batman Triumphant
Harley Quinn was meant to appear in the sequel to Batman & Robin, entitled Batman Triumphant, as one of the main antagonists alongside the Scarecrow. Quinn would have been portrayed by singer Madonna, and would have been rewritten as the Joker's daughter seeking revenge for his death instead of his psychologists-turned-henchwoman and lover. Any other details about Harley's role in the film are currently unknown. However, Triumphant was scrapped after the almost universal negative reviews of Batman & Robin. The unmade film served as a testament to Quinn's popularity, as Triumphant's production and initial planned release were set before Harley had been introduced into DC's main continuity.

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

LEGO Batman: The Videogame

 * See: Harley Quinn (Lego Batman: The Videogame)

Batman: Arkham Asylum

 * See: Harley Quinn (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

Harley Quinn appears in Batman: Arkham Asylum as one of the main antagonists. She is voiced once again by Arleen Sorkin.

Batman: Arkham City

 * See: Harley Quinn (Batman: Arkham City)

Harley Quinn returns in the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City. She is voiced by Tara Strong who replaces Sorkin.

DC Universe Online
Arleen Sorkin reprises her role as Harley Quinn in DC Universe Online. Her look is similar to her Batman: The Animated Series appearance.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Harley Quinn was originally intended to be a playable DLC character together with Quan Chi in Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe but due to Midway's bankruptcy, it was cancelled.

LEGO sets
LEGO has made a minifigure of Harley Quinn who looks very similar to her Batman: The Animated Series appearance. She comes in the set with a large "truck" with a hammer on the side and a LEGO version of Batman, who appears to be wearing the same batsuit as he does in The Dark Knight. LEGO Batman comes with a vehicle resembling the Batpod, though very movie inaccurate.