Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn in Harley Quinn v3 #1.

Harley Quinn is a female comic character who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Origin

Harleen Quinzel in Harley Quinn v1 #26.

Harleen Frances Quinzel

Quinn started her first-year residency at Arkham Asylum where she was an intern and attempted to convince her superiors to have private sessions with the Joker. She was hoping to use this to gather research material for a book on the serial killers mystique. In these sessions, she found his psyche to be disturbing and his dementia alarming yet him to be irresistibly charming. (Batman: Harley Quinn v1 #1)

She was later contacted by Catwoman who wanted revenge against Hush and had her network of allies target his fortune. This saw Harley being given a list of banks where Elliot kept his fortune where Quinn helped steal from his personal accounts. (Detective Comics v1 #850)

Post-Flashpoint

Joining Task Force X in Suicide Squad v4 #1.

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of evens.

After her arrest by Black Canary, Quinn came to be secretly transferred to Task Force X and she was one of the candidates of the new Suicide Squad. (Suicide Squad v4 #1)

She came to be tired of working with others and decided to focus on herself leading to Harley spending time on the beach. Whilst there, the Female Furies arrived were under orders from Granny Goodness they were to take Quinn to Apokolips via Boom Tube. Whilst there, Granny convinced her to become one of her Female Furies and came to equip herself with a hammer of New God origin from the arsenal present there. She came to enjoy her role as a Fury and was dispatched by Granny to find the rogue Petite Tina. (Harley Quinn v3 #45)

Going to the sewers with Catwoman, Selina took Harley to meet the Underbroker so that she could stop the Joker's plans to steal the Wayne fortune. Whilst there, they were betrayed by the Underbroker with them facing the Joker's new right hand woman Punchline. Quinn later came to battle Punchline where she was outmanoeuvred by her foe who ended up slitting her throat and leaving her for dead. (Batman v3 #93) Harley managed to survive and managed to close the wound though her throat was still healing afterwards. Gotham by this point was engulfed in the Joker War as the Joker used the Wayne fortune to cause chaos and sent gangs to destroy the city. Harley managed to save Batman who was dosed with a new strain of the Joker Toxin but in his paranoid state he refused Quinn's help and fled the scene. (Batman v3 #96) She managed to find the poisoned Batman and convinced him to follow her as she took him to the secret underground garden that Ivy had made for her. Once there, he had him take a tea designed to flush out the toxin within his system where she stood guard over him. (Batman v3 #97) The garden was then invaded by Punchline who intended to torch it in an effort to kill Quinn leading to a second round of fighting between the pair. Harley came to see that she and Punchline were similar in that they had both idolised the Joker but for different reasons. However, Quinn had come to learn that nothing mattered more to the Joker than Batman and confronted Punchline over her beliefs. This caused the villain to decide to murder Batman to prove herself to the Joker but the Dark Knight recovered and knocked out the woman. He along with Harley as well as the unconscious Punchline then departed the cavern as the flames consumed the entire underground garden. (Batman v3 #98) She joined Batman as he called his family consisting of the other vigilantes of the city in order to combat the Joker. However, Batman stated that he wanted to simply arrest the Joker and return him to Arkham with Harley opposing this decision as she only joined forces with the Dark Knight to murder the Clown Prince of Crime. She later told Batman that the Joker would never stop and would always seek to outdo himself with her intending to kill him despite Batman's disapproval. Harley then made a deal that if Batman was killed then she would kill the Joker to end his rampage once and for all. (Batman v3 #99) She managed to arrive at Ace Chemicals during the fight between Batman and the Joker where she shot the Clown Prince of Crime in the eye. Though wounded, it was not a shot to kill and Harley instead decided to force Batman into a choice of not actively saving the Joker. This involved tying the Joker up and strapping a bomb to him whilst she tied one to herself as she went deeper into the burning chemical plant. Quinn intended to force Batman to choose to either save her or the Joker thus meaning that one of them would die from the explosion. The Dark Knight left the Joker and saved Harley Quinn who was unconscious for a week as a result of the explosive detonation. She awoke to find herself in the hospital with Batman by her side as the two looked at Gotham which they believed would survive the damage done to it by the Joker. (Batman v4 #100)

She then looked to buy a new apartment in Little Santa Prisca where unknown to her she was a target of the vigilante Clownhunter. (Batman v3 #102) Harleen's apartment was then broken into by the vigilante who was looking to kill her due to her former ties to the Joker. However, Quinn stated that she had no interest in being a villain anymore and was looking to turn over a new leaf. Clownhunter refused to hear her words and instead tried to murder her but Harley Quinn managed to easily evade him where she knocked him out as well as tied him up. At that time, a wounded Batman crashed into her apartment where she discovered that he was the target of another vigilante named the Ghost-Maker who was looking to take over as protector of Gotham with a more ruthless view to handling criminals. He used a tranquilizer dart on Quinn to render her unconscious whilst he sought to deal with Batman. (Batman v3 #103)

Overview

Personality and attributes

When she joined the Female Furies, Harley was given the name of Hammer Harleen as her new name. (Harley Quinn v3 #45)

After meeting Punchline, she came to see that she and Alexis were similar in how they had both idolised the Joker. Harley had come to want his heart whilst Punchline had wanted his brain. However, Quinn came to realise a while back that the Joker would always be obsessed with Batman. Thus, she had turned away from him and came to feel sorry for Punchline still being under his spell. (Batman v3 #98)

Powers and abilities

As one of the Female Furies in Harley Quinn v3 #45.

Poison Ivy later created a concoction that made Harley immune to the toxins made from Isley's body. Not only had her body's resistance to toxins been increased but so had her natural strength and agility. (Batman: Harley Quinn v1 #1)

After joining the Female Furies, she was provided and weapon of Apokoliptian origin that was taken from the Maniac Menagerie. This saw Quinn making use of a powerful hammer that was able to communicate to her by emitting a series of 'pings' which Harley could understand. It allowed her to find her quarry and track them for her assignments. (Harley Quinn v3 #45)

She once modelled a gang of followers after herself that she called the Gang of Harleys. (Harley Quinn v2 #16)

Notes

• Harley Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm where she made her first appearance in Batman: The Animated Series in the episode "Joker's Favor"
• The character was later introduced into New Earth comic continuity in Batman: Harley Quinn v1 #1 (October, 1999).

Alternate Versions

• In Batman: White Knight v1 #2 (2018), Harleen Quinzel appeared in the setting of the Elseworld. She came to take the name Harley Quinn where she was a henchwoman of the Joker and was in love with him. However, she came to find that he was more obsessed with Batman and she saw that he had become too mentally unstable when he tried to kill Robin. After abducting the Boy Wonder, Harley notified Batman to save his sidekick and this led to her leaving the Joker. Afterwards, the Joker attacked a bank where a woman named Marian Drews and forced her to help him rob the bank. She was taken to his headquarters where he treated her wounds and suffered Stockholm Syndrome with her falling in love with him. She eventually took the identity of Harley Quinn and became enamoured with his idea of killing others.

In other media

Television

• In the DC Animated Universe, Harley Quinn made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting:
  • In Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn made her first appearance in the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe where she was voiced by actor Arleen Sorkin.
• In The Batman, Harley Quinn appeared in the animated television series where she was voiced by actor Hynden Walch.
• In Justice League Action, Harley Quinn appeared in the animated television series where she was voiced by actor Tara Strong.
• In Harley Quinn, Harley Quinn featured in the animated television series where she was voiced by actor Kaley Cuoco.

Films

• In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Harley Quinn appeared in the animated film based in the DC Animated Universe continuity where she was voiced by actor Arleen Sorkin.
• In Batman: Assault on Arkham, Harley Quinn appeared in the animated film where she was voiced by actor Hynden Walch.
• In Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn appeared in the 2016 live-action film where she was portrayed by actress Margot Robbie.
• In Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Harley Quinn appeared in the animated film where she was voiced by actress Tara Strong.
• In Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn appeared in the 2020 live-action film where she was once more portrayed by actress Margot Robbie.
• In Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Harley Quinn appeared in the setting of the animated film where she was voiced by actress Hynden Walch.

Video games

• In Batman Vengeance, Harley Quinn appeared in the video game where she was voiced by actor Arleen Sorkin.
• In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Harley Quinn appeared as a playable character in the setting of the fighting video game where she was voiced by actor Tara Strong.
• In Injustice 2, Harley Quinn returned as a playable character in the setting of the fighting video game sequel where she was once again voiced by actor Tara Strong.

Appearances

• Batman: Harley Quinn v1: (1999)
• Batman v1:
• Detective Comics v1:
• Suicide Squad:
• Harley Quinn v2:
• Harley Quinn v3:
• Batman v3:

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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