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This article is about the DC Comics character. For the Agatha Christie character, see Mr. Harley Quin.

Harley Quinn
File:HarleyqLG.jpg
Harley Quinn with the Joker on the cover of Batman: Harley Quinn; art by Alex Ross.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceBatman: The Animated Series
"Joker's Favor (September 1992)"
First comic appearanceThe Batman Adventures #12 (September 1993)
Main DC Universe continuity:
Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (October 1999)
Created byPaul Dini
Bruce Timm
Voiced byArleen Sorkin
Tara Strong
Hynden Walch
Grey DeLisle
Meghan Strange
Laura Bailey
Janyse Jaud
Jen Brown
In-story information
Alter egoHarleen Frances Quinzel
Team affiliationsSecret Society of Super Villains
Secret Six
Suicide Squad
Gotham City Sirens
PartnershipsJoker
Poison Ivy
Catwoman
Deadshot
Abilities
  • Trained psychiatrist
  • Skilled gymnast
  • Immunity to most toxins and diseases
  • Utilizes weaponized props

Harley Quinn (Harleen Frances Quinzel) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, and first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series in September 1992. She later appeared in DC Comics' Batman comic books, with her first comic book appearance in The Batman Adventures #12 (Sept. 1993).

Harley Quinn is the Joker's frequent accomplice and lover, whom she met while working as a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum, where the Joker was a patient. Her name is a play on the name "Harlequin", a character which originated in the commedia dell'arte.

The character was originally voiced by Arleen Sorkin in various tie-ins to the DC animated universe. Since then, she has also been voiced by Hynden Walch and Tara Strong in either DC Animated Showcases or in various video games. In the Birds of Prey television series, she was portrayed by actress Mia Sara. The character made her live-action cinematic debut in the 2016 film Suicide Squad, portrayed by Margot Robbie.

History

Creation and introduction

Harley Quinn first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor",[1] 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 pop out cake, and it was decided that to have the Joker do so himself would be too bizarre (although he ended up doing it 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.[2] Having been friends with Sorkin since college, he incorporated aspects of her personality into the character.[3] Quinn was also inspired by a mutual female friend's "stormy (but nonviolent) relationship", according to Timm.[4]

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 Harleen Frances Quinzel, M.D. as an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who falls in love with the Joker and becomes his accomplice and on-again, off-again sidekick. The story received wide praise[5] 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").

File:Harley Quinn (model sheet).jpg
Harley Quinn, as she appears in the DC Animated Universe

She becomes fascinated with the Joker while working at Arkham and volunteers to help treat him. Harleen falls hopelessly in love 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 Harleen insane, leading her to quit her psychiatrist job and don a jester costume to become Harley Quinn, the Joker's sidekick. She later befriends Poison Ivy, who injects her with an antitoxin which gives her increased agility and strength as well as immunity to toxins.

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 Lex Luthor and the Joker have a business meeting. In the film's climax, Harley ties Graves as a human shield to a combat robot set to confront Superman and Batman, but Graves is rescued by the two heroes without suffering any harm (other than the damage Harley had inflicted on her beforehand).

The animated movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker takes place in the future, long after the events in Batman: The Animated Series. It includes a flashback scene with Harley falling down a deep pit during a battle with Batgirl. At the end of the movie, a pair of twin 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!"

In 2016, Margot Robbie portrayed her in the DC Extended Universe film Suicide Squad.

Transition to comic books and publication history

After the success of The Animated Series, the character proved so popular that she was eventually added to the Batman comic book canon.[6] She first appeared in the original graphic novel, Batman: Harley Quinn, as part of the "No Man's Land" story, 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 Poison Ivy from killing Batman, instead convincing her to leave the hero hanging bound and gagged from a large statue. Batman is later untied by Batgirl. While the comic book version of the character is still romantically linked with the Joker, a more recent development has Harley also romantically involved with Poison Ivy. Harley Quinn series writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner confirmed that the two characters are in a non-monogamous romantic relationship.[7]

A Harley Quinn ongoing series[8] 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 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 student 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 "punch line" to the scheme is her own death. Upon realizing this, she shoots him in the shoulder.

Harley Quinn on the cover of Harley Quinn #1 (Dec. 2000). Art by Terry Dodson.

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 joins 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". It is stated that the reason why Harley chose to become a psychiatrist in the first place was to try and understand her own broken family.

On a certain instance Harley attempted to steal from Two-Face and the Riddler, but was caught and they were not happy. Later, Poison Ivy discovers Harley bound and gagged in a closet, and Ivy removes the gag and unties her.

Following a number of adventures with Catwoman and Ivy, Harley betrays them and breaks into Arkham Asylum with the goal of killing the Joker for his years of abuse towards her. However, Harley ultimately chooses instead to 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.[9] Harley and the Joker are eventually defeated by Batman and Catwoman, and Harley is last seen being wheeled away while bound in a straitjacket and muzzle.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

The New 52

Following DC's 2011 relaunch of its titles, Harley Quinn's costume and appearance was fully revamped. The New 52 shows Harley Quinn with a sleeveless top, tight shorts, and boots. Her hair color has also been altered to half-red and half-black, like the jester cap of her previous incarnation, rather than fully blonde. Consistent with her new origin, her bleached skin is the result of being kicked into a vat of acid by the Joker.[13]

File:HarleyQuinn.png
Harley Quinn as she appears in the New 52; art by Amanda Conner.

After a falling out with the Joker, she goes into a murderous frenzy, directed towards people responsible for the Joker's imprisonment. Captured by Black Canary, she is forcibly inducted into the Suicide Squad by Amanda Waller.[14] However, when she discovers that the Joker is rumored to be dead, it takes a further toll in her already addled mind, and betraying the Suicide Squad, she puts their safety and secrecy at risk by turning herself into the Gotham Police Department in a plot to gain access to the skinned face of the Joker.[15] Her plan apparently pays off, and she manages to recover the face, though in a further psychotic episode, Harley captures and ties up Deadshot and places the skinned face of the Joker over Deadshot's face, so that she can carry on a "conversation" with her dead lover. Deadshot lures Harley in close, shooting and severely injuring her during the conversation.[16] After the Joker returns to Gotham in the "Death of the Family" story line, he forces her to disguise herself in his old Red Hood costume and trick Batman into coming to the chemical plant where they first met. Batman then falls into a tank and demands Harley to tell him where Joker is. But she only replies, in tears, that he's no longer the Joker she had fallen in love with.[17]

On July 16, 2013, DC announced that a new Harley Quinn ongoing comic book series would begin publication in November 2013, co-written by Amanda Conner and her husband Jimmy Palmiotti, cover illustrated by Conner and illustrated by Chad Hardin.[18][19] The series has notably become distanced from the "Batman Family" of DC publications in both tone and premise, with Harley no longer having any significant connection to either Batman or the Joker following the "Death of the Family" storyline. In the series, Harley Quinn has become a landlady at Coney Island, is a part-time member of a roller derby team and has returned to psychiatric work under her real alias, indicating that Harley's real identity is not public knowledge in the new status quo.

Under Conner and Palmiotti's writing, Harley was reinvented as an antihero, who values human life and actively tries to improve life in her neighborhood. Between issues #11 and #13 Harley formed a brief partnership with an amnesiac Power Girl and battled Clock King and Sportsmaster before Power Girl's memory was restored and she left Harley at the top of the Eiffel Tower as punishment for her deceit.[20] Harley attempts to coerce a romantic connection with her tenant Mason, but was unable to make the date due to the multitude of responsibilities in her life, balancing her two jobs with her commitment to her roller derby team and her career as a crime-fighter.[21] With support from her friend Poison Ivy, Harley makes amends with Mason and turns to the internet to recruit other strong, young women in a crime-fighting team she is forming.[22] This team, composing of young women of various ethnic backgrounds and one gay man called Harvey Quinn, then fights Captain Horatio Strong, a sea captain who becomes superhumanly strong after eating an addictive alien sea-plant, in an homage to Popeye. Harley agrees to help a woman whose daughter has been kidnapped by a gang in Hollywood.[23]

Harley Quinn has featured a few standalone specials which are not directly connected to the main series and feature multiple artists. In the scratch and sniff-themed Annual issue, Harley briefly returned to Gotham to save her friend Poison Ivy, as the Arkham Asylum employees monitoring her had brainwashed her to create a hallucinogenic pathogen.[24] In the Valentines Day Special, Harley returned to Gotham to win a prize date with Bruce Wayne (who unbeknownst to her is Batman) and finds herself fighting animal rights activists-turned-super villain blackmailers. She shares a brief intimate moment with Bruce Wayne. At Coney Island, Batman informs Harley that while he still distrusts her, he admires her attempt at heroism and promises not to interfere. Harley kisses Batman and tells him to get "lessons" on kissing from Bruce Wayne, to which Batman privately grins.[25]

In Futures End, a series set five years in the future, Harley mails herself to the Bahamas in an attempt to save money on airfare. The plane carrying her crashes over the ocean while flying through a storm and Harley is washed up onto the shores of an island inhabited by an un-contacted tribe. The tribe quickly declares her a goddess and is determined to have her meet their god-king who turns out to be The Joker. After a fight and reconciliation Harley learns that The Joker has been living on the island as a god and making the inhabitants dress up as various superheroes and track him down while playing tricks on them. It is announced that she and The Joker are to be married. She's initially excited about the pending marriage until she discovers that the two will be sacrificed to the island's volcano as their wedding ceremony ends.[26]

File:Harley-Quinn-vol3.jpg
Harley Quinn as she appears in the DC Rebirth variant cover of Harley Quinn vol. 3, #1 (August 2016); art by Guillem March.

A spin-off series entitled "Harley Quinn and Power Girl" was launched in June 2015. The series is set to run six issues and takes place while Harley has the amnesiac Power Girl convinced the two are a crime fighting duo.[27] The story follows the two when they're sent to a part of deep space known as La Galaxia Del Sombrero during the unseen events mentioned in Harley Quinn #12 and then chronicles their journey to return to earth.[28]

Controversy

In September 2013, DC Comics announced a contest for fans and artists, "Break into comics with Harley Quinn!",[29] in which contestants were to draw Harley in four different suicide scenarios. This contest drew controversy not only because it was announced close to National Suicide Prevention Week, but because some artists did not like the sexualized portrayal of Harley in the fourth scenario, in which Harley attempts suicide while naked in her bath tub.[30][31]

DC Rebirth

Using the end of the New 52 initiative as a launching point, DC Comics began a second relaunch of its entire line of titles called DC Rebirth in June 2016. Harley Quinn (vol. 3) #1 was the debut bimonthly relaunch of Harley Quinn's comic book title.

Harley Quinn's new outift is similar to that from the New 52, in which she wears a sleeveless top, tight shorts, and boots. Her hair color has changed to blonde hair with blue dip dye on the left side and pink dip dye on the right.

Other versions

  • Harley Quinn's first major appearance outside the Batman animated world was in the Elseworlds miniseries Thrillkiller. 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. After Batgirl kills Bianca, Harley is shown killing her own family, intent on revenge in the final frames of the story.[32]
  • 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".[33]
  • On the new Earth-3, Harleen Quinzel is the Jokester's business manager and is killed by Owlman.[34]
  • 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.[35]
  • In Batman '66, a version of Harley Quinn designed more around the 60s television show appears as Dr. Holly Quinn, a psychiatric specialist at Arkham Asylum here called Arkham Institute for the Criminally Insane. She convinces Joker to cooperate with Batman and Robin in exchange for approving his comedy night proposal.[36] Dr. Quinn is manipulated by Catwoman and Joker to perfect the Joker Wave — a hysteria-inducing device used on Gotham. Quinn is visibly devastated by her role in the plot. To atone for her mistake, Dr. Quinn reverses the device by submitting herself to its effects — freeing the people of Gotham, but sacrificing her sanity in the process. She escapes and becomes a supervillain named Harlequin. She retains her considerable intelligence and psychological training, making her a difficult foe for the Dynamic Duo, but is eventually captured when Batman and Robin disguise themselves as criminals who beat up other bad guys who were auditioning to be Holly's henchmen.[37]
  • Harley Quinn appears in the prequel comic to the game Injustice: Gods Among Us. She helps the Joker kidnap Lois Lane and surgically plant a trigger in her heart that will set off a nuclear bomb in Metropolis should her heart stop; when Superman accidentally kills her (thinking she is Doomsday) this happens, with the grieving Superman killing the Joker as a result. Harley eventually comes to acceptance with it and joins Batman's Insurgency. In the sequel comic series, Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Two, this universe's Harley reveals to Black Canary that she has a four-year-old daughter by the Joker, named Lucy.
  • In the Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover, Harley is made into a mutant hyena by the Shredder. She is knocked out by Batman in the final battle and Splinter uses her hammer to take down the rest of the Arkham inmates.[38]

In other media

Television

Animation

Web series
  • Harley Quinn (credited as Harlequin) appears in the first episode of the web series Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles, in which she kidnaps and mutilated an unknown number of people, and makes toys and dolls out of the bodies. She fights Batman after he frees her latest victim and ends up surrendering, only to be drained of her blood and possibly killed after Batman reveals his fangs to her. She is again voiced by Tara Strong.
  • Harley Quinn appears in the web series DC Super Hero Girls, in which she is a student at Super Hero High and the roommate of Wonder Woman. She is once again voiced by Tara Strong.

Live-action

File:HarleyBirdsOfPrey.jpg
Mia Sara portraying Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey
  • In 2002, a short-lived live-action television series called Birds of Prey, included Harley Quinn as a psychotic psychiatrist, portrayed by actress Mia Sara (replacing Sherilyn Fenn from an unaired pilot episode). In this show, Harleen Quinzel uses her day job as a psychiatrist to achieve her hidden purpose: to take control of the city of New Gotham. She 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 uses experimental technology to transfer metahuman mind control powers to herself. She occasionally makes reference to her "sweet Mr. J.", laments his loss as a Gotham City crime boss and hints at a past relationship reminiscent to that of the animated series. A criminal known as the Crawler addresses her as "the Joker's girlfriend" in the seventh episode "Split".
  • Harley Quinn makes a cameo appearance in the Arrow season two episode "Suicide Squad", voiced again by Tara Strong, while physically portrayed by Cassidy Alexa (credited as "Deranged Squad Female").[39][40] The series star Stephen Amell revealed in an interview that she was originally set to appear in the season two finale episode "Unthinkable", but was cut due to time.[41] The show's producer Andrew Kreisberg revealed that there were plans for the character to appear, but series actress Willa Holland stated that they had been axed due to the Suicide Squad film.[42][43]
  • A forerunner to Harley Quinn has been discussed for the television series Gotham.[44]

Film

Abandoned film

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 Unchained to be directed by Joel Schumacher, with Harley Quinn and the Scarecrow as the film's villains. Protosevich wrote her as the Joker's daughter seeking revenge for his death.[45]

DC Extended Universe

File:HarleyQuinnPoster.jpg
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in a promotional poster for Suicide Squad (2016).

Actress Margot Robbie portrays Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn in the DC Extended Universe.[46] Warner Bros. is currently working on a movie focused on DC Comics' female heroes and villains, and Robbie is set to reprise her role as well as produce this film.[47]

The character makes her cinematic debut in the 2016 film Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer. Flashbacks reveal that psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel fell in love with the psychopathic supervillain Joker, during his time as her patient at Arkham Asylum. Joker eventually manages to convince Dr. Quinzel to free him, and after his men take over the asylum, he gives her electroshock therapy. Quinzel then willingly jumps into the chemicals that created her lover at the Ace Chemicals plant, bleaching her skin and completing her transformation into Harley Quinn. Before being apprehended and blackmailed into joining Amanda Waller's government task force composed of captured supervillains, Harley assists the Joker in killing the vigilante Batman's partner, Robin.[48] In the present day narrative, the Joker attempts to extract Harley from the task force during their first mission in Midway City. He commandeers a helicopter and forces one of Waller's A.R.G.U.S. scientists to disarm the nano bomb in her neck, thus allowing her to escape with him. The chopper is shot down, however, and Joker seemingly perishes in the explosion while Harley jumps out onto a nearby rooftop, prompting her to rejoin the task force. After the "Suicide Squad" defeat the Enchantress, they are returned to Belle Reve Prison with ten years alleviated from their sentences and special priveleges. Harley receives an espresso machine and Molly' O'Keefe's book Between the Sheets. The Joker, who survived the crash, later breaks into the penitentiary with his gang to free Harley from her cell, and the pair reunite as the movie ends. Paul Dini, the creator of Harley Quinn, said that Robbie "nailed" the character.[49]

Animation

File:Harley Quinn in "Batman - Assault on Arkham" (2014).jpg
Harley Quinn as she appears in Batman: Assault on Arkham.
  • Harley Quinn, both in her younger form in a flashback and elderly form in the present day, appears in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, again voiced by Arleen Sorkin.
  • In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Harley Quinn is the name of a monkey owned by the Jester (Joker's Parallel Earth equivalent).
  • Harley Quinn appears in Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite, an adaptation of the video game of the same name, with Laura Bailey reprising her role.
  • Harley Quinn is featured in Batman: Assault on Arkham, voiced by Hynden Walch. In this version, she is forced by Amanda Waller into joining the Suicide Squad, and must venture to Arkham Asylum on a mission to retrieve the Riddler for Waller. Having once worked at the Asylum and knowing its layout and schedules, she is considered vital for the task. Harley seems to be interested in Deadshot, but ultimately rejoins the Joker and reveals having intended all along to use the mission in order to invade Arkham and break him out. During their escape, Harley battles Batman as Joker faces Deadshot. Both are defeated, but their fates are not revealed. As the film takes place after Batman: Arkham Origins and before Batman: Arkham Asylum, it is assumed that Harley was recaptured, while Joker escaped.
  • Harley Quinn appears in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Gotham City Breakout with Tara Strong reprising her role. She appears at the beginning of the film attempting to rob a jewelry store only to be defeated by the Dynamic Duo. Later, she is among the villains unintentionally released from Arkham by Superman. At the end of the film, she and Joker are defeated and put back in Arkham Asylum by the Justice League.
  • In Batman: The Killing Joke, Harley is briefly seen on a picture alongside Joker as Batman is reviewing data about him on his computer.
  • Harley Quinn will appear in the upcoming animated film Batman and Harley Quinn.[50]

Video games

  • Harley Quinn appears in several video games based upon the animated series.
  • Harley Quinn was considered as a DLC fighter for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, alongside Mortal Kombat's Quan Chi, but these plans were discarded following Midway's bankruptcy.[51]
  • Harley Quinn appears in the DC Universe Online video game, with Arleen Sorkin returning as her voice. Harley appears in the Joker's Fun house, where she is seen being arrested by Robin if the player uses a villain character, or holding Robin hostage if the character is a hero, in which case the player is required to defeat her. She plays a minor role in T.O.Morrow's hideout, as she has gone there with the Joker to pursue Morrow. Harley is the basic Legends PVP character granted to Villains without having to spend Marks of Legend. If a player using Harley defeats an enemy player using Joker, the player acquires a feat called Mad Love. To date this was the last time Arleen Sorkin voiced the character. Since 2016, Harley Quinn is voiced by Jen Brown in recent Episode downloadable content which has a focus on Gotham City Sirens.
  • Harley Quinn appears in Infinite Crisis as a playable character, voiced by Tara Strong.[52]
  • Harley Quinn is among the villains summoned by Brainiac to retrieve Starites in Scribblenauts Unmasked.
  • Harley Quinn appears as a playable character in the mobile game, Suicide Squad: Special Ops, based on the film.

Batman: Arkham

Harley Quinn appears in the Batman: Arkham franchise. Arleen Sorkin initially reprises her role in the first game whereas Tara Strong assumes the role for the remainder of the series.[53][54]

File:Arkham Knight Harley Quinn Promo.jpg
Harley Quinn in a promotional image for Batman: Arkham Knight
  • In Batman: Arkham Asylum, she dons a new costume based on a nurse uniform. She takes control of Arkham, allowing Joker to escape, releases Poison Ivy from her cell, and kidnaps Warden Quincy Sharp. After Batman rescues Sharp, he confronts her and locks her in a cell. She returns in the Scarecrow's final nightmare as one of the guards escorting Batman away.
  • In Batman: Arkham City, she is shown wearing a biker-girl themed costume in this game, using a low-key version of her usual makeup, with heavy eye shadow in lieu of her domino mask. Batman encounters Harley in the Sionis Steel Mill where she was with the Joker. She later steals the cure for the Joker's illness while Batman was fighting Mr. Freeze for it, but is bound and gagged by Talia al Ghul. When the Joker dies from his illness, Quinn was with the Joker's henchmen when Batman brought his dead body out of the theater.
    • Harley also appears in "Harley Quinn's Revenge" expansion, seeking revenge on Batman for the death of the Joker. By this time, Harley has dyed her hair completely black and wears almost all black, with a "J" necklace and mourning veil. After escaping from a temporary holding area following the destruction of Arkham City, Harley transforms the Steel Mill into a gigantic memorial of him. She is later beaten by the duo of Batman and Robin and taken into custody by the GCPD.
    • Included as an Easter egg in the manager's office of the Steel Mill, there is a crib with Scarface painted as the Joker inside, surrounded by dozens of negative pregnancy tests accompanied by a single positive pregnancy test, which could indicate that she had a miscarriage, the positive test was false, or after several failed attempts she finally got pregnant just before the Joker died.
  • Harley Quinn introduced Martin Tremblay, president of Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, at the Nintendo Press Conference at E3 2012 where Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition was introduced for the Wii U.
  • Harley Quinn appears in Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, where she kidnaps a reporter to use as a hostage to free the Joker. After luring Batman into a trap, she tries to execute the bound and gagged reporter, but is stopped by one of Batman's batarangs. She is once again voiced by Tara Strong.
  • Dr. Harleen Quinzel, M.D. appears briefly in Batman: Arkham Origins before her transformation into Harley Quinn. She interviews Joker at Blackgate Prison and falls in love with him after he confesses his fascination with someone who he considers special to him (Batman).
    • In Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, it is detailed in the unlockable Detective Case titled "Doctor's Orders" that Quinzel's increasing obsession with the Joker is not going unnoticed by her fellow staff, who are beginning to worry that the Joker may be manipulating Quinzel. The Case also states that Quinzel has started referring to the Joker as "Mister J" in her personal journal with hearts drawn around his name, rather than "Patient ARK119805".
  • In the main story of Batman: Arkham Knight, it is revealed that in between the events of Arkham City and the current game, she's become a very competent gang leader, having recovered control of the Joker's former gang (including the members that were plotting to overthrow her or desert her) and has even become one of Gotham's main gang leaders, recruited by Scarecrow in his plan to kill Batman. She tries to break free and recruit the victims of Joker's blood transfusion who were not affected by the cure, all of whom started to display traces of his appearance and behavior, but they all end up dead after she was betrayed by one of the Joker patients that was working with her.
    • Apart from the main game, she is a playable character via pre-order downloadable content in a story-driven mission, featuring her own weapons and abilities; the content also includes four challenge maps for the character. In her mission, which takes place shortly before the main story, Harley breaks into the Blüdhaven prison to free Poison Ivy, defeating all police officers and, with Ivy's help, Nightwing.[55] At certain points, her Harleen and Harley personas are heard fighting for control of her body.
    • Harley appears, this time in her classic costume, in the Batgirl: A Matter of Family downloadable content story pack. Set before the events of Arkham Asylum, she serves as one of the two final bosses alongside the Joker, confronting Batgirl and Robin.
  • Harley appears as a playable character in the mobile game Batman: Arkham Underworld, voiced again by Tara Strong. She is unlocked after the player completes a mission for her, after which she'll become playable, wielding a special pistol, grenades, and a baseball bat, and can bring her pet hyenas into the field with her.

Injustice

  • Harley Quinn appears as a playable fighter in Injustice: Gods Among Us voiced by Tara Strong.[56] In the alternate universe depicted in the game, Quinn establishes the Joker Clan to honor the Clown Prince after he is murdered by Superman. She is part of Batman's Insurgency, and is tempted in the story to revert to her older ways when an alternate Joker arrives in her dimension. In her arcade ending, she fatally slits the Joker's throat after a wedding gone wrong.[57]
  • Harley Quinn will appear as a playable fighter in the upcoming game Injustice 2.[58]

Lego Batman

Reception

Harley Quinn has been read as having dependent personality disorder as well as showing typically villainous antisocial behavior.[62] Kate Roddy describes Harley Quinn as an "ambitious career woman who gives up her autonomy to become an abused sidekick", and discusses fan responses to the character.[4]

Chris Sims describes the approach of The Animated Series as showing "a version of the character who is having adventures right now", and regards that choice as being a key part of Harley Quinn's production. Chris Sims describes her as the Joker's Robin.[63]

IGN's 2009 list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Harley Quinn as #45.[64] She was ranked 16th in Comics Buyer's Guide's 2011 "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.[65]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Joker's Favor" (episode #7, original air date: September 11, 1992)
  2. ^ Jankiewicz, Pat. "Quinn-tessentials. Arleen Sorkin gets a kick out of being the Joker's wench". Starlog. Harley's Haven. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  3. ^ Dini, Paul; Chip, Kidd (1998). Batman Animated. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-06-107327-4.
  4. ^ a b Roddy, Kate Ellen (2011). "Masochist or machiavel? Reading Harley Quinn in canon and fanon". Transformative Works and Cultures (8). doi:10.3983/twc.2011.0259.
  5. ^ "Mad Love".
  6. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (May 24, 2005). "Batman: Harley Quinn Review". IGN. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  7. ^ Evan Narcisse. "DC Comics: Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy Are Girlfriends "Without Monogamy"". Kotaku. Gawker Media.
  8. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "2000s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Written by Karl Kesel and drawn by Terry Dodson, the double-sized first issue dealt with Harley's twisted relationship with the Joker. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Gotham City Sirens #20–23. DC Comics
  10. ^ Gotham City Sirens #24 (June 2011). DC Comics
  11. ^ Gotham City Sirens #25 (July 2011). DC Comics
  12. ^ Gotham City Sirens #26 (August 2011). DC Comics
  13. ^ Suicide Squad #7 (May 2012). DC Comics
  14. ^ Suicide Squad #1 (September 2011). DC Comics
  15. ^ Suicide Squad #6 (February 2012). DC Comics
  16. ^ Suicide Squad #7 (March 2012). DC Comics
  17. ^ Batman#13 (October 2012). DC Comics
  18. ^ Phegley, Kiel (July 16, 2013). "CCI EXCLUSIVE: Conner & Palmiotti Launch "Harley Quinn" Monthly". Comic Book Resources.
  19. ^ Campbell, Josie (July 21, 2013). "SDCC: DiDio and Lee Head DC's Meet The Co-Publishers". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  20. ^ Harley Quinn #11-13 (October–December 2014). DC Comics
  21. ^ Harley Quinn #14 (February 2015). DC Comics
  22. ^ Harley Quinn #15 (March 2015). DC Comics
  23. ^ Harley Quinn## #16-19(June–August 2015)
  24. ^ Harley Quinn Annual #1 (October 2014). DC Comics
  25. ^ Harley Quinn Valentines Day Special #1 (Feb 2015). DC Comics
  26. ^ "Future's End: Harley Quinn" (2014). DC Comics
  27. ^ http://www.newsarama.com/23500-conner-palmiotti-talk-harley-quinn-june-power-girl-spin-off-female-readers.html
  28. ^ Harley Quinn and Power Girl (July 2015). DC Comics.
  29. ^ "Break into comics with Harley Quinn!". DC Comics. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  30. ^ Sieczkowski, Cavan (September 12, 2013). "Awful Comic Contest Asks For Drawings of Naked Woman Committing Suicide". The Huffington Post.
  31. ^ Callie Beusman. "DC Comics Contest: Draw a Naked Woman Committing Suicide". Jezebel. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  32. ^ Batman: Thrillkiller. DC Comics
  33. ^ Elseworlds 80-Page Giant. DC Comics
  34. ^ Countdown #32. DC Comics
  35. ^ Joker (2008). DC Comics
  36. ^ Batman '66 #3. DC Comics
  37. ^ Batman '66 #24. DC Comics
  38. ^ Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6. DC Comics/IDW
  39. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (March 19, 2014). "This Ain't No Task Force". IGN. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  40. ^ Fitzpatrick, Kevin (March 19, 2014). "'ARROW' REVIEW: "SUICIDE SQUAD"". Screencrush. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  41. ^ Burlingame, Russ (June 9, 2014). "Harley Quinn Scene Got Cut From Arrow Season 2 Finale". Comic Book. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  42. ^ Phegley, Kiel (June 9, 2014). "AMELL, KREISBERG & MORE ON HOW "ARROW" CONTINUES TO GROW THE DC UNIVERSE". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  43. ^ Why Arrow Axed Harley Quinn & Suicide Squad + Willa Holland on Female Superheroes
  44. ^ http://uk.ign.com/articles/2016/08/09/gotham-season-3-to-feature-proto-version-of-killer-croc-harley-quinn-to-come-later
  45. ^ Toro, Gabe (April 5, 2011). "Joel Schumacher Says He Wanted Nicolas Cage To Play Scarecrow in the Aborted 'Batman Triumphant'". IFC. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  46. ^ "'Suicide Squad': First Cast Photo Revealed". variety.com. July 25, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  47. ^ "Harley Quinn Movie in the Works at Warner Bros. With Margot Robbie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  48. ^ "So it turns out The Joker actually DID kill Robin before Suicide Squad". Ben Lee. August 11, 2016.
  49. ^ Libbey, Dirk (August 4, 2016). "Paul Dini thinks highly of Harley Quinn". CinemaBlend. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  50. ^ Damore, Meagan (July 23, 2016). "SDCC: "JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK" ANIMATED FILM CONFIRMED; "TEEN TITANS" & MORE ANNOUNCED". Comic Book Resources.
  51. ^ Quillen, Dustin (July 7, 2009). "DLC for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Canceled". 1UP.com. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  52. ^ "Infinite Crisis – Behind the Voice – Tara Strong as Harley Quinn". YouTube. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  53. ^ "The Voice Behind Harley Quinn: Batman Arkham City Community". Community.batmanarkhamcity.com. May 19, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  54. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (March 4, 2014). "Batman: Arkham Knight detailed: Batmobile gameplay, new villain, combat tweaks and more". Computer and Video Games. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  55. ^ Batman Arkham (June 30, 2014). "Pre-order Batman: Arkham Knight right now for the chance to play as Harley Quinn in an exclusive story-driven mission starring the psychotic psychiatrist!". Facebook. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  56. ^ "NetherRealm Developing New DC Comics Fighting Game, "Injustice: Gods Among Us"". MTV Multiplayer. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  57. ^ Tara Strong (November 14, 2013). Infinite Crisis – Behind the Voice – Tara Strong as Harley Quinn (interview). YouTube. Retrieved March 5, 2014. Why, hellllo Harley! What better way to welcome Harley Quinn to the pantheon of Infinite Crisis champions than by going behind the voice with Tara Strong. Find out what this fabulous, fan-favorite voice actor thinks of returning once again to the character she helped make famous.
  58. ^ Copeland, Wesley. "Gamescom 2016: Harley Quinn And Deadshot Join Injustice 2 Roster". IGN. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  59. ^ Stephen Totilo (February 15, 2008). "Exclusive: See A New 'LEGO Batman' Villain". MTV Multiplayer. Viacom.
  60. ^ 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.
  61. ^ "New 'Lego Batman 2' Trailer and Stills Show Off The Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg and More [Video]". Comics Alliance. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  62. ^ Crippa, J. A. S.; Hallak, J. E. C. (April 2, 2012). "Dr Harley Quinn, the villain from Gotham City with dependent personality disorder - psychiatry in pictures". The British Journal of Psychiatry. 200 (4): 267–267. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.111.102020.
  63. ^ "Ask Chris #173: The Trouble With Harley Quinn". Comics Alliance. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  64. ^ "Top 100 Comic Book Villains: 45. Harley Quinn". IGN. 2009.
  65. ^ Frankenhoff, Brent (2011). Comics Buyer's Guide Presents: 100 Sexiest Women in Comics. Krause Publications. p. 19. ISBN 1-4402-2988-0.

Further reading

Wikiquote has quotations related to Harley Quinn.
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