Harley Quinn (real name Dr. Harleen Quinzel) is a fictional character, a supervillain in the animated series Batman: The Animated Series and its spin-offs, and subsequently in various Batman-related comic books. As suggested by her name (a play on the word "harlequin"), she is clad in the manner of a traditional harlequin jester.
| Harley Quinn | |
|---|---|
| File:HarleyQuinnCvr26.jpg | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | B:TAS: Episode #022: "Joker's Favor" (Original Airdate: 11 September 1992); DC Universe: "Batman: Harley Quinn" (October, 1999) |
| Created by | Paul Dini Bruce Timm |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Harleen Quinzel |
| Team affiliations | The Joker, Poison Ivy, Catwoman |
| Abilities | Superhuman agility and strength. Immunity to all toxins. |
The character was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm and is voiced in the animated series by Arleen Sorkin.
History on Batman: The Animated Series
Harley Quinn first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor" (episode #22, original airdate: September 11 1992), where she served as a humorous female sidekick and on-again, off-again girlfriend to the Joker. In her first appearances she was depicted as completely devoted to the Joker, totally oblivious to what a psychopathic monster he truly is - a characterisation that has remained more or less consistent throughout her subsequent appearances.
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 Dini and Timm, the comic book revealed Harley's origins as an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who fell in love with the Joker. The story was widely praised [1] 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 and Robin 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").
In the animated series, Quinn often teamed up with supervillain Poison Ivy against Batman. Quinn's friendship with Ivy was one of the few villainous team-ups in the animated series seemingly rooted in genuine friendship, although Quinn's flaky personality often tried Ivy's patience. The close friendship between the two characters, particularly in the animated series, fueled fan-speculation of possible lesbian undertones. Sly hints to the existence of such a relationship turn up in "Batgirl Adventures #1" (Feb 1998) and the "Harley and Ivy" miniseries (May-June 2004), both by Dini and Timm. (In the latter they're shown sleeping in the same bed.)
Quinn's 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 comic books. Indeed, a scene toward the end of the film reveals that she survived to start a family, with her granddaughters, Delia and Deidre Dennis, eventually joining the Jokerz gang. (After the twins are released from their cell, one of them says to her, "Shut up, Nana Harley.") 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 sneaked that scene into the script on his own. It survived thanks to Timm, who felt the lighter moment was a perfect relief after the intensity of the climax.
DC Universe Comic history
The character proved so popular that a version of her was eventually added to the Batman comic book canon. 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.
Harleen Quinzel was a psychiatric intern at Arkham Asylum. Highly intelligent, she received high grades in high school and college, graduating with honors in psychiatry. While interning at Arkham, she became fascinated with one particular inmate, The Joker, and ambitiously volunteered to analyze him. She fell in love nearly instantly with the Joker during their sessions. After helping him escape from the asylum more than once, she was caught by her superiors, her license was revoked, and she was put in her own cell. During an earthquake in Gotham City, she fled and became Harley Quinn, The Joker's partner-in-crime.
Harley's relationship with the Joker is one of the most complex and controversial in the DC Universe. While he often degrades and hurts her, sometimes near the point of death, there are many instances that show a more playful or mutually affectionate side to their bizarre relationship. In the animated universe, the Joker said of her, "a sweet kid, but a lousy cook". In some stories that dare to deal with the touchy subject more in depth, it is implied that the Joker wrestles with the extremely vexing idea of actually caring for someone. In the book Batman: Animated, Mark Hamill (who provided the voice of the Joker in Batman: the Animated Series) says "Expressing emotion in any way that's real and meaningful is alien to the Joker, but he's learning those parts of himself, however unconsciously, through Harley." Sorkin adds, "Everyone else sees the Joker laugh; only Harley has ever seen him cry." One example of this occasional bend in their rollercoaster relationship comes from the Emperor Joker series (Action Comics #770) where Joker shares with Harley his deeply personal reasons for destroying the universe, and instead of destroying her with it, he gives her a last kiss and turns her into a constellation, saying "You get the best seat in the house for Armageddon. Say goodnight, Harley. I always wanted to see my dame in lights. Heh. Even in a moment of abject saccharine, I still got it." It could be said that while the Joker is truly evil, he is genuinely fond of Harley.
A good source for a more in-depth look at the early stages of their DC Universe relationship is Greg Rucka's No Man's Land novel.
At one point, the Joker was frustrated with Quinn, and kicked her out. She proceeded to steal a Harlequin Diamond in the Gotham Museum to prove her worth to the Joker. The same day in the museum, Poison Ivy was robbing it of plant toxins. The two became quick friends and 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 an immunity to all toxins and poisons, as well as boosting her immune system. Harley and Ivy teamed up and conducted a number of successful capers, which came to an end after Harley and the Joker made up. Ivy was not happy with Harley's lingering feelings for the Joker, whom she never liked. 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. When Ivy demanded during "Harley and Ivy" (their meeting BTAS 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'.
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).
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. Leiberman and Mike Huddleston. The series ended with Harley turning herself in to Arkham. She was last seen in the DC Universe in the Villains United Infinite Crisis Special where she was one of the many villains who escaped from Arkham. She was, however, knocked out the moment she escaped.
In issue #16 of the Batman Adventures comic series, Harley was almost married to the Joker. When Ivy came to crash the wedding and tried to kill the Joker, she was stopped by Batgirl. At the very end of the comic, Harley vowed to kill Ivy no matter what, thus apparently ending their partnership (it should be noted, however, that the Batman Adventures comic book series, while continuing on from Batman: The Animated Series, does not reflect canonical developments within the wider Batman/DC Comics universe).
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.
Other media
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.
Harley will appear in a Season four episode of The Batman.
Trivia
- Comic book fanatic and filmmaker Kevin Smith named his daughter Harley Quinn Smith after the character.[2]
- Arleen Sorkin, the voice of Harley Quinn, starred in a soap opera which included a dream sequence where she wore a jester costume. Dini used this scene as an inspiration for the character, writing her specifically so Sorkin could voice the character. Dini, who had been friends with Sorkin for years, adapted aspects of her personality into the character.
- In Harley Quinn's first appearance, in the episode "Joker's Favor," her sole purpose was to walk into a police banquet with a giant cake. She did not have her trademark costume on for most of the episode, dressing instead as a police officer in a mini skirt.
- According to the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Harlequinade," Harley is not a natural blonde.
- Harley and Poison Ivy both appeared in the Static Shock episode "Nails", a crossover episode with Batman: The Animated Series
- At one time, Bizarro created a Bizarro-Harley Quinn after he had a crush on her.
See also
External links
- DCDP: Harley Quinn - Harley Quinn
- Harley Quinn on the Open Directory Project, DMoz (mirrored on Google Directory [3])