Harley Quinn (comics)
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Harley Quinn (real name Dr. Harleen Quinzel) is a fictional character, a supervillainess in the animated series Batman: The Animated Series, as well as the DC Comics Batman 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. She is one of the rare characters to have originated in an animated series and thereafter been added to the comic book continuity, as opposed to the other way around (other examples are Livewire, Renee Montoya, Mercy Graves, and Marvel's Firestar and X-23). She is also the only such character to have gone on to have an eponymous comic book.
The character was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm and is voiced in the animated series by Arleen Sorkin.
[edit] Biography
The idea of the Joker having a female sidekick was not new by the time of The Animated Series. Like many other male Batman villains, he had, at one time or another, a female assistant in the 60's television show. One of the Joker's TV female sidekicks was named Venus who appeared in the episode "The Zodiac Crimes". Joker treated her much as he did Harley, ignorant to her feelings, especially when she began to have second thoughts about a life of crime. This may be the inspiration for the type of relationship Joker and Harley have together.
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, oblivious to what a psychopathic monster he truly is; a characterization that has remained more or less consistent throughout her subsequent appearances.
At one point, the Joker, frustrated with Quinn, 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 where she nursed her back to health, as well as injecting her with a serum which has given Harley an immunity to all toxins and poisons. Harley and Ivy teamed up and conducted a number of successful capers, which came to a temporary end after Joker welcomed Harley back (Ivy was not happy with Harley's lingering feelings for the Joker, whom she never liked).
However, Ivy remained Quinn's first point of call when she and The Joker were going through a rough patch. She 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" 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).
The 1994 graphic novel The Batman Adventures: Mad Love recounted 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 described Harley as an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who fell in love with the Joker. The story received wide praise [1] 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 "Mad Love" in 1999, making it the second "animated style" comic book adapted for the series.
In the animated series, Quinn often teamed up with Poison Ivy against Batman. Quinn's partnership 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. Hints to the existence of such a relationship appeared in "Batgirl Adventures #1" (February 1998) and the "Harley and Ivy" miniseries (May-June 2004), both by Dini and Timm.
After Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, Harley made several other animated appearances. She appeared as one of the four main female characters of the web cartoon Gotham Girls. She also made guest appearances in other cartoons of 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).
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).
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker depicted Quinn's ultimate fate. Batman and others presumed her dead after she fell 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 revealed that Quinn survived to start a family, with her twin granddaughters Delia and Deidre Dennis eventually joining the Jokerz gang, something which the elderly Harley does not appreciate. (After the twins are released from their cell, one of them says to Quinn, "Shut up, Nana Harley.") Harley is both Paul Dini's favorite character and his main original addition to the Batman mythos, and having to kill her off unsettled him, so he inserted that scene into the script on his own. It survived thanks to Timm, who felt the lighter moment provided appropriate relief after the intensity of the climax.
