About

Harleen Quinzel
The new and improved, 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 Tim (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").

The History.

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" 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 him in a pressure cell rigged to explode should he attempt to escape, and mockingly says to stay there. As she tries to escape from the GCPD, she notices Deadshot. She drops infrared 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, now 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 happily, she runs towards 'the Joker', but Deadshot shoots her in the gut. Quinn survived, but requires surgery to recover from her grievous wounds. Amanda Waller still considers Harley as part of the Suicide Squad despite what had happened, but threatens her not to pull this kind of stunt again.

Harley's near brush with death seemed to have cured her of her psychosis, and for a time, she refers to herself as 'Dr Harleen Quinzel' again. Later in the series it is revealed that this was only temporary. It is possible Harley has developed multiple personality disorder.

Harley returned to the team after her betrayal, but Deadshot seems to be against her returning to the squad. When Harley tries to 'make it up to him' she receives a punch in the face.

When a gunman working for Basilisk who was being taken in for interrigation was poisoned, a traitor was suspected in the group. Deadshot appears to believe the traitor to be Harley Quinn after her rampage earlier on in the series.

When the plane they are flying on is destroyed by a member of Basilisk, the Suicide Squad lands somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico where a tribe of Mayans capture them and get ready to sacrifice many of the members.

Sometime later Harley is seen in a storage unit with many of her "treasures" talking to her stuffed beaver.She is thinking about what it would be like for her to have her own comic book. When she hears some voices who offer to depict her in her comics. First Becky Cloonan depicts her as a rock star in the middle of a concert, but she gets booed off stage resulting in her shooting her band, and asked to see another author. Tony Daniel draws her as a giant robot dubbed "Harley-Zilla by harley, she goes around destroying the town but eventually decides to go with someone else. Next she is riding a dolphin and saves a cruise ship from some pirates, she was drawn as a buissness woman, and then a ninja who kills the previous artist that drew her. Jim Lee then depicts Harley fighting Batman in the opera house from the Hush arc in the new style, but Harley doesn't want a reprint so she moves on, and is drawn doing her "rev up your harley" scene from the animated series but she forgets her lines. She goes through being a soccer player, miss gotham winner, and ends up in the Tiny titans comic, but she attacks them with her hammer for their "sugarcoated nonsense". Harley is then put into a car with Poison Ivy as they drive towards a cliff after they go over she gets moved into another car byDave johnson, which crashes into the hollywood sign. Jeremy Roberts, then makes fun of her time in the suicide squad by depicting Harley in many dangerous situations, afterwards she is put into a swamp where she is attacked by a monster version of joker, she kills it with her hammer and is happy after she gets trasported to a sonny yatcht by Darwyn Cooke. Where she and Catwoman plan to rob the people on board but they get defeated by Amanda Conner. She wakes up and finds a bomb left by the Joker which subsequently destroys her home,she survives and finds a comic of her whose art she likes. Then a man in a car comes up to her and tells her that one of her former patients from Arkham left her some real estate in his will. Causing Harley to say "This is gonna be fun."

Harley rides her motorcycle through Coney Island with the remainder of her treasures on the back of it. When she sees a man walking a sad dog through the street, causing her to attack the man with a whip and drag him down the street. Where she is spotted by a bounty hunter who tries to kill her, causing her to crash in the middle of a bridge, her new dog fetches her hammer and she proceeds to knock the guys head off for the trouble he caused. some time later she arrives at the apartment she meets BIg Tony, Queenie, and the other tnents of the apartment. Then goes on a tour of her new four floor biulding, but soon learns she has to cover the expenses promting her to get a job. She uses make up to cover up her dyed skin so she can appear as her "normal" self to get a job working as a therapist, then goes for try outs at a roller derby, where after brutally beating up the other entrants gets a position on the team. Later that night while relaxing on her rooftop a woman attempts to stab her but is shot by Big Tony.Afterwards they find a poster offering a $2million reward for Harley dead or alive.