Harley Quinn’s Evolution In The DC Universe
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Throughout the decades, DC Comics has introduced some iconic characters, but none quite like Harley Quinn. Fans have loved the mischievous, unpredictable, and completely insane Clown Princess of Crime ever since her debut in 1992. We have joyfully watched her transition from the small screen to comic book pages and most recently to the big screen. Let’s take a look at where she started and just how far she has come.
Created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, Harley Quinn first appeared in the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, when she assisted the Joker in yet another attempt on Commissioner Gordon’s life. She was introduced as a henchman and dressed in her iconic jester’s outfit, but we got little other information about her. Despite this, she was an immediate hit with audiences thanks to her quirky appearance and engagingly deranged personality.
Following her success in the animated series, Harley Quinn made her comic book debut in The Batman Adventures #12: Batgirl: Day One. The Batman Adventures comic series wasn’t canon to the main DC Universe (DCU) as it was created in the style and continuity of the animated TV series. Batgirl: Day One saw Harley Quinn team up with Poison Ivy against Batgirl and Catwoman. The story was fun but light; an interesting introduction to a fascinating character whose comic book career was just starting.
In 1994, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm created the Eisner Award-winning one-shot The Batman Adventures: Mad Love. It filled in the backstory Harley’s fans were crying out for. Dr. Harleen Quinzel was a former psychiatrist or psychologist (no one seems to know which) who met the Joker in Arkham Asylum, fell in love with him, and lost her mind. After helping him escape from the asylum, she became his infatuated sidekick and joined him in his efforts against Batman. While DC canon rewrote this origin story over the years, Mad Love remains a pivotal comic in explaining who Harley is and how she came under the Joker’s influence.
1999 was a big year for Harley Quinn. Batman: No Man’s Land is a cross-over event still considered one of the best arcs in the Batman comics. Devastated by an earthquake, Gotham City is declared no longer part of the United States and descends into chaos and violence. In the midst of this, Harley proves how tough and skilled she is – and just how much power the Joker has over her. No Man’s Land doesn’t shy away from exposing their savage, toxic relationship. The end result is that the Joker tires to kill Harley, laying the ground for her eventual decision to break free from him.
Harley next appeared in a special issue of Batman: Gotham Adventures called Mightier Than The Sword. This comic ties in with the Batman: The Animated Series and thus exists outside the main canon DCU, but it’s hailed as one of the best of its kind. Harley decides to write a tell-all memoir about her time with the Joker, who is determined to kill her before she can publish it. Once again, we see Harley recognizing how damaging her relationship with the Joker is and taking her first steps away from him.
In August 1999, Harley finally made her debut in the main DC canon in the one-shot Batman: Harley Quinn. Written by Paul Dini and drawn by Yvel Guichet, the comic picks up from where we last see Harley in No Man’s Land after the Joker tries to kill her. It keeps her No Man’s Land origin story and explores the story of a young woman infatuated with a man who doesn’t care about her. Or, even worse, a man who is so afraid of loving her that he wants to kill her. Harley is betrayed by the Joker yet again, and joins Batman in revenge. However, as soon as the Joker apologizes to her, she returns to his side, emphasizing their tragic and toxic relationship.
Harley Quinn’s comic book career saw her transform from the Joker’s quirky sidekick to a complex individual who is part villain, part victim, and part anti-hero. Initially, she assists the Joker in many of his most brutal plans, while her encounters with Batman and Gotham’s heroes show her to be a force to be reckoned with. However, she suffers greatly at the Joker’s hands. He manipulates and abuses her with his trademark sadism and unpredictable cruelty. Harley swings between devotion to him and rejection of his savagery, gradually understanding that she needs to break free from him.
In 2000, Harley received her first comic series, created by Karl Kesel and Terry Dodson. Part of the DC canon, the Harley Quinn series marked a huge step in her character development. For the first time, Harley breaks up with the Joker and begins her solo journey. While she occasionally reunites with him in future comics, her first solo series changed the course of her character development forever. Readers see a complex mix of criminal and anti-hero, conscience and violence, adding up to a complicated, multilayered character.
Between 2009 and 2011, Harley joined Poison Ivy and Catwoman in the Gotham City Sirens series by Paul Dini and Guillem Mach. The trio was hugely popular with fans, mixing entertaining adventures with occasional villainous exploits. Song of the Sirens, the second storyline in Gotham City Sirens, is particularly important in Harley’s character development. We see a very dark side to her character; the side capable of violent murders and cruel acts. However, we also see how much she grows to care about Poison Ivy and the lengths to which she’ll go to help her.
In 2011, DC launched its New 52 comics, consolidating, relaunching, ending, or adding series. After this, Harley joined Amanda Waller’s Task Force X in Adam Glass and Frederico Dallocchio’s Suicide Squad #1. The comic marks another significant step on Harley’s road from villain to anti-hero. She’s still insane, unstable, and unpredictable, but her time with the Suicide Squad sees her mostly working for the good guys – or, at least, the morally questionable Amanda Waller. Beloved by fans, she is an essential member of the team, adding her own brand of hilarious, unhinged chaos to the violence of the other members.
Harley also got a new origin story with the New 52 relaunch. Instead of her love for the Jokers causing her insanity, her backstory now explains it through her exposure to the same vat of chemicals that bleached the Joker’s skin. In most versions, the Joker pushes her in, although she jumps in willingly in the 2016 movie, Suicide Squad.
In 2013, a new solo comic series created by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti gave us a very different Harley. The series sees her shedding her jester’s outfit for her now-iconic casual look and embracing her love of roller skating and roller derby. The series sets her up as a totally independent character making a name for herself away from Gotham City and the influence of Batman or the Joker. While many readers appreciate Harley’s distinct voice and character in the series, the zany storytelling style and lack of continuity with the wider DC canon frustrates others.
The Conner/Palmiotti comic series ended in 2017, which saw Harley at even greater heights of popularity after the 2016 movie Suicide Squad. Despite the movie’s mixed reviews, fans and critics praised Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley. Robbie captured Harley’s wild energy and unpredictability and cemented her identity as a standalone character who could carry her own stories.
One of the most notable parts of Harley Quinn’s story in recent years is her romance with Poison Ivy. Out of the Joker’s abusive grasp, she develops a genuine connection with Ivy. Comics acknowledged and explored their chemistry in different ways over the years, until they finally began a romantic relationship in 2016. This occurred in non-canon comic series initially, namely DC Comics: Bombshells #46 (2016) and Harley Quinn #25 (2017). Their relationship was finally made canon in Batman: Urban Legends #1 in 2021. Since then, Harley and Poison Ivy (affectionately known as “HarlIvy” by their legion of fans) remain a staple in many Harley Quinn stories.
Harley has also featured in some of the darker and more mature Batman comics. In 2018, she appeared in Batman: Damned, a three-issue limited series written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Lee Bermejo. Damned was the first series published under DC Black Label, an imprint that catered to more mature audiences and allowed writers to approach well-known characters with a twist. Believing that Batman has killed the Joker, Harley takes on the persona of her dead lover, changing her appearance to mimic his and seeking vengeance. Damned was a controversial comic, particularly due to nudity, but Harley’s dark, despairing story stands out in her comic book career.
From 2019 to 2021, Harley starred in the limited series Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity. Created by Kami Garcia, Mico Sauyan, and Mike Mayhew, the comic has mature themes and presents a twist on Harley’s usual light-hearted, silly humor. Harley Quinn is a young forensic psychiatrist and profiler working with the Gotham City Police Department to track a serial killer known as the Joker. As she follows his murderous, chaotic path, Harley must decide what lines she is willing to cross to catch him. It’s an interesting comic that highlights Harley’s intelligence and explores a different side to her relationship with the Joker and how she becomes entangled in his madness.
The 2020 graphic novel by Stjepan Sejic, Harleen, is another story that stands out. As Dr Harleen Quinzel interviews patients in Arkham Asylum, she becomes obsessed with the Joker. Harleen can be considered a prequel to Harley’s main comic book storylines but it’s more mature than her regular appearances in her solo comics and other DC series.
Also in 2020, Conner and Palmiotti returned with Harley Quinn & the Birds of Prey. The Birds of Prey are a female vigilante group dating as far back as the 1990s, whose members change over time. Published under DC Black Label, Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey #1 follows Harley as she returns to Gotham City and is immediately targeted by the Joker. After he sets every supervillain against her, Harley teams up with the Birds of Prey to defeat him.
Harley’s most recent solo comic series, Harley Quinn, written by Stephanie Phillips and drawn by Riley Rossmo, ran from 2021 to 2023. It follows on from the Conner/Palmiotti series. Harley is back in Gotham City and helping other villains, particularly the Joker’s former henchmen, to reform. The series focuses heavily on Harley’s own reformation and her alignment with, and eventual inclusion in, the Bat-family. She is confirmed as a member of the Bat-family in DC canon in Batman #111, also in 2021.
Over the years, Harley Quinn’s role has expanded beyond Batman’s nemesis, and she has found her place among the ranks of DC Comics’ antiheroes. She remains unpredictable and frequently morally ambiguous, but she has grown from the Joker’s henchwoman and devotee into an independent person following her own path. Whether this path falls strictly on the side of good is sometimes questionable, but she is hailed by many readers as an example of reform and redemption.
Harley is a versatile character who adapts well to different media. She is represented in many different ways on the big and small screens. Perhaps her most famous live-action portrayal is by Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad (2016), Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)(2020), and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (2021). Robbie receives praise from critics and fans alike for bringing the beloved character to life in all her erratic and colorful glory. In 2019, the adult dark comedy animated TV series Harley Quinn began. It’s in its fifth season now and remains hugely popular, particularly after Harley’s relationship with Poison Ivy developed in season 2.
On October 4, 2024, Harley was reimagined in Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux. Played by Lady Gaga, the story follows Harley “Lee” Quinn as she develops an obsession with a fellow inmate in the Arkham Asylum: the Joker (played by Joaquin Phoenix). The movie is a sequel to the 2019 movie Joker, also starring Phoenix. In addition to generally dismal ratings by critics and audience members, the movie has been criticized for how it depicts Harley.
For one thing, Todd Phillip’s Harley Quinn is not called Harley. For another, instead of the intelligent but vulnerable psychiatrist/psychologist, “Lee” is a patient in the asylum, having set fire to her parents’ apartment. Her personality is solely built around her obsession with the Joker. She lies to him and manipulates him but shows little agency. There is no hint of the lively, tough Harley who chooses to carve her own way in the world, free from the Joker’s abuse. Instead, Folie à Deux portrays the Joker as Harley’s victim. It’s a twisted and reductive depiction of a character who has achieved, and thus deserves, much better.
Thankfully, we have many other versions of Harley to satisfy us. While her solo comic series finished in 2023, she has had two spin-off comics from her TV series, Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill Tour (2021) and Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: Legion of Bats (2022-2023). She also frequently appears in other DC series, such as Poison Ivy’s solo series and DC Pride annual comic. Her animated TV series, Harley Quinn (2019-present), is vibrant and irreverent. The modern, emancipated, and wholly chaotic Harley is in her element. And while it seems that Margot Robbie is finished with her version of Harley Quinn, she says she wants Harley “to be a character that would get passed on to other actresses to play.” This didn’t work so well in Folie à Deux but, given how far Harley has come since her earliest appearance on Batman: The Animated Series, I think we can be optimistic about her future journey in the DCU.
What do you think of Harley Quinn’s character development throughout the comics? Is there a series or storyline you like best? Let us know in the comments section below. And don’t forget to sign up to our email list to get Finds of the Week and our free newsletter, PopPulse Digest, delivered straight to your inbox each and every week.
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