By Svetlana Fedotov
She is a symbol of unyielding impulse, a gun-toting bad-ass, and one terrible pun after the other. She’s the pro-feminist to your anti-feminist and the anti-feminist to your pro-feminist. She is a sex symbol, a wild child, an icon; women want to be like her and men name their kids after her (looking at you Kevin Smith). She’s Harley Quinn and she’s here to chew gum and crack jokes.
Harley is a bit of an enigma when it comes to superstardom. Created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a sidekick to the Joker in Batman: the Animated Series, she was only intended for a few episodes of the show and then to gracefully disappear into the Batman vault. But something about her heavy Brooklyn accent and penchant for violence struck a chord with the audience (and probably kick-started puberty for more than a few tweens). She soon became a series regular, frequently rubbing elbows with Gotham’s criminal elite and even got her own episodes, albeit shared with Poison Ivy. During the run of the show, a graphic novel was released titled Mad Love that explored her origins as an interning psychiatrist who fell in love with the Joker during a trip to Arkham Asylum and tied back seamlessly into the cartoon.
Following the success of Batman: The Animated Series, our heroine soon broke into comics and became a staple in the DC universe. Although she had been peppered into other comics in the years prior, her first continued appearance was in Batman: Harley Quinn, a mini-series attached to the No Man’s Land arc in 1999. This led to her first solo series from 2001 to 2003 which gave Quinn her own gang and plenty of wacky adventures. After it ended, she made more sporadic appearances throughout the DC catalog such as Birds of Prey, Gotham Cities Sirens, and 52’s soon-to-be-movie, Suicide Squad. In November 2013, Harley returned in her own series once again following a psychotic breakdown with the Squad and Joker’s skinned face and, to this day, can be seen running around Gotham with a giant hammer and cheeky attitude. Also, she’s super into roller derby now.
Harley has proven to not only be a success in the comic world, but also in the toy and movie market. Her Bruce Timm-era toys have become one of hottest selling DC items and she’s pretty damn close to dominating the female cosplay market. Also, her appearance in the Suicide Squad movie will mark Ms. Quinn’s first foray into movie theaters and she has become a staple character in every Batman game (Lego and normal) that has been released since 1994. She even managed to stir ups some controversy with the DC contest titled “Break Into Comics with Harley,” where fans were encouraged to draw her attempting suicide.
But what is it about this unstable lump of humanity smooshed into a sexy, gymnast blonde that has set the world on fire? How, despite her obviously abusive relationship with the Joker, has she become the quintessential ‘Ride or Die Chick’? I like to think it’s because of what I call the Deadpool Attraction. Deadpool, at his core, is an unstable idiot who has probably blown off more toes than he has brain cells. He’s a joke character that’s only there to make the other heroes look better and smarter by comparison. He’s flawed and kind of dumb, which makes him one of the most relatable characters in the Marvel universe. You see where I’m going with this? Harley is the closest to a human being that any DC hero is ever going to be. She’s made some stupid decisions and is a slave to her emotions but she manages to survive despite it. She’s an outcast in both the hero and villain world, which, let’s be honest, a lot of us can understand. It’s because of her problems that she has become so popular and has become a complex, conflicted bag of a person that real people are. We all have a little Harley inside of us.
Anyway, if you want to read some of her adventures, her newest series is currently on its 23rd issue. She’s also in a one shot special titled Harley Quinn Road Trip Special with Catwoman and Ivy, and an upcoming team-up series called Harley’s Little Black Book. Also, Harley is currently wrapping up another team-up with Power Girl which will be ending in November. Whew! She’s a busy gal! The previous issues of her solo comic have been collected for those that want to catch up on her stories, and even her earlier 2000s series has been graphic noveled and is readily available.
Come join the fun with us. Just remember to bring the Joker Venom.