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For other uses, see Harley Quinn (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Harlequin (DC Comics).
Harley Quinn
The classic and modern iterations of Harley Quinn. Art by Terry Dodson.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Batman: The Animated Series
"Joker's Favor" (September 11, 1992)
First comic appearance The Batman Adventures #12 (September 1993, non-canon)
Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (October 1999, canon)
Created by Paul Dini (writer)
Bruce Timm (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego Harleen Frances Quinzel[1][2]
Species Human
Place of origin Brooklyn / Gotham City
Team affiliations Suicide Squad
Gotham City Sirens
Quinntets
Gang of Harleys
Secret Six
Justice League of Anarchy
Batman family[3]
Partnerships Joker
Poison Ivy
Bud and Lou
Batman
Notable aliases Holly Chance[4]
Dr. Jessica Seaborn[4]
Abilities

Trained psychologist
Enhanced strength, stamina and agility
Toxic immunity
Skilled gymnast and acrobat
Utilizes weaponized props and equipment

Harley Quinn (Harleen Frances Quinzel) is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series as a henchwoman for the Joker, and debuted in its 22nd episode, "Joker's Favor", on September 11, 1992. While intended to appear in one episode, Quinn became a recurring character within the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) as the Joker's sidekick and love interest, and was adapted into DC Comics' canon seven years later, beginning with the one-shot Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (October 1999). Quinn's origin story features her as a former psychologist at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum who was manipulated by and fell in love with the Joker, her patient, eventually becoming his accomplice and lover. The character's alias is a play on the stock character Harlequin from the 16th-century Italian theater commedia dell'arte.

Following her introduction to the comics in 1999, Harley Quinn was depicted as the sidekick and lover of the Joker as well as the criminal associate and best friend of Poison Ivy. Later stories depicted Quinn as an independent supervillain who has left her abusive and codependent relationship with the Joker behind, beginning with the publication of her ongoing series, Harley Quinn. After years of scarce appearances in comics, Quinn returned in a leading role in 2009 with the Gotham City Sirens series, as part of an unstable alliance with Poison Ivy and Catwoman. In 2011, DC's line-wide reboot The New 52 reintroduced Quinn in the relaunched Suicide Squad title, which changed the character's personality, design, and origin, replacing her original jester costume with a revealing ensemble and depicting her to be darker than her earlier counterpart. The character took a lighthearted and humorous direction with her second ongoing series in 2013, written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, which features the character moving to her hometown of Brooklyn and starting her own life in Coney Island. The character has since been depicted as an antihero independent of the Joker and a recurring core member of the Suicide Squad, with Poison Ivy becoming her primary romantic interest.[5] In 2021, DC's line-wide Infinite Frontier relaunch brought Quinn back to Gotham City and reestablished her as a superhero seeking redemption for her past actions.

Harley Quinn's abilities include expert gymnastic skills, proficiency in weapons and hand-to-hand combat, complete unpredictability, immunity to toxins, and enhanced strength, agility, and durability. Quinn often wields clown-themed gag weapons, with an oversized mallet being her signature weapon. Additionally, she has a pair of pet hyenas, Bud and Lou, which sometimes serve as her attack dogs, and as a trained psychologist with a genius-level intellect, she is adept at deception and psychological manipulation.

Harley Quinn has become one of DC Comics' most popular and profitable characters and has been featured in many of DC's comic books and adapted in various other media and merchandise. DC Comics Publisher Jim Lee considers Harley Quinn the fourth pillar of DC Comics' publishing line, behind Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

Originally voiced by Arleen Sorkin in the DC Animated Universe, she has since appeared in many other DC projects voiced by actresses such as Tara Strong, Hynden Walch, Laura Bailey, Jenny Slate, Melissa Rauch, Laura Post, and Kaley Cuoco; the latter provided the character's voice in the 2019 animated series Harley Quinn. Mia Sara portrayed the character in the 2002 television series Birds of Prey. Harley Quinn makes her live-action cinematic debut in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Suicide Squad (2016), where she is portrayed by Margot Robbie. Robbie reprises her role in Birds of Prey (2020) and The Suicide Squad (2021), with elements of her portrayal's design consequentially incorporated into comics, while Lady Gaga will portray the character in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024).
History
Further information: Harley Quinn (comic book)
Creation and development
Harley Quinn as she appears in the DC Animated Universe, art by Bruce Timm.

Harley Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series episode entitled "Joker's Favor" while Dini was writing the episode.[6] Initially written as an animated equivalent of a walk-on role, Harley Quinn was intended to appear in just one episode.[7][8] As Dini was putting together the story for the episode, he wanted to introduce a foil for the supervillain the Joker that would emphasize the Joker's comic book personality traits: funny, scary, and egotistical.[9][10] He then thought of giving Joker a henchwoman, inspired by the molls of the 1960s live-action Batman series,[8][11][12] and then decided she would be a "funny counterpart to the Joker to maybe work up a little Punch and Judy attitude between them";[9] Dini stated, "[...] she could crack a joke and the henchmen would laugh, and the Joker would kind of glare at her".[13] In 1991, after seeing his college friend Arleen Sorkin play a jester in a dream sequence in the soap opera Days of Our Lives, Dini decided to have Sorkin voice her.[9][12] Dini then based Harley Quinn on Sorkin, incorporating aspects such as her mannerisms and "very snappy, wisecracking, bubbly blonde" personality.[13][10][9] In recording Harley Quinn's voice, Sorkin spoke in her normal New York accent while putting in a "little Yiddish sound", since Dini made the character Jewish, another aspect of the character borrowed from Sorkin;[12][14][15][16] Dini described her voice for the character as having "a snappy blonde but also kind of a bad girl": "a little bit of Adelaide from Guys and Dolls, a little bit of Judy Holliday", and "a lot of Arleen", stating that it sounded "very close" to Sorkin's voice.[17]
External media
Images
image icon Paul Dini's original design for Harley Quinn, a "crazy blond character in a miniskirt" based on actress Barbara Eden and "1940s screwballs" such as Betty Hutton, Gloria Grahame, and Claudette Colbert.[13][18]
Video
video icon The dream sequence from Days of Our Lives in which Arleen Sorkin plays a jester, which served as inspiration for the character's creation. Dini came across the scene while watching a VHS tape of Sorkin's "favorite Days moments", which he had received from her.[9][12]

Dini had several names in mind while naming the character, such as Columbine, and eventually settled on the name "Harley Quinn".[19] Dini chose the name for the character to be in line with other Batman characters's names being puns, and also because he thought "Harley was a fun name for a girl".[17][13] The name Harley Quinn is a play on Harlequin, a stock character from the sixteenth-century Italian physical comedy theater commedia dell'arte.[8][20]

In designing the character, Timm did a "simplified supervillain version" of traditional Harlequin gear; from the commedia dell'arte original, he took the jester hat, ruffled collar, diamond pattern, and domino mask and put them on a red-and-black bodysuit, on which the diamonds were strategically placed for easier animation.[8][15] Timm took Harley Quinn's red and black color scheme from the Golden Age comic book character Daredevil.[8] Dini had previously made a rough design for the character, which Timm improved on.[12]
Expanded role

"Eventually each of the directors wanted to do a Harley episode, so the character began to appear in stories without the Joker. Over the years she allied herself with best gal pal Poison Ivy for occasional romps through Gotham and has even succeeded in giving Batman a hard time on her own. We now look upon Harley as our series' wild card, capable of showing up anytime to bedevil our heroes with her screwball antics".

Paul Dini[10]

After seeing Harley Quinn in the rough cut of "Joker's Favor", the producers of Batman: The Animated Series, which include Dini and Timm, were impressed with the result, with Dini wanting to bring the character back for more episodes.[21][8] Timm and another producer, Alan Burnett, were initially reluctant of this and thought that giving Joker a girlfriend "played more towards his comedic side" and would "humanize him too much", which contrasted their vision for Joker as a character who is "as serious a threat as possible to Batman".[21][8] Nevertheless, months after "Joker's Favor", Harley made a second appearance on the show in the episode "The Laughing Fish" and became the Joker's love interest.[8] Harley Quinn gained popularity with fans of The Animated Series, with the character being featured more on the show and eventually starring in her own episodes, such as 1993's "Harley and Ivy", which introduced a friendship between her and fellow supervillain Poison Ivy, and 1994's "Harlequinade" and "Harley's Holiday", which explored her life without the Joker.[22][23][24] Harley Quinn then became a recurring character in the DC Animated Universe, appearing in The Animated Series sequel The New Batman Adventures, the direct-to-video film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and in non-Batman animation such as Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, and Justice League. In February 1994, she made her first appearance in a video game in The Adventures of Batman and Robin, an action platformer based on Batman: The Animated Series.[25][26]
Transition to comic books
"Tango with Evil" by Alex Ross, from the cover of Harley's canonical debut Batman: Harley Quinn. Widely described as iconic, the artwork depicts Harley dancing with a tuxedo-clad Joker and was later recreated in the 2016 film Suicide Squad.[27][21][28][29][30][31]

Because of her popularity, Harley Quinn was adapted into DC's comic books.[32] In September 1993, a year following Harley Quinn's first appearance in Batman: The Animated Series, the character made her comic book debut in the 12th issue of The Batman Adventures, a series set in the universe of The Animated Series, and became a regular character.[5][6] In 1997, she appeared in the story Batman: Thrillkiller, released under Elseworlds, a DC Comics imprint that published out-of-continuity alternate reality stories, as Hayley Fitzpatrick.[5] In 1999, she became a canonical character with the release of Batman: Harley Quinn.[5]
Origin story
Main article: The Batman Adventures: Mad Love

"Bruce and I [...] were talking about what if there was some sort of surprise to her origin? What if she's not just a hench girl? We came up with the idea that she had been a doctor at Arkham Asylum and the Joker had gotten into her head and worked her into being his follower. ...Then we thought, what if Harley's in the role of the long-suffering girlfriend?"

Paul Dini about the creation of Mad Love[13]

In February 1994, the one-shot The Batman Adventures: Mad Love recounting Harley's origin was released. Written by Dini and drawn by Timm, the story marks their first comic book collaboration.[21] Mad Love introduces Harley Quinn as a former psychologist named Harleen Quinzel who fell in love with the Joker during her internship at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum and details her transformation into the Joker's villainous accomplice Harley Quinn, as well as the Joker's lack of respect for Harley.[21][23][33][34] Widely considered the definitive Harley Quinn story,[35][36][37] Mad Love added dimensions to the character, with Dini introducing Harley Quinn's motivations as well as establishing her as a tragic and sympathetic figure.[38][39][40][41][42] The story received wide praise and won the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best Single Issue in the same year and was later adapted into an episode of the same name in The New Batman Adventures in 1999.[43][44][24]
Name origin

Mad Love establishes Harley Quinn's full name to be Harleen Frances Quinzel. "Harleen Frances" was taken from Sorkin's first and middle name, Arleen Frances, while "Quinzel" came from one of Dini's former Emerson College instructors, who was surnamed Quenzel.[13]
Introduction to mainstream DC continuity

Harley Quinn was adapted into the mainstream DC Universe with the 1999 one-shot graphic novel Batman: Harley Quinn, written by Dini and illustrated by Yvel Guichet,[45] which put her origin in the middle of the Batman: No Man's Land story line.[46] Dini changed Harley and the Joker's relationship to be darker to match the Joker's character in the comics; in the story, the Joker attempts to kill Harley at the first opportunity. Harley's immunity to toxins and enhanced strength and agility, which were gained from a special formula created by Poison Ivy, were carried over from Batman: The Animated Series, with Dini stating that they would give her a sort of "physical edge" over Batman and other heroes.[21][45]
First ongoing series

"[The series] is an interesting assignment because the main character is a) insane and b) a criminal, and both of these things are pretty essential to the character, so we don't want to get rid of either of them. [...] [We] hammered out a direction for the book which [...] will establish a motivation and agenda for Harley. Depending on the storyline, she will be on the side of the angels sometimes, and on the side of the demons and devils on others. Like most great crime characters, she's not concerned with the law. What concerns her is something totally different. What that is will be revealed as the first half dozen issues progress".

Karl Kesel, 2000[47]

While pursuing new assignments at DC Comics' offices in New York City, Karl Kesel was approached by former DC editor Matt Idelson to create a pitch for Harley Quinn's first ongoing series, which Kesel accepted, being a fan of the character after having read Mad Love.[21] Kesel chose Terry Dodson as the artist for the series, whose art Kesel thought complemented the character's cartoonish roots and worldview.[21][48] Kesel called Dodson and asked him if he was interested on working on the comic, to which Dodson agreed, and the two worked for a month on their proposal for the series, which was to make a comic about "love gone horribly, terribly wrong".[48][21] The proposal was accepted by DC Comics, and the pair began work on the series, with Kesel and Dodson both being involved in the storytelling, and Dodson bringing in his wife, Rachel Dodson, to ink.[21] Kesel's run on the series began being published in December 2000, and was about Harley Quinn leaving the Joker and becoming a solo criminal, alongside a supporting cast of henchmen named the Quinntets.[21] Because of underwhelming sales, his 25-issue run ended in December 2002, and DC decided to change the creative team; the series was given to writer A.J. Lieberman and artists Mike Huddleston and Troy Nixey by Idelson, and took on a grittier and darker direction, contrasting Kesel's run.[49] The decision renewed interest in the character, but the sales remained lackluster and the series was cancelled in 2003.[49][12]
Gotham City Sirens
Main article: Gotham City Sirens

After years of scarce appearances in comics, Harley Quinn resurfaced in a leading role in July 2009 with Gotham City Sirens, a team-up title created by Dini.[50][5][12] The series brought together Batman's most popular female villains, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy, in an unstable alliance.[51][52][53] The series also expanded on Harley Quinn's background and early life; in Gotham City Sirens #7, Dini established the character's hometown being Brooklyn, based on her accent and also introduced her dysfunctional family, with her swindling father being described as the main reason for her pursuing psychology.[54][55][56]

The first several issues of Gotham City Sirens were written by Dini and illustrated by Guillem March. Other creatives who worked for the series include writers Tony Bedard and Peter Calloway, and artists David López, Andres Guinaldo, Peter Nguyen, Jeremy Haun, and Ramon Bachs.[52] The series was cancelled in August 2011 for The New 52, DC Comics' relaunch of their entire comic line.[53]