Harley Quinn - Harlequin Comic

Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Francis Quinzel, M.D.) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of Batman. The character was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, and first appeared on Batman: The Animated Series in September 1992. She later appeared in DC Comics' Batman comic books, with her first comic book appearance in The Batman Adventures #12 (Sept. 1993). Throughout her animated depictions, she is shown to speak with a pronounced New York accent.

The character is a frequent accomplice and girlfriend of the Joker and a girlfriend of the supervillain Poison Ivy, from whom Harley Quinn gained an immunity to poisons and toxins. Harley Quinn's origin story relates that she met the Joker while working as a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum, where the Joker was a patient. Her name is a play on the name "Harlequin," a character which originated in the commedia dell'arte.

Harley Quinn was originally voiced by Arleen Sorkin in various tie-ins to the DC animated universe, and has also been voiced by Hynden Walch and Tara Strong in either DC Animated Showcases or in various video games. In the Birds of Prey television series, she was portrayed by actress Mia Sara (and Sherilyn Fenn in an unaired version of the pilot episode). The character will be making her live-action cinematic debut in the upcoming 2016 film Suicide Squad portrayed by Australian actress Margot Robbie.

IGN's 2009 list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Harley Quinn as #45. She was ranked 16th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

History

Creation and introduction

Harley Quinn first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor," as what was originally supposed to be the animated equivalent of a walk-on role; a number of police officers were to be taken hostage by someone jumping out of a cake, and it was decided that to have the Joker do so himself would be too bizarre (although he ended up doing so anyway). Dini thus created a female sidekick for the Joker. Arleen Sorkin, a former star of the soap opera Days of Our Lives, appeared in a dream sequence on that series in which she wore a jester costume; Dini used this scene as an inspiration for Quinn. Having been friends with Sorkin since college, he incorporated aspects of her personality into the character.

The 1994 graphic novel Mad Love recounts 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 describes Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzell, M.D. as an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who falls for the Joker and becomes his accomplice and on-off sidekick. The story received wide praise 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 of the same name in 1999, making it the second "animated style" comic book adapted for the series. (The other was "Holiday Knights".)

She becomes fascinated with the Joker while interning at Arkham, and volunteers to analyze him. She falls hopelessly in love nearly instantly with the Joker during their sessions, and she helps him escape from the asylum more than once. When the Joker is returned to Arkham after a battle with Batman, the sight of her badly injured patient drives Harleen insane, leading her to quit her psychiatrist job and don a jester costume to become Harley Quinn, the Joker's sidekick. She later becomes fast friends with Poison Ivy, who injects her with an antitoxin which gives her super-human strength, agility, and immunity to toxins.

Expanded role

After Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, Harley makes several other animated appearances. She appears as one of the four main female characters of the web cartoon Gotham Girls. She also made guest appearances in other cartoons in 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).

She appeared in World's Finest: The Batman/Superman Movie as a rival and foil for Lex Luthor's assistant Mercy Graves; each takes an immediate dislike for the other, at one point fighting brutally with each other as Lex Luthor and the Joker have a business meeting. In the film's climax, Harley tied Graves as a human shield to a combat robot set to confront Superman and Batman, but Graves is rescued by the two heroes without suffering any harm (other than the damage Harley had inflicted on her beforehand).

The animated movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker takes place in the future, long after the events in Batman: The Animated Series. It includes a flashback scene with Harley falling down a deep pit during a battle with Batgirl. At the end of the movie, a pair of twin girls who model themselves on the Joker are released on bail to their grandmother, who angrily berates themâ€"to which they answer: "Oh, shut up, Nana Harley!"

Transition to comic books and publication history

After the success of The Animated Series, the character proved so popular that she was eventually added to the Batman comic book canon. She first appeared in the original graphic novel, Batman: Harley Quinn, as part of the "No Man's Land" story, although she had already appeared in the Elseworlds Batman: Thrillkiller and Batman: Thrillkiller '62 in 1997. The comic book version of Quinn, like the comic book version of the Joker, is more dangerously violent and less humorously quirky than the animated series version. Despite her noticeably more violent demeanor, Harley does show mercy and compassion from time to time; she notably stops Poison Ivy from killing Batman, instead convincing her to leave the hero hanging bound and gagged from a large statue. Batman is later untied by Batgirl.

A Harley Quinn ongoing series was published monthly by DC Comics for 38 issues from 2001 to 2003. Creators who contributed to the title included Karl Kesel, Terry Dodson, A.J. Lieberman, and Mike Huddleston. The series dealt with her going solo, eventually starting a gang and then fleeing Gotham for the city of Metropolis with her friend Poison Ivy. Quinn dies, only to be resurrected and return to Gotham. The series ends with Harley turning herself in to Arkham Asylum, having finally understood that she needs help. We also learn in issue #8 of the comic that Harley had a relationship in college with fellow psychiatry major Guy Kopski whose suicide started her obsession with the Joker. Harley later appears in the Jeph Loeb series Hush. She is next seen in a Villains United Infinite Crisis special, where she is one of the many villains who escape from Arkham (although she is knocked unconscious the moment she escapes).

In the One Year Later continuity, Harley Quinn is an inmate at Arkham, 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 "punch line" to the scheme is her own death. Upon realizing this, she shoots him in the shoulder.

Harley resurfaces in Detective Comics #831, written by Paul Dini. Harley has spent the last year applying for parole, only to see her request systematically rejected by Bruce Wayne, the layman member of Arkham's medical commission. She is kidnapped by Peyton Riley, the new female Ventriloquist, who offers her a job; Harley turns the job down out of respect for the memory of Arnold Wesker, the original Ventriloquist, who attempted to cheer her up during her first week in Arkham while the Joker was still on the loose. She then helps Batman and Commissioner Gordon foil the impostor's plans. Although Riley escapes, Bruce Wayne is impressed with Harley's effort at redemption, and agrees with granting her parole.

In Birds of Prey #105, Harley Quinn is revealed as the sixth member of the Secret Six. 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'?", thus leaving the team.

In Countdown #43, Harley appears to have reformed and is shown to be residing in an Amazon-run women's shelter. Having abandoned her jester costume and clown make-up, she now only wears an Amazonian stola or chiton. She befriends the former Catwoman replacement Holly Robinson, and then succeeds in persuading her to join her at the shelter, where she is working as an assistant. They are both brought to Themiscyra by "Athena" (really Granny Goodness) and begin Amazon training. Holly and Harley then meet the real Athena, and encounter Mary Marvel. The group reveal Granny's deception, and Holly, Harley, and Mary follow her as she retreats to Apokolips. Mary finds the Olympian gods, whom Granny had been holding prisoner, and the group frees them. Harley is granted powers by Thalia as a reward. Upon returning to Earth, the powers vanish, and Harley and Holly return to Gotham City.

Harley Quinn joins forces with Poison Ivy and Catwoman in the series Gotham City Sirens. Having moved in with Pamela Isley at the Riddler's apartment, she meets up with Catwoman, who offers for the three of them to live and work together. 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 Hush, the Joker attempts to kill her, apparently out of jealousy. Quinn is rescued by Ivy and Catwoman, and it is later revealed that her attacker wasn't the real Joker, but one of his old henchmen impersonating him.

Gotham City Sirens #7 establishes that she was born and raised in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, into a Jewish-Catholic family. Her father is a con artist who is still in jail. Her brother, Barry, is a slob with dreams of rock stardom, and her mother, Sharon, wants her to stop the "villain and hero stuff." It is stated that the reason why Harley chose to become a psychologist in the first place was to try and understand her own broken family.

On a certain instance Harley attempted to steal from Two-Face and the Riddler, but was caught and they were not happy. Later, Poison Ivy discovers Harley bound and gagged in a closet, and Ivy removes the gag and unties her.

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 straitjacket 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 only wanted to help. Just as Batman is about to arrest them, Catwoman helps the two of them escape.

The New 52

Following DC's 2011 relaunch of all its titles, Harley Quinn's costume and appearance is fully revamped. Harley Quinn has a more revealing costume, altered hair color, and bleached skin. Her hair is half-red and half-black, like the jester cap of her previous incarnation, rather than fully blonde. Consistent with her new origin, her bleached skin is the result of being pushed into a vat of acid by the Joker.

After a falling out with the Joker, she goes into a murderous frenzy, directed towards people responsible for the Joker's imprisonment. Captured by Black Canary, she is forcibly inducted into the Suicide Squad by Amanda Waller. However, when she discovers that the Joker is rumored to be dead, it takes a further toll in her already addled mind, and betraying the Suicide Squad, she puts their safety and secrecy at risk by turning herself into the Gotham Police Department in a plot to gain access to the skinned face of the Joker. Her plan apparently pays off, and she manages to recover the face, though in a further psychotic episode, Harley captures and ties up Deadshot and places the skinned face of the Joker over Deadshot's face, so that she can carry on a "conversation" with her dead lover. Deadshot lures Harley in close, shooting and severely injuring her during the conversation. After the Joker returns to Gotham in the "Death of the Family" storyline, he forces her to disguise herself in his old Red Hood costume and trick Batman into coming to the chemical plant where they first met. Batman then falls into a tank and demands Harley to tell him where Joker is. But she only replies, in tears, that he's no longer the Joker she had fallen in love with.

On July 16, 2013, DC announced that a new Harley Quinn ongoing comic book series would begin publication in November 2013, co-written by Amanda Conner and her husband Jimmy Palmiotti, cover illustrated by Conner and illustrated by Chad Hardin. The series has notably become distanced from the "Batman Family" of DC publications in both tone and premise, with Harley no longer having any significant connection to either Batman or the Joker following the "Death of the Family" storyline. In the series, Harley Quinn has become a landlady at Coney Island, is a part-time member of a roller derby team and has returned to psychiatric work under her real alias, indicating that Harley's real identity is not public knowledge in the new status quo. Under Conner and Palmiotti's writing, Harley has been reinvented as an anti-hero rather than a villain, who values human life and actively tries to improve life in her neighborhood. Between issues #11 and #13 Harley formed a brief partnership with an amnesiac Power Girl and battled Clock King and Sportsmaster before Power Girl's memory was restored and she left Harley at the top of the Eiffel Tower as punishment for her deceit. Harley attempts to coerce a romantic connection with her tenant Mason, but was unable to make the date due to the multitude of responsibilities in her life, balancing her two jobs with her commitment to her roller derby team and her career as a crime-fighter. With support from her friend Poison Ivy, Harley makes amends with Mason and turns to the internet to recruit other young women in a crime-fighting team she is forming.

Harley Quinn has featured a few standalone specials which are not directly connected to the main series and feature multiple artists. In the scratch and sniff-themed Annual issue, Harley briefly returned to Gotham to save her friend Poison Ivy, as the Arkham Asylum employees monitoring her had brainwashed her to create a hallucinogenic pathogen. In the Valentines Day Special, Harley returned to Gotham to win a prize date with Bruce Wayne (who unbeknownst to her is Batman) and finds herself fighting animal rights activists-turned-supervillain blackmailers. She shares a brief intimate moment with Bruce Wayne. At Coney Island, Batman informs Harley that while he still distrusts her, he admires her attempt at heroism and promises not to interfere. Harley kisses Batman and tells him to get "lessons" on kissing from Bruce Wayne, to which Batman privately grins.

Romantic Relationship with Poison Ivy

It has been stated by D.C. Comics that Harley and Poison Ivy are in a non-monogamous romantic relationship.

Controversy

In September 2013, DC Comics announced a contest for fans and artists, "Break into comics with Harley Quinn!", in which contestants were to draw Harley in four different suicide scenarios. This contest drew controversy not only because it was announced close to National Suicide Prevention Week, but because some artists did not like the sexualized portrayal of Harley in the fourth scenario, in which Harley attempts suicide while naked in her bath tub.

Other versions

• Harley Quinn's first major appearance outside the Batman animated world was in the Elseworlds miniseries Thrillkiller. This version of Harley is a schoolgirl named Hayley Fitzpatrick who dresses up in order to help a female version of the Joker called Bianca Steeplechase. The relationship between this lesbian or bisexual Joker and Harley Quinn is short-lived but noticeably more egalitarian than its heterosexual counterpart in mainstream DC continuity. After Batgirl kills Bianca, Harley is shown killing her own family, intent on revenge in the final frames of the story.

• In the Elseworlds 80-Page Giant, one of the stories is about Lex Luthor as a music producer. One of his groups is, as the press puts it, "alternative lifestyle folkies Ivy and Harley."

• On the new Earth-3, Harleen Quinzel is the Jokester's business manager. She is killed by Owlman.

• In the 2008 graphic novel Joker, Harley Quinn appears as the Joker's helper and aide-de-camp. She at one point acts as a stripper (though this may be a ruse), and is never shown speaking.

• In Batman '66, a version of Harley Quinn appears as Dr. Quinn, a psychiatric specialist at Arkham Asylum here called Arkham Institute for the Criminally Insane. She convinces Joker to cooperate with Batman and Robin in exchange for approving his comedy night proposal.

• In the alternate timeline of the 2011 "Flashpoint" storyline, an alternate version of the character named Yo-Yo is the Joker's female assistant.

In other media

Television

In 2002, a live-action television series called Birds of Prey, loosely based on the comic of the same name, included Harley Quinn as a psychotic psychiatrist and main antagonist. The character was portrayed by actress Mia Sara (replacing Sherilyn Fenn from an unaired pilot episode). The show aired only 13 episodes. In this show, she is portrayed as an older, far more calculating and sinister character than her bubbly comic and cartoon personas. Picking up where the Joker had left off, Harleen Quinzel used her day job as a psychiatrist to achieve her savage purpose â€" to take control of the city of New Gotham. She does not wear a costume, although she does wear an outfit that is reminiscent of her cartoon costume in the series finale "Devil's Eyes." In that episode, she uses experimental technology to transfer metahuman mind control powers to herself. She occasionally makes reference to her "sweet Mr. J.", laments his loss as a Gotham City crime boss and hints at a past relationship reminiscent to that of the animated series. A criminal known as the Crawler addresses her as "the Joker's girlfriend" in the seventh episode "Split."

Harley Quinn makes an appearance on the Kids' WB series The Batman, voiced by Hynden Walch. In the episode "Two of a Kind" (written by her co-creator Paul Dini), this version of the character is at first the host of pop psychology television show "Heart To Heart With Harley". Harleen Quinzel claims to have obtained a degree in psychology from an online educational institution, and she gives off-the-cuff advice to her callers that usually hurts more than it helps, resulting in a lot of controversy in the media which the Joker finds amusing being a fan of her show. Her boss Jimmy Herbert becomes fed up with her irresponsible behavior and cancels the show on the air after she stages an ambush of Bruce Wayne on her show under a false promise to help promote a charity-drive for crime victims. Joker sees the episode and knows that Harley's having an emotional breakdown, proceeding to take advantage of the situation by making her a partner. Harley rationalizes joining Joker by telling herself that she will be able to get a tell-all that will restore her career, but then she ends up rampaging across Gotham city as Joker's partner-in-crime. Eventually, Harley learns that the network is planning to share with the police a psychological profile of her by TV psychologist Dr. Elliot Blaine, so she plans to destroy the network as revenge for her firing, something which Joker finds amusing. However, she is foiled by Batman, Robin and Batgirl, and she is arrested after Joker deserts her. She seemingly regrets taking up with Joker. However, once she has been taken into a police car, she sees that Joker has left her an affectionate message, and instantly falls in love again. She has a few short appearances in the episode "Rumor" and a slightly larger appearance in "The Metal Face of Comedy". This incarnation wears a slightly different costume than the one she wears in Batman: The Animated Series as in this depiction, the black parts of the original are dark red, the headdress is larger than the original, the inverted diamond pattern on the shoulders and thighs is absent, her gloves are fingerless, and her mask conceals her eyes.

Harley Quinn appeared in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Meghan Strange. This version is a henchwoman of the Joker modeled after a 1920's flapper woman (shown in black-and-white) instead of her traditional costume. In the episode "Legends of the Dark Mite!" while Bat-Mite is giving a speech at the Comic-Con, there is a brief cameo of Paul Dini (Harley Quinn's creator) dressed up as the woman. She appears alongside the Joker in "Emperor Joker!". Though she has a mutual crush on Bat-Mite, she ultimately proves to love Joker more. Alongside virtually every other character that appeared during the show's three season run, Harley makes a cameo appearance in the series finale "Mitefall!" She is shown with Joker at the show's wrap party and kicks Gagsworthy when he tries to approach Joker.

Harley Quinn makes a cameo appearance in the Arrow season two episode "Suicide Squad". voiced again by Tara Strong, while physically portrayed (in an obscured fashion) by Cassidy Alexa (credited as "Deranged Squad Female"). The series star Stephen Amell revealed in an interview that she was originally set to appear in the season two finale episode "Unthinkable," but was cut due to time. The show's producer Andrew Kreisberg revealed that there were plans for the character to appear, but series actress Willa Holland revealed that they had been axed due to the Suicide Squad film.

Web series

• Harley Quinn (credited as Harlequin) appears in the first episode of the web series Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles where she kidnapped and mutilated an unknown number of people and made toys and dolls out of the bodies. She fights Batman after he frees her latest victim and ends up surrendering, only to be drained of her blood after Batman reveals himself to be a vampire. She is once again voiced by Tara Strong.

Film

Live-action

Prior to the release of Batman & Robin, Mark Protosevich was commissioned by Warner Bros. to write a script for a fifth Batman film titled Batman Triumphant to be directed by Joel Schumacher, with Harley Quinn and the Scarecrow as the film's villains. Rumors spread that the character was to be portrayed by Madonna. Protosevich wrote her as the Joker's daughter seeking revenge, not his lover and henchgirl. This change was made in order to keep some on-screen continuity with the 1989 film in which Joker was killed by Batman, and rumors also circulated that Jack Nicholson might reprise his role in a nightmare sequence caused by Scarecrow's fear toxin. Due to poor box office run of Batman and Robin, bad Internet buzz, and several negative reviews from critics, Batman Triumphant was never made, and the film franchise went on hiatus for eight years until Batman Begins in 2005. The character will be making her live-action cinematic debut in the upcoming 2016 film Suicide Squad portrayed by Australian actress Margot Robbie.

Animation

Harley Quinn appears in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, again voiced by Arleen Sorkin.

In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Harley Quinn is the name of a monkey owned by the Jester (Joker's Parallel Earth equivalent).

Harley Quinn appears in Lego Batman: The Movie â€" DC Super Heroes Unite, an adaptation of the video game of the same name, with Laura Bailey reprising her role.

Yo-Yo appears in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, again voiced by Hynden Walch. In the Flashpoint reality, she is seen fighting Batman. After a fight where she uses deadly yo-yos, Batman interogates Yo-Yo for the Joker's location. When she doesn't give an answer, Batman throws her off the building, only for Cyborg to save her at the last second.

Harley Quinn is one of the main characters in Batman: Assault on Arkham, again voiced by Hynden Walch. In this version, she is pressganged by Amanda Waller into joining the Suicide Squad, and must venture to Arkham Asylum on a mission to retrieve the Riddler for Waller. Having once worked at the Asylum and knowing its layout and schedules, she is considered vital for the task. Harley seems to be interested in Deadshot, but ultimately rejoins the Joker and reveals having intended all along to use the mission in order to invade Arkham and break him out. During their escape, Harley battles Batman as Joker faces Deadshot. Both are defeated, but their fates are not revealed. As the film takes place before Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, it is assumed that Harley was recaptured, while Joker escaped.

Video games

• Harley Quinn appears in several video games based upon the animated series.

• She appears in a cameo role in The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Super NES, and as a boss in The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Sega Genesis.
• She appears in The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Sega CD and Batman: Chaos in Gotham, voiced by Arleen Sorkin.
• Harley Quinn played a major role in the game's storyline in Batman Vengeance, voiced by Arleen Sorkin. She first appears posing as "Mary Flynn" in a trap for Batman set by the Joker; she later does the Joker's dirty work after he fakes his death.

• Harley Quinn was considered as a DLC fighter for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, alongside Mortal Kombat's Quan Chi, but these plans were discarded following Midway's bankruptcy.

• Harley Quinn appears in the DC Universe Online video game, with Arleen Sorkin returning as her voice. Harley appears in the Joker's Funhouse, where she will be seen being arrested by Robin if the player uses a villain character, or holding Robin hostage if the character is a hero, in which case the player will have to defeat her. She plays a minor role in T.O.Morrow's hideout, as she has gone there with the Joker to pursue Morrow. Harley is the basic Legends PVP character, granted to Villains without having to spend Marks of Legend. If a player using Harley defeats an enemy player using Joker, the player will get a feat called Mad Love.

• Harley Quinn appears in Infinite Crisis as a playable character, voiced by Tara Strong.

• Harley Quinn is among the villains summoned by Brainiac to retrieve Starites in Scribblenauts Unmasked.

Batman: Arkham

• Arleen Sorkin reprises her role of Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham Asylum, as the secondary antagonist of the game, here with a new costume based on a nurse uniform. She takes control of Arkham, allowing Joker to escape, releases Poison Ivy from her cell, and kidnaps Warden Quincy Sharp. After Batman rescues Sharp, he confronts her and locks her in a cell. She returns in the Scarecrow's final nightmare as one of the guards escorting Batman away. To date this was the last time Arleen Sorkin voiced her iconic character.
• Harley Quinn appears in Batman: Arkham City, voiced by Tara Strong. She is shown wearing a biker-girl themed costume in this game, using a low-key version of her usual makeup, with heavy eyeshadow in lieu of her domino mask. This costume featured knee high wedge boots and a corset like top. She wears her hair in two pigtails on both sides of her head, which she has dip dyed red and black. She now has tattoos of the Joker on her upper right arm and on the left side of her waist. She is characterized as being dangerously unstable and incompetent; at one point early in the game, she may be overheard having a conversation that inadvertently reveals key details of the Joker's plans. She is alternately loathed and lusted after by the Joker's gang, whom she treats as a group of dim-witted thugs. Harley had captured some doctors and police officers as hostages when Batman finds her in the church. Harley manages to get away while the Joker's henchmen fight Batman who ends up defeating them and saving the hostages (only for them to be later captured by the Riddler). Batman later encounters Harley in the Sionis Steel Mill where she was with the Joker. She later steals the cure for the Joker's illness while Batman was fighting Mr. Freeze for it, but is bound and gagged by Talia al Ghul. When the Joker dies from his illness following Batman's fight with Clayface (who was masquerading as a healthier Joker), Quinn was with the Joker's henchmen when Batman brought his dead body out of the theater. After completing the game, the player can enter the Joker's office, where several negative pregnancy tests and a positive test can be found, hinting she may be pregnant with the Joker's child. In the ending credits of the new game plus mode, Harley is heard singing a version of the lullaby "Hush, Little Baby," promising that "Mama's gonna kill for you the whole damn world." Harley appears in "Harley Quinn's Revenge" expansion as the main antagonist, seeking revenge on Batman for the death of the Joker; her doctor noted Harley was "losing it big time" because the Joker was the only thing keeping Harley relatively sane. By this time, Harley has dyed her hair completely black and wears almost all black, with a "J" necklace and mourning veil. After escaping from a temporary holding area following the destruction of Arkham City, Harley transforms the Steel Mill (the Joker's former base of operations) into a gigantic memorial of him. She is later beaten by the duo of Batman and Robin and taken into custody by the GCPD. Included as an easter egg in the manager's office of the Steel Mill, there is a crib with Scarface painted as the Joker inside, surrounded by dozens of negative pregnancy tests accompanied by a single positive pregnancy test, which indicates that she had a miscarriage, the positive test was false, or after several failed attempts she finally got pregnant just before the Joker died.
• Harley Quinn introduced Martin Tremblay, president of Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, at the Nintendo Press Conference at E3 2012 where Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition was introduced for the Wii U.
• Harley Quinn appears in Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, where she kidnaps a reporter to use as a hostage to free the Joker. After luring Batman into a trap, she tries to execute the bound and gagged reporter, but is stopped by one of Batman's batarangs. She is once again voiced by Tara Strong.
• Dr. Harleen Quinzel, M.D. appears briefly in Batman: Arkham Origins before her transformation into Harley Quinn. She interviews Joker at Blackgate Prison and falls in love with him after he confesses his fascination with someone who he considers special to him (Batman). She is voiced again by Tara Strong.
• While Dr. Harleen Quinzel, M.D. never makes a physical appearance in Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, she is referred to in the unlockable Detective Case titled "Doctor's Orders." According to the Detective Case, Quinzel's increasing obsession with the Joker is not going unnoticed by her fellow staff, who are beginning to worry that the Joker may be manipulating Quinzel. The Case also states that Quinzel has started referring to the Joker as "Mister J" in her personal journal with hearts drawn around his name, rather than "Patient ARK119805."
• Harley Quinn will appear in Batman: Arkham Knight. Apart from the main game, she is a playable character via pre-order downloadable content in a story-driven mission, featuring her own weapons and abilities; the content also includes four challenge maps for the character. In the main story she tries to break free the victims of Joker's blood transfusion, but they all end up dead. In her DLC story, Harley breaks into the Bludhaven prison to free Poison Ivy, defeating a number of guards and Nightwing in the process.

Injustice: Gods Among Us

• Harley Quinn appears as a playable fighter in Injustice: Gods Among Us voiced again by Tara Strong. In the alternate universe depicted in the game, Quinn establishes the Joker Clan to honor the Clown Prince after he is murdered by Superman. She is part of Batman's Insurgency, and reacts very negatively when the "Prime" Joker appears, believing him to be a fake. The Joker still temporarily gains her trust after proving himself to be the real deal, but she gets over it again once he threatens to kill her when she fails to defeat her Earth's version of Lex Luthor who, unknown to them both at the time, is a fellow Insurgent posing as an ally of Superman. In her battle ending, she had gone to marry The Joker, but after he playfully smashed her face into a cake, years of abuse made Harley snap. Using the ceremonial knife she slit The Joker's throat, killing him. It is then stated she permanently became a patient at the Arkham Asylum, still wearing her wedding gown. That happens not in our universe but where everyone is at ends with each other.

Lego Batman

• She appears in Lego Batman: The Videogame, with her sound effects provided by Grey DeLisle. She appears as an enemy of Batman and a 1st deputy of the Joker. Harley Quinn in Lego Batman is a playable character and can be unlocked through the villain levels, and carries a pistol and her giant mallet. She can perform high jumps like most women in the game.
• Harley Quinn appears as a minor antagonist in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, voiced by Laura Bailey.
• Harley Quinn appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, with Tara Strong reprising her role.

Cultural impact

Filmmaker and comic book fan Kevin Smith named his daughter after Harley Quinn; she made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back as an infant Silent Bob in the opening scene, and was recently featured in his reality television show Comic Book Men. She will appear alongside Johnny Depp's daughter Lily-Rose Depp in the 2015 comedy horror film Yoga Hosers.

See also

• Harley Quinn Smith
• Hybristophilia
• List of Batman Family adversaries

References

External links

• Harley Quinn at the Internet Movie Database
• Harley Quinn at DC Comics
• Harley Quinn on the DC Animated Universe Wiki, an external wiki
• Harley Quinn at DMOZ
• Collecting Harley Quinn
• Harley Quinn on the official Superman/Batman Adventures homepage