This week marked a major Batman milestone, as it's been 25 years since Harley Quinn made her debut in Batman: The Animated Series. These days, Harley is arguably more popular than ever. DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee went so far as to label her "the fourth pillar in our publishing line," placing Harley on equal footing with Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Harley has seen some soaring highs and crushing lows over the past 25 years. She may be a troubling and even maddening character to follow at times, but the journey has always been well worth it.
Harley made her TV debut back in 1992, and while she popped up in books like Batman Adventures and Batman: Thrillkiller, it wasn't until the 1999 crossover Batman No Man's Land that DC inducted her into their core comic book universe. She made the transition from animation to comics almost completely intact, right down to the iconic, Bruce Timm-designed harlequin costume. What's interesting about the comic book Harley, though, is that she didn't spend much time existing as Joker's abused, underappreciated sidekick before branching out on her own. DC commissioned the first Harley Quinn solo comic in 2001, offering a platform for Harley to develop as an independent player in the Gotham City landscape.
I've always felt this to be a wise move on DC's part. As fun as it can be to see Harley play the Robin to Joker's Batman, that status quo can only last for so long before it becomes stifling. Of Batman's many, many enemies, Harley and Catwoman are the two that least qualify as villains. Harley is more a brilliant but misguided woman who threw her life away in favor of the world's most toxic relationship. I don't think there's much to be gained by treating her romance with Joker as anything other than a hurdle needing to be gradually overcome (which is one of many reasons why last year's Suicide Squad movie rubbed me the wrong way). It's good that DC was already positioning Harley as an independent character within two years of her comic book debut.
However, that's also where the problems with Harley's characterization started. Harley Quinn is a character who has to move forward to stay fresh and compelling. She can't stay Joker's sidekick forever. But mainstream superhero comics, by their very nature, are perpetually trapped in the middle act of a never-ending story. So it often seems as though, every so often, Harley is rudely snapped back into her traditional status quo. It happened in the early 2000's when she went from leading lady in her own series to Joker's sidekick in "Hush." Then, co-creator Paul Dini came along to send Harley on another journey of self-discovery and independence in books like Detective Comics and Gotham City Sirens. But once again, that status quo only lasted so long until the New 52 came along to wipe the slate clean again.
The New 52 era truly encapsulates everything that makes Harley a delightful but frustrating DC character. Despite wiping away much of the character development that had taken place under Dini and other writers in the years leading up to the New 52, DC attempted to push the character in a new direction by shifting her away from the Batman books and making her a core member of the relaunched Suicide Squad comic. It was an interesting shift for the character, but Harley never felt very at home in the New 52 Suicide Squad series. The dark, gritty tone didn't play to the character's humor or heart. Not to mention that Harley's skimpy, redesigned new costume was a serious downgrade from her classic harlequin outfit. Unfortunately, the New 52 has really set the tone for Harley's look ever since, in comics and elsewhere.
The single best example of how wildly inconsistent DC's portrayal of Harley can be came in Fall 2013. First, you had Detective Comics #23.2 (a tie-in to the Forever Evil crossover), which revolved around Harley breaking free from the Suicide Squad and going on a murderous rampage in Gotham City. I legitimately believe this to be the single worst Harley Quinn story DC has ever published. Its characterization of Harley as a wanton killer who's not above slaughtering innocent children fundamentally misrepresents this complex and ultimately well-meaning character. But then, DC followed up that issue with the debut of Harley's next solo comic, the first in the New 52 where the creative team really seemed to get the character. Within the span of two months, DC showed its readers the best and worst of Harley Quinn.
Harley Quinn's New 52 series was the start of big things for the character. Art by Amanda Conner. (DC Comics)
It's hard to understate the impact Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti's Harley Quinn series has had on DC Comics in recent years. It immediately became a runaway hit on a level I don't think even DC was prepared for. In a time when so many DC books had lost all sense of fun and adventure, Conner and Palmiotti's zany, comedic take Harley Quinn was a true breath of fresh air. Along with Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and Babs Tarr's dramatic revamp of Batgirl, Harley Quinn offered DC fans something vital they had been missing. And as a result, Harley Quinn immediately became one of DC's top-selling books every month. New spinoff books quickly followed, and suddenly Harley was well on her way to becoming DC's "fourth pillar."
It's enough to wonder if DC's Rebirth relaunch would have happened without Harley Quinn lighting the way. The success of the various Harley Quinn comics over the last few years showed DC that readers craved a lighter, more humorous superhero universe that hearkened back to the company's pre-Flashpoint universe. For that reason alone, the Conner/Palmiotti comic will always hold a special place in my heart.
Even in the current Rebirth era, Harley's maddening track record continues as it always has. There's often a bizarre disconnect between the darker, more pathological Harley seen Rob Williams' Suicide Squad and the more happy-go-lucky Conner/Palmiotti version. It's not even clear if the Conner/Palmiotti series is even taking place in regular DC continuity at this point, given how often its storylines clash with what's going on in other books. But as we're seeing from DC's Injustice 2 prequel comic, maybe continuity just gets in the way of great Harley Quinn stories. With Injustice 2, writer Tom Taylor captures the true appeal of the character as well as anyone ever has. She's hilarious and tragic in equal measure, and she almost invariably steals the show in any issue she appears.
It's not hard to see why Harley has remained so enduringly popular after all these years. She's a defiantly goofy character who practically invites fans to connect with her on a deeper level. Personally, I think I connect with her for the same reason I do Wolverine. Harley is a severely damaged person who refuses to be beaten down by the world and who always gets back up swinging. She's battled madness and abuse and proved that it's possible to overcome all obstacles and make the world your oyster. She may not be DC's most consistently well-written character, but she is one of their best.
"Between the Panels" is a bi-weekly column from Jesse Schedeen that focuses on the world of comics. You can see more of his thoughts on comics and pop culture by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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