- "Well, look who's too late to save the day. How's it going, Bat-brain? It's been a while."
- —Harley Quinn to Batman[src]
An Arkham Asylum psychiatrist, who begged and eventually convinced her superiors to treat the Joker; Dr. Harleen Quinzel became obsessively fixated on her patient and believed herself to be in love with him. She helped him escape from confinement and took on her own criminal identity as Harley Quinn. Harley was a violent and unpredictable felon whose only motivation, beyond general mayhem, was achieving the Joker’s approval. Because of the Joker's cruel and mercurial nature, this in some ways made Harley just another one of his victims - albeit a very dangerous one.
Incident Reports
Before Arkham Origins Incident
During her early life, Harleen had a criminal father who gave her distorted morals, but also led her to become fascinated by the extreme criminal mind. Being academically intelligent, she therefore undertook a psychiatric medical degree at Gotham City University as this was the quickest method of being able to treat criminal behavior in institutions such as Arkham Asylum. While at the university, Harleen may have developed her skills in gymnastics, which accounted for her acrobatic abilities displayed later in her life as Harley Quinn.
Arkham Origins Incident
To become a fully qualified psychiatrist, Harleen trained under the psychiatrist, Dr. Hugo Strange as part of the psychiatric team at Blackgate Prison. At one point, she, under Strange's orders, contacted one of his patients, Alberto Falcone, the heir to The Falcone Crime Family, to notify him that he had missed his past two appointments, and gave the subtle, but clear threat that Strange and Quinzel would tell his father, Carmine Falcone, about Alberto carrying potentially untreated psychological issues if he didn't continue his appointments.
By the time of Christmas Eve, Quinzel was nearly finished with her psychiatric residency at Blackgate. After Julian Gregory Day, also known as the serial killer Calendar Man, was arrested by the GCPD with the anonymous help of Batman, Quinzel did a psychological evaluation of the serial killer, and determined that Day was insane and thus could not be executed. However, Warden Joseph had her redo the evaluation under the pretense that he was manipulating her (although, it was heavily implied that Joseph himself was being manipulated by Commissioner Loeb into having Day ruled sane and execute him to gain political points). She did so under the condition that she be allowed to do psychiatric evaluation on all new prisoners from that point onward.
- ""My name's Harleen. Harleen Quinzel. "
"What a pretty name. Do your friends call you "Harley"?"
"Oh, I don't have a lot of friends.
Well, Harley, you got one now" - —Dr. Quinzel begins falling under the Joker's thrall
Harleen appeared when Joker got captured by the GCPD at the Royal Hotel and was sent to Blackgate, where she performed a psychological assessment on him, by using assessments such as word association. During their session, Joker described the encounter between him and Batman and stated that it had changed the way he thought, but he never specified that he was talking about Batman. Harleen therefore thought that Joker was talking about her, so, she grew an affinity toward her patient.
Harleen was seen again at the Blackgate Riot later that night where she was held hostage by a group of ten escaped Blackgate Prisoners in the Nexus. Batman quickly intervened, but Quinzel showed no form of gratitude toward her savior, nor did she show signs of shock from being almost killed. When Batman asked Quinzel if she was alright, she replied: "What's it to ya?" Harleen walked away from Batman as he stated that: "You were almost killed." She then replied back: "Eh, occupational hazard." And revealed that the Joker was located inside the Panopticon, and that he was waiting for Batman's arrival.
Harleen was seen for the last time with a group of guards escorting the Joker to a cell at Blackgate, who laughed at Batman's deception. As Harleen walked alongside him, Joker stated his belief that his future battles with Batman would indeed be "fun" - possibly already set on the idea of the prison takeover attempt during the Arkham Origins Blackgate Incident three months later.
After Arkham Origins Incident
It was likely that Harleen had limited contact with the Joker between her first meeting and the Arkham Origins Blackgate Incident. As a result, it was most likely that Harleen continued to study the other patients and that her relationship with the Joker was not particularly close or affectionate during that period. At around the same time of the Arkham Origins Blackgate Incident, Arkham Asylum became renovated and was in fit condition to function as an institution for the criminally insane. Following this incident, Joker, along with a number of other patients, were shortly transferred to Arkham Asylum where they could be studied and treated more safely and appropriately.
After finally completing her prolonged residency at Blackgate, Harleen became a fully trained psychiatrist. To continue studying and primarily treating extreme criminal behavior, Harleen eventually interned at Arkham Asylum for a while after it had been fully renovated - possibly because it aimed to rehabilitate insane patients, unlike Blackgate. There, she underwent employee orientation with Dr. Whistler and was given a permanent office located on the Medical Facility's lower floor: the Secure Access Corridor. In this institution, Harleen continued her work as a criminal psychiatrist and voluntarily assigned herself to psychologically assess and treat the Joker after previously experiencing his behavior first-hand at Blackgate.
- ""Batman, he's got them fooled. He's got them thinking he can make a difference. And the joke of it is: the all believe it!"
"The police?"
"The police. The media. The frickin' Junior Rangers! Every last walking sack of meat in this urban cesspool. Listen, sweets; Batman knows we're all on the same fun house slide into madness. Why won't he admit it? He's up there in his bellfry, laughing at us. And the real joke of this is that liar is allowed to run free, while I'm in here."
"That's really incisive."" - —Joker tells his view of the world to Dr. Quinzel
Over the course of the Interview Tape Sessions with the Joker, he recognized Harleen's affinity for him, and he was able to easily manipulate her by complimenting her, giving her a flower, and victimizing himself. Harleen was also oblivious to the fact that she had overestimated her abilities to treat the Joker and did not anticipate how manipulative he was, so she did not see that the Joker was in fact using her. She therefore began to strongly empathize for him and believed Batman to be the criminal instead. As revealed in the Spirit of Arkham's 19th deciphered message, her affection toward the Joker had developed to the point where she kissed the glass on the cell which he was locked in, which resulted in Warden Sharp considering performing a lobotomy on her after he killed Joker.
As a result of the Joker's grooming of her own distorted morals, Harleen eventually fell in love with her patient, which was evident by the posters found in her office at Arkham Asylum. Following Joker's orders, Harleen smuggled bombs into the penitentiary to break into his cell and free him. Wearing her trademark jester costume, Harleen introduced her 'new' persona to the Joker and assumed her own criminal identity as 'Harley Quinn'.
Before Assault on Arkham Incident
Harley spent years serving as the Joker's sidekick and girlfriend. Although she served him faithfully, the Joker often used her as a hostage to escape Batman or as a scapegoat. Despite this, Joker kept her around because of her importance in the execution of his plans and used her to amuse himself, unable to acknowledge his own affection for her. Harley also gained two pet hyenas Bud and Lou.
Harley was also "drafted" into the Suicide Squad by Amanda Waller, who planted a high-explosive nano bomb in the back of her neck. She was forced onto numerous missions, with an ever-changing crew as they either died or had their bombs turned on for disobedience; two other villains she worked with were Deadshot and Captain Boomerang. She was broken out of custody numerous times by the Joker.
At one point, she and Joker were invited to the Iceberg Lounge, so to boost the club's reputation. However, a clumsy waitress spilled a drink on Joker, making him melt the poor girl's face with acid from his flower. From this point on, Penguin banned them from the club. Perhaps as an act of revenge, they stole a trunk full of cigarettes from Penguin and crashed it into the river just for a laugh at his expense.
Harley eventually became good friends with Poison Ivy, who she nicknamed "Red." Through this friendship, Harley had her immune system strengthened by Ivy, making Harley immune to most toxins. They also worked together with Catwoman at one point, becoming known as the Gotham Sirens.
Eventually, during one of their getaways from the Batman, Harley was kicked out of their getaway car by the Joker to distract Batman. Harley was left badly injured, but alive. From this experience, Harley became resentful towards the Joker, but remained madly in love with him, nonetheless. She spent some time recovering in the Arkham medical wing.
Assault on Arkham Incident
Harley was released from Arkham Asylum into the custody of the Roosevelt Halfway Home for Abused Women after she presumably broke off her relationship with the Joker. There, she got in a dispute with one of the staff members over an episode of The Looney Tunes Show that ended in the woman getting her ear bitten off by Harley when she took her phone which resulted in Harley being immediately arrested. Rather than being sent back to Arkham, she was released into Amanda Waller's custody.
- "Ooh. I like you, cowboy. You're loco. And me likey your locomotion."
- —Harley becomes attracted to Deadshot
Waking up in her costume, Harley moaned "Ah crap! Not this again!" as Waller had reassembled the group. Harley was intended to play a vital role in a suicide mission into Arkham Asylum, by using her vast knowledge of the facility and its security to guide the group, and to retrieve a memory drive belonging to The Riddler that contained vital information on every potential member of the Suicide Squad. When her being in close proximity to her former lover during the mission was called into question by Deadshot, Harley firmly insisted that she and the Joker were done, calling the clown "a jerk." This claim was sarcastically accepted by Killer Frost and the team remained wary of the risk Harley posed in the field.
Harley immediately began flirting with Deadshot in order to manipulate him and gain his trust since he was the team's field leader, also showing her intense disinterest in Captain Boomerang who was attracted to her and jealous of Deadshot. Once assembled, the Suicide Squad was dropped into Gotham where they were to make contact with the Penguin at the Iceberg Lounge who would supply the group with the arms necessary for them to fight their way out if necessary. Harley's presence nearly botched the mission then and there due to the Penguin's intense hatred of the Joker.
However, Deadshot was able to spare the group, and more specifically Harley, by pointing out that simply killing them off would ruin Penguin's standing in the criminal underground including his business. Later that night, Harley surprised Deadshot in his room, asking him to help with an "itch" she had. Annoyed, Deadshot pinned her, but decide "oh, what the hell," resulting in them having sex. Harley was sent on a criminal rampage throughout Gotham in search of a doll that she had been looking for when she was caught by Batman.
When Batman failed to gleam any information from Harley regarding Joker's dirty bomb, she was released into police custody and taken back to Arkham. Along the way, Deadshot took out and replaced a guard, which allowed he and Harley to infiltrate the prison under the guise of bringing Harley to her cell, sabotage a breaker box, and allow the divided team to infiltrate the prison. Along the way, Harley and Joker spotted each other. Harley pretended to ignore his taunts but then used the opportunity to take revenge.
Things quickly dissolved as Harley took Deadshot's gun and used it to shoot at Joker, which didn't work as his cell glass was bulletproof, so she continued by taunting him back and then shooting through one of his air-holes into his cell, much to his surprise. Although it nearly killed Joker, frightening and humiliating him as payback, she successfully damaged a wall panel enough for him to break out later on. Harley openly claimed to be finished with the Joker to his face for all to see, saying that she had found "someone new now, someone better." His immediate frown and growl in response to her allowed Harley to see further payback by making Joker jealous. After another taunt from Harley, the guards came down to aid Deadshot whom they still thought was part of their staff and left a rather miffed Joker behind. Aside from their little encounter, Harley's portion of the plan was a success and allowed the other Suicide Squad members to break in, and together the three of them let King Shark in with all their equipment.
The group snuck into the monitoring room where they sabotaged the cameras so that no one could know that they were there. Afterwards, the group made their way across Arkham on foot and got into a short fight with the Asylum's security forces whom they easily slaughtered. Once inside the Asylum's Property Room, Harley quickly reclaimed her prized mallet while Killer Frost and King Shark got into a fight with Batman.
- ""Black Spider just kicked the Bat's ass?""
- —Harley can't believe her eyes
Narrowly escaping the collapsing warehouse, the group discovered Riddler's Cane that was supposed to have the flash drive hidden inside was empty. A later confrontation with Riddler revealed the real reason for their mission: for Killer Frost to kill Riddler to prevent the secret to dismantling the explosives in the Suicide Squad's necks from getting out. Under Riddler's instruction, the group made it to the Medical Center to make use of the electroshock equipment there.
The group lost two more of its members after Waller detonated their bombs: King Shark since his thick skin kept the electricity from reaching the bomb, and Black Spider since Batman had switched costumes with him during the warehouse incident, which meant that Black Spider was unable to deactivate his explosive. After escaping Batman, the group further dissolved when Harley reunited with an angry and jealous Joker who wanted to kill Deadshot. Despite being slapped by his Pistol, Harley revealed that she had merely been using her fellow Suicide Squad members to bust Joker out of Arkham. As Joker started to walk away with Harley by his side, he then stopped, turned back around, and pointed his gun at Deadshot. As said by Joker himself, he didn't like people "touching his stuff." But Deadshot used quick thinking to trick the Joker into wasting ammunition, and after a punch to the face, both Joker and Harley fell down the laundry chute while Deadshot reclaimed his firearm.
After the two escaped down the laundry chute, Joker activated the dirty bomb that was hidden inside Harley's mallet, which she had in fact been keeping safe for her lover and lied about to Batman. The two made their way to the Asylum's control room where they unleashed all the inmates to create enough of a diversion to escape. The two stowaway on an SCU Helicopter that Deadshot had already hijacked, and together, the three fought for control over Gotham while the bomb counted down.
The trio crashed into a skyscraper where Deadshot and Joker intensely fought one another while Batman fought an angry Harley, and after he successfully knocked her out, dismantled the bomb. Harley was sent back to Arkham without Joker who was thought dead after the fight against Deadshot. But Waller later stated that in the end, they never found the Joker's body. Deadshot survived his beatdown by the Joker, was reunited with his daughter in the end, and was heavily implied that he shot at Waller with his Sniper Rifle.
A Matter of Family Incident
Used her original name and profession as a therapist, Harley and the Joker manipulated a grieving oil baron, who had built an Amusement Park for his dying daughter as per Harley's suggestion, into suicide and taking over the park after his daughter had died. Joker and Harley then kidnapped Commissioner Gordon and his colleagues, held them hostage there, and threatened to kill him if Batman were to showed up. Batgirl and Robin arrived at the amusement park to thwart the Joker.
Harley frequently made comments about Batgirl on the intercom, and gave orders to Joker's Henchmen. Harley made comments to Batgirl when she scanned the park, when she was at the Ferris Wheel saving the guards, when she was defusing the first bomb and when she was at the Merry Go Round. Some comments were encouraging to Batgirl because she was a strong woman, but others were comparisons to Batman saying that Batman would do things faster and better.
When Robin and Batgirl finally got to the Joker, Harley and an army of henchmen started a fight with them. Harley used her Baseball Bat, but her fighting technique was worse than in Arkham Knight, since they were sluggish and could be interrupted with any attacks. Working together, Batgirl and Robin defeated them, and freed the Commissioner. Joker took Harley hostage so he could escape, and Harley was arrested.
Before Arkham Asylum Incident
Harley remained imprisoned in Arkham for some time, though the Joker later helped her escape. She called Dr. Young's office on his orders, acting as secretary to "Jack White." With the help of Joker's inside man Frank Boles, Harley was able to sneak back in Arkham without anyone noticing.
Harley made her way to Bane's holding room in order to sedate him. The reason for this was to keep him quiet when the "visitors" arrived.
With the prep work ready, Harley went to a control room to wait for the Joker's arrival. Once he was there, she would release their henchmen to takeover the island; then they would force Dr. Young to reveal where Titan was being produced, so they could build their army of Banes.
Arkham Asylum Incident
- ""Now the inmates are running the asylum, Well, technically, the Joker's goons shipped in from Blackgate.""
- —Harley taunts Batman
While Batman and the security guards escorted the Joker through the Intensive Treatment Center of Arkham Asylum, Harley was already in the security control room waiting for his signal. As the Joker broke free, she opened the adjacent security field which allowed him to escape Batman and implemented his takeover of Arkham Asylum. Per the plan, Harley began releasing their thugs from all levels of the Asylum.
Harley then took Warden Sharp hostage, took possession of his decorative cane as well as wore his Warden Identification Card, and contacted Batman on the monitor. She claimed that the Joker was now in charge of the island and that she was substituting for Sharp as Warden. She also told Batman that Joker was having a homecoming party with Batman as the guest of honor. Batman gave Harley one chance to surrender, which she refused before she smashed her monitor with Sharp's cane, which cut off the feed.
When Batman made his way to the elevator shaft in Secure Transit, Harley appeared, and stated that Joker didn't need to see Batman just yet. Harley proceeded to blow up the elevator cord, which caused the elevator to crash to the floor below and sent herself to the top, and nearly killed a security guard named Henry Smith had Batman not saved him. Harley then regrouped with Frank Boles, who had taken Commissioner Gordon hostage. She and Boles proceeded to secure the front entrance of the Intensive Treatment Center and fought off the guards with an army of Blackgate Prisoners. When Joker found out that Batman was tracking Boles via the alcohol in his breath, Harley was ordered to kill him. With this done, she left him behind, strapped to a gurney with a "Dead End" sign on him.
- ""Hey! Scram Bats! This is my "me" time.""
- —Harley dismisses Batman
Harley, with Gordon, made her way to the Batmobile first, and ordered her goons to break into it. She then proceeded to the Medical Facility, sat in the main entrance with Gordon tied to a bench by her, and relaxing during her "me time."
Batman eventually tracked Gordon to the entrance and found Harley humming to herself, but was unable to reach her due to an electric security gate blocking the entrance. Spotting Batman as he walked in, Harley told him to scram. He asked where Gordon was, to which she replied: "Wouldn't you like to know?." Gordon then shouted to Batman, and Harley told him to shut up and threw a glass mug at him. Gordon called Harley a "crazy bitch," and Joker contacted Harley via monitor. He yelled at her, and she squealed in a startled tone. Joker asked why Batman was at the Medical Facility, as it was "too early." Harley apologized, kissed Joker through the monitor, and asked him not to be angry with her. He then said: "You little minx! I could never stay mad at you!" and turned off the monitor. Harley said that Batman needed to find another way in, bade him farewell, and cartwheeled out of the room.
On the Joker's orders, Harley proceeded to take Gordon to the Experimentation Chamber, where Bane was being held. Harley was ordered to guard Gordon, and kill him if any of the men patrolling the room spotted Batman. To buy time to set this up, Scarecrow was released to distract Batman. Harley taunted Gordon, telling him that once he and Batman were dead, the Joker would marry her. However, things didn't go as planned; Batman evaded being seen and knocked out Harley by crashing through the ceiling.
Left alone, Harley woke while Batman was busy fighting off a Titan- powered Bane. She promptly escaped back outside. Harley recorded a message for one of the Joker's fake patient sessions with Batman at the Visitor Center, taunting and insulting the Dark Knight. Following her orders, Harley returned to where she had left Sharp, for more of the Joker's insanity.
- ""If he gets back up, knock him back down. But not TOO hard. Mr. J needs him at the party.""
- —Harley's orders
As Batman managed to save Dr. Young from Zsasz, Harley was sent to deal with them; she remained unaware that the Joker had booby-trapped the safe with the Asylum's codes. By the time she arrived, Young was dead from the blast and Batman was out-cold. As Batman woke, Harley joked that Young deserved her death as Joker hated "squealers."
Harley removed the tape on Sharp's mouth, allowing him to insult her. She smacked him with his own cane in return, breaking the jewel off of it. Amused, she tells Batman that "that old looney thinks he runs this place," taking Sharp away for more torture.
Harley left four goons to take Batman to 'the party', but he defeated them and used the Warden's DNA traces from his severed cane tip to follow her. Harley then made her way to the Penitentiary with the Warden, and forced him to read a variety of threatening statements written by Joker over Arkham Asylum's intercom system and tortured him when he hesitated and insulted her.
Harley lead Batman on a goose chase in the Penitentiary. In the Decontamination Room, Harley had two guards strung up and ready to be gassed with Smilex. However, Batman freed them both and got them out of the room before the gas could go off. Eventually, she manged to trick Batman into the Security Control Room, where she had locked up Sharp.
- ""Ivy? You look like crap. Maybe I can smuggle you some shampoo.""
- —Harley meets her old friend
Batman saw Harley on a nearby monitor, passing by Poison Ivy's cell. Despite not being on the 'Party List', Ivy convinced Harley to let her free since they were friends. As Ivy happily strode away and blew Harley a kiss, Harley sighed and said: "She's a good kid."
Batman followed Harley and surpassed a variety of her traps until there were a few goons left standing. Harley even electrified the pacification system on the asylum floor to the maximum power to stop his advance, and electrocuted a security guard as a demonstration. Harley then flips up to the vent and taunted Batman and said “Won’t be easy trying to catch me” and blew him a kiss and ran away. Batman eventually got past this obstacle and fought his way through the remaining Blackgate Prisoners and escaped Arkham Lunatics before the fifteen remaining thugs attacked Batman in Extreme Incarceration.
After they were defeated, Joker decided that Harley had failed him, and removed her from the 'party list', much to her annoyance. Out of anger, Harley exited the room and used her acrobatic skills to attack Batman, but was simply thrown aside. Batman then took Harley's 'party list' and Harley tried to punch him. But Batman flipped Harley over, scanned her hand, and acquired her fingerprints.
- ""I won't tell you anything. Not even about the secret labs in the Garderns...oh crap!"
"Yep. I know." - —Harley releases her blunder
Batman then proceeded to lock up Harley in an adjacent cell, and she accidentally revealed the Joker's location at the Botanical Gardens and claimed that he would rescue her. Batman left Harley crying alone in her cell, getting nothing but insults.
After walking into a nearby room to examine a Glowing Green Trophy placed there by Riddler, Batman became trapped inside after a set of bars slid over the doorway. Harley then taunted him: "The stupid bat has fallen into my trap!", which suggested that she had the Riddler place the trophy in there to trap Batman. Batman used Explosive Gel to destroy the wall above the cell and climbed out back into the cell block, which prompted a shocked Harley to give a violent start and demand: "What? How did you get out of there!?"
It could be safely assumed that Harley was escorted back to her usual cell by the surviving Arkham staff upon the Joker's defeat and recapture.
Between Arkham Asylum Incident and Arkham City Incident
Six Month's later, Harley had been incarcerated in a high security cell, and believed the rampant rumors that the Joker was dying to be false. However, Harley's hopes were soon shattered when she overheard a conversation between some guards that not only confirmed the Joker's short lifespan, but also a conspiracy to have him killed. With this, she killed and replaced one of the guards who planned to kill Joker and rescued him right in the middle of the attempt on his life.
- ""Spoils are divided evenly between survivors.""
- —Harley explains how the thugs in their organization are paid
After that, Harley hijacked a supply boat, used it to sneak her and Joker into the recently completed Arkham City, and set up her and Joker's base of operations in the abandoned Sionis Industries Steel Mill in the Industrial District.
According to Strange, Joker's inevitable fate was having a hard impact on Harley which caused her to fall into a depression and adopt an increasing militant approach. Later on Harley was shown helping Joker with his recruitment campaign, screened a potential recruit named Lester Kurtz, gave him his clown mask, and showed him to his room before he ran off. During Strange's monologue in the final issue, Harley was seen looking sadly at Joker and shed a tear.
In another issue, it was shown that Harley had a great deal of jealousy for Scarface, who was much more entertaining to the Joker. "By accident," she dropped the dummy into a furnace and apologized. Another copy of the dummy was brought out and Joker used it to point at Harley as if to say "I'm watching you," which showed that he enjoyed messing with her mind.
Arkham City Incident
Much speculation was going on about Harley in Arkham City. Some wondered if she had previously been a man. Other wondered what her status with the Joker was; were they still together, did he dump her, did they get married? Some thought it was dangerous for Harley to go around dressed the way she does; some of the men imprisoned in Arkham City hadn't seen a woman in YEARS, and would likely rape her if they got the chance. Even some of the thugs in Joker's crew considered having sex with her when Joker died; many considered either killing her to takeover the gang once Joker was dead, or keep her around for "fun." Others had become scared of Harley, due to her declining sanity.
- ""If you ask me, that Harley Quinn woman is clearly insane. She only seems to be holding on to what's left of her sanity thanks to the Joker, but who knows how long he'll last.""
- —Stacey Baker's observation of Harley
Harley first appeared at the Church and Medical Center, with four of Joker's Henchmen and took the medical staff hostage. As Batman entered, she back flipped towards him. However, Batman's reply was to contemptuously throw her aside as before. The thugs told Batman to let her go or they would kill the hostages, which forced Batman to relent. Harley agreed, told Batman about Joker's condition, and told her henchmen to keep him busy. Mocking Batman, she walked toward the door, looked back at Batman, blew him a kiss, and drove back to the Steel Mill.
When Batman entered the Loading Bay at the Steel Mill, Harley tossed down Dr. Stacy Baker, a young doctor who failed to help Joker and called in the one-armed thug, Mr. Hammer as entertainment for the clowns. As Batman rushed to save the doctor, at the last second as Dr. Baker was going to get crushed by Mr. Hammer, Harley told him to stop, and said that Joker wanted her to suffer a bit more while she ordered the thugs to go capture Mr. Freeze, who apparently had a Cure for the Joker's Titan Disease. Dr. Baker was dragged out and Batman made his way out.
After Batman defeated Joker's remaining henchmen in the Loading Bay, Harley yelled down at him, angry the Dark Knight was still alive, and closed the metal doors to the Manager's Office. As Batman walked away, through the walls, Harley exclaimed: "Oh Mr. J! You look perfect! ...Oh....it's not really you, is it?" To keep the fact the Clayface was working for them, Joker silenced her, just in case someone was listening.
After finding and saving Stacy, Batman broke through the doors of the Manager's Office with a crane hook by using his REC but was stopped by Mr. Hammer as Harley angrily told Batman to leave Joker alone. After Batman beat Mr. Hammer and several other thugs, he heard Harley scream in anguish as he grappled up and found her by an apparently dead Joker. After Batman shoved Harley aside and Scanned Joker, she asked why he was so mean, which left him open to a knockout gas attack by Joker, who told him that he "fell for the old fake Joker gag!" As Batman reeled from the gas and fell to his knees, Harley approached with a Baseball Bat, said: "Batter up!" and knocked him out after three hits.
As Batman awoke, Harley reached for his mask and hoped to know the man behind the bat, but Joker called her back. Harley complained, and Joker made it clear that: "No one's who you think they are" and she sullenly waited while he talked to Batman.
- ""I'm sorry Harley took the cure. You were busy with Freeze and she didn't have time to ask. But I'll tell you what: once that little minx gets back here and I've had my share, I'll give you yours.""
- —Joker's phone call to Batman
While Batman and Mr. Freeze were fighting at the old GCPD Building, the cure for the Titan Disease was stolen by Harley and Batman chased after her.
However, when Batman found Harley in the Assembly Line at the Steel Mill, she was taped to a pole and gagged with duct tape with no cure in sight. When Batman pulled the tape off, Harley angrily complained, and said that she wouldn't talk, especially about Freeze's gear that Joker had stolen and stashed in the Boiler Room. Harley was later revealed to have been tied up by Talia al Ghul, who stole the cure back from her.
At the Monarch Theatre, Harley and Joker's thugs were outside waiting for Joker to become immortal, but they instead found Batman carrying Joker's dead body and the horrified Harley fell to her knees, mourned his death, and planned to avenge her boyfriend and lover.
Harley Quinn's Revenge Incident
- "Look at this place. She's more far gone than we thought."
- —Robin sees the graffiti in Harley memorial hall.
After the Joker's death, Harley became even more psychotic and fierce, and managed to strike fear and respect into the Joker's old henchmen, who had previously seen her as a useless bimbo. She was shown to be constantly mourning, donned a darker outfit, and frequently cried. Harley's bursts of anxiety lead her to kill a henchman at random and instead of becoming annoyed at the henchmen when they made a pass at her (as she had usually done prior to Joker's death), she became infuriated and murderous, and declared that they should not try to seduce "a widow."
Two weeks after the Arkham City Incident, Harley broke out of the temporary holding facility that she was in and hatched a plan to kill Batman and avenge the Joker. She reformed the Joker's old gang and despite initially meeting resistance from Joker's old crew, her new, more vicious, and more psychotic personality convinced them to join her. As part of her plan, Harley kidnapped several police officers and locked them away in the Steel Mill. Batman was sent in to save the hostages, but was captured by Harley, who locked him inside of a giant statue of the Joker inside the shrine that she had built for him.
Two days later, Robin went to the Steel Mill to look for his mentor. After finding Batman's Utility Belt in the Warehouse, Robin went to the Shipyard, where Harley was holed up. There, he found Batman in the Joker Statue and discovered that he needed Harley's access key to free him. Robin found Harley and defeated Her Thugs before he fought her. Though Harley proved to be a tricky adversary, Robin ultimately defeated her and took away her access key before he left her hanging upside down from a catwalk.
- "Attack my robots!"
- —Harley calls on the Mechanical Guardians
After Robin saved Batman, Harley unveiled her plan: a suicidal bombing of the Shipyard that aimed to kill both Batman and Robin and "reuniting her with dear Mr. J." Harley triggered the explosives, but Batman managed to defuse them before they went off, while Robin freed the captured policemen. A furious Harley revealed her fail safe: a hidden bomb in the Joker Statue. Harley set it off to kill herself and Batman, but failed when he leapt out of a window, and carried her with him.
A tearful Harley yelled at Batman that he should have left her behind, but Batman ignored her as he realized that Robin was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly elated that she managed to kill Robin, Harley mockingly told Batman that now he knew how she felt before she tried to stab him in the heart with a concealed Knife. Harley failed, as Robin appeared and knocked her out with a Shuriken. Harley was subsequently arrested and taken back into custody.
Harley Quinn DLC Incident
With the Penguin's assistance, Harley Quinn then infiltrated the Blüdhaven Police Station where she fought and snuck her way down to the basement to release Poison Ivy from her cell. Harley was then ambushed by Nightwing who she then fought against. She gained the upper hand by attacking him from behind, and the fight ended when Ivy's Plants grabbed Nightwing and took him away. The two then returned back to Gotham for Scarecrow's Meeting at the Arkham Mansion.
Arkham Knight Incident
Nine months after the events of Arkham City, and the foiling of her revenge plan, Harley was approached to by Scarecrow to join his Alliance to destroy Batman and take the city for themselves. She had no interest in Scarecrow's larger plans but joined in order to avenge the Joker's death. Grief-stricken and vengeful, Harley brutally reasserted control of Joker’s gang as it threatened to fragment after his death. Freed from Joker’s domineering personality, Harley became a dangerous, and unpredictable new force in the Gotham City Underworld.
To Harley's surprise, she was contacted one day by the elderly Henry Adams. He told her dark jokes, which made her laugh. Upon commenting that she hadn't laughed since Joker died, Henry bizarrely stated that he missed her as well. She then learned Henry was given one of the transfusion bags of Joker's Infected Blood and had become a new Clown Prince of Crime; however, he was able to hide the physical changes.
After Henry was captured by Batman for testing to cure three others infected with Joker's blood, he was able to get some time to himself to contact her and tell Harley where the others were being held - Panessa Studios. She planned on adopting the trio and grooming them as Jokers. To ensure that Henry was free of suspicion, Harley agreed to knock him out when he contacted Batman.
- ""That's weird, because you kill the only thing I ever loved and now I find you've been keeping a whole new generation of Jokers all to yourself. I know......Awkward.""
- —Harley gloats to Batman.
Harley broke into Panessa Studios while Batman was busy tracking Scarecrow. While Harley's Thugs kept Robin busy, Henry contacted Batman; and Harley proceeded to knock him out as planned. After telling Batman about her plans, Harley changed the voice recognition software to reject Batman's orders. Harley left Albert King, Christina Bell and Johnny Charisma wander the studio; and she left some of her men to guard Bell as she was more vulnerable.
Batman and Robin worked together to defeat the three mutated Jokers and returned them to their cells. Harley and her gang cornered Robin, and Batman snuck in under the grates, and took Harley out with a Floor Grate Takedown. After he and Robin defeated her thugs, Batman carried Harley to lock her in a containment unit. When they got back, Harley was horrified to find her proteges dead.
It was at that moment Henry revealed his connection to Harley; she was devastated to see their plan ruined. Henry was the worse of the infected and wanted to ensure only the best of them would be allowed to become the next Joker.
In a move true to the Joker's own sick getaway plans, Henry held Harley hostage at gunpoint; he demanded that Batman and Robin lock themselves in containment units. Unknown to Harley, the Joker's consciousness was proud of this host, wondering if he truly was the best of those infected to replace him.
- ""You ain't him! I don´t believe it! If that was really Mister J in there you woulda killed those knock-offs yourself!""
- —Harley snaps at Batman
Henry then realized that Batman was infected as well, so he shot himself in the head so he could continue "purifying the gene pool," as Batman would be the best mutant Joker of the five infected. Batman then locked up Harley and left her to mourn over the loss of the potential Jokers. Harley was left in doubt that Joker could be in Batman.
Harley later appeared in a fear-induced hallucination caused by Batman in an attempt to stop the Joker once and for all. She was the only one attending the Joker's wake and funeral, not to mention crying. Harley also was alluded to in another part of the same illusion, where a newspaper article stated that no one had cared that the Joker was dead and revealed that she had not only married the Riddler but was also expecting a child as well.
After Arkham Knight Incident
Embarrassed, heartbroken, defeated, ashamed, and mentally broken, Harley was eventually taken to the GCPD Lockup after Scarecrow's defeat, where she would be locked up with the rest of Gotham's criminals.
Personality
Harley was academically intelligent and gained a strong interest in criminology as her father was a criminal. As a psychiatrist, Harley was responsible, very caring, and strongly empathized with her patients, such as leaving a note in Calendar Man's cell saying: "Happy Holidays, Julian! - HQ." Despite her academic intelligence, Harley had distorted morals and lacked a great deal of common sense as she failed to see how dangerous and harmful the Joker was. In her sessions with the Joker, Harley also failed to see sense and overestimated her abilities as he was extremely crafty, which meant that he could easily influence her to feel sympathy and affection for him. For example, Harley did not realize that she was being manipulated to feel affection for Joker during her interview sessions as she was far less experienced in comparison to other Arkham Psychiatrists. Therefore, she inevitably began to feel fixated with him and underwent a drastic change.
Once Harley accepted that she was in love with the Joker, she demonstrated extreme signs of regression (as noted by Dr. Young) such as a higher pitch in her voice, becoming less assertive and appearing less intelligent - possibly to try to appeal to him. On a daily basis, Harley was cheerful and optimistic, but also sadistic and maniacal which she may have learned from the Joker. Unlike him, however, Harley often failed to reserve herself in combat and speech which she admitted to Penguin when she rescued Poison Ivy from the police station in Bludhaven. This often resulted in secret information being stated which was beneficial to Batman or resulted in her attacking him, only to be quickly defeated. This type of behavior was often apparent during the Arkham Asylum Incident. She also showed androphobia as she used to insult and mock several men except the Joker.
In the Arkham City Incident, the stress from the Joker's poor health appeared to have altered Harley's personality, such as showing a shorter tempter, displaying a lack of common sense, becoming more ruthless and more frustrated while trying to follow the Joker's orders and staying in charge of his henchmen. Immediately following the Joker's death (in Harley Quinn's Revenge), Harley became even more ruthless and dangerous as she was not able to come to terms with her loss. Whilst still her usual self, Harley was feared among her henchmen as one even told an ally to not 'piss her off'. Harley even assumed a henchman was hitting on her, and screamed about how he could not compare to her "Mr. J", although he was just being sympathetic to her. Also, Harley's voice increasingly became angrier, maniacal and higher pitched and she was slightly suicidal, which reflected the extreme stress she went through following the Joker's death.
Up to Arkham Knight, Harley appeared to have finally accepted the Joker's death, but she still mentioned how she missed his presence, and blamed Batman for that. Harley was shown to experience psychosis, in which she had hallucinations of her voice from when she was a doctor and hallucinations of writing on various walls. Harleen Quinzel's voice acted as the voice of reason to a demented and troubled Harley Quinn. While denying and even considering a lobotomy to get rid of the voices, these may have represented Harley's conscience urging her to stop committing crime - something that would have been repressed while the Joker was still alive. To deal with this psychosis, Harley could have potentially treated this herself by using her own psychiatric knowledge, but that was unlikely.
During Arkham Knight, Harley also became more assertive, capable, and she regained much of her independence. As a result, she was even able to uncover Batman's computer system in Panessa Studios. This may have been because Harley was no longer influenced on the Joker's orders and showed how the Joker had "held her back" from her potential. She still, however, showed a level of dependence on the Joker when Henry Adams behaved similarly to him. Also, several thugs called her the "Clown Princess of Crime" which suggested that Harley had replaced the Joker's clown-based crime in the Gotham City Underworld.
Similar to the Joker, she also at times has a disregard for her personal safety. In particular, after the Joker's death, she was perfectly willing to die in the destruction of her own lair just to reunite with the then-recently deceased Joker. In Assault on Arkham, when Deadshot offered to kill Harley Quinn for Penguin, she merely was annoyed by his offer.
Appearance
Batman: Arkham Origins
During Arkham Origins, Harleen's outfit was much more sensible than that of the later games, as she was working at Blackgate Prison and hadn't started her dark life of crime. Her uniform consisted of colors similar to her outfits as Harley yet lacked a lot of the design elements. Harleen’s hair was in a bun, with her hair pushed to the left side of her face, instead of the trademark twin ponytails. She wore a white coat over a red blouse, with her name tag pinned on the left side of her chest. She wore black pants and a black skirt, with black stockings and red heels.
Batman: Assault on Arkham
In Harley’s next appearance her outfit was considerably different, with a headpiece similar to that worn by her animated counterpart. Her top was a checked tank top, which exposed her midriff and navel, as well as a loose black glove on her left hand, and a black sleeve on her right. She wore black and red pants, with a red diamond pattern on the right, and a loose belt with a diamond buckle. She wore black boots that ended halfway between her knee and ankle as shoes.
Batgirl: A Matter of Family
Harley wore her original black and red jester outfit that was the same from the DC Animated Universe, except her shoes were heeled rather than being flat.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
The Arkham Asylum rendition of Harley's costume was similar to that of a nurse, with a red, white, black and purple color scheme. Her hair was in the twin ponytails that was most common, albeit without the black and red dye. Harley had a large amount of makeup, as her face was entirely white, with pink blush and red lipstick. This version included a mask, as well as the name tag of Quincy Sharp. Her clothing consisted of a white shirt, with a purple and red corset over it, as well as a black choker necklace. She had gloves that ended above the elbow, which were both red and purple, albeit in opposite order. Harley had a small gap between her top and skirt, which showed her navel. Her belt was a thick black leather one, with a gold square buckle. Her skirt was white and had what appeared to be blood on it. There was a gap between Harley's skirt and boots, in which her fishnet stockings were able to be seen. The boots she wore were leather in appearance, with a purple one on the left, and red on the right. On the bottom of her boots were thick platforms. This appearance has received a largely negative response from both fans and critics due to its extreme departure from Harley's previous looks.
Batman: Arkham City
Harley’s outfit was much rougher looking, losing the nurse-like items, mask and name tag. The color scheme was also solely red and black this time, but apart from these differences she remained similar. She still had her black choker, vest and corset combo, gloves and boots. The latter, however, had no longer had the platforms. Her hair was in two ponytails, the ends of each were dyed in either red or black. The corset piece was identical to the Arkham Asylum one, and the gloves were similar, however she had diamond patterns on the top of her hands. Her belt was largely the same, but with a more rounded, silver buckle. She wore black and red tights, with the diamond pattern on the front of her thighs. Her boots were identical in design to her previous designs, however, they lacked the platforms. She also had a tattoo on her right arm and above her left thigh, which was likely to have been acquired in the mega prison.
Harley Quinn's Revenge
Harley's outfit was the same as in the base game, however, it was a different color. Her hair was black, with the tip of her left one dyed red. Her white makeup was gone, and her eye makeup had been smudged and was running down her cheeks. She had a small silver medallion on her choker, and what appeared to be fur lacing her gloves. Her corset was majorly black, with thin red stripes. Her gloves were completely black, save for her right hand, which was still red. The belt she wore was also different, with red leather, and her tights were completely black except for one group of red diamonds. Her boots were red at the knee and foot, with her lower leg entirely black.
Batman: Arkham Knight
Harley appeared to draw elements from both Arkham Asylum and City. Her neck choker had a metal hoop, to which more leather straps from her arms went to, as well as more looping around each shoulder. Her sleeves and collar were white, and seemed to be the same style as Arkham Asylum had. The corset had been changed, and was quilted leather. She had two more leather straps around her stomach, those ones had metal studs in them. She was wearing a skirt, and it was mostly black, with white lace on the top and bottom. She no longer had gloves, and instead had armbands, with lace around her wrists. The tattoo on her right arm has been removed as well. The tights she wore were black and red again, and still had diamond patterns on her thigh, but she had a diamond made of metal studs on each knee. Her boots were similar to those featured in Assault on Arkham but were of two different colors as opposed to one. In her DLC, there is a minor difference to Harley Quinn's outfit from the main game itself. Her hair was slightly different at the fringe, her bobbles were both red in the DLC unlike the main story, and she wore high heeled boots rather than flat ones.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
In Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Harley's new costume is drastically different now composed of red and blue leather pants and a jacket, matching boots, and a shirt with the words "Harleen The Queen" painted on it.
Gameplay
Harley Quinn was a playable character in Batman: Arkham Knight. She was unlocked in AR mode by buying the Harley Quinn DLC.. Harley's default costume was her Arkham Knight one, while her classic outfit was patched into the game for free.
- Harley had her own version of Detective Mode called Psychosis Mode, which was similar to other characters, except that it turned the screen red and caused writings to appear on the wall. Harley began to hear her former self, Harleen, who told her that what she was doing was a bad idea, and that the Joker had never loved her.
- Harley used acrobatic moves, including throws, to fight, referring to her high skill in gymnastics. Harley shared many of her animations with Catwoman; however, due to not being designed to fight outside of her DLC, Harley was unable to fight ninjas, electrified thugs, shield carriers, Minigunners, or Brutes, which made her enemy pool significantly more simplistic compared to other playable characters. Also because of this, Harley Quinn can not interact with Environmental melee weapons but can interact with Environmental Takedowns objects. She is able to pounce on foes from ledges, similar to Nightwing, Red Hood, and Catwoman.
- Harley featured a unique gameplay mechanic where she would enter a psychotic rage, in which she was able to instantly takedown anyone she attacked. Depending on the style of Takedown used, Harley was able to take down 3-4 enemies, with Stun Batons that took the longest amount of time.
- Harley was the only playable character that was incapable of doing Silent Takedowns, which made her a difficult character to use in Predator. In its place, Harley always had a Loud Takedown.
- Before the November update, purchased Waynetech upgrades did not carry over to Harley. As of the November update, that was no longer true and most Waynetech upgrades carried over, and allowed Harley the Blade Dodge Takedown, additional armor, combo boost, and critical strikes, which greatly boosted her effectiveness in combat.
- Like Catwoman, she could not pick up downed enemies to perform critical beatdowns/aerial attacks.
- Similarly to Joker, Harley could not use (all) vantage points like the Bat Family and Deathstroke, as they often were out of her reach. However, unlike Joker, she could leap onto low ledges, due to her better agility.
- Likely a gift from her best friend, Poison Ivy, Harley is able to direct plants to capture/eat victims. However, this turned out to be false, as what she demonstrated was agitating the nearby plant with her Snare Trap, in turns devouring the people who were close by.
Gadgets
- Baseball Bat: Harley's main weapon. She skillfully weaved it into her fighting style, including takedowns.
- Jack-In-A-Box Bomb: Harley's equivalent of the Explosive Gel, but had a larger blast radius. It behaved differently depending on how it was used:
- When planted, it played music which lured enemies to it, and once detonated, it worked as an Instant Takedown.
- When Quickfired, It didn't play any music, and affected enemies were only temporarily knocked down, which allowed Harley to finish them off with a ground takedown.
- Laughing Gas: Harley's equivalent of the Smoke Pellet, but instead of coughing & suffocating, enemies that were caught in the gas area laughed maniacally.
- Snare Trap: Harley's equivalent of the Freeze Grenade. It took the form of confetti and was used to bind or stop charging enemies.
Gadgets (non-playable)
- “The Bat-Killer”: An exaggerated handgun which seems to function as more of a howitzer than a pistol, used by Harley Quinn during the events of “Harley Quinn’s Revenge” in her bid to kill Batman for ostensibly allowing the Joker to die.
- Mk 46 Mod 0 Machine Gun: When encountered at the film studio, Harley Quinn uses a machine gun to defend herself, though she seems to have used this as more of a threatening tool than a genuine weapon.
Psychological Profile
GCPD Profile Batman's Database Profile
Harley Quinn also known as Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, M.D.
Quinzel is finishing up her psychiatric residency at Blackgate Prison. It seems odd that an intern would try to work at a facility that has little desire to rehabilitate its inmates, but perhaps her interest in the criminal mind will bear fruit.
- Keen interest in the criminal mind
- Intern at Blackgate Prison
- Most senior medical staff member working on December 24th
Dr. Penelope Young Notes
Transference is a professional danger that every psychiatrist must be ready for, but Dr. Harleen Quinzel experienced what might be classified as delusional transference when she convinced herself that she and the Joker were in love. Displaying symptoms of bipolar disorder, with the Joker's mood swings as the causative agent for her manic and depressive episodes, Quinzel also shows a high level of dependence on the Joker. His maltreatment of her gives this dependence a dimension of sadomasochism.
Additional Notes: She shows signs of extreme regression in the Joker's presence. The excessive and invasive psychological screening I had to undergo here at Arkham was largely due to her earlier fall from grace. At times I'm resentful of this; the mere idea that I would become inappropriately involved with the Joker or any other inmate is preposterous.
- Escape Risk?
Dr. Hugo Strange Notes
The Joker's plaything and sometimes girlfriend, Harley Quinn was happy to leave Arkham Asylum so long as she could be with her 'puddin.' Her devotion to the Joker is admirable, but it is clear that his illness has laid a heavy burden on her as well. Her behavior has become evermore erratic and vicious, as she appears to be in a state of emotional metamorphosis, manifested by her change in wardrobe to a more militant, harsh appearance.
Additional Notes: Ms. Quinn’s behavior has become evermore erratic and vicious.
Attributes:
- Surprising strength and stamina with superior gymnastic skills.
- Like the Joker, she is a homicidal psychotic with total disregard for human life and escapes easy classification.
- A staff member at Arkham Asylum with a keen interest in the criminal mind.
- Obsessed with the Joker.
- Employs various deadly weapons, often based on Joker's party-gag items.
Patient Interviews
File One
(knocking)
- Harley Quinn: Who's there?
- Henry Adams: It's Mr. Adams. We spoke on the phone.
- Harley Quinn: Oh! Come in. But slowly! And keep ya hands up!
- Henry Adams: Thank you for agreeing to see me, Miss Quinzel.
- Harley Quinn: Well, you said you know something about Mr. J. Start talking!
- Henry Adams: Well, it's not everyday I have a gun pointed at my face. It's rather exciting, isn't it.
- Harley Quinn: You got about two seconds before I blow ya wrinkly old brains out!
- Henry Adams: (laughing)
- Harley Quinn: What's so funny?!
- Henry Adams: Oh, I'm just remembering an old joker - sorry, I meant joke.
- Harley Quinn: I don't listen to jokes no more.
- Henry Adams: What's red and flat? A baby under an anvil.
- Both: (laughing)
- Henry Adams: Why couldn't the policeman catch the thief? Because his legs had been cut off!
- Both: (laughing)
- Henry Adams: A father takes his family to the amusement park. They all die in a car crash on the way home!
- Harley Quinn: (laughing) You're real funny. You know I ain't laughed like that since... I miss my puddin'.
- Henry Adams: Oh, poor Harley. I've missed you too.
File Two
- Batman: Patient interview. October 15th. Please state your name.
- Henry Adams: Henry. Henry Adams. What is this place, Batman? Where am I?
- Batman: You're here for your own safety, Henry. You could be sick.
- Henry Adams: Sick? I've never felt better in my whole life.
- Batman: You're sure? No mood swings? Behavioral changes?
- Henry Adams: Absolutely not. Those people, in the other cells, who are they?
- Batman: Their blood was contaminated. Like yours.
- Henry Adams: WHAT? I mean, I'm not the only one?
- Batman: I think you're the key to helping them.
- Henry Adams: Those smiles. I've seen that before. It's him. The Joker.
- Batman: We'll find a cure, Henry.
- Henry Adams: We're in danger, Batman. You can't risk that kind of evil escaping into the world. You should kill them, all of them. It's the only way to be sure.
- Batman: That's all for now, Henry. Interview over.
File Three
Note, the tape originally did not have subtitles, however, this was fixed in the November update.
- Henry Adams: Mrs. Q, this is Mr. J. Come in. Over.
- Harley Quinn: Hearing you loud and clear, Mr. J.
- Henry Adams: My infiltration remains utterly flawless. Operation Puddin-Break is a "go."
- Harley Quinn: Yippee! How are my babies?
- Henry Adams: They're in rude health, my dear. All dying to meet mommy. Now, you remember the plan, don't you?
- Harley Quinn: Yeah. I really don't want to hit you over the head, though. It's gonna hurt.
- Henry Adams: We've been over this you little knuckle-buster! It's the only way to convince Batman that I'm to be trusted. You do want to kill him, don't you?
- Harley Quinn: YEAH! Okay!
- Henry Adams: Ohh, ackatash! Bird-boy's coming. See you soon. Mr. J, over and out.
Codex
From the Files of Lex Luthor
Though she delights in tomfoolery, Quinn is clearly the de facto leader of this Task Force X. Intelligent, cunning, ruthless, it’s hard to believe she was once simply a lackey and paramour to the Joker. In fact, checking Lexipedia it seems there is a lively edit war over which crimes should be attributed to whom.
Certainly, following the Joker’s death Quinn accumulated a sizeable solo career of criminal indictments before being remanded to Arkham Asylum.
She’s somehow earned the awe and exasperation of Task Force X in equal measure. I must say, I share the sentiment. Her ability to manipulate others out of – and often directly into – dangerous encounters make her an invaluable asset.
Quotes
Gallery
Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman: Assault on Arkham
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham Knight
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
- Main article: Harley Quinn/Gallery
Game Over Lines
Batman: Arkham Asylum
- "Loser, loser, loser. Ha."
- "Bye, bye, Bats." (blows a kiss)
Batman: Arkham City
- "Stupid little dead bat! Who's gonna save ya now?
- "I knew it. You're nothin' but a lightweight loser."
- "If you're dead, who's gonna save poor Mr. J?"
- "You were supposed ta save Mr. J bat-brain.
- ''Neh-neh-neh-neh-neh-neh." (Catwoman)
Harley Quinn's Revenge
- "Oh no... You're all dead! Who's gonna save Batman now?!" (Robin)
- "Looks like you took down the wrong train, Bat-brain!" (Batman)
- "You're gonna pay for letting Mistah J die!" (Batman)
- "Tough luck, Bird-brain." (Robin)
- "Good, I hope it hurts!" (Robin or Batman)
Batman: Arkham Knight
- "When you see my Puddin', tell him Harley sent ya! (Walks away, but turns back) And she says hi!" (Batman)
- "HAH! Joker told me Robins die easy!" (Robin)
- "I did it Mistah J! I did it for you!" (Batman)
- "Bye bye birdie!" (Robin)
Trivia
- Harley's face-model for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is Natasha Estdale[1].
- Despite not physically appearing in Arkham Origins Multiplayer, Harley occasionally provided information about the fight via walkie-talkie to the Joker's team in Invisible Predator Mode. In the Blackgate Prison Map, there was a drawing on a wall of a woman with pigtails surrounded by hearts, that was labelled Harley. Also, when customizing a Joker Elite, tattoos of Harley in her Arkham City attire could be applied to the chest and the arms.
- In Arkham Asylum, Harley was voiced by Arleen Sorkin, who had previously voiced her in DCAU related media. In Arkham City/Origins/Knight, she was voiced by Tara Strong. In Assault on Arkham, she was voiced by Hynden Walch, who had previously voiced the character in the animated television series, The Batman.
- Harley's first several Interview Tapes almost directly quoted her lines in the New Batman Adventures episode "Mad Love", while she was taking a tour of the Arkham Asylum. Harley releasing Ivy from her cell in Arkham Asylum could be a direct reference to their odd friendship from the comics and the animated series.
- Although the lines were paraphrased from Mad Love, a notable difference between the tapes and the episode is that Harleen Quinzel utilized her "Harley" voice throughout the tapes, while in the episode, she was depicted as having a more professional tone of voice prior to becoming Harley Quinn. Something similar was also observed with Arkham Origins, where the blackmail tapes involving her had her speaking with her Harley Quinn voice, while in the in-game cutscenes, she largely had a more professional demeanor to her voice (with the only instance of her using her Harley Quinn voice being after Joker seduced her).
- In Arkham City, an inmate conversation by the Church before Batman headed into the Solomon Wayne Courthouse to save Catwoman from Two-Face that implied that there were rumors that Harley was transgender, these rumors about Harley originally being a man is actually an in-joke from Rocksteady referencing the fact that Harley's motion capture performer in Arkham Asylum was actually a man. In addition there were rumors about whether Harley had married Joker or broke up with him.
- In Harley Quinn's Revenge, she claimed to be a widow, implying she and Joker were married
- In Arkham Knight, a hallucination of Joker implied that he and Harley were indeed married; he said Professor Pyg was sicker than their honeymoon tapes.
- In one of the Arkham City pre-order commercials for GameStop, Harley was the narrator. Additionally, pre-ordering Batman: Arkham Knight enabled the player to play as Harley Quinn.
- In Arkham City, before heading to the Joker's Funhouse and into his office, Harley's old outfit from Arkham Asylum was seen on display. On the ground to your left, there was a "Fruitful Endeavor" pregnancy test that read "positive."
- Also, if you found the pregnancy test before the game was complete, Harley would sing her own customized version of "Hush Little Baby" during the credits.
- However, in Harley Quinn's Revenge, there were several negative pregnancy tests and a crib with Scarface painted like Joker. Also, inside the crib was a box that stated: "WARNING: Test may result in false positive." This heavily hinted that Harley was not actually pregnant, and Scarface was probably the "baby" that she was singing to in the credits of the original game.
- Harleen Quinzel was shown holding a clipboard with a sheet of paper on it, on her character trophy in Batman: Arkham Origins. On this sheet of paper, "Suicide Squad" could be read.
- Harley was one of the only villains to appear in all four games, just like the Riddler, the Joker, and Killer Croc. In fact, she was the only one from the Gotham Sirens to appear in all four main games.
- Harley was often shown to be significantly smarter, more capable, and greatly respected on her own - a touch of irony as several thugs believed that she would be overthrown without the Joker. She recognized Batman and Robin's tactics that were used to defeat her men, and was greatly respected by her underlings as they followed her orders without question. In Assault on Arkham, Harley displayed knowledge from her Ph.D of Psychiatry and showed an amazing memory of all the security codes in Arkham Asylum - which wasn't hard as they were all Sharp's birthday backwards. This would indicate that under Joker's domineering grasp, Harley was simply being held back; even his hallucinatory presence in Batman's mind agreed "something" was holding Harley back.
- Not counting Batgirl: A Matter of Family, the only time that Harley wears her mask instead of heavy eye-shadow is in the original game, Arkham Asylum. Interestingly, this is only instance where her original voice actress Arleen Sorkin voices her.
- Harley apparently had some respect for Batgirl in Batgirl: A Matter of Family as some of her commentary during the battle could be interpreted as her rooting for Batgirl to win.
- This could be a reference to Harley's voice actress, Tara Strong, being one of the voices of Batgirl in the DCAU; as well as the voice of Barbara Gordon in Beware the Batman.
- Assuming that Quincy Sharp was the Warden of Arkham Asylum throughout the Spirit of Amadeus Arkham audio tapes, Harley would have fallen in love with the Joker three years prior to the Arkham Asylum Incident. That could be determined as Quincy Sharp had been warden for three years (as stated in his biography) and he had noticed Harleen Quinzel's affection for the Joker in one of the Spirit's audio tapes. However, the time this takes place would later be retconned due to the fact the original game was intended to be a stand-alone in the beginning, rather than part of a series.
- When playing her Story Mission in psychosis mode, Harley would talk to her past self Harleen as the latter attempts to convince Harley to renounce her villainous alter ego, and would mention that Joker was dead, and there was nothing holding her back anymore. That proved that Harley might have suffered from a form of Multiple Personality Disorder. It's also possible this was her conscience.
- Harley was one of the three characters that actively spoke during gameplay. Out of the three, she spoke the most, commenting on almost everything that happened, and even giggled randomly. The other characters who spoke were Red Hood and Batgirl.
- Despite initially losing on a community poll against Jason Todd's Arkham Knight Suit, Harley's Batgirl: A Matter of Family outfit was also made, due to the large amount of votes for both suits. The suits have been available since December 21, 2015.
- By the time of Arkham Knight, it seemed like Harley's combat skills improved a lot as she was able to take down Nightwing single-handed while she was defeated by Batman in one move in Arkham Asylum.
- Harley also seems to have a minimal control over plant life, as shown during her rescue of Ivy; she was able to direct man-eating plants to swallow the cops patrolling for her.
- Harley Quinn was currently the only Gotham Sirens who didn't help Batman at some point in the series. Catwoman was a regular ally of the Dark Knight while Poison Ivy helped him save Gotham and the world at the cost of her own life in Arkham Knight. Although, like the others, she has willingly assisted Gotham during a time of crisis. In Arkham Origins, Harleen assisted the GCPD that night as she was the senior psyche resident on duty at Blackgate that night.
- Tara Strong, the voice actress of Harley, also voiced Raven in both Injustice: Gods Among Us and the Teen Titans TV series, which showed more further relations, as Nightwing, who was formerly Robin, was a current member of the Titans.
- Harley's display case shows that she has a Ph.D. in psychology, but when her bio showed that she is a psychiatrist, it's supposed to be showing that she has a medical degree (M.D.) in psychiatry (this is possibly an oversight), and that's the same thing with Scarecrow. To become a psychiatrist, you would need to complete medical school in order to earn an M.D. in the field.
- In the comics, some show that she was a clinical psychologist, and the other a psychiatrist. Possibly an oversight, but if she was a clinical psychologist, then the writers of her origins would've kept her occupation as it is. However, her true occupation in the field is a psychiatrist. She would need a Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology) degree to even be a clinical psychologist.
- Harley is one of the few individuals in the series to never learn of Batman's identity as she was locked away in a secure private area down in the film studio Batcave when his identity was revealed. When visiting her after the reveal she is oblivious to it and unaware of his identity. She would likely learn later after being transferred to the GCPD.
- However, she may have caught Robin's real first name, as Batman says "Tim" after finding out that he was taken by Scarecrow.
- It appears that Harley Quinn had the tattoo on her right arm removed between the events of Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight. It is unknown if she got the tattoo on her abdominal region removed due to that area being covered with her corset.
- In Assault on Arkham, it is shown she also has a jester tattoo on the right side of her lower back.
- During Joker's hallucination in Arkham Knight, Joker imagines that the only person mourning his death at his wake is Harley Quinn. Further hallucinations reveal that everyone has forgotten him almost completely. In the very next room, a newspaper reveals that Harley Quinn and the Riddler are a couple and that they are expecting their first child, suggesting that Joker feared that even Harley would eventually forget him and move on with her life.
- Also, Harley is the only person that Joker cannot shoot during gameplay, as he lowers his shotgun when the camera is aimed at her, showing that he does care for her on some capacity.
- Harley Quinn can be considered the secondary antagonist of the Arkham series overall. She was the secondary antagonist in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, and a major antagonist in Arkham Knight.
- Harley seems to have a liking towards The Looney Tunes Show, as in Batman: Assault on Arkham, she can be seen watching an episode of the show on her phone during group therapy.
- Harley's design in Arkham Asylum was partially inspired by Jeanette Voerman from the 2004 Action RPG "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines".
External Links
- Harley Quinn on the DC Comics Wiki
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League |
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Characters |
Heroes |
Batman/Bruce Wayne - Flash - Green Lantern - Superman - Wonder Woman |
Villains |
Brainiac - Captain Boomerang - Deadshot - Gizmo - Harley Quinn - Ivy - Joker (Elseworlds) - King Shark - Lex Luthor - Penguin - Riddler - Toyman - Zalika |
Other Characters |
Aaron Cash - Amanda Waller - Jack Ryder - Lois Lane - Rick Flag |
Locations |
Arkham Asylum - Batcave (Metropolis) - Gotham City - Hall of Justice - LexCorp - Metropolis - The Batman Experience - Wayne Manor |
Terms |
Batarang - Batsuit - Riddler Trophy |