Harleen Quinzel (New Earth)

Described as having a genius-level IQ, Harleen attended Gotham State University on a scholarship for gymnastics, where she majored in Psychiatry under Dr Odin Markus. To get into the graduate program, she had Dr Markus meet with her in her dorm room, then outlined what she believed would be a good graduate thesis. The basis of which would be 'There are only two circumstances under which a person disregards the rules of society. When they commit a crime, or when they're in love.' To guarantee her position, she aimed to allow Dr Markus to observe an independent experiment on the matter. The test subjects: herself and her boyfriend Guy Kopski who had developed a 'Think Drink' to calm and centre himself. One day he came into the dorm and wondered why Harley wasn't laughing at any of his jokes. She explained she had driven through a red light, whilst driving a stolen car after blackmailing Dr Markus and possibly shooting him. Hearing this, along with the evidence of a recently fired handgun, made Guy run out with it when asked if he still loves her. When she found him in the gymnasium (where the 'shooting' took place) she found him laughing nervously stood over a homeless man he had just shot, believing him to be Dr Markus. He begged her to help him shoot himself, asking her to do it because she loved him. The gun went off, though it's unclear if she did help pull the trigger. It later turned out that Dr Markus spiked Guy's 'Think Drink' with diluted Joker Venom to counteract the stresses that Harley would put him through. If Harley had known at the time, it may have kept her from thinking everything was caused by chaos and nobody except Guy - and The Joker then on the news - knew that. She felt she understood Joker and declared to Dr Markus that she would do anything to get an internship at Arkham Asylum. To be with the one she deserved.

Upon graduating, and with a glowing reference from Dr Markus, Dr Harleen Quinzel began her first-year residency at Arkham. As soon as she was accepted by Dr Arkham, she requested to meet Joker. Claiming she was researching for a book on serial killers, she was allowed complete access to the clown prince of crime. In their first session together, she introduced herself as Dr Harleen Quinzel, stressing that he could refer to her as Harley Quinn, like the medieval jester Harlequin. Joker hadn't made a sound until then, where he began laughing and asking if she was flirting with him. She moved closer, whereupon he chose to strangle her. When he got a loving look instead of shock or fright, he ceased, stating it was a joke. The pair shared an affair with Quinn helping Joker escape from Arkham several times before being caught herself. Her medical license was revoked and she was committed as well, despite her plea that all of the releases were therapeutic.

Criminal Career

Harley broke out of Arkham multiple times to join up with her "Puddin'" The Joker, before she finally wised up to his abusive behaviour and broke off from him. Deciding to become a crime boss on her own, she gathered a gang she named The Quintets. After a run in with The Riddler at Wayne Manor during looting, and a few other failed heists and lost "Fifth Quintet"'s, one of her henchmen decided to be rid of her but keep the gang. Word was put out that a price was on Harley's head, and many came to collect it. Killer Croc attacked her in her own secret hideout but was subdued thanks to her knowledge of the building. The traitor then arrived and would have shot her if not for the intervention of Matches Malone.

Publication History

The character was introduced in Batman: The Animated Series, but proved so popular that a version of her was eventually added to the more serious Batman comic book canon. The comic-book version of Quinn, like the comic-book version of The Joker, is more dangerously psychotic and less humourously kooky than the animated-series version.

Quinn's DC Universe comic book origin, revealed in Batman: Harley Quinn (October, 1999) is largely an adaptation of her animated origin from the Batman Adventures: Mad Love graphic novel.

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 and Terry Dodson.

Harley Quinn continues to appear in other DC comic books. She should not be confused with Harlequin, a distinct Teen Titans character originally appearing in the seventies.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

File:HarleyQuinnBody.jpg

Superhuman Agility

Superhuman Strength: Strong enough to block a weak punch from Batman without effort.

Toxin Immunity: Immunizes her to various assorted toxins and Ivy's own poisonous touch.

Abilities

Psychologist: Trained as in the field of psychoanalysis.

Olympic level Gymnast: She is also a spectacular gymnast, probably even exceeding the ability of Dick Grayson

Paraphernalia

Weapons

Various firearms, oversized wooden mallet and boxing glove gun. She is also known to keep pet hyenas.

Trivia

Comic book fanatic and film-maker Kevin Smith named his daughter "Harley Quinn" Smith after the character.

External Links

Footnotes

Batman Villain(s)
This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."

This is an in-universe article with out-of-universe material.

This article covers information about something that exists within the DC Universe, and should not contain out-of-universe material. Please remove all out-of-universe material, or include it in a separate section at the bottom of the article. And take off that silly costume.

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Harley Quinn. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Harleen Quinzel (New Earth)

Contents

History

Origins