Snake Presents: The History of Harley Quinn

Hello Board 8, and welcome to the History of Harley Quinn!

What started out as a minor role eventually exploded into one of the greatest characters ever conceived. Harley Quinn has a success story like no other, seemlessly transferring from Batman: The Animated Series right into mainstream DC, without missing any key part of her character. With a unique voice, unique personality, and unique history provided by many writers, Harley was a character ripe for the pickings in a project like this.

In this project, I will be recounting the chronological history of this very special character, from her humble beginnings in Batman: The Animated Series to her New 52 appearances in Suicide Squad, and everything in between. I’ll leave almost no stone unturned, and I hope to see both comic fans and non-comic fans get at least a good bit out of this.

To keep things fair and interesting, I’ve followed the suit of many recent projects and developed a ratings system. This will keep things in perspective and give me a clear writing focus while still providing my own opinion. It is as follows:

Presence and Relevance How much does Harley add to the story? Would it be the same without her?

Personality Is this an accurate Harley portrayal? Is she mischaracterized in any way? Did Harley jump off the page/screen or did she fall flat?

Design and Fundamentals  Was there anything off with how she looked or even sounded?

Snake’s Opinion How much do I actually like the appearance?

10 points for each category, maximum of 40.

Well, the hard part is over! I hope you clowns and bats enjoy my History of Harley Quinn!

Write-Ups
Batman: The Animated Series Episode: Joker's Favor Air Date: September 11, 1992 Rating: 28/50

Here it is: Harley Quinn's first appearance, and it really couldn't be in a better episode. Joker's Favor is one of my top episodes, a true dark horse favorite. But this is about Harley's appearance, and that alone. While a good introduction for the character, Harley really doesn't do much to advance the episode. Throughout the episode, Harley merely plays the role of another of Joker's lackeys, albeit with a vibrant personality. While Harley's appearance is ultimately necessary in the step to making her such a popular character, it could've very well have been a one shot role, and that alone.

Some allusions are made to her origin, especially when confronted by Batman towards the end of the episode. While a beauty school comment is made that is ultimately inaccurate, Harley mentions how she was a good girl led astray, and I think that's pretty cool considering how she ends up as Harley. Her eventual psychoticness however doesn't show in this appearance, and Harley also doesn't really make any strong implications that she loves the Joker.

I had forgotten Harley's traditional red and black ensemble makes an appearance here, but she actually spends most of the episode in a policewoman's uniform. But Arleen Sorkin, Harley's traditional voice actress, hits it out of the ballpark immediately with the voice. So great job carving out her identity immediately.

Ultimately, it ends up being one of the lesser appearances, but I think it's a serviceable introduction nonetheless.

Best Harley Moment Reading Harvey Bullock his rights and then smacking his leg with a baton. And then calls him a jerk. Perfect Harley moment.