The Definitive Origin of Harley Quinn.
The Batman Adventures: Mad Love by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. Artwork by Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami.
Comic Book Review by Kerey McKenna.
Back in 2016 the DC Cinematic Universe at Warner Brothers launched its answer to Marvel Universe’s Guardians of the Galaxy with Suicide Squad, a tale of villains forced to do the dirty work for a shadowy US intelligence organization. And the reviews, including my own, were mixed to poor. Frankly I was being charitable when I rated it the 3rd best superhero/anti-hero heist movie, even below a direct-to-video project. Four years later I would have to rate it lower as we got two more comic book heists in the Ant-Man movies.
However, one thing that did work about that poorly written, underlit, glum exercise in franchise building was Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, partner/victim of the murderous clown prince of crime The Joker (no, not either of the Oscar nominated ones). Since Harley’s debut in the epic 1990s Batman: The Animated Series, the character has been a fan favorite, appearing as a mainstay in other Batman projects prior to Suicide Squad (save for the WB movies and the Gotham TV series). Robbie’s performance knocked it out of the park with her Punch and Judy bat capturing the energy of a magic pixie dream girl that’s equal parts Bonnie Parker and Suicide Girl.
And since part of the success of the DC Cinematic Universe course correction was building upon the break-out heroine from another glum movie and giving their fun, larger-than-life characters epic and colorful visual palettes, it makes sense to bring Robbie’s Harley Quinn back to the big screen in Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn premiering today.
To mark the occasion, and to emphasize the Read in Nerds Who Read, I thought I’d do a quick retrospective on the origin comic book of Harley Quinn.
The Eisner award winning 1994 comic Mad Love was not Harley Quinn’s first appearance because, as noted, she had debuted on Batman: The Animated Series two years prior. Harley Quinn was an odd new addition to the Batman rogues gallery, introduced not as a villain in her own right but as a member of Joker’s gang. It seems the Joker, vaudevillain as he is, appreciated a lovely assistant around for certain gags and heists. However what soon became apparent to the creators of the show, and fans, was that Harley Quinn added exciting new possibilities to the Batman formula.
In the tie-in comic Mad Love, Dini and Timm went about giving their creation a proper spotlight and tragic origin story like they had other villains Mister Freeze, Two-Face, and Poison Ivy. They did such a good job that this comic was later adapted into an episode of the animated series, also called “Mad Love,” which certainly contributed to her growing popularity
If you have not seen the animated adaptation or have not seen it in a while I would highly recommend you seek it out. Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn, playing a part that was literally written for her, shows a great deal of range and has amazing chemistry with both Mark Hammil’s Joker and Kevin Conroy’s Batman. Pretty much everything in the show was also in the comic, save for some scenes that were cut presumably for pacing and for standards and practices of what was ostensibly a children's show.
As I discussed in my retrospective of the series as a work of film noir, Dini, Timm, and their collaborators were very much about capturing the feel of classic noir and pulp tales. After its opening scene of Batman preventing Joker and Harley from assassinating Commissioner Gordon, the story pumps the brakes on the action and becomes a story of a woman falling into madness, criminality, and love.
We learn that Harley Quinn used to be Doctor Harleen Quinzell, one of the psychiatrists at Arkham Asylum treating insane criminals, including the Joker. Over the course of their one-on-one therapy sessions, the Joker seemingly opens up to Doctor Quinzell, winning her over with his charms and tales of an abusive alcoholic father. Eventually she falls in love with the Joker and comes to see Batman as the true aggressor and bad guy when he and Joker fight for the fate of Gotham.
Completing the “Good girls don’t, bad girls do” morality play, Doctor Quinzel turns her back on normal society, adopts the name “Harley Quinn,” and joins the Joker in a life of crime. After reflecting upon her fall from grace she starts to face facts that she, the Joker, and Batman are stuck in a Love/Hate Triangle. So she decides it is time to go behind the Joker’s back if she’s going to get where she really wants to be in life.
If you’ve seen the episode you will remember how this ends and if you haven’t...well I’m not going to explain the joke.
Kerey McKenna is a contributing reviewer to Nerds who Read and SMOF for the annual Watch City Steampunk Festival, coming to Waltham MA May 9, 2020. Check it out at www.watchcityfestival.com.
Check out our review of Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn here at Nerds who Read!
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