"Recently, I made a promise to myself that the next time I got a boyfriend, I'd be on the lookout for red flags. And if I saw any, I would do the healthy thing and I would murder him. And killing kids? Kind of a red flag. When your taste in men is as bad as mine, they don't just go away quietly. They slash your tires and they kill your dogs and tell you that the music you like ain't real music at all. And all the cruelty... tears you apart after a while."
Harleen Frances Quinzel is a former psychiatry intern, previously employed at Arkham Asylum, a former criminal and the ex-girlfriend of the Joker, operating under the alias Harley Quinn. After being manipulated by the Joker into assisting his escape from Arkham, Harleen was submerged in a batch of chemicals at Ace Chemicals, re-emerging as the Joker's right-hand woman. Over the years, Harley has become a nemesis of the Batman, growing to become known as the queen of Gotham City alongside the Joker, notably committing countless crimes, and while her allegiance with the Joker meant she was never in any real danger from other criminals, her long history of violence would later catch up with her.
Quinn was later imprisoned in Belle Reve after her arrest by Batman and recruited into Task Force X, a covert operations team led by Amanda Waller, where she was forced to work with other dangerous criminals to complete missions for the government in exchange for time off her sentence. On her first assignment, she and the team brought down Enchantress in Midway City, earning her ten years off of her multiple life sentences, but was later rescued by the Joker during a prison break.
The Joker eventually broke up with her, though she tried to claim that the decision was mutual. Following the breakup, she kept quiet for a while before announcing it in a very public way by ramming a truck into Ace Chemicals, setting off a massive explosion. She had declared her emancipation, but by doing so had essentially set off an open season on her for the many people who held a grudge against her. She at first sought the protection of Black Mask after he tried to kill her, but eventually found her independence by saving the life of Cass Cain and teaming up with the group who would become the Birds of Prey. She then founded her own mercenary group with Cass, Harley Quinn and Associates.
Shortly after, Harley was recaptured and sent back to Belle Reve. She rejoined Task Force X for their mission to Corto Maltese, with the intent to destroy any traces of the dangerous and mysterious Project Starfish. When she arrived on the island, Harley saw how her companions were killed by the Corto Maltese Armed Forces, but she survived because she was captured by the soldiers and brought before Silvio Luna, with whom she later began a relationship. But, upon hearing Luna’s evil plans, Harley killed him causing her to be locked up in the dungeon. Later, Harley managed to escape and joined a new Task Force X team to infiltrate Jotunheim. After the explosion, Harley and the surviving members, confronted Starro saving Corto Maltese and obtaining her freedom.
"This is me, Harleen Quinzel. When I was a kid, my dad traded me for a six-pack of beer. But however many times he tried to ditch me, I kept coming back. Eventually, he found me a new home. The good sisters of St. Bernadette’s taught me a lot. But I was never an establishment kind of gal. All things considered, I did good. I even went to college. I got my PhD. Had my heart broken once or twice. Finding love, it’s not easy. So I threw myself into my work, became a psychiatrist. That’s when I met him. Mr. J. My Joker."
Harleen Frances Quinzel was born on July 20, 1990 in Gotham City.[2] Harley's family life was largely dysfunctional as her drunkard father constantly tried to abandon her though she always found her way back home. At some point in her childhood, he sent her to an orphanage run by nuns in which her attitude landed her into trouble over and over again to the point that Harley smashed a nun with an oar.[3] Harley Quinn spent her childhood hiding from reality. As a teenager, Quinn used to avoid people, once refusing to dance with her partner at a gala.[4]
Formative Years
Upon reaching high school, Harley became known as a model student, achieving excellent grades as well as extensive gymnastics training. For her efforts, she was rewarded a full scholarship to Gotham City University where she majored in Psychiatry for her undergraduate degree, receiving supervision under Dr. Odin Markus.[2] There she experienced several heartbreaks[3] and was known to have had at least one boyfriend named Guy Kopski.[2] In her college years, Quinn spent her time figuring out how to deal with people.
When creating her thesis, Harley was known to have courted trouble. The subject of Harley's thesis centered around the circumstances by which a person would disregard the rules of society. According to her thesis a person would only commit to such an action under two distinct circumstances: 1) When they commit a crime or 2) when they're in love. Harley then proposed to Dr. Markus a way by which this hypothesis could be examined. She would use herself and her boyfriend Guy as subjects, exploiting their relationship and putting it to the test.[2]
During the test, Harley fabricated a story to tell her boyfriend Guy. She told him that she had run through a red light in a stolen car after blackmailing and possibly shooting Dr. Markus. She then asked Guy whether he still loved her. Guy's psyche later cracked under the pressure. Harley later found him laughing in a gymnasium, where he had shot and killed a homeless man who he had mistaken for Dr. Markus. He then begged Harley to help him end his life. Guy was then killed by gunfire but the details of Harley's involvement with the shooting remained unknown.[5]
It would later come to light that Dr. Markus had in fact tampered with the test somehow, but at the time Harley was unaware of this aspect, simply choosing to credit the results to random chaos.[5] When Harley Quinn showed up for her job interview, she was asked why a therapist wanted to enter Arkham Asylum, to which she mentioned that she was a prisoner of her own and that she believed she could help people.[4]
Becoming Harley Quinn
Falling for the Joker
Harleen talking to the Joker
"She was assigned to the clown himself. She thought she was curing him, but she was falling in love. Talk about a workplace romance gone wrong."
Following her graduation, Quinzel's interest in chaos led to her transfer into the job as a psychiatry intern at Arkham Asylum where she sought a first year residency. Her interest was simple: She wanted to monitor a patient called the Joker under the premise of writing a book about serial killers. After three months, the doctors finally allowed her full access to the Joker.[5] This led to her regularly visiting and speaking with him. As their sessions went on, Quinzel was gradually manipulated by the psychopath, eventually falling in love with him, and the Joker got her to smuggle a machine gun into the sanitarium, leading to his escape. Before leaving, however, the Joker subjected Quinzel to shock therapy, greatly affecting her mental state even further, fracturing her psyche and causing intense psychological trauma. Thus, resulting in her severe mental instability.[2]
Chemical wedding
"Would you die for me?" "Yes." "No. That was too easy. Would you... Would you live for me?" "Yes." "Careful! Do not say this oath thoughtlessly. Desire becomes surrender, surrender becomes power."
Quinzel later chased the Joker down and managed to get him to stop his car. She nearly killed him with a gun, even shooting a man who approached them. The Joker took the gun and taunted her. Quinzel wanted to come with him, so he took her to Ace Chemicals. While there, she was told to pledge an oath and was asked if she would die for him. She responded in the affirmative, and allowed herself to fall into the vat of chemicals that created the Joker years ago. The Joker considered leaving her to die, but promptly changed his mind and jumped in after her, pulling her up to the vat's surface. He then kissed her, and Quinzel awakened with the same personality disorders that her lover received via exposure to the chemicals and oxygen deprivation. She gazed at the Joker as he burst into maniacal laughter.
The King and Queen of Gotham
From that point on, the Joker dubbed her "Harley Quinn" (giving her a red-and-black Harlequin costume), and the duo of psychopathic lovers would go on a number of crime sprees in Gotham City together, which would often result in them coming into conflict with Batman, becoming (as Amanda Waller would later claim) the 'King and Queen' of Gotham City's criminal underworld.[2]
After this, Harley Quinn committed numerous crimes, and while her allegiance with the Joker meant she was never in any real danger, her long history of violence would later catch up with her. Her crimes included theft, injury, and manslaughter.[3]
Murder of Robin
The Joker, with Harley's help, managed to kill Batman's partner and adopted son, Robin.[2] To add insult to injury to Batman's loss, in hopes of crippling and driving their mutual adversary insane, the Joker vandalized the Robin suit, spray-painting "HAHAHA JOKE'S ON YOU BATMAN" in yellow. A devastated Batman would later place the damaged suit in an exhibit in the Batcave. The duo's murder of Robin was one of the major reasons Batman became increasingly ruthless and vengeful in his war on crime.[6]
Helping the Joker
"Lighten up, doll. Ain't intimidation the sincerest form'a flattery?"
On one occasion, Harley Quinn used her bat to intimidate the employees of a bar, hitting one of them, a terrified woman begged her not to hit her, mentioning that she was the girlfriend, with Quinn slapping her. As a method of payment, Quinn offered the bar owner the protection of the Joker for two months. The Joker then picked Harley up from a bar as she was leaving singing, and asked her if she swaved the man from the bar, to which Quinn stated that she paid, the Joker however handed her his gun to kill him despite having all the money. Unbeknownst to the Joker, Quinn only shot him in the hat letting him survive, as they escaped, the Joker asked her if it was difficult to kill him, which Quinn denied, stating that he could trust her.[4]
In 2014, Don Leo attempted to encroach on the Joker's territory in Gotham City, but was captured by the Joker himself and taken to the Marin Hotel where he and Harley Quinn were staying. Joker taunted Don Leo and explained his plans to take over the criminal underworld with Harley at his side, preparing to brutally bash in Don Leo's skull with Harley's baseball bat, but she stopped him and gave Joker the idea to instead torture and kill Leo but leave him in one piece so that his body could send a message to other crime bosses in Gotham.
Later that night, the two psychopaths drove the Smiley Car to the nightclub, and the Joker praised Harley Quinn's idea against Leo. However, upon arriving to their surprise, the whole dance floor is filled with clubbers copying Joker's and Harley's appearances. Infuriated, the Joker intimidated a man named Mike who dressed like the himself until he was dissuaded by Harley as merely adoration. Mike's girlfriend claimed that the Joker and Harley Quinn are the coolest thing to hit Gotham since the appearance of Batman.[7]
On October 13, 2014, Monster T, a fellow crime boss, visited a strip club owned by the Joker, greeted by the Joker himself. After exchanging stiff pleasantries, the Joker demanded Quinn to come over after noticing Monster T's lustful attraction towards her pole-dancing, calling her a "bad bitch" and greatly angering the Joker. The Joker watched on as Quinn teased Monster T, tempting him to have her to himself. Monster T, having become aware of the Joker's sarcasm, attempted to assure him that Harley is his girl, and that he wanted "no beef." The Joker, however, promptly shot Monster T in the head.
Afterward, the psychopathic duo drived down a Gotham City street in their Smiley Car, laughing maniacally. However, Batman pursued them in the Batmobile, and after putting his car on auto-pilot, leapt onto the Smiley Car's roof. Quinn, annoyed that Batman was ruining "date night," began to shoot the roof of the vehicle, though due to Batman's bulletproof suit, this proved ineffective. The Joker, attempting to shake Batman off, made a sharp turn that sent his car flying off the road and into the river, forcing Batman to grapple away. Batman then promptly put on a breather and dove into the river, finding the wrecked car and Quinn, but no Joker. Batman then reached towards her, who awakened and tried to stab him, but is knocked out and carried out of the river.
Laying her on the hood of the Batmobile, Batman checks for a pulse, but does not find one. With extreme reluctance, Batman proceeds to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to try and revive her. A pleased Harley recovered and began to kiss him. Her advances were rejected and she was taken by him into captivity. The sadistic guard, Hunter Griggs, usually force-fed and tortured Quinn, earning her anger over the prolonged months.[2]
Saving the world
Incarceration in Bell Reve
Harley in her cell.
A.R.G.U.S. Director Amanda Waller had Quinn transferred to Belle Reve supermax. After putting several guards into the hospital, Quinn was eventually given her own special cell to keep her locked up and to keep the guards safe. The psychotic woman was put inside a small electrified cage inside of a barbed fence to keep her contained. Quinn was given barely any comforts or clothing; she used the sheets supplied for her gymnastic routines.[2]
Months after Quinn was apprehended, Amanda Waller gathered other skilled individuals and metahumans for Project Suicide Squad. Upon her visit to Belle Reve to examine the future team, she visited Quinn outside her cage while the latter was meditating. Quinn was hypnotized by the government agents' presence and asked Waller if she was the Devil, to which Waller proclaimed that she was maybe so.[2]
Waller then approached Quinn's cage, and attempted to convince her to join the team, promising her to return to the streets and party at night, causing Quinn to remember when she and the Joker arrived at a party full of her fans. Quinn then accepted Waller's offer, threatening her that if she doesn't keep her deal, the Joker will kill her men.[7]
With the attack in Midway City, Michigan, orchestrated by the mystical duo Enchantress and Incubus, Harley, along with the other members of Suicide Squad (such as Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, El Diablo, and Killer Croc), are implanted with explosive nanotechnology provided by Dr. Van Criss. While being wheeled out to their transport, Griggs hands Harley a phone, telling her it was from Mr. J to get in contact with her. Harley then tells Griggs that he's "so screwed" and laughs maniacally as she's wheeled off into a chopper.
Harley during Flag's briefing
Harley and the rest of the members arrive at an evacuation point outside the city, where they are joined by Slipknot. They are given instructions by Waller via an electronic tablet that they are under the direct command of her second-in-command Rick Flag and extracting a highly valued asset known as "HVT1" from the besieged city and will receive 10 years off of their life sentences as a reward. Flag warns them if they annoy him or try to escape, he will kill them by using his touchpad to detonate their implanted nanobots — blowing their heads off. Harley and the others receive their old costumes and weapons before departing by helicopter carrying the military Squad A to the extraction point. Before take-off, they are joined by Flag's personal bodyguard Katana, whom Harley takes a liking toward, despite the latter's hostility.
Harley exits the downed chopper
While mid-flight en route to their destination, Harley looks at a new text from the Joker saying that he's coming to get her. Deadshot peers over to see, so she signals him to be quiet about it and he decides to comply. After their helicopter is shot down, the squad is forced to travel the rest of the way on foot, splitting up with Squad B, who are able to land their helicopter safely. After witnessing, Slipknot's explosive get activated, Harley and Deadshot bond and plot with the others against Flag to turn the odds in their favor the first chance they get.[2]
Soon after, the group encounters creatures in the Enchantress' employment known as the Eyes of the Adversary. When Flag approaches them, the creatures become hostile and attack. The squad is initially overwhelmed as the Eyes capture Flag, much to Harley's delight. Deadshot, however, reminds her what Waller had said about the Squad members being as good as dead if the colonel is injured or killed, so she changes her mind and aids Flag with getting the monsters off of him. She continued to beat up the already-dead Eyes, claiming to have seen it flinching, but Deadshot stops her and they all move on to the task at hand. Flag contacts Waller when all contact with Squad B fails, and learns the other squadron was engaged with another group of Eyes at the same time, but have all been taken prisoner and brought to the Enchantress herself.[2]
Retrieving HVT1
"Seriously? The hell is wrong with you people?" "We're bad guys. It's what we do."
About halfway to the building where HVT1 is located, Harley stops to smash the window of a Paris ReadyWear department store and steal a small purse that matches her harlequin aesthetic. Flag is startled and growls at her, but she responds by mocking her status of a "bad guy" and that it's expected of her.
Harley calls Deadshot a sellout
As the other squad members plan to infiltrate the John F. Ostrander Federal Building, Harley is distracted by a discarded motorcycle and experiences a flashback to the night she pursued Joker, before Deadshot snaps her out of it. Harley then begins to psychologically analyze the squad members due to her boredom. When Deadshot confronts her, Harley implies that she's aware of his deal with Rick Flag and voices her displeasure.
Harley quickly makes her way to the elevator
As the Squad enters the John F. Ostrander Federal Building, Harley quickly makes her way to the elevator, much to the annoyance of the other squad members. Harley receives another message from the Joker, telling her to be ready. Harley is then attacked by two of Enchantress' minions, whom Harley disposes of with her revolver and baseball bat.
The Squad huddles around Flag
As the squad proceeds further, they are alerted to movement in their area. Harley then proceeds to tease Deadshot for the use of his mask. Harley and the squad are then attacked by another wave of Eyes of the Adversary. As the battle goes on, the team notices Flag being taken once again. The squad huddles around Flag to protect him until the minions are seemingly cleared. As the squad makes their way to the stairway, they are attacked by another wave. After El Diablo swiftly clears the opposition, Harley hugs him and gives him a kiss on the cheek, telling him she knew he'd come through for them.
Harley points her gun at Deadshot
The Squad makes their way up the building, resulting in Harley becoming winded. As she stops to catch her breath, the familiarity of the environment causes her to flashback to the night at Ace Chemicals when the Joker had her bleach her skin for him. As Harley snaps out of her flashback, she quickly points her gun at Deadshot. Still recovering from her flashback, she asks Deadshot if he had ever been in love. After Deadshot tells her that something like love would keep him from performing his job, Harley only smiles and calls him "another textbook sociopath."
Once Harley and the squad made it to their destination, Flag ordered them to stay behind so they don't scare their target. HVT1 is then revealed to the squad as Amanda Waller, greatly angering most of the squad. Harley declares that she's not going back to prison; however, Waller gets her and the rest of the squad to back down by threatening to activate the explosives in their necks.[2]
Mad love
Reuniting with Joker
"Puddin! You got all dressed up for me?" "Oh, you know I'd do anything for you."
The Squad makes their way to the top of the John F. Ostrander Federal Building and wait for extraction. However, Rick Flag quickly deduces that the arriving helicopter is compromised. The Joker and Jonny Frost open fire on the rooftop, causing the squad to take cover. However, Harley's explosive is disarmed by Van Criss under Joker's orders. Harley removes her jacket and leaps off the rooftop, grabbing onto the rope that Joker has dropped down for her. As the helicopter rises, Harley playfully blows a kiss to the rest of the Squad, as well as playing dead when Deadshot misses a shot at her.
Harley climbs into the helicopter and embraces Joker. However, their reunion is short lived as their helicopter is hit with a missile. As she and Joker both attempt to make their escape, a sudden explosion throws Harley out of the helicopter. Harley lands on the rooftop below and watches the helicopter, with Joker still in it, crash into a nearby building.[2]
Drowning sorrows
Harley mourns The Joker
Harley makes her way down to street level. Heartbroken by the apparent death of the Joker, Harley removes and throws away her collar. Upon seeing the rest of Task Force X leave the John F. Ostrander Federal Building, she quickly brushes off her tears and resumes her usual behavior, telling the rest of the squad that she missed them. Captain Boomerang then returns the bat she had left behind and the squad moves on to once again retrieve Waller.
The Squad approaches the downed helicopter to find Waller has been taken. Now filled with despair on the realization that they must confront Enchantress and Incubus, the Squad, say for Deadshot, follow after. However, Deadshot soon stops Flag by throwing a Top Secret Binder at him before angrily demanding answers. After Flag explains their true situation, Harley follows after Deadshot into a nearby bar, giving a mocking bow to Flag in the process.
Harley in the bar
In the bar, Harley convinces Killer Croc to have a drink with the rest of the Squad. Harley then proceeds to pour drinks for the rest of the Squad. She joins the rest of the Squad in cheers after she makes her own drink, complete with an overabundance of drink umbrellas. Deadshot states his regret over their situation, causing El Diablo to lash out at him and eventually break down, revealing his tragic past. Angry at Diablo's guilt, Harley yells at him to own up to his mistakes and to accept that a normal life isn't possible for them, causing Boomerang to snap at her for her vexing behavior. Harley then goes on to state that they're all ugly on the inside, just like her, except for Croc, who's also ugly on the outside. When Croc claims he is beautiful, Harley nods in agreement to him owning his physical attributes.
When Flag enters the bar, Harley coldly tells him they don't want him there. Flag then explains his relationship with June Moone before smashing his device controlling the nanites in the Squad's necks. Flag then shows Deadshot the letters his daughter had been sending him, prompting Deadshot to tell Flag that he's going to help him stop the Enchantress. Harley then cheerfully tells them that she'll come along, telling the others that they don't have anything else better to do. She then quickly teases the rest of the squad before leaving, goading them to jump into action.[2]
Visions and facing Incubus
"Nah, homie. You don't want that." "What? I want that!"
The Squad made their way to the subway station and began to prepare for the coming battle. Flag explained their plan: to lure Incubus over a charge and destroy him. Harley, along with Flag, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang had one last conversation before they headed into the subway.
Harley Quinn's vision
Harley and the Squad had made their way into the subway. Harley quickly asked the others if they could see the effects of the Enchantress' machine, unsure whether or not her lack of medicine was causing her to hallucinate. However, she and the Squad were quickly detected by the Enchantress and told to come out of the hiding, which Harley quickly obeyed, much to the dismay of Deadshot and Flag, who pulled her back into hiding. The Enchantress then went on to explain that they aren't enemies, feeding them visions of "exactly" what they wanted. Harley was greeted with a vision of a "normal" life with the Joker, with a family and children. In this fantasy, Harley was a housewife named Harley Ker while Joker was a business exec named Jo Ker.[1]
Harley after being knocked aside by Incubus
However, El Diablo quickly broke them out of their visions, despite Harley being more hesitant to leave her vision. The Enchantress then summons Incubus to deal with the Squad. Harley and the others quickly duck for cover to avoid his lethal attacks. However, once El Diablo is knocked aside, Harley, along with Boomerang and Deadshot, reenter the fight but are ultimately ineffective against Incubus. However, El Diablo re-emerges and manages to fight Incubus off. However, as El Diablo begins to lose his strength and shouts for the charge to be set off anyway, Harley can only let out a small "No" before the charge is set off by Edwards, killing both El Diablo and Incubus.[2]
Battle against Enchantress
Harley apologizing to Enchantress
As the Squad approaches Enchantress, she unleashes the full power of her weapon, disorientating the Harley and the other Squad members. Enchantress then reverts to her feral form and attacks the Squad, during which, Harley is smacked aside. Enchantress disappears, much to the Squad's displeasure, to only reappear shortly after, wielding dual blades. The Squad continues to fight Enchantress, to where the witch nearly has Harley cornered, only for Harley to avoid the attack at the last moment. Harley eventually lands a hit on Enchantress' head, which seemed to only make the witch more irritated. Harley quickly apologizes and is seemingly knocked out of the fight by a hard blow from Enchantress.
Harley then tells the others that perhaps they should join Enchantress
Enchantress retreats from the fight once again, this time disarming Harley and the rest of the Squad. Enchantress once again offers them a chance to join her, this time due to impressing her in battle. Harley then tells the others that perhaps they should join. When Deadshot tries to remind her that Enchantress is trying to take over the world, Harley rebuts him by telling him that they don't owe the world anything.
Harley throwing a gun to Deadshot
As Harley approaches Enchantress, she asks if she can bring back the Joker. When Enchantress tells her she can, Harley tells her that the only problem is that Enchantress messed with her friends. Harley then grabs the Soultaker and cuts Enchantress' chest open, allowing her to rip out the witch's heart. The rest of the Squad quickly moves to disable Enchantress' weapon. Harley quickly tosses Deadshot her handgun, allowing him to shoot the charges and destroy the weapon.[2]
Shortly after their victory, Harley watches as Rick Flag begs Enchantress to bring June Moone back before eventually crushing her heart, killing her. Fortunately, Moone survived this and reunites with Flag, something Harley is happy to see. As the rest of the Squad readies to re-enter the world, Harley herself is ready to hot wire a car, Amanda Waller appeared and reactivated their explosives. Harley is at first appalled since Waller didn't thank them for saving the world. However, once Waller does thank them, Harley cheerfully tells her she's welcome. When Waller then allows them to make specialized requests, Harley asks for an espresso machine.
Harley embraces Joker
Back in Belle Reve, while Harley is enjoying her espresso machine, the wall outside her wall explodes, allowing The Joker's gang to break in and storm the prison. Harley's cell is forced open with a buzzsaw, allowing Joker to enter and reveal himself to Harley he is still alive. Harley embraces her once lost love and Joker tells her that they're going home.[2]
At some point before this, she also voted for a politician named Bernie Sanders.[3]
Emancipation
Breaking up with Joker
"Know what a harlequin is?" "Janky-ass clown with bad eye makeup?" "Oof! Ouch. A harlequin's role... is to serve. An audience. A master. You know, a harlequin's nothing without a master. And no one gives two fucks who we are beyond that."
Sometime after returning home, Joker broke up with Harley Quinn, with one of his henchmen throwing her out into the streets.
The destruction of Ace Chemicals
In the aftermath of the breakup, Quinn found herself somewhat adrift, as while she was seemingly free, she had not publicly announced her breakup. She adopts a hyena, which names Bruce after Bruce Wayne. Those few that she did tell simply didn't believe her and she found herself largely alone and friendless. One night, Harley went to a nightclub owned by gangster Roman Sionis, the Black Mask. After the latter's driver insulted her, she promptly crippled him. She then met burlesque singer Dinah Lance. Thinking quickly, she decided to announce her breakup in a big way, stealing a truck and sending it hurtling into Ace Chemicals, resulting in a massive explosion. Also replacing any remnant of her relationship with the Joker, like changing her 'Puddin' tattoo to 'Pudding Cups', Or her 'J' tattoo to a mermaid. She soon discovered, however, that declaring her independence came with consequences, as it resulted in pretty much everyone she had ever wronged deciding that it was open season on her. Those with grudges were numerous and she soon started finding enemies around every corner, unable to even enjoy her favorite breakfast sandwich without being attacked. She tried to refashion herself as a mercenary and finder of lost things, but her past finally caught up with her.
She was eventually surrounded and captured by the Black Mask. She was not entirely certain why she had done to anger the misogynistic sociopath, but listed his possible grievances against her as "having a vagina," "pronounced it 'expresso'," "voted for Bernie" and "calling him Romey." He planned to exact this punishment on her, but upon overhearing that he had lost a valuable diamond, she offered to find it for him, describing herself as an expert finder and telling him that he had nothing to lose. The offer appealed to him and he decided to let her go, but not before putting out a general reward of $500,000 to anyone who could bring him Cassandra Cain, the young pickpocket who had taken the diamond.[3]
Travels with Cassandra Cain
"Number one, no one is like me. If you wanted to even come close, you would have to go to medical school. Become a psychiatrist, work in an asylum. Fall in love with your patient, break said patient out of said asylum. Begin a life of crime. Jump into a vat of chemicals to prove yourself to a madman. Get arrested by the Batman. Go back to jail, get out of jail with a bomb in your neck. Save the world, go back to jail, and break out of jail before breaking up with the aforementioned madman and going out on your own."
Harley tracked Cain to the Gotham City Police Department, where she enacted a daring plan using paintballs, pyrotechnics and martial arts to storm her way past the cops and steal a keycard to make her way to Cain's cell. She breaks her out, but her actions also result in the release of the other prisoners in the cell-block, resulting in a three-way fight between her, the escaped prisoners and the other mercenaries sent to try to capture Cassandra Cain. In an epic battle that tested her skills of martial arts, she took down all challengers and finally managed to escape with Cain, though not before stopping Cain herself from fleeing.
Shopping cart rampage
She traveled with Cain to a local grocery store where she loaded a cart with a large supply of laxatives and food items intended to try to get the diamond out of Cain. At the store, Cain expresses an admiration for the way she lives her life and asks how she could be like her. In response, she gives Cain a brief summary of her life history, saying that the only way to be like her is to have done all that. Cain was astonished that her rich life, that she could shop at such a fancy store, but she explained that they weren't shopping, they were stealing. At this point, she and Cain raced with the cart, running down an aisle and straight through a checkout lane, pushing away a worker before bursting out the door and away.[3]
Harley and Cassandra unsheltered after the attack at Dock's place
Harley took Cassandra Cain to Doc's Place, where she intended to lay low. As they had a meal at the restaurant, she told Cassandra to always order the Mongolian beef with extra hot sauce in order to mask the taste. She then took her to her flat on the second floor, where she intended to lay low until she could turn Cain over to the Black Mask. She bonded with Cain over cartoons and ice cream. She also introduced Cain to Bruce, her pet hyena. Cain was at first shocked at Bruce being a hyena, but quickly grew used to the idea. The Huntress, who went to Doc's Place, was hoping that Harley could provide her with info on the location of Victor Zsasz, the last of her family's killers that she had yet to track down and kill in return. However, Harley and Cain's cozy little affair was quickly broken up when the place was attacked by a stranger resentful with Harley, who threw a bomb at her department. Harley and Cain managed to escape, but lost track of Bruce in the process, believing him to have been killed. Afterwards, Harley found Doc packing a vehicle outside and got out of him that she had sold her out in exchange for a large amount of money. She expressed sadness over this, thinking that he was the one person that she could truly trust, but he told her that it was just business and that he planned to use the money to restart his business in a better and more profitable location.[3]
The Booby Trap
Realizing just what she was up against, Harley contacted Black Mask to renegotiate the terms of their deal. She would deliver Cain to him, but in exchange, she wanted the protection of him and his organization from the myriad enemies that were now coming after her. The Black Mask reluctantly agreed to this deal and she agreed to deliver Cain to the Booby Trap, an abandoned amusement park on Amusement Mile at the Gotham waterfront. She traveled there and tied Cain up, sitting her on a toilet. Having dosed her up with laxatives from the store and greasy food, she hoped that she could get the diamond out of her before someone cut it out of her. Cain, who had come to idolize her, felt betrayed. Then, Renee Montoya showed up. A detective with the Gotham City Police Department, Montoya had been building a case against the Black Mask and was now determined to rescue Cain and the diamond before Black Mask could capture her. Around the same time, Victor Zsasz also arrived, in tow with Dinah Lance, a singer turned personal driver for the Black Mask Club. He had sussed out that Lance had called Montoya and betrayed the group, and was determined to both kill Lance and secure Cain and the diamond once and for all for the Black Mask. Before he could do either, however, Huntress showed up and killed him with her crossbow pistol, making him the last victim of her spree of revenge.
Harley Quinn was caught in the middle of all of this, but before she could do anything else, the Black Mask arrived at the Booby Trap with a small army. She told the group that they were going to have to work together to defeat him, each of them having their own reasons. Renee Montoya was dumb enough to be building a case against him, Dinah Lance because she had betrayed him, the Huntress because he was the mastermind behind those who had killed her family and Cain because he wouldn't stop until he had killed her and secured the diamond. They agreed and the battle began. During the battle, Harley proves her mettle by using her martial arts skills to take down numerous minions of Black Mask. Ultimately, however, she was not able to prevent Cain from being snatched and driven away.[3]
Rescue
Harley pointing a gun at Roman
"Here's the thing, Romy baby. Your protection is based on the fact that people are scared of you. Just like they're scared of Mr. J. But I'm the one they should be scared of. Not you, and not Mr. J. 'Cause I'm Harley fucking Quinn."
A chase ensued, with Huntress using her motorcycle to pull Harley as she traveled on rollerskates. This enabled Harley to catch up with Black Mask's motorcade. She caused them to crash, but he escaped, taking Cain to a nearby pier. Harley pursued him there, leading to a final confrontation. She told him that it was her that he needed to be afraid of. While he was distracted by her, Cain planted a grenade on him. In the process of trying to find the grenade, he dropped his guard and she kicked him into the water and as he fell, he was blown up by the grenade.[3]
Harley Quinn and Associates
A new beginning
"Yeah, yeah. I made the kid my apprentice. Call me a softy. I dare ya."
With its leader dead, the Black Mask's organization dissolved. After forming the Birds of Prey with the unlocked Bertinelli fortune, Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya gave the Bertinelli diamond to Harley Quinn. She and Cain sold it at a pawnshop and used the proceeds to found their own association.[3]
Back to Belle Reve
"What are you doing back in prison, Harls?" "I got road rage. In a bank."
On August 1, 2020,[8] Harley was recaptured after crashing her vehicle into a bank, and was sent back to Belle Reve, among other crimes of which Quinn was accused, such as vigilantism, extortion, kidnapping, species trafficking, attempted murder and destruction of property.[9]
Harley then re-joined Task Force X after agreeing to join again and a new nano-bomb has been implanted. She was assigned as part of a strike team led once again by Rick Flag, containing returning member Captain Boomerang, and all-new members Savant, Weasel, Mongal, Blackguard, Javelin, and the Detachable Kid. She was arranged to help them infiltrate in the country of Corto Maltese, and destroy the Nazi-era prison and laboratory known as Jotunheim and the mysterious and dangerous Project Starfish in the process.
Harley talks to her new team.
A few days later, the Sheba helicopter prepared to take the squad to the mission, Harley would have been late because she was in the bathroom. Entering with a bag, Quinn greeted Flag and Boomerang, the latter being surprised that Harley was captured again. As she walked, Quinn accidentally hit Savant with her bag. The helicopter finally departed, as she sat next to Javelin and listened to him speak to the other members, Quinn fell in love with Javelin's German accent. When Blackguard thought that Weasel was a dog, Quinn proposed that he was a werewolf, instantly scaring him.[9]
Finally Rick Flag announced the arrival on the island, so Harley Quinn and her companions prepared to land in the water near the coast, Quinn, like the rest of the members, began to swim to the shores. Upon arrival, Quinn got into a hidden position on a stone next to Mongal, so she excitedly prepared to open her bag with a bazooka hoping to use it as soon as given the opportunity.
Harley throws a bazooka at the Armed Forces.
Blackguard got out of his position betraying the team to give a signal to the Armed Forces of the arrival of the squad, but was instantly killed by them, the soldiers then began to attack the team. Flag would ask Waller to withdraw the squad, however Waller would deny it by telling him that the mission was very important, Harley Quinn then quickly accepted Waller's words and launched a rocket with her bazooka screaming with excitement, but worrying Flag who tried to stop her but failing because she didn't hear him.
Harley jumps from an explosion.
Harley then decided to run to another stone risking in the middle of shots and jumping from an explosion, but arriving with success, Rick Flag followed her to the same stone while shooting several soldiers. When Flag ordered T.D.K. Attacking with his arms, Harley was surprised by his strange abilities. Seeing that Pitzner's abilities were useless, Flag began to frustrate, so Mongal tried to help by stopping an Armed Forces helicopter by swinging over it.
Harley Quinn scared sees her friend Boomerang die.
However this ended up dying and killing Captain Boomerang when trying to land. Harley Quinn saw scared how the plane killed her friend and screamed by being unable to do anything about it. Things got worse for her strike team which failed with the death of most of her companions, so Harley decided to run to survive into the Maltese jungle, while running Quinn found her partner Gunter Braun about to die on the ground by the shots he recieved.
Harley Quinn surrenders to the Armed Forces while frustrated at unknowing Braun's final phrase.
When approaching, Braun would pronounce his last words to tell Quinn that she would be the one to carry his armed javelin, however Braun died without finishing saying the purpose of the weapon, leaving in doubt Quinn who struck Braun. In that, the soldiers of the Armed Forces arrived to capture Harley Quinn, so Quinn had no choice but to surrender while frustrated at unknowing Braun's final phrase notifying to the soldiers.[9]
Love affair with Silvio Luna
"Harley Quinn's fire and rebellion in the face of American opression is something which my entire country aspires."
Harley Quinn is surprised to see herself in a mirror.
After she was captured, Harley was taken to a well leaving her alive because Presidente Silvio Luna had intentions to meet her and manipulate her, the next morning, some soldiers approached Quinn's well who was very angry at the time, the soldiers gave her a red dress to Quinn and asked to put it on. Later after putting it on, she was taken in a limousine to Luna's palace, where some make-up artists were in charge of decorating her, she was surprised since she looked like a princess upon seeing on a mirror.[9]
Harley Quinn thanks the butler for the welcome.
Upon arrival, an employee received her on behalf of the entire palace staff, Quinn thanked him for the welcome and proceeded to enter the palace accompanied by a guard who brought her shoes. Feeling like a monarch, Quinn saw the staff as her subjects, thanking the butler who welcomed her, walking down a line of servants giving various commands, including swapping their faces around. Quinn asked a servant to scream like her, not being satisfied with her imitation, Quinn ordered for her to be hanged, then asked freezing one's egg.
Quinn tried to break down the front door without success, with some servants then opening it for her.[10] Inside, Quinn began to walk until she saw Silvio Luna who had finished showering, Luna welcomed her and revealed that he, along with all other Corto Maltese citizens, viewed her as an anti-American icon and hero. Quinn was confused and flattered, so Luna also revealed that he was infatuated and proceeded to invite her out for a romantic evening, that Quinn acepted.
Quinn enjoying her stay at Luna's palace.
Quinn and Luna spent an afternoon eating, watching the sunset, and Luna inviting her to meet his birds. At night, Luna proposed to Quinn, who initially thought he was joking, so Luna explained that there were people who considered him a bad leader, making Harley laugh who considered him an excellent person. Luna went on to explain being a romantic, so Quinn accepted the marriage and they quickly began to have intense sex, smashing a shelf containing weapons on display.
Harley Quinn shoots Luna.
After making love, Luna explained how the Nazis created the base for asylum after World War II, later it would be used for experiments where the Starro creature was kept, Luna then said his plans to send all opponents of his government along with their relatives to be eaten by the beast, accidentally revealing his fascist and authoritarian way of governing his people. After hearing the red flags, Harley immediately shot Luna in the heart with an antique gun on display in his bedroom.
Harley Quinn after killing Silvio Luna.
She revealed to him that although drastic and over-the-top the reaction was, she couldn't let Luna live as all the men in her life always came back to torment her with their cruelty, Luna would listen as he died as Quinn would kill the next toxic boyfriend she had after her relationship with the Joker. After Luna finished dying on the floor, Harley was immediately detained by the soldiers of the Armed Forces, as a consequence of Luna's demise, the General Mateo Suarez assumed the role of presidente, and slaying the birds of Luna.
Harley Quinn was imprisoned and taken to a torture chamber that night, so that the next day, President Mateo Suarez would arrive and begun to interrogate Harley to get information on the remaining Task Force X Members on Corto Maltese, while she was electrocuted. Harley responded ironically to Suarez, making him angry and withdrawing from her place, while tasking the torturer not to lose sight of her. Meanwhile and after having captured Thinker, the second strike team of Task Force X diverted their efforts to rescue Harley Quinn from the palace.[9]
While Harley pretended to be fainted, the torturer distracted by sending a message on his phone, so Harley took the opportunity to murder him with her legs, gasping his breath, and breaking his neck. Harley would then grab the torturer's body keys with her feet and take them to the padlock where she would open it. Upon breaking free, she would grab a pair of boots and a gun off a table; with the gun, she went out to the doors of the torture chamber killing all the guards who were surprised to see her, Harley grabbed a gun from the guards on the ground and continue on her way.
Harley Quinn begins to kill every soldier.
Harley then came to a room that joined many doors, in this many wars began to appear that Harley began to shoot while turning to avoid them, once they were all attended, Harley would run out of ammunition leaving the guns on the floor and running to a door. Quinn began by knocking out a soldier with his head while kicking some bars that had guards breaking their arms. Then a guard with a knife would arrive to attack Harley.
Harley Quinn after killing all the soldiers with knives.
Harley would tear off part of her dress to hang it and throw it on top of another soldier, another soldier with a knife would arrive to try to kill her, but Harley would dodge with a fence, with which she would start hitting him when approached. More soldiers with knives would arrive, so Harley would snatch one from them, and she would start stabbing them. Having killed them all, Quinn withdrew from the room.
Harley Quinn begins to machine-gun the soldiers.
Harley then grabbed two rifles from the ground, with which she would start walking to the exit, shooting scared soldiers who tried to evade her, while she began to imagine blood as colored roses. Suddenly, Harley Quinn was amazed to see the weaponized javelin that she had given Gunter Braun before dying, for which she began to use it to kill all the soldiers who tried to shoot her. Finally, Quinn opened an exit door through which she escaped.
Harley Quinn is surprised that the team came to save her.
When leaving, Harley called a taxi that was passing by on the street, when entering the taxi driver he would ask her where to go, however Quinn would see Rick Flag with a partner crossing the street, so she confused. The squad began a rescue mission led by Flag to rescue Harley. Then Quinn surprised them by approaching Flag to ask what they were doing, so Flag surprised saying that they were about to rescue her, Quinn proposed to go back and let them rescue her, but Bloodsport said that she was co-descendant.
Harley happily hugged Flag since missing him, then Harley Quinn and Bloodsport would introduce themselves with a handshake. Now leading a second Squad strike team consisting of Bloodsport, the Peacemaker, Ratcatcher 2, King Shark, and Polka-Dot Man, all leading a mission to rescue her. Still under orders from Waller, Harley joined the group on their mission to destroy Project Starfish, aided by their captured enemy, the Thinker.
Harley Quinn threatens Thinker to cover his mouth.
The team then took Thinker over a building where they explained their mission and how they should help them enter Jotunheim, Flag and Bloodsport began to threaten Thinker about how he would die if he didn't help them, in that Harley began to threaten to die if he had license plates If your clothes didn't match or you coughed without covering your mouth. Flag interrupted her saying that this wasn't part of the mission. After the talk, the team set out on their journey to Jotunheim.[9]
Harley Quinn eats an apple while she walk towards Jotunheim entrance.
The team forced Thinker to drive them to Jotunheim by using Milton's truck pretending to go to work, while Harley and the rest hid inside,[9] when entering, Quinn mentioned feeling uncomfortable because Peacemaker was looking at her boobs, offending him by being on the other side without even seeing her,[10] the soldiers finally let Thinker in and he parked. Going down, Quinn observed a rain that she liked for looking like angels that ejaculated on top of them, the squad then proceeded to walk towards the entrance taking advantage of the rain so that they would not see them, while Harley ate an apple and looked at Flag happily.
Harley Quinn rushes to plant bombs.
Her teammates took it upon themselves to kill the guards at the entrance, while Harley and the rest hurried inside. Harley and her team split up into teams with Bloodsport, Polka-Dot Man, and King Shark to place bombs around a military building, while having to face some guards. Harley like the rest of her teammates carried bags with explosives and went to the second floor to implant them, however, seeing that more troops were approaching through a window, the team began to rush into a room.
Harley Quinn doesn't remember any Milton.
At that, some soldiers began to attack scaring Harley and Bloodsport, however Abner Krill stopped them, a scared Krill began to cry for the death of Milton, however Harley got her memory refreshed about Milton since she didn't remember it at all making Krill angry who showed her the corpse, when seeing it Quinn remembered while laughing at the name Milton.
Harley Quinn tries to stop Polka-Dot Man.
When Harley and the team get up from their hiding spots, more guards showed up. Polka-Dot Man threw some moles, but Harley Quinn screamed for the explosives but it was too late, Krill's moles touched the explosives causing a massive explosion in chain. Once the bombs get detonated accidently, Harley saves Polka-Dot Man from the explosion, and the others swim and try to make it out. The soldiers tried to shoot Bloodsport who was about to fall but Harley helped him.
Seeing that the floor where the squad was about to fall on them, the soldiers began to escape, while Quinn, Krill and DuBois ran to the top to survive, jumping to grab some rubble, Harley and Polka-Dot Man saw Bloodsport fall who was barely holding onto a hook, but surviving by falling. After going down too After going down also but in a safer way, Harley and Polka-Dot Man meet up with Bloodsport, Ratcatcher 2, and King Shark.
Bloodsport just stopped Peacemaker who killed Coronel Rick Flag and tried to kill Cazo, while Cleo Cazo alerted to escape due to the liberation of Starro, the creature arises destroying the Jotunheim base completely while the remaining squad members run, Harley Quinn was running to survive but tripped over a debris falling to the ground, where she saw Starro emerge while being surprised by its size.[9]
Starro began to spread spores that began to control the Armed Forces soldiers, after Cazo warned the team to cover their faces, Harley tries to cover her face to avoid being controlled by the starfish. After surviving, Harley realized that a soldier with the spore got up, confused she warned her companions while protecting herself with the javelin. At that, all the soldiers began to get up so Harley and the team prepared to attack.
Harley Quinn and the squad withdraw from the mission.
However, after Starro warned that the city of Corto Maltese belongs to it by using the corpse of Mateo Suarez, Harley and the team watched as Starro proceeded to attack Valle Del Mar. At that Amanda Waller contacted the squad after regaining communication. When the team asked Waller to defend the city, she replied that it was not a problem as Project Starfish records linking the United States government, along with the Jotunheim base, had been destroyed.
Harley Quinn discovers why she is carrying the javelin for.
The squad prepared to retreat, however Bloodsport revealed himself to save the city, when King Shark and Ratcatcher 2 followed him, Harley follows with the others after realizing what she has the javelin for, finally Krill followed Quinn, and happily Harley headed on to save the city from Starro. Because the team did not heed Waller's threats, she was about to explode the nano-bombs, starting with Bloodsport, however she was knocked out by her companions who prepared to guide the squad.
Harley and the team then ran to the street where Starro was, then Quinn protected herself with the javelin while Bloodsport shot Starro, seeing that Starro was approaching, the squad began to fall back. Later, Harley was asked to get the higher ground from Bloodsport, she then climbed on top of a roof until King Shark got slammed by Starro into a building close where she was on, start to run for survival but the destruction caused her to fall down, Harley falled to the ground but surviving.
Harley attacks Starro.
After Ratcatcher 2 sends in swarms of rats using her Rat Communicator, Harley raised on a building again and rushed towards Starro jumping and managing to stab him in the eye by sticking her javelin. Harley's breach into Starro's eye allows Ratchatcher's rats entry and they immediately swim to eat away at the eye's veins and lens, exposing the optic nerve.
Harley Quinn sees the rats enter the Starro's eye.
Upon entering, Harley was left bewildered by her surroundings. In that, several rats also swam into the eye to bite his veins that began to spread blood, Quinn looked happily at the nature of the rats that killed Starro while a large amount of blood began to spread inside the eye. Once Starro falled on the ground dying, Harley emerged from the eye and gave Bloodsport a thumbs up hinting that the mission was successful.
Harley Quinn mistakes Bloodsport's name with Milton.
Harley soon after heard how Bloodsport contacted Waller to strike up an agreement for the freedom of the team once back in the US despite having disobeyed her, having using the drive Flag stole of Project Starfish as blackmail. After seeing that King Shark also survived, DuBois and Harley had a talk about Bloodsport’s name being Milton and how they both were friends with Flag, as Harley tried to be Bloodsport’s friend due to him not having many.
Harley and the Squad are now free.
Harley was shocked that Bloodsport's name wasn't Milton after all the conversations about that name as they walked along with the rest of the squad, finally the team saw that the Sheba helicopter was coming back to the squad's rescue from Corto Maltese. Harley, Bloodsport, Ratcatcher 2, and King Shark very tired boarded the helicopter back to America. On the trip, Harley slept from exhaustion after happily seeing Bloodsport, now as a free woman again.[9]
Even after having a traumatized childhood, Harleen Frances Quinzel was supposedly once a highly intelligent, calm, and compassionate young lady who worked at Arkham Asylum, before the Joker transformed her both mentally and physically into "Harley Quinn." In truth however, even before she met Joker she was already demonstrating dark tendencies. As a child her troublesome attitude could still be seen as a reaction to her treatment by her father and the nuns, but it was really in college where her darker side began to manifest. She came up with a thesis to psychologically test her boyfriend's love for her, ultimately causing him to kill for her as well as lose his life in the process. Through the shock therapy and the Joker's manipulation, her mind and emotions were twisted to the point where she transformed into a person barely recognizable from the woman she once was, fracturing her psyche and causing intense psychological trauma. Thus resulting in her severe mental instability, becoming a homicidal, sadistic, childlike, and somewhat psychopathic villain, who would use sexuality and her playful personality to achieve her goals or to entertain herself, usually harming others in the process. She followed the Joker in whatever he demanded of her, blindly smitten with the ruthless psychopath, affectionately referring to him as "puddin'," prior to their final breakup. She also demonstrates a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome, as she was unable to see through the Joker's abuse and genuinely believed it was the Joker's way of showing love. After the end of the relationship and her emancipation, her Stockholm Syndrome disappeared completely, not only being able to perceive the abuses, but she also starts to hate the Joker and be more careful before relating to someone.
After realizing that her relationship with the Joker was extremely toxic, Harley Quinn is shown to be severely traumatized by the Joker's abuse, so much so that as soon as she notices Silvio Luna's troubled personality, her first action is to kill him while remembering her previous relationship with extreme suffering and hatred.
Harley carries almost an innocent persona, wide-eyed and bright, finding humor in otherwise dark situations, much like Joker himself. After attacking Belle Reve guards and seriously injuring a couple before finally being restrained, she maniacally began giggling to herself in a sinister way, happy and pleased with how funny she found it, showing how fractured her psyche had become. However, behind the smiles laid a very depressed, broken and melancholic woman with poor self-esteem suffering from her dependence on the Joker to the point to obviously she is hurt emotionally than being truly happy, despite claiming otherwise. In fact, Joker treated Harley more like a piece of property than someone he truly loves.
However, despite her seemingly flaky demeanor, Harley is still highly intelligent, even showing traces of her psychologist expertise, as Harley was able to make swift breakdowns of the psychological profiles of her teammates, knowing exactly what to say in order to get under their skin (proudly referring to herself as "vexing"), though Deadshot calls her out on this. Her intellect also extends itself to tactical skills, as Harley notably assisted the Joker in the murder of Robin, suggested to Deadshot and Captain Boomerang a feasible escape option from the Suicide Squad, and even swiftly improvised a plan to weaken and take down the extremely powerful Enchantress, which proved successful.
Harley is also quite tough and pathologically fearless (another trait she shares with her boyfriend), fighting alongside the Suicide Squad and having fun doing so. With the team, she is shown to get along well with them, once she got to know them a bit better, with Harley acting as a bartender at a derelict bar. She even seemed horrified before El Diablo's death, imploring Rick Flag not to blow him up even though she knew it was their only way to destroy Incubus.
She has a very dim view on a regular life, stating "normal is a setting on the washer" to El Diablo, who lost his family because of his powers; however, until her emancipation Harley once had the dream of having a family with the Joker, as Enchantress' implanted vision revealed. She secretly holds a desire to be normal and hopes the Joker does the same for her.
Following her breakup with the Joker, Harley Quinn was initially devastated beyond endurance, frequently crying and binging in order to relieve the pain she was going through. As a mark of her pathological fearlessness, she also adopted and tamed a hyena. After her emancipation, she was forced to look out for herself. She was troubled by the specter of those who told her that she couldn't succeed on her own, but quashed those voices to make her own way. Although she at first sought the protection of the Black Mask from the powerful enemies she had made, she eventually displayed remorse at selling out Cassandra Cain to him and turned over a new leaf by fighting off him and his forces before making Cain her apprentice.
Much like Billy Batson, her experiences with her new team have been a journey of renewal for her as she finds a new family that has experienced similar hardships and has similar goals. In addition, her ability to genuinely love, while impaired by her subjection to chemicals, seems to have been restored as her regard for human life increases, albeit to a limited extent, coupled with her gradually realizing that everything people do inevitably carries some form of an aftermath. Despite this, she never truly reached hero status, as most of her decisions were still rather self-serving in nature.
Although often painted as a victim of psychological abuse, the Joker himself claims very little credit for Harley's condition. According to the Clown Prince of Crime, Harley was always sad and depressed deep down (simply better at controlling her insanity than most), and that he himself had merely made all her madness rise to the surface. It should be noted, however, that Joker's insanity occasionally induces him to make conclusions that only make sense to him, hence this might not necessarily be the actual case.
Harley also displays an extroverted, charismatic and playful attitude. This trait of herself makes capable of befriending almost anyone she meets. She quickly formed a genuine friendship with her teammates of the Suicide Squad, notably Deadshot and Captain Boomerang, and years later with Rick Flag and Bloodsport. She also shows concern about those she sees as her friends, she showed great horror when Captain Boomerang died in a cruel way and mourned Flag's death. She also seems to have some moral standards, she shot and killed Silvio Luna after hearing his capacity of sending children to death.
Abilities
Peak human condition: Harley Quinn, as a highly skilled and experienced supervillain and gymnast, is in top physical condition (from frequent villainous escapades with her ex-boyfriend the Joker) to the point that she could hold her own against the formidable Eyes of the Adversary troops of Enchantress. She is muscular and fit,[1] but notably far weaker than her nemesis Batman, who subdued her without much effort. Regardless, she is still in great physical condition and Mateo Suarez even referred to her as a soldier.
Peak human strength: Harley is strong for someone of her stature. She is able to knock down men twice her size, and is also strong enough to break human bones. She was able to easily run while holding a heavy bag of dog food under one arm, and was later easily hoisted it into the air with one hand. While she was tortured in Corto Maltese, she lifted a man with her legs in addition to her own bodyweight and snap his neck.
Peak human durability:
Harley withstands being hit by a car
While not on Batman's level, Harley is extremely sturdy by human standards. She was able to break her fall out of Joker's helicopter, withstand a blow from Incubus, endure being kicked into a car door with enough force to subsequently rip it off, and endure being hit by a car and launched into the side of a van before falling to the ground and remain conscious. While she was tortured in Corto Maltese, she was Tasered several times before falling unconscious, although she may have been pretending to be out.
Peak human agility: Harley is incredibly nimble and agile, being able to perform complex flips, maneuvers, somersaults, and various other acrobatic acts.
Peak human metabolism: Not only can Harley Quinn hold vast quantities of alcohol, but she also remained conscious after being shot in the neck with a tranquilizer dart by Victor Zsasz. While rescuing Cassandra Cain from the GCPD, Harley inhaled a small amount of cocaine, with its effects only lasting for a short while before wearing off.
"Come on, I'm bored. I'm bored. Play with me." "You put five of my guards in the hospital, honey. No one's gonna play with you."
Master combatant: Harley Quinn is a highly skilled and formidable armed and hand-to-hand combatant. Although she has no formal training in hand-to-hand combat, it could be due to her years of fighting by Joker's side. When in a fight, Harley uses her acrobatic skills to best her opponents. Harley was able to seriously injure five Belle Reve guards before finally being restrained in an extra secure cell. She also quickly overpowered two far larger Eyes of the Adversary troops of Enchantress in rapid succession with nothing but her agility, combat skills and baseball bat. However, she was swiftly defeated by Batman, with the latter knocking her out with a single mighty punch, and by Enchantress in their final battle. She was able to fight Renee Montoya, an experienced hand-to-hand fighter in her own right. When raiding the GCPD, she was able to take down numerous trained police officers and other criminals in lockup with a combination of acrobatic kicks, swings from her bat, and the use of her custom-made non-lethal grenade launcher. When at the abandoned amusement park, she was able to take out most of Black Mask's thugs singlehandedly while on roller skates. When escaping from her captivity in Corto Maltese, Harley was able to take out multiple soldiers unarmed and did not suffer any injuries.
Stick mastery:
Harley Quinn fights off two thugs at once
Harley is dangerously skilled with bludgeoning weapons like her mallet and baseball bat. Most notably, she used her baseball bat to take down multiple Eyes of the Adversary and even landed a hit on the Enchantress, though it failed to faze her. When escaping a gang of bounty hunters, she was able to take down a number of them using a baseball bat found in evidence. Later, while fighting False Face Society, Harley utilized a mallet to take many of them down. Harley was also able to effectively utilize her Fun Gun in much the same way as her baseball bat, using it to block blows and using it as a blunt weapon. In Corto Maltese, she used Gunter Braun's javelin with great efficiency when killing guards.
Knife proficiency: Harley is skilled at using knives. Using a karambit against Batman while underwater, attempted to use a razor against guards, and even using a tranquilizer dart to repeatedly stab Victor Zasz. She is also a skilled knife-thrower, based on the knives in the target shaped like Joker's face.
Master acrobat:
Harley flips onto the roof of a moving car
Harley Quinn, as a former gymnast, is shown to be highly skilled in various acrobatics, including pole dancing and other agile maneuvers, often incorporating agile moves while fighting opponents, notably able to flip over one monstrous Eye of the Adversary when it managed to get a hold of her, thus twisting herself out of his grasp, and to easily dodge slashes from Enchantress' daggers. After falling out of Joker's helicopter, she broke her fall and effortlessly rolled it off. When raiding the GCPD, she was able to evade attacks from the police officers and other prisoners using a variety of cartwheels and handsprings, as when Renee Montoya had Harley at gunpoint and Harley was able to flip kick the phone she was holding into her face knocking her unconscious. When being tailed by Black Mask she was able to perform a back handspring onto the top of his vehicle to avoid being run down. Harley's athleticism paid off in dividends during her brief career in roller derby. Her background in gymnastics allowed her to easily wield Gunter Braun's javelin as a pole vault in combat.
Harley dual-wielding pistols
Expert marksman: Harley Quinn, while not nearly on par with Deadshot or Bloodsport, is nonetheless a highly skilled markswoman, landing several headshots on some of Enchantress' monstrous Eyes of the Adversary troops, even while performing acrobatic maneuvers. When raiding the GCPD, she was able to shoot several officers in their center mass, as well as some in the face and even one from behind with her Fun Gun. She used Renee Montoya's revolver to shoot a statue (which she believed to be Black Mask) in the head. In Corto Maltese, she killed the dictator Silvio Luna with a single round from an antique revolver, and shot her way out of the building in which she was kept prisoner, first using a single pistol, then dual-wielding a pair of pistols and lastly firing two rifles akimbo-style. She also used a rocket launcher on the beach.
Genius-level intellect: Harley Quinn is exceptionally intelligent, having been an excellent academic achiever in high school, which earned her a full scholarship to the prestigious Gotham State University, where she would go on to write a very successful graduate thesis. Harley's intellect extends itself to her psychological, tactical and deception skills.
Master psychiatrist:
Harley Quinn as Doctor Harleen Quinzel
Harley Quinn, while still Harleen Quinzel, was an extremely skilled psychologist, majoring in psychiatry at Gotham State University, with her psychology graduate thesis being a huge success, and allowing her the opportunity to work as a psychologist at the infamous Arkham Asylum itself. Even after being rendered psychopathic by the Joker, Harley shows at least traces of her psychologist expertise, being able to make swift breakdowns of the psychological profiles of El Diablo, Killer Croc, and Katana, knowing exactly what to say in order to get under their skin (theorizing El Diablo had a guilty conscience because of all the killing he had done and later criticizing him for ever thinking he could have a normal life with his powers and for not taking responsibility for the death of his children, judging Killer Croc's exterior aesthetic in addition to his interior and intuiting his need to eat people combined with his hatred for mankind and viewing the world as a sewer, diagnosing Katana with deep-seated father issues, and knew what Captain Boomerang was thinking, even while couching his words and proceeded to taunt him). Hence, she even proudly proclaims to Rick Flag that she is known to be "quite vexing," and later diagnosed Deadshot as "another textbook sociopath" as her certified professional opinion. After her emancipation, she pointed out Black Mask as having a delicate sense of mental equilibrium (which she agitates) and an obsessive-compulsive need to be the center of attention, and understood that he built a criminal empire in a "very misguided" attempt to win back the respect of his father after the latter kicked him out of Janus Corp. She later noted Huntress for her childhood trauma and spoke to her on the topic of revenge, stating that it rarely brings the catharsis that one desires. The Joker referred to her as "Dr. Harleen Quinzel, eminent psychiatrist to the outrageous and crazy."[1]
Expert tactician: Harley Quinn, while not quite on par in this regard with her ex-boyfriend Joker, is nonetheless highly skilled with improvising criminal activities, managing to trap and murder Batman's protegé Robin when she was still an adolescent (though she notably had the assistance of Joker in this), to suggest a feasible escape option to Deadshot and Captain Boomerang, and to swiftly improvise a plan to weaken and take down the fearsome and powerful Enchantress in her adulthood. Following her emancipation, she single-handedly destroyedAce Chemicals (while intoxicated) and she later had Black Mask meet her in familiar territory to hand over Cassandra Cain, knowing she would have weapons in the facility in case the deal went awry. During the Battle of Valle Del Mar, she was perceptive as she realized what Starro's weak spot was and protected both King Shark and Polka-Dot Man from certain death during Jotunheim's collapse by anticipating attacks to come from enemies.
Expert deceiver: Harley Quinn is a highly skilled deceiver, thus when Deadshot pretended to shoot at her, she convincingly pretended to have been killed only to reveal that she is still alive and later on, managing to trick Enchantress into thinking that she was about to swear allegiance to the latter, and to subsequently use that distraction to suddenly cut open Enchantress's chest with Katana's sword, exposing and pulling out the supervillain's vulnerable heart. Her proficiency in lying allowed her to recognize Cassandra Cain's own lies regarding the whereabouts of the Bertinelli diamond, pointing out the inflection in her voice and the way she could not maintain eye contact.
Master escapologist:
Harley escapes Renee Montoya's handcuffs
During her time in Belle Reve, Harley was kept in an electrified cage surrounded by a barbed wire fence, implying she was an expert at escaping normal prison cells. During her skirmish with Renee Montoya, Quinn was able to uncuff herself from Montoya and handcuff Montoya with the former only realizing afterwards. While captured and being tortured, Harley escaped by strangling her guard wither her legs and used her feet to unlock her shackles.
Skilled detective: Harley once recovered a rare photograph of a nude Eleanor Roosevelt lost by the Joker, finding it in a bird's nest in Robinson Park.
Expert cyclist: Harley is highly skilled at driving motorcycles, as she was able to use one to pursue the Joker, and was even able to get move it onto its side and stay on top of it while moving at high speeds.
Skilled skater: Harley is a proficient roller skater, as seen during her short lived career in roller derby, as well as during her pursuit of Black Mask to rescue Cassandra Cain.
Pathological indomitable will: Harley Quinn (much like the Joker) possesses an obliviousness to danger that makes her invulnerable to fear and intimidation, which are usually Batman's greatest weapons in combat. Unlike Joker, however, Harley does seem to fear death, as she was dismayed by the Smiley Car crashing into a river, due to her inability to swim and was distressed when Black Mask threatened to kill her during his interrogation.
Weaknesses
Mental illness: Harley Quinn's great weakness is that her insanity occasionally impairs her higher thinking, which is understandably more evident after her breakup with Joker. However, she usually makes up for this with her tactical, strategic, and escapology skills.
Equipment
Harlequin costume: Harley originally wore a red and black diamond-patterned costume after joining the Joker, completed by a cap with two white balls on the ends. She later ditched the costume in favor of more provocative clothing, instead opting to wear a red and blue bomber jacket with matching short shorts, fishnet stockings, and heeled boots.
Harley's toy beaver: Harley carries a taxidermied beaver with added accessories wherever she goes.
Weapons
Harley Quinn aiming her revolver
Chiappa Rhino 60DS: Harley sports a customized Chiappa Rhino 60DS, 6 cylinder magnum revolver that she carries in a black leather holster slung under her arm. Harley used it to take down many of Enchantress' monstrous Eyes of the Adversary goons, and briefly lent it to Deadshot, so that he could destroy the mystical superweapon. Each cylinder has Love or Hate engraved into them.
Good Night: Harley carries a personalized wooden baseball bat with "Good Night" written down the side of it that she used for close-quarters combat, notably taking down numerous Eyes of the Adversary with it during her assignment in Midway City. This weapon would then be used by Black Canary in their final encounter with False Face Society.
Baseball bat: Harley used a baseball bat found in police storage while fighting off bounty hunters who sought to claim the bounty on Cassandra Cain.
Mallet: Harley carried a personalized wooden mallet that she used during her villainous escapades with her boyfriend the Joker. When the squad was given their old equipment, she almost brought the mallet to Midway City with her but chose to bring her baseball bat instead. She later used this Mallet against Black Mask's henchmen.
Karambit knife: Harley carried a knife that she tried to use to attack Batman when he saved her from drowning within the submerged Smiley Car.
Fun Gun: Harley used a M79 grenade launcher with homemade non-lethal ammo to break Cassandra Cain out of jail, even using the grenade launcher itself as an improvised melee weapon.
Smith & Wesson Model 38 "Bodyguard": Rene gave Harley her snub-nosed revolver, which only had one bullet left. She later used it in an attempt to shoot Black Mask but hit a statue instead.
Harley Quinn using her weaponized javelin
Weaponized javelin: Before Gunter Braun dies, he gives Harley his javelin, telling her she is the best fit to carry it. Harley used the javelin during her escape from Silvio Luna's Palace after being captured, later she would use the javelin to enter on Starro's eye.
AirTronic RPG-7: In Harley's bag, she seems to have a bazooka inside of it, throughout the entire movie, she only uses it once, it works as any other bazooka it seems.
Colt 1860 Army: After Harley Quinn and Silvio Luna had sex, they destroyed a glass with the weapon on display. Quinn later used it to assassinate Luna.
Former equipment
Nano-bomb implant: Harley Quinn had a nano-bomb implanted in her neck while operating under Amanda Waller. As a result, if she attempted to flee during a mission, the implant would be triggered and explode, immediately killing her. However, the Joker later disabled the bomb, allowing Harley to escape later.
Cellphone: Harley was given a purple cellphone from the Joker's phone by Captain Griggs, allowing them to communicate while she was under Amanda Waller's control.
Roller skates: Harley used a pair of roller skates during the siege at the Booby Trap, and later used them during her pursuit of Black Mask.
Bertinelli diamond: A valuable diamond that was the key to unlocking the fortune of the Bertinelli crime family. After the Birds of Prey unlocked the fortune to fund their organization, they gave it to Harley and Cassandra Cain and they sold it at a pawn shop to get money to further their own affairs.
Former vehicles
Smiley Car: Harley and the Joker used the vehicle to go on a date night. However, after Batman intervened and attempted to stop them, it was crashed into a river and destroyed.
Helicopter: While heading for her mission with the rest of Task Force X, Harley was transported in a helicopter.
Harley Quinn was introduced into the mainstream comics after the success of her debut in Batman the Animated Series. In the comics she shared a close friendship and later romance with other Batman adversary Poison Ivy. She eventually broke from Joker's control over her after he abused her for too long, eventually becoming a hero and ally to Batman.
Harley implies that she may have schizophrenia, as she claims to hear voices; she also implies that she hallucinates to as she mentions being "off her meds" upon seeing the Enchantress's magical superweapon. Granted, despite her clear mental instability, the sarcastic way she phrases both imply she's joking.
In promoting the film, this version of Harley Quinn was added to the mobile version of DC's video game Injustice: Gods Among Us. She, alongside the Joker, was added alongside Deadshot to the game, while members of Suicide Squad were also added as "gear cards."
According to her mug shot, she was caught by Batman on October 13, 2014.
According to Zack Snyder, the death of Robin takes place 10 years before the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which takes place in 2015, placing Dick's death in 2005. In Suicide Squad, it is revealed that Harley was involved with Robin's murder. However, Harley was born in 1990, which would have made her 15 at the time of Robin's murder.
David Ayer later revealed that Harley being implicated in Robin's death was added by the Trailer Park, and not his original intent for the character.
According to Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, she voted Bernie Sanders in the 2016 (and most likely 2020) democratic primary election.
Harley claims she's unable to swim.
According to David Ayer's original script, Harley Quinn and Deadshot were supposed to end up in a relationship.[11]
Harley is one of the DCEU characters who appears as a player skin in Fortnite. Her two skin appearances are based on her looks in Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey.
Harley's costume in The Suicide Squad is based on her outfit in the Batman: Arkham video games, with the jacket having been based on biker culture.[12]
Harley voted for Bernie Sanders.
Behind the Scenes
Originally Harley Quinn made her first debut in Batman: The Animated Series as part of the DC Animated Universe in 1992. Due to the popularity of her character, she was adapted into the DC Comics universe in 1999.
This is Harley's first incarnation in a movie adaptation, while it is her third live-action appearance. She played the role of the main antagonist in the TV series Birds of Prey as played by Mia Sara, and her second brief appearance was in the TV series Arrow. However, her first planned live-action appearance was planned to be in the canceled fifth Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology film, Batman Unchained.
According to Andrew Kreisberg, Harley Quinn was planned to appear in more episodes of Arrow, but Willa Holland stated that the idea was dropped because of the introduction of Quinn in the DC Extended Universe. She appears in the Arrow episode, "Suicide Squad" and in a deleted scene of "Unthinkable."
According to Margot Robbie, she received each of the suits that Harley Quinn has worn in all her appearances in DC Comics media during the production of the movie, such as the suit of Batman: The Animated Series, or the suit of the Batman: Arkham video game franchise.
According to James Gunn, he was given the option of killing Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad.[13]
Regarding her character, Margot Robbie stated that "It's hard to find a character who gives you as many options as an actor" and that "She can be vulnerable. She can be making terrible decisions...but she's very smart."[14]
The writing on the back of Harley's jacket in The Suicide Squad reads "Live Fast Die Clown", but director James Gunn made three jackets for her with different inscriptions, with the other two reading "Clown AF" and "World's Best Grandpa".[12]
