Harley Quinn has become one of the most popular superheroes in the land. She first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, acting as the head henchwoman and girlfriend of the Joker. She became one of the most beloved parts of the show and would eventually make her comic debut. Since then, she’s become more and more important, leaving the Joker and becoming her own woman. She’s gotten to a level where basically every teenage girl has dressed up as her at least once (even if it was only in their own home) and is considered to be on the level of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman when it came to importance to DC Comics. She’s an icon and one of the toughest heroes out there.
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Harley survived years working with the Clown Prince of Crime and fighting the Dark Knight, so she’s proven that she has the bona fides. She’s been able to defeat enemies who should be able to devastate her and that’s mostly because she’s way, way smarter than she gets credit for. Quinn might seem flighty, but she has a mind like a steel trap. She’s outsmarted numerous DC heroes and villains, winning fights that she definitely shouldn’t have. With Marvel Comics and DC crossing over so much lately, there’s a good chance we’ll get to see Harls go up against numerous Marvel heroes, using her cunning and skills to flummox even the most intelligent opponents. Harley Quinn would be able to outsmart these 5 Marvel heroes, including one of the smartest people on the planet.
5) Domino
Domino is one of the deadliest members of X-Force, having spent years becoming one of the most skilled mercenaries on the planet. Her mutant luck powers have played a rather large role in all of that. She makes the shots no one else can, her grenades always have a lucky bounce, and she’s always where the bullets and explosions aren’t. She’s one of the most well-trained people out there and is undoubtedly a better fighter than Harley Quinn. As far as experience goes, they have similar levels, since both of them have spent long periods of their life in the most dangerous situations imaginable. Domino’s luck powers give her yet another advantage over Quinn, but that’s just in the fight itself. Harley’s unpredictability is going to flummox even someone as skilled as Domino. While Dom is a better soldier and is used to thinking on the fly according to the situation, Quinn is always coming up with the wildest things imaginable. Dom has faced a lot of enemies, but she’s never faced anyone with the wiles of Harley Quinn. Dom may win the resulting fight, but she’s going to walk into Harley’s traps 9 times out of 10 because she will have never seen them coming.
4) Daredevil
Daredevil and Harley Quinn make for an interesting match. Matt is definitely the better fighter in every way you can imagine (she may be more agile, but I doubt it) and is smarter in a lot of ways. Murdock is one of the best fighters in the Marvel Universe – there’s a reason he wins so many fights, folks – and he’s faced off against some of the craftiest enemies out there. However, as good as he is, he has been outsmarted before and Harley would definitely be able to pull the wool over his eyes. Quinn’s great at infuriating her targets and getting them to make mistakes. This is a woman who helped the Joker lay traps for the Dark Knight; brooding, self-important vigilantes are her specialty. She knows how to get in someone’s head and stay there. Plus Matt’s cute, Harley’s cute, she could easily get one of her rather annoying short term crushes on the Man Without Fear, flummoxing him even more. She loses a straight-up fight against him, but once she deploys her bag of tricks, Daredevil will wish he never met her.
3) Hank Pym
Hank Pym has had a complicated career, but there’s no doubt he’s one of the most important Avengers of them all. Hank helped found the team as Ant-Man, using his Pym Particles to shrink down and command the ants with the special helmet he built. He also invented a flight harness and sting blasters for the Wasp and would eventually modify his Pym Particles so he could grow as well as shrink. He’d create all kinds of technology over the years, including the Avengers’ greatest foe
\Ultron, proving Hank is a genius on the level of Tony Stark and Reed Richards. However, he’s also known for his bipolar depression, which is right in Harley’s wheelhouse. Harleen Quinzel was a psychologist, so she would know exactly what to do against Hank. She could have him eating out of her hand or curled up in a ball. She’d know all the buttons to push. Hank is smart in the lab, but he’s been manipulated and outsmarted before, and Quinn definitely has what it takes to throw him for a loop.
2) Captain America
Captain America is the Sentinel of Liberty, the living legend of World War II, the greatest Avenger of them all. He’s faced down some of the craftiest foes out there, bad guys like Red Skull and Baron Zemo whose entire game is outsmarting everyone around them. While Cap isn’t mentally deficient in the slightest, his preferred method of dealing with being outsmarted is to spring whatever trap he comes across and bulldoze his way through it with his shield, fighting skills, and sheer determination. He’s a true hero and Harley would love him; she’d definitely swoon for the greatest super soldier of them all. However, she’d also be able to lull Cap into a false sense of security. If anyone could expertly play on Steve Rogers’ old timey sensibilities, it’s Quinn. Once Cap realized what was going on and it came down to a real fight, he would destroy her in the long run, but she’d still be able to stay one step ahead of him for a bit and get some good hits in.
1) Spider-Man
Spider-Man is Marvel’s favorite everyman, the hero who was meant to be just like the reader. Peter Parker is one of the greatest people you could ever meet, a person who genuinely cares about people and does his best to make sure that they’re safe and happy. He’s also known for his mile-a-minute joke delivery and being one of the toughest heroes out there. He’s a genius, but he’s also proven to be rather susceptible to tricks and mind games, which is something Harley excels at. She’d know exactly how to push the Wall-Crawler to get him to go the way she wanted and knowing the Parker luck, he wouldn’t even figure it out until it was too late. Harley has been able to stay one step ahead of the Trinity completely on her own. She knows how to deal with people like Peter, playing on their sympathies, and hitting them when they least expect it. Spidey and Harley would honestly get along pretty well if all their all cards were on the table, but otherwise, she’d rather easily outsmart the hero.
What Marvel heroes do you think Harley could outsmart? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
