Harley Quinn has become one of DC”s most popular characters over the past three decades. This is honestly pretty surprising. Harley first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series as the Joker’s girlfriend/henchman. She became rather popular with fans, although none of us back then thought that she’d become a character that was just as popular as DC’s Trinity. She’d make her first comic appearance in The Batman Adventures #12, an adaptation of the animated series and would get her own The Batman Adventures: Mad Love special, showing that she was a character who could easily be a star of her own books. She wouldn’t make her first appearance in the DC Universe proper until the late ’90s and since then has become an anti-hero. However, I don’t think that’s the right road for the character.
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Harley Quinn first debuted as a villain, and while an argument can be made that she was always a sympathetic villain, she was a bad guy nonetheless. Harley Quinn is still known for her insane actions but suddenly, she’s a member of the Bat-Family and gets to hang out with the heroes of the DC Multiverse despite the fact that she’s known for ultra-violence and has murdered hundreds of people. DC has been wasting Harley Quinn, and it’s about time to make her back into the sympathetic villain she once was. Harley Quinn could be way more interesting in her old guise.
Harley Quinn Is Still Basically a Villain and Most of the Changes to Her Make Little Sense
Harley Quinn was always going to become a solo star; even in the animated series she was popular enough to have solo adventures. She was introduced into the mainline DC Universe in 1999 and had her own series a little over a year later. Harley Quinn has had some amazing adventures, but ask yourself a question — did she really need to be a hero of any kind? Most Harley Quinn adventures still revolve around her doing things that most superheroes wouldn’t, whether that means quasi-criminal activities or her own use of violence. I think one of the mistakes that Marvel and DC make with a lot of popular villains is that they feel like those characters need to be heroic in some way to have their own solo series. There were teams like the Suicide Squad and the Secret Six, but they were still nominally villains doing the “right” thing for their own gain, whether that be time taken off on their sentences or being paid in some way for their actions. It took a lot of time for Harley to actually become a heroic character, but since then, a lot of what was interesting about the character has gone to the wayside, as Harley has basically become DC’s Deadpool, a violent comedic character that has gotten heavily Flanderized.
One of the most interesting things about Harley Quinn for me has always been the “whys” of her actions. Harleen Quinzel was a talented psychiatrist who was manipulated by the Joker. Her need for love was what drove her to stay in that abusive relationship, but Harley is exactly the kind of person who would understand herself and what’s been done to her. Harley Quinn comics sometimes explore this, and the rub of it is that Harley Quinn’s life is basically her own choice. She chose to be a monster, and that’s what makes her such an interesting character. It’s hard to explore that kind of thing in a book where Harley is constantly trying to be a hero. It’s way more interesting to explore Harley as a villain than it is as a hero, because we understand superheroes. Can you imagine a Harley story where she’s working against the villains of Gotham in order to take power and become Gotham’s greatest criminal? This is a way cooler idea than the Harley we get right now. I think one of the problems with a lot of times a villain gets a book is that the need to make them the protagonist sees them become less of a villain, until they’ve fully become a hero. I think a book that explores Harley as a villain is way better than what we’re getting right now, because that’s the most interesting aspect of the character. Harley is known for being intelligent and skilled, and she can easily be an evil Batman type character, working against the other villains as well as the heroes of Gotham or whatever city she’s in.
Harley Quinn Returning to Her Villainous Roots Could Make the Character Even More Popular
Harley Quinn isn’t nearly as popular as she used to be, much like her Marvel counterpart Deadpool. Harley has reached the limit of what she can do as a heroic character. Harley Quinn becoming a member of the Bat-Family was kind of the last straw. Make no mistake, Harley Quinn is a monster. She made all of the choices knowing where they could lead and she killed all of those people. Redemption stories are interesting, but it gets to the point where creators are just repeating themselves over and over again. That’s where we are with Harley Quinn, and the only thing that could revitalize as a character is to make her back into a villain.
Harley Quinn can still fight villains, which is fun to watch, but she can also fight the heroes. Honestly, we’ve rarely gotten Harley versus Batman on her own, and that’s a fight that would be cool to see. Harley, wanting to prove she’s better than the Joker, going up against Batman is money. There are so many cool stories we can get with Harley as a villain. Plus, we can still get Harley on teams like the Suicide Squad or the Gotham City Sirens, because both of those teams are about villains. Harley Quinn showing up in the Justice League Watchtower doesn’t at all feel right. Harley needs a shot in the arm, and the best way to get that is to make her evil again.
Do you think Harley should be a hero or a villain? Sound off in the comments below.
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Image Courtesy of Bandai Namco Pictures/Studio Bones
