Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional Batman character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timmis and made her debut in The Batman Adventures #12 (September 1993). She is the girlfriend and partner in crime of the Joker and best friends with Poison Ivy.

Fictional character biography

Quinn's origin story features her as a former psychologist at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum who was manipulated by and fell in love with the Joker, her patient, eventually becoming his accomplice and lover. The character's alias is a play on the stock character Harlequin from the 16th-century Italian theater commedia dell'arte.

She dresses up like a jester or harlequin in red, black, and white. Later she dresses in shorts and tops with blonde hair, which is half pink and half blue in pigtails.

Harley Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series and was meant to appear in only one episode.^[1]^[2] However, she quickly became popular and became a well known comics character soon after.^[3]

Powers and abilities

Harley Quinn's abilities include expert gymnastic skills, proficiency in weapons and hand-to-hand combat, complete unpredictability, immunity to toxins, and enhanced strength, agility, and durability. Quinn often wields clown-themed gag weapons, with an oversized mallet being her signature weapon.

In other media

She was voiced by Arleen Sorkin in Batman: The Animated Series. Harley Quinn makes her live-action cinematic debut in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Suicide Squad (2016), where she is portrayed by Margot Robbie. Robbie reprises her role in Birds of Prey (2020) and The Suicide Squad (2021), with elements of her portrayal's design consequentially incorporated into comics. Singer and actress Lady Gaga portrayed the character in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024).