In fiction , a character or personage , is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel , play , radio or television series , music , film , or video game ). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, in which case the distinction of a "fictional" versus "real" character may be made. Derived from the Ancient Greek word χαρακτήρ , the English word dates from the Restoration , although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones by Henry Fielding in 1749. From this, the sense of "a part played by an actor " developed. (Before this development, the term dramatis personae , naturalized in English from Latin and meaning "masks of the drama", encapsulated the notion of characters from the literal aspect of masks .) Character, particularly when enacted by an actor in the theater or cinema, involves "the illusion of being a human person". In literature, characters guide readers through their stories, helping them to understand plots and ponder themes. Since the end of the 18th century, the phrase " in character " has been used to describe an effective impersonation by an actor. Since the 19th century, the art of creating characters, as practiced by actors or writers , has been called characterization .
90-513: Harley Quinn ( Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series as a henchwoman for the Joker , and debuted in its 22nd episode, " Joker's Favor ", on September 11, 1992. While intended to appear in one episode, Quinn became a recurring character within
180-463: A foil for the supervillain the Joker that would emphasize the Joker's comic book personality traits: funny, scary, and egotistical. He then thought of giving Joker a henchwoman, inspired by the molls of the 1960s live-action Batman series , and then decided she would be a "funny counterpart to the Joker to maybe work up a little Punch and Judy attitude between them"; Dini stated, "[...] she could crack
270-520: A fourth wall -breaking story about Harley thinking of the artists that could illustrate her in her own comic book series. The rest of the series details Harley Quinn's adventures in Coney Island with her supporting cast. In Harley Quinn #25, Palmiotti and Conner reunited Harley Quinn with the Joker; the story depicts Harley Quinn returning to Gotham City to confront the Joker and end their relationship. With Harley Quinn's longtime friend Poison Ivy being
360-414: A jester from a dream sequence in the soap opera Days of Our Lives . Dini then patterned Harley Quinn on Sorkin, incorporating aspects such as her mannerisms and "very snappy, wisecracking, bubbly blonde" personality. In recording Harley Quinn's voice, Sorkin spoke in her normal Brooklyn accent while putting in a "little Yiddish sound", since Dini made the character Jewish , another aspect of
450-549: A landlord in Coney Island , where she shares an apartment building with a supporting cast of " sideshow freaks". Considered to be the most defining writers to work on the character since Dini and Timm, Palmiotti and Conner reinvented Harley Quinn as an antihero who has left her controlling relationship with the Joker behind. In contrast to Harley Quinn's depiction in Glass' Suicide Squad , Palmiotti and Conner wrote Harley Quinn with
540-431: A "little Yiddish sound", since Dini made the character Jewish , another aspect of the character borrowed from Sorkin; Dini described her voice for the character as having "a snappy blonde but also kind of a bad girl": "a little bit of Adelaide from Guys and Dolls , a little bit of Judy Holliday ", and "a lot of Arleen", stating that it sounded "very close" to Sorkin's voice. Dini had several names in mind while naming
630-559: A bad girl character, and the best bad girl character in the DCU is Harley Quinn". Adam Glass, 2011 As part of the New 52 reboot in September 2011, Harley Quinn was reintroduced by Adam Glass as a prominent member of the supervillain team Task Force X in the relaunched Suicide Squad series. The character was heavily redesigned to fit the tone of the book, and was inspired by Harley's designs in
720-438: A character using the basic character archetypes which are common to many cultural traditions: the father figure , mother figure, hero , and so on. Some writers make use of archetypes as presented by Carl Jung as the basis for character traits. Generally, when an archetype from some system (such as Jung's) is used, elements of the story also follow the system's expectations in terms of storyline . An author can also create
810-439: A character who is "as serious a threat as possible to Batman". Nevertheless, months after "Joker's Favor", Harley made a second appearance on the show in the episode "The Laughing Fish" and became the Joker's love interest. Harley Quinn gained popularity with fans of The Animated Series , with the character being featured more on the show and eventually starring in her own episodes, such as 1993 's "Harley and Ivy", which introduced
900-455: A distinction between the individuals represented in tragedy and in comedy arose: tragedy, along with epic poetry , is "a representation of serious people" (1449b9—10), while comedy is "a representation of people who are rather inferior" (1449a32—33). In the Tractatus coislinianus (which may or may not be by Aristotle), Ancient Greek comedy is defined as involving three types of characters:
990-446: A fan of the character after having read Mad Love . Kesel chose Terry Dodson as the artist for the series, whose art Kesel thought complemented the character's cartoonish roots and worldview. Kesel called Dodson and asked him if he was interested on working on the comic, to which Dodson agreed, and the two worked for a month on their proposal for the series, which was to make a comic about "love gone horribly, terribly wrong". The proposal
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#17328526810331080-429: A fictional character using generic stock characters , which are generally flat. They tend to be used for supporting or minor characters. However, some authors have used stock characters as the starting point for building richly detailed characters, such as William Shakespeare 's use of the boastful soldier character as the basis for John Falstaff . Some authors create charactonyms for their characters. A charactonym
1170-465: A former Joker henchman named Kevin. Harley Quinn also has a prominent role in the " Fear State " crossover event. In January 2022, Phillips confirmed Harley would be resuming her previous career as a psychologist. Harley Quinn possesses multiple superhuman abilities, having won a gymnastics scholarship at Gotham City's Gotham State University. Following her transition to the main DC canon in 1999, Harley Quinn
1260-714: A friendship between her and fellow supervillain Poison Ivy , and 1994 's "Harlequinade" and "Harley's Holiday", which explored her life without the Joker. Harley Quinn then became a recurring character in the DC Animated Universe , appearing in The Animated Series sequel The New Batman Adventures , the direct-to-video film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker , and in non-Batman animation such as Superman: The Animated Series , Static Shock , and Justice League . In February 1994, she made her first appearance in
1350-575: A joke and the henchmen would laugh, and the Joker would kind of glare at her". The character idea dated back in 1991, after Dini came across a dream sequence , while watching a VHS tape of the soap opera Days of Our Lives , seeing his college friend Arleen Sorkin play a jester . Dini then based Harley Quinn on Sorkin, incorporating aspects such as her mannerisms and "very snappy, wisecracking, bubbly blonde" personality. Dini even decided to have Sorkin voice her. In recording Harley Quinn's voice, Sorkin spoke in her normal New York accent while putting in
1440-574: A lighthearted, cartoonish, and humorous tone. Her costume has also been changed with a roller derby -inspired costume designed by Conner, which incorporates Conner's favorite aspects of Harley Quinn's early costume and her costume in Glass' run of Suicide Squad . The series also brought back Harley Quinn's red and black motif. The series began being published in November 2013, starting with Harley Quinn #0, which brought together 17 comic book artists, including Harley Quinn co-creator Bruce Timm, to illustrate
1530-459: A pair of pet hyenas , Bud and Lou , who sometimes serve as her attack dogs . Harley Quinn has become one of DC Comics' most popular and profitable characters. She has been featured in many of DC's comic books and adapted in various other media and merchandise. DC Comics Publisher Jim Lee considers Harley Quinn the fourth pillar of DC Comics' publishing line, behind Superman , Batman , and Wonder Woman . Originally voiced by Arleen Sorkin in
1620-402: A pair of pet hyenas, Bud and Lou, which she can order to attack her opponents. Despite being mentally unstable and sometimes distracted, Harley is highly intelligent. Her intellect extends to her psychological, tactical and deception abilities, but she does not stand out for particular strategic or scientific skills and often remains subordinate to the Joker, who between the two is the genius and
1710-421: A recurring character in the series, Palmiotti and Conner built on their relationship and hinted at romantic feelings between the two characters; Poison Ivy is shown kissing Harley Quinn multiple times throughout the series, and a sexual relationship between them was alluded to in issue #25. When asked regarding their relationship in a Twitter Q&A, Palmiotti and Conner replied: "Yes, they are girlfriends without
1800-469: A representative of a particular class or group of people is known as a type. Types include both stock characters and those that are more fully individualized . The characters in Henrik Ibsen 's Hedda Gabler (1891) and August Strindberg 's Miss Julie (1888), for example, are representative of specific positions in the social relations of class and gender , such that the conflicts between
1890-527: A rough design for the character, which Timm improved on. "Eventually each of the directors wanted to do a Harley episode, so the character began to appear in stories without the Joker. Over the years she allied herself with best gal pal Poison Ivy for occasional romps through Gotham and has even succeeded in giving Batman a hard time on her own. We now look upon Harley as our series' wild card, capable of showing up anytime to bedevil our heroes with her screwball antics". Paul Dini After seeing Harley Quinn in
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#17328526810331980-419: A security guard, a lawyer and even Poison Ivy and Batgirl. Harley Quinn has had several love interests, the most notable being the Joker and Poison Ivy. Other love interests include Mason Macabre, a character created by Conner and Palmiotti. Plastic Man was initially intended to be a love interest for Harley Quinn by Kesel, but was not approved by DC. "So Harley in her earlier incarnation really felt like she
2070-493: A team-up title created by Dini. The series brought together Batman's most popular female villains, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy, in an unstable alliance. The series also expanded on Harley Quinn's background and early life; in Gotham City Sirens #7, Dini established the character's hometown being Brooklyn , based on her accent and also introduced her dysfunctional family, with her swindling father being described as
2160-538: A video game in The Adventures of Batman and Robin , an action platformer based on Batman: The Animated Series . Because of her popularity, Harley Quinn was adapted into DC's comic books. In September 1993 (cover date), a year following Harley Quinn's first appearance in Batman: The Animated Series , the character made her comic book debut in the 12th issue of The Batman Adventures , a series set in
2250-416: Is Jewish . Sorkin began her career in cabaret in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a member of the comedy group The High-Heeled Women, alongside Mary Fulham, Tracey Berg, and Cassandra Danz. One of her more prominent roles was the wacky but lovable Calliope Jones , as seen on Days of Our Lives . She played this part from 1984 to 1990 and made return visits in 1992 and 2001. She reprised her role on
2340-447: Is a play on the stock character Harlequin from the 16th-century Italian theater commedia dell'arte . Following her introduction to the comics in 1999 , Harley Quinn was depicted as the former doctor turned sidekick and lover of the Joker as well as the criminal associate and best friend of Poison Ivy . Later stories depicted Quinn as an independent supervillain who has left her abusive and codependent relationship with
2430-458: Is a "walk-on", a term used by Seymour Chatman for characters that are not fully delineated and individualized; rather they are part of the background or the setting of the narrative. Dynamic characters are those that change over the course of the story, while static characters remain the same throughout. An example of a popular dynamic character in literature is Ebenezer Scrooge , the protagonist of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. At
2520-587: Is a name that implies the psychological makeup of the person, makes an allegorical allusion, or makes reference to their appearance. For example, Shakespeare has an emotional young male character named Mercutio , John Steinbeck has a kind, sweet character named Candy in Of Mice and Men , and Mervyn Peake has a Machiavellian, manipulative, and murderous villain in Gormenghast named Steerpike . The charactonym can also indicate appearance. For example, François Rabelais gave
2610-406: Is an interesting assignment because the main character is a) insane and b) a criminal, and both of these things are pretty essential to the character, so we don't want to get rid of either of them. [...] [We] hammered out a direction for the book which [...] will establish a motivation and agenda for Harley. Depending on the storyline, she will be on the side of the angels sometimes, and on the side of
2700-564: Is here's a woman who was a very intelligent and very manipulative doctor. We're trying to play up that quality. She is crazy, but there is something behind the madness. In the new DCU maybe everyone doesn't get shipped off to Arkham Asylum. Some people may have to do hard time and get shipped off to Belle Reve [the prison the Suicide Squad operates out of], and her presence here doesn't mean she hasn't been or won't end up in Arkham. Basically, we needed
2790-577: Is not attested in OED until mC18: 'Whatever characters any... have for the jestsake personated... are now thrown off' (1749, Fielding, Tom Jones ). Arleen Sorkin Arleen Frances Sorkin (October 14, 1955 – August 24, 2023) was an American actress, screenwriter, television presenter and comedian. Sorkin is known for portraying Calliope Jones on the NBC daytime serial Days of Our Lives and for serving as
Harley Quinn - Misplaced Pages Continue
2880-491: Is possible, therefore, to have stories that do not contain "characters" in Aristotle's sense of the word, since character necessarily involves making the ethical dispositions of those performing the action clear. If, in speeches, the speaker "decides or avoids nothing at all", then those speeches "do not have character" (1450b9—11). Aristotle argues for the primacy of plot ( mythos ) over character ( ethos ). He writes: But
2970-501: Is skilled in using various weapons, often employing weaponized clown-themed gag items, including pop guns , rubber chickens , and a gun that shoots a boxing glove, as well as oversized pistols and mallets , the latter being her signature weapon. Other weapons she uses include: unconventional weapons, such as a baseball bat ; explosive weapons such as bazookas , customized bombs , and dynamites ; firearms , such as pistols , assault rifles , and machine guns ; Harley Quinn also has
3060-444: The DC Animated Universe (DCAU) as the Joker's sidekick and love interest, and was adapted into DC Comics ' canon seven years later, beginning with the one-shot Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (October 1999). 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
3150-443: The DC Animated Universe , she has since appeared in many other DC projects voiced by actresses such as Tara Strong , Hynden Walch , Laura Bailey , Jenny Slate , Melissa Rauch , Laura Post , and Kaley Cuoco ; the latter provided the character's voice in the 2019 animated series Harley Quinn . Mia Sara portrayed the character in the 2002 television series Birds of Prey . Harley Quinn made her live-action cinematic debut in
3240-568: The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Suicide Squad (2016), where she was portrayed by Margot Robbie . Robbie reprised her role in Birds of Prey (2020) and The Suicide Squad (2021), with elements of her portrayal's design subsequently incorporated into comics. Lady Gaga portrays the character in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024). Harley Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for
3330-463: The buffoon ( bômolochus ), the ironist ( eirōn ), and the imposter or boaster ( alazṓn ). All three are central to Aristophanes ' Old Comedy . By the time the Roman comic playwright Plautus wrote his plays two centuries later, the use of characters to define dramatic genres was well established. His Amphitryon begins with a prologue in which Mercury claims that since
3420-445: The rough cut of "Joker's Favor", the producers of Batman: The Animated Series , which include Dini and Timm, were impressed with the result, with Dini wanting to bring the character back for more episodes. Timm and another producer, Alan Burnett , were initially reluctant of this and thought that giving Joker a girlfriend "played more towards his comedic side" and would "humanize him too much", which contrasted their vision for Joker as
3510-446: The social order . In fiction writing , authors create dynamic characters using various methods. Sometimes characters are conjured up from imagination; in other instances, they are created by amplifying the character trait of a real person into a new fictional creation. An author or creator basing a character on a real person can use a person they know, a historical figure, a current figure whom they have not met, or themselves, with
3600-432: The 1992 Batman: The Animated Series episode entitled " Joker's Favor " while Dini was writing the episode. Initially written as an animated equivalent of a walk-on role , Harley Quinn was intended to appear in just one episode. With this, her origin was not supposed to be more than it was, making her popularity unexpected and a surprise success. As Dini was putting together the story for the episode, he wanted to introduce
3690-615: The Joker and a recurring core member of the Suicide Squad, with Poison Ivy becoming her primary romantic interest. In 2021, DC's line-wide Infinite Frontier relaunch brought Quinn back to Gotham City and reestablished her as a superhero seeking redemption for her past actions. 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. Additionally, she has
Harley Quinn - Misplaced Pages Continue
3780-464: The Joker behind, beginning with the publication of her ongoing series , Harley Quinn . After years of scarce appearances in comics, Quinn returned in a leading role in 2009 with the Gotham City Sirens series, as part of an unstable alliance with Poison Ivy and Catwoman . In 2011, DC's line-wide reboot The New 52 reintroduced Quinn in the relaunched Suicide Squad title, which changed
3870-453: The Joker's relationship to be darker to match the Joker's character in the comics; in the story, the Joker attempts to kill Harley at the first opportunity. Harley's immunity to toxins and enhanced strength and agility, which were gained from a special formula created by Poison Ivy, were carried over from Batman: The Animated Series , with Dini stating that they would give her a sort of "physical edge" over Batman and other heroes. "[The series]
3960-422: The Joker's signature weapon, and is shown to have reverse-engineered its formula and developed an antitoxin. She also has an indomitable pathological will. Just like Poison Ivy, sometimes and not as much, Harley uses her feminine charm to attract men but only to manipulate them. Unlike the Joker, she is able to simulate sanity, thus being able to pretend to be a "normal" person. In this way, she disguised herself as
4050-446: The Joker. Unlike her characterization in Batman: The Animated Series , Dini and Palmiotti wrote Harley Quinn in the story as less of a " doormat ", with Harley Quinn and Joker being on equal footing in their relationship. The story concluded with the two-part limited series of the same name, which also expanded on Harley Quinn's past as a former intern in animal research at S.T.A.R. Labs , where she met her pet hyenas Bud and Lou . In
4140-403: The animated film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker . Her last performances as Harley Quinn were the video games Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) and DC Universe Online (2011). For the series Frasier (1993–2004), produced by her husband Christopher Lloyd , Sorkin would perform as a caller to Frasier Crane 's radio show; the lines would later be dubbed over by a celebrity caller. In
4230-471: The character borrowed from Sorkin. Harley Quinn made her first appearance in the Batman: The Animated Series episode " Joker's Favor " originally intended to appear in a single episode, but reaction to the character and Sorkin's voice performance was positive, so Quinn was written into the show regularly, and appeared in further DC Animated Universe series, including The New Batman Adventures , Static Shock , Justice League , Gotham Girls , and
4320-429: The character to send Adam Glass hate mail and personal threats. In September 2013, DC Comics announced an art contest entitled "Break into comics with Harley Quinn!", in which contestants were to draw Harley in one of four different suicide scenarios. This contest drew controversy not only because it was announced close to National Suicide Prevention Week , but also because of the sexualized portrayal of Harley Quinn in
4410-501: The character's personality, design, and origin, replacing her original jester costume with a revealing ensemble and depicting her to be darker than her earlier counterpart. The character took a lighthearted and humorous direction with her second ongoing series in 2013, written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti , which features the character moving to her hometown of Brooklyn and starting her own life in Coney Island . The character has since been depicted as an antihero independent of
4500-509: The character, Timm did a "simplified supervillain version" of traditional Harlequin gear; from the commedia dell'arte original, he took the jester hat , ruffled collar, diamond pattern, and domino mask and put them on a red-and-black bodysuit , on which the diamonds were strategically placed for easier animation. Timm took Harley Quinn's red and black color scheme from the Golden Age comic book character Daredevil . Dini had previously made
4590-428: The character, such as Columbine , and eventually settled on the name "Harley Quinn". Dini chose the name for the character to be in line with other Batman characters's names being puns , and also because he thought "Harley was a fun name for a girl". The name Harley Quinn is a play on Harlequin , a stock character from the sixteenth-century Italian physical comedy theater commedia dell'arte . In designing
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#17328526810334680-517: The characters reveal ideological conflicts. The study of a character requires an analysis of its relations with all of the other characters in the work. The individual status of a character is defined through the network of oppositions (proairetic, pragmatic , linguistic , proxemic ) that it forms with the other characters. The relation between characters and the action of the story shifts historically, often miming shifts in society and its ideas about human individuality, self-determination , and
4770-453: The characters, but they include the characters for the sake of their actions" (1450a15-23). Aristotle suggests that works were distinguished in the first instance according to the nature of the person who created them: "the grander people represented fine actions, i.e. those of fine persons" by producing "hymns and praise-poems", while "ordinary people represented those of inferior ones" by "composing invectives" (1448b20—1449a5). On this basis,
4860-429: The conclusion of the " Forever Evil " storyline. In the seventh issue of Suicide Squad , Glass revised Harley Quinn's origin story, making it reflect the Joker's origins. In the story, the Joker takes Harleen Quinzel to the chemical plant where he originated and pushes her into a vat of chemicals against her will, which bleaches her skin and drives her insane, resulting in her transformation to Harley Quinn. This origin
4950-489: The creative team; the series was given to writer A.J. Lieberman and artists Mike Huddleston and Troy Nixey by Idelson, and took on a grittier and darker direction, contrasting Kesel's run. The decision renewed interest in the character, but the sales remained lackluster and the series was cancelled in 2003. After years of scarce appearances in comics, Harley Quinn resurfaced in a leading role in July 2009 with Gotham City Sirens ,
5040-613: The definitive Harley Quinn story, Mad Love added dimensions to the character, with Dini introducing Harley Quinn's motivations as well as establishing her as a tragic and sympathetic figure. The story received wide praise and won the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best Single Issue in the same year and was later adapted into an episode of the same name in The New Batman Adventures in 1999. Mad Love establishes Harley Quinn's full name to be Harleen Frances Quinzel. "Harleen Frances"
5130-525: The demons and devils on others. Like most great crime characters, she's not concerned with the law. What concerns her is something totally different. What that is will be revealed as the first half dozen issues progress". Karl Kesel, 2000 While pursuing new assignments at DC Comics' offices in New York City , Karl Kesel was approached by former DC editor Matt Idelson to create a pitch for Harley Quinn's first ongoing series , which Kesel accepted, being
5220-579: The earliest surviving work of dramatic theory , Poetics ( c. 335 BCE ), the Classical Greek philosopher Aristotle states that character ( ethos ) is one of six qualitative parts of Athenian tragedy and one of the three objects that it represents (1450a12). He understands character not to denote a fictional person, but the quality of the person acting in the story and reacting to its situations (1450a5). He defines character as "that which reveals decision , of whatever sort" (1450b8). It
5310-579: The fourth scenario, in which the character attempts suicide while naked in her bathtub, which was highly criticised. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention , American Psychiatric Association , and National Alliance on Mental Illness all responded to the controversy in an emailed group statement to the Huffington Post : "We are disappointed that DC Comics has decided to host a contest looking for artists to develop ways to depict suicide attempts by one of its main villains – Harley Quinn". After seeing
5400-413: The inventor. Harleen Quinzel earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and as a former Arkham psychologist , was highly qualified in psychoanalysis , criminology , and forensic psychiatry . While not on par with Joker, she is still an expert tactician, deceiver and escapologist, and still shows traces of her psychological experience. Harley Quinn is the only person besides the Joker to concoct Joker Venom,
5490-508: The jealousy of monogamy ". The New 52 Harley Quinn series received positive reception, and was also one of DC Comics' top-selling series, inspiring multiple spin-offs . The series was ended for the DC Rebirth relaunch of DC's titles. The cover of the first issue of the New 52 ' s Suicide Squad title drew controversy for its sexual depiction of Harley Quinn. This also caused some fans of
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#17328526810335580-546: The latter being either an author-surrogate or an example of self-insertion . The use of a famous person easily identifiable with certain character traits as the base for a principal character is a feature of allegorical works, such as Animal Farm by George Orwell, which portrays Soviet revolutionaries as pigs. Other authors, especially for historical fiction , make use of real people and create fictional stories revolving around their lives, as with The Paris Wife which revolves around Ernest Hemingway . An author can create
5670-457: The latter starting with the one-shot issue Suicide Squad: Rebirth #1 (October 2016). Harley Quinn's DC Rebirth design included pink and blue dyed hair tips and a jacket inspired by Margot Robbie 's portrayal of the character in the 2016 film Suicide Squad , a change established in the last issues of her New 52 series. Harley Quinn returned as a regular character in the relaunched Suicide Squad series, written by Rob Williams . The series
5760-596: The main reason for her pursuing psychology . The first several issues of Gotham City Sirens were written by Dini and illustrated by Guillem March. Other creatives who worked for the series include writers Tony Bedard and Peter Calloway, and artists David López , Andres Guinaldo, Peter Nguyen, Jeremy Haun, and Ramon Bachs. The series was cancelled in August 2011 for The New 52 , DC Comics' relaunch of their entire comic line. "One thing that we're trying to show with her, and I don't think it gets played with enough with Harley,
5850-406: The most important of these is the structure of the incidents. For (i) tragedy is a representation not of human beings but of action and life. Happiness and unhappiness lie in action, and the end [of life] is a sort of action, not a quality; people are of a certain sort according to their characters, but happy or the opposite according to their actions. So [the actors] do not act in order to represent
5940-513: The move as being racially motivated, Di Bona changed plans and hired new cohost Tawny Kitaen , who was also white . Sorkin's writing included for the Tiny Toon Adventures 1990–1992 television series, and co-writer of the story and screenplay of the 1997 Jennifer Aniston film, Picture Perfect . Alongside providing the voice, the character of Harley Quinn was based on her, after Paul Dini (her friend since college), saw her play
6030-633: The name Gargantua to a giant and the huge whale in Pinocchio (1940) is named Monstro . In his book Aspects of the Novel , E. M. Forster defined two basic types of characters, their qualities, functions, and importance for the development of the novel: flat characters and round characters. Flat characters are two-dimensional, in that they are relatively uncomplicated. By contrast, round characters are complex figures with many different characteristics, that undergo development, sometimes sufficiently to surprise
6120-406: The narrative structure, unlike core characters, for which any significant conflict must be traced during a considerable time, which is often seen as an unjustified waste of resources. There may also be a continuing or recurring guest character. Sometimes a guest or minor character may gain unanticipated popularity and turn into a regular or main one; this is known as a breakout character . In
6210-454: The play contains kings and gods, it cannot be a comedy and must be a tragicomedy . [...] is first used in English to denote 'a personality in a novel or a play' in 1749 ( The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary , s.v.). Its use as 'the sum of the qualities which constitute an individual' is a mC17 development. The modern literary and theatrical sense of 'an individual created in a fictitious work'
6300-494: The reactions to the contest, DC Comics apologized, saying they should have made it clear it was a dream sequence that was not supposed to be taken seriously. In the final version, the bathtub scene was cut and replaced with Harley Quinn sitting on a rocket while flying in space. In June 2016, the DC Rebirth event relaunched DC Comics' entire line of comic book titles. Both Harley Quinn as well as Suicide Squad were rebooted, with
6390-476: The reader. In psychological terms, round or complex characters may be considered to have five personality dimensions under the Big Five model of personality. The five factors are: Stock characters are usually one-dimensional and thin. Mary Sues are characters that usually appear in fan fiction which are virtually devoid of flaws, and are therefore considered flat characters. Another type of flat character
6480-505: The real-life inspiration and voice for DC Comics character Harley Quinn , co-created by her friend Paul Dini on Batman: The Animated Series . Arleen Frances Sorkin was born on October 14, 1955 in Washington, D.C. to Irving and Joyce Sorkin. Her father was a dentist who was a producer on the 2004 film Something the Lord Made . Sorkin had two brothers, Arthur and Robert. Her family
6570-639: The second part of the story, Dini and Palmiotti explained Harley Quinn's change in costume, establishing the character's modern design as a reflection of her having left her relationship with the Joker. For the 2021 Infinite Frontier relaunch, Harley Quinn is moved back to Gotham City as a superheroine, where she frequently interacts with and aids the Batman family, and she is given a new design by Riley Rossmo . Harley Quinn's fourth ongoing series, written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Rossmo, depicts her "actively looking to make up for her past sins", alongside
6660-400: The series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main focus. A guest or minor character is one who acts only in a few episodes or scenes. Unlike regular characters, the guest ones do not need to be carefully incorporated into the storyline with all its ramifications: they create a piece of drama and then disappear without consequences to
6750-464: The series, Glass separated Harley Quinn from the Joker and explored her "becom[ing] her own person", with the Suicide Squad becoming a family to her; Glass said: "Harley's always wanted to belong to something. And if not Joker, then the team – and she's finding herself in all this. She's finding her place in the world, that she's not just a sidekick". Suicide Squad was canceled in April 2014 to coincide with
6840-492: The soap for the fourth time on February 24, 2006. She returned to Days for a limited run beginning on May 5, 2010. From 1987 to 1989, Sorkin played Geneva, a sexy maid to yuppie couple Richard and Linda Phillips, on the Fox dramedy series Duet . She would reprise this role on one episode of Open House , the sequel series to Duet . She was the original female co-host on America's Funniest People in 1990. In 1992, Sorkin
6930-450: The start of the story, he is a bitter miser, but by the end of the tale, he transforms into a kindhearted, generous man. In television, a regular, main or ongoing character is a character who appears in all or a majority of episodes, or in a significant chain of episodes of the series. Regular characters may be both core and secondary ones. A recurring character or supporting character often and frequently appears from time to time during
7020-642: The title. Tieri's run on the series ended with the series' 42nd issue, followed by a two-issue storyline written by Christopher Sebela and illustrated by Mirka Andolfo . By issue #45 in July 2018, Sam Humphries was the new writer for the series, with John Timms returning to provide art. The series ended in August 2020. In 2017, Harley Quinn co-creator Paul Dini wrote a backup feature for Harley Quinn's Rebirth monthly series entitled Harley Loves Joker , co-written by Palmiotti and illustrated by Bret Blevins , which ran for 9 issues. The story brought back Harley Quinn's classic characterization and focuses on her past with
7110-409: The universe of The Animated Series , and became a regular character. In 1997, she appeared in the story Batman: Thrillkiller , released under Elseworlds , a DC Comics imprint that published out-of-continuity alternate reality stories, as Hayley Fitzpatrick . In 1999, she became a canonical character with the release of Batman: Harley Quinn . "Bruce and I [...] were talking about what if there
7200-421: The video games Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City ; her color motif was changed to red and blue, her jester costume was replaced with a revealing ensemble consisting of a corset and hot pants , her skin was bleached white, and her previously blonde hair was altered to half-blue and half-red. Her personality had also been depicted to be more violent and psychopathic than her former iteration. In
7290-566: The way a regular person is. I think there are sparks and intensity and weird passion of a sort to their relationship, but I would not call it a loving relationship in the traditional sense". Paul Dini, 2017 The Joker is Harley Quinn's former lover. Harley's solo comics often explore her former association with the Joker through " flashbacks of their past exploits, present-day conflicts", or through Harley as she "laments his absence". Harley often refers to him as "Mistah J" and "Puddin'" . Fictional character A character who stands as
7380-589: Was accepted by DC Comics, and the pair began work on the series, with Kesel and Dodson both being involved in the storytelling, and Dodson bringing in his wife, Rachel Dodson , to ink. Kesel's run on the series began being published in December 2000, and was about Harley Quinn leaving the Joker and becoming a solo criminal, alongside a supporting cast of henchmen named the Quinntets. Because of underwhelming sales, his 25-issue run ended in December 2002, and DC decided to change
7470-496: Was canceled in January 2019. Harley Quinn's relaunched ongoing series is a direct continuation of the former, with Conner and Palmiotti still writing for the character, and Hardin and Timms illustrating the interior art. After having written 64 issues of Harley Quinn's ongoing series, Conner and Palmiotti's five-year run ended with the 34th issue of the series in December 2017, with writer Frank Tieri and artist Inaki Miranda taking over
7560-574: Was dismissed from America's Funniest People by producer Vin Di Bona . In response, Sorkin filed a lawsuit against Di Bona, claiming she was dismissed from the show due to her race, after ABC Chairman Dan Burke had suggested to Di Bona that Sorkin be replaced by an African-American or a person of another ethnic minority. Sorkin sought $ 450,000 for lost earnings, and an additional unspecified amount for harm to her professional reputation and emotional injury. She additionally claimed that after she denounced
7650-452: Was established as having immunity to toxins and enhanced strength, agility, durability, and reflexes, which she received after having been injected with a serum concocted by Poison Ivy. "Vengeance Unlimited, Part Five" ( Harley Quinn vol. 1 #30) revealed that it also gave her the ability to breathe underwater. She is strong enough to lift 900-1600 lbs as she is Peak human level in DC and possesses Low Superhuman levels of Strength. Harley Quinn
7740-502: Was received negatively by fans, who felt that its removal of Harley Quinn's choice to become the Joker's accomplice willingly, as depicted in her previous origin stories, took out an essential part of her character. Harley Quinn's second ongoing series, written by husband and wife Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner , with the interior art illustrated by Chad Hardin and John Timms, explored Harley Quinn leaving Gotham City and starting her own life in her hometown of Brooklyn, depicting her as
7830-430: Was released. Written by Dini and drawn by Timm, the story marks their first comic book collaboration. Mad Love introduces Harley Quinn as a former psychologist named Harleen Quinzel who fell in love with the Joker during her internship at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum and details her transformation into the Joker's villainous accomplice Harley Quinn, as well as the Joker's lack of respect for Harley. Widely considered
7920-457: Was some sort of surprise to her origin? What if she's not just a hench girl? We came up with the idea that she had been a doctor at Arkham Asylum and the Joker had gotten into her head and worked her into being his follower. ...Then we thought, what if Harley's in the role of the long-suffering girlfriend?" Paul Dini about the creation of Mad Love In February 1994, the one-shot The Batman Adventures: Mad Love recounting Harley's origin
8010-496: Was taken from Sorkin's first and middle name, Arleen Frances, while "Quinzel" came from one of Dini's former Emerson College instructors, who was surnamed Quenzel. Harley Quinn was adapted into the mainstream DC Universe with the 1999 one-shot graphic novel Batman: Harley Quinn , written by Dini and illustrated by Yvel Guichet, which put her origin in the middle of the Batman: No Man's Land story line. Dini changed Harley and
8100-513: Was the one for the Joker, that she could catch him and cure him and bring him back to humanity. But actually, in the process, she lost hers. Before she knew it she had fallen head-over-heels in love with him. I think initially he was looking to play her and get what he could out of her, and then realized he had opened Pandora's box and this woman in her madness could match him at just about anything he does. I think he finds that, in some ways, very sexy and attractive. But he's not really set up to love in
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