As Moonstone:
76-721: Nefarius ( Lloyd Bloch ), previously known as Moonstone , is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character first appeared in Captain America #169 (1974) and was created by writers Steve Englehart and Mike Friedrich and artist Sal Buscema . Lloyd Bloch is an agent of the second Secret Empire , who intend to discredit Captain America and take his place as America's "symbolic" hero. The Empire had previously damaged Captain America's reputation by accusing him of vigilantism and framing him for
152-573: 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
228-436: 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
304-627: A bad girl character, and the best bad girl character in the DCU is Harley Quinn". 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 the video games Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City ; her color motif
380-442: 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
456-451: 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
532-472: 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
608-717: 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
684-581: 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
760-468: A kid's cartoon at the time prevented it from happening. Prior to the New 52 reboot, Ivy is shown as having teamed up on occasion with Harley with Harley being her best friend and recurring ally. Unlike most villain team-ups, their partnership is based on genuine friendship and mutual respect. Ivy sincerely wants to save Harley from her unhealthy abusive relationship with the Joker. Accordingly, Poison Ivy despises
836-515: A lunar stone that is imbued with unknown energy. After losing the stone, he regains his powers via a mutagenic process created by Dr. Kenneth Sturdy and gains the additional ability to generate intense heat beams from his eyes. Bloch is a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, and received extensive unarmed combat training from the second Secret Empire. During the Thunderbolts ' sojourn on Counter-Earth , Sofen encountered Bloch's counterpart who went by
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#1733085053710912-504: A means of the Joker reinforcing his own belief in his power in a world where he may be killed or neutralized by another villain or Batman. Joker mirrors his identity through Harley in her appearance, and even though he may ignore or act indifferent towards her, he continues to try to subject her to his control. When Harley successfully defeats Batman in Mad Love , the Joker, emasculated by his own failure, severely injures her out of fear of what
988-459: 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
1064-403: 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
1140-423: 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
1216-512: 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". After seeing Harley Quinn in
1292-421: 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
1368-429: A series set in 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
1444-417: A stronger character and write a story where she leaves the Joker; Dini decided to pair her up with Ivy because she was "the strongest contrast to Harley". The two later became close friends within the DC Animated Universe . Dini stated that he could see a romantic relationship between the two happening the more he worked with the two characters, but the impossibility of properly portraying their relationship in
1520-499: 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
1596-525: 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 ,
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#17330850537101672-455: A way normal humans cannot. Other traits may include megalomania and possession of considerable resources to further their aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real-world dictators , gangsters , mad scientists , trophy hunters , corrupt businesspeople , serial killers , and terrorists , often having an aspiration of world domination . The Joker , Lex Luthor , Doctor Doom , Magneto , Brainiac , Deathstroke ,
1748-449: 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 the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) as
1824-447: 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
1900-406: 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
1976-564: 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
2052-747: Is known for its abusive and codependent nature, first established in Harley's first origin story Mad Love . The Joker habitually abuses Harley, and despite the abuse, Harley Quinn returns to him. In the 1999 one-shot comic Batman: Harley Quinn , the Joker decides to kill Harley, after admitting that he does care for her, that their relationship is romantic, and that these feelings prevent him from fulfilling his purpose. Dini describes their relationship as abusive, and empathizes with Harley's feelings of abandonment , with Dini basing most of Harley's dialogue on his past experiences. The Joker's controlling and codependent relationship with Harley Quinn has been analyzed as
2128-506: 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
2204-430: Is sometimes found in comic books and may possess superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero . Supervillains are often used as foils to present a daunting challenge to a superhero. In instances where the supervillain does not have superhuman, mystical, or alien powers, the supervillain may possess a genius intellect or a skill set that allows them to draft complex schemes or commit crimes in
2280-541: The Inspector Gadget animated series, Dr. Evil and Mr. Bigglesworth from the Austin Powers film series , or Dr. Blowhole from the animated TV series The Penguins of Madagascar . The overarching villain of Star Wars , Emperor Palpatine , leads the tyrannical Galactic Empire , and was inspired by real-world tyrannical leaders. Harley Quinn Harley Quinn ( Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD )
2356-443: 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
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2432-568: 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
2508-564: The Green Goblin , Loki , the Reverse-Flash , Black Manta , Ultron , Thanos , and Darkseid are some notable male comic book supervillains that have been adapted in film and television. Some notable female supervillains are Catwoman , Harley Quinn , Poison Ivy , Mystique , Hela , Viper , and the Cheetah . Just like superheroes, supervillains are sometimes members of groups, such as
2584-786: The Injustice League , the Sinister Six , the Legion of Doom , the Brotherhood of Mutants , the Suicide Squad , and the Masters of Evil . In the documentary A Study in Sherlock , writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss said they regarded Professor James Moriarty as a supervillain because he possesses genius-level intelligence and powers of observation and deduction, setting him above ordinary people to
2660-447: 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
2736-399: 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
2812-616: 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
2888-464: 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
2964-761: The Joker behind. In contrast to Harley Quinn's depiction in Glass' Suicide Squad , Palmiotti and Conner wrote Harley Quinn with 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
3040-606: 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 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
3116-455: 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]
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3192-407: 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
3268-424: 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
3344-509: The Joker, and the two exchange vicious banter at every opportunity. In the final storyline of the Gotham City Sirens series, Harley suggests that Ivy may be in love with her, an accusation that stuns her. The following issue has Poison Ivy acknowledge that she may indeed love Harley, but the details of her love are never specified, and the series ended with the New 52 reboot before their relationship could be addressed. Conner and Palmiotti hinted at
3420-448: 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
3496-515: 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 the conclusion of the " Forever Evil " storyline. In the seventh issue of Suicide Squad , Glass revised Harley Quinn's origin story, making it reflect
3572-430: 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
3648-555: 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
3724-512: 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
3800-432: 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
3876-525: The codename Phantom Eagle . The alternate Bloch became obsessed with Moonstone and began experiencing psychotic episodes and was exposed as a serial killer . Sofen proceeded to steal his equivalent stone too. Moonstone I at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe Supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character . It
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#17330850537103952-492: 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 ,
4028-591: The death of small-time criminal the Tumbler . Empowered by a lunar stone, he becomes Moonstone and battles Captain America before being defeated and arrested. Subsequently, his psychiatrist, Karla Sofen , steals his stone and becomes the second Moonstone. Bloch later resurfaces, now possessing ionic powers similar to those of Wonder Man and known as Nefarius. He kidnaps Sofen and plans to kill her in revenge before being killed by Count Nefaria , who drains his energy. Bloch possesses superhuman physical abilities derived from
4104-624: 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"
4180-502: 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". 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
4256-457: The episode, he wanted to introduce 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
4332-579: 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
4408-494: 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 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
4484-413: 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,
4560-468: 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
4636-459: 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
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#17330850537104712-601: 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,
4788-444: The other villains will think of him; however, while Harley recovers, the Joker sends her flowers, which she accepts, reasserting his control over her. Poison Ivy is Harley Quinn's current love interest and best friend, and Harley often refers to her as "Red" . Ivy was first introduced as a new friend to Harley by Dini in the 1993 Batman: The Animated Series episode "Harley and Ivy". The episode came from Dini wanting to make Harley
4864-818: The point where only he can pose a credible threat to Sherlock Holmes . Fu Manchu is an archetypal evil criminal genius and mad scientist created by English author Sax Rohmer in 1913. The Fu Manchu moustache became integral to stereotypical cinematic and television depictions of Chinese villains. Between 1965 and 1969 Christopher Lee played Fu Manchu five times in film, and in 1973 the character first appeared in Marvel Comics . The James Bond arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (whose scenes often show him sitting on an armchair stroking his cat, his face unseen) has influenced supervillain tropes in popular cinema, including parodies like Dr. Claw and M.A.D. Cat from
4940-497: 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
5016-642: 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
5092-650: 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
5168-509: 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". 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'" . Their relationship
5244-591: 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
5320-498: 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
5396-448: 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 the series, Glass separated Harley Quinn from the Joker and explored her "becom[ing] her own person", with
5472-454: 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
5548-435: 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
5624-408: 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?" In February 1994, the one-shot The Batman Adventures: Mad Love recounting Harley's origin
5700-499: 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
5776-513: 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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