How to Write: Batman

How to Write: Harley Quinn [Tier: C]

We've covered the clown, so now it's only fair to move on to the girl crazy about him. Harley Quinn is famously known for being the Joker's "girlfriend" and the leader of the Suicide Squad. She is indeed a very interesting character, with two main arcs to showcase. These two arcs revolve around her dependence and her independence of the Joker. I hope to cover both in ways I would perceive them to be, so that you have ideas on how to write her both ways. Let's begin!

Starting off with possiy her more popular and widely known phase, her dependence on Joker, it's important to know where she comes from. Originally known as brilliant psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel, Dr. Q was sent to treat the Joker in Arkham Asylum. Due to Joker's genius and cunning, he got Harleen enamored with him and convinced her to break him out of prison. Sunce then, she's been his unpaid partner in crime and the girl I a one-sided relationship. She'd do anything for Joker. Harleen has always been naive. Trusting. She opened up her heart to one with probably the blackest heart in all of DC Comics. Her time spent with the Joker caused her to grow a little crazy too, though not on the same level. Her psyche is that of fake innkcence matched with dark humor and violence. She, however, doesn't appear to be un-fixable or sadistic. She follows Joker's orders like a soldier with little to no questions asked. Harley Quinn also appears to be a little unhinged in a chilchi, immature sort of way. She invents little pet names for people she meets, such as "Mista J" and "Puddin'"(Joker), "B-man"(Batman), "Ivy"(Poison Ivy), etc. Harley's naivety causes her to be fiercely loyal especially to Joker, whom mistreats and abuses her consistently in ways that are far beyond human morals. She doesn't inheritently despise Batman, Robin, etc. other than the fact that they constantly spoil Joker's 'fun.' Her signature weapon is definitely her oversized mallet. In this arc, she's still capable of leading the Suicide Squad. Just know that she's not full-time with it, and her allegiances still lie with the Joker above all else.

Moving onto the newest arc Harley's been going through, let's talk about Harley Quinn's independence of the Joker. Now, after seeing how naive she's been towards people like the Joker after all he's done to her, Harley Quinn has broken ties with him and is possibly more mature. That being said, her years with Joker have taken a more permanent toll on her in various ways. She is still rather unhinged and insane in her own innocent way. She's acquired a sort of pain tolerance, though not at Joker's level. She seems to sort of enjoy pain after all the abise she went through, though she still can feel the pain for the most part. She's still overconfident and loves to laugh with a dark humor. In many ways, she's similar to her earlier counterpart. However, now that she's done being Joker's sidekick you could put her in a story that has her focus on different things. For example, she could be working of her debt as the leader of the Suicide Squad full time. You could also develop the friendship between her and another character, Poison Ivy, who we will discuss later. She could start relying on weapons other than bombs and hammers, such as guns. There are many ways she could change or progress as a character free from Joker's influence. Heck, you could even give her a redemption arc! Just, make it a slow redemption. She's been through a lot and gotten too deep into that rabbit hole to come out of easily. I would actually not advise putting her in a relationship for a few reasons. The first is because i wouldn't personally see her letting herself fall for people again. The last time she opened her heart that way, she was very poorly treated. Some things Joker's done to her(like drive her insane) may never fully go away. I doubt that she would trust people with her feelings again in that way. The other reason is that it could make her dynamic with Joker even mlre interesting. Imagine being able to create a story in which Harley Quinn is trying to stop the Joker(e.g. the Suicide Squad was assigned to), or to kill him(personal revenge), or trying to go straight(redemption arc), but she has to suffer through Joker's manipulation once again and this time endure through it all on her own. Possibilities are of much greater number if she remains single after he breakup, and to me it seems to suit her bbetter. If you still want tl put her into a relationship, b my guest! This is just my opinion, not your story.

Moving on from the A-list villain and his sidekick/lover, let's talk about our first B-list villain, who also has trouble deciding what side he's on.