Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight was a gamechanger in the world of comic book movies. His realism-grounded vision of Gotham, along with Heath Ledger's unique and terrifying interpretation of the Joker, set my mind on fire as I tried to figure out who Harley Quinn would be and how she would fit into this grimmer, more grounded Batman setting. The result was Bad Jokes, first posted in 2009 on Fanfiction.net, archived later on AO3. Given that the release of Suicide Squad has boosted interest in the Joker/Harley pairing, I thought it was time to post the story on Wattpad, if only for archival purposes.
On Harley: I've been a Batman fan for a looong while, and I love Harley Quinn in any and all formats. Given that this series this is set pretty firmly within Christopher Nolan's trilogy of Batman films, I found it wise (at least in telling her origin story) to rework her character somewhat to fit within the quasi-realistic framework and atmosphere he set up for us, the way practically all of the villains were reworked for the tone of the films. My goal was to take the skeleton and the spark of Harley Quinn from canon and flesh it out into a recognizable alternate interpretation, one that would be believable going toe to toe with Heath Ledger's Joker. On that note...
On the Joker: I believe Heath Ledger's Joker was brilliant (and also firmly an AU interpretation—definitely one of a kind). I have made every effort to interpret the character based on the foundation of Ledger's portrayal, using the more appropriate comic book elements to support my interpretation and take it somewhere new but firmly grounded in Nolanverse (turns out this version of Joker is an absolute bastard to write; who knew?)
Aside from Batman media in general, I drew some inspiration from The Silence of the Lambs (specifically from the Hannibal/Clarice dynamic) and Fight Club (largely with regard to the workings of the Joker's organization). Each chapter link leads to a song chosen to suit the mood of the chapter. Commentary, constructive criticism, and questions are entirely welcome. Enjoy!
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Bad Jokes (JokerxHarley Quinn)
FanfictionEver hear the one about the cute little therapist who fell in love with her homicidal maniac of a patient? It's a real killer. Harley Quinn origin story set within the universe of Christopher Nolan's Batman film "The Dark Knight." Strong Joker/Harl...
