Batman Annual #5 just gave insight into Clownhunter’s tragic origin story and it proves why no matter what, Harley Quinn won’t ever be a hero.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman Annual #5, by James Tynion IV, James Stokoe and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Joker War has really changed Gotham City forever and it’s also left an undeniable mark on the Bat-family. Bruce Wayne lost his fortune and is now trying to rebuild his symbol as the Bat, while heroes such as Nightwing, Red Hood and Batgirl all realized they have to evolve as well.
Another notable addition is Batman welcoming Harley into the crew, however, come Batman Annual #5, as we get insight into Clownhunter’s origin story It becomes clear that no matter what, Harley will never be a true hero.
Sure, Harley’s done heroic things in Gotham City Sirens and even Suicide Squad, but she’s got a lot of despicable acts under her belt too. Most of all, it’s her tenure as Joker’s sidekick jester and lover that we cannot just ignore. She’s doing good now but as much as fans think she was gaslit or manipulated via love, Harley always knew right from wrong and that cannot be an excuse for letting emotion trump logic or her moral compass.
In Bao’s backstory here, we see the youth playing video-games, ridden with angst and disobeying his parents, only for Harley to saunter into their restaurant with diamonds after a heist. She’s basically booking Joker a meal and even joking about the hyenas potentially killing Bao’s family as they wait her table. That’s on her totally, which explains why Bao wanted her dead just as much as the clown. Whether or not Mistah J was around, Harley enabled him. Despite being exceptionally educated — aka Dr. Harleen Quinzel — she was just as much of a monster.
After the meal, all she’s concerned about is playing with the gems so she leaves Joker to handle the bill and tip. History should have had her predicting he’d slaughter the family in front Bao, which is what drove him down the vigilante path to kill clowns. Again, Harley is in her senses, but totally selfish. She just doesn’t care about Bao’s family and what we all knew would have happened to them. As Bao tells Dr. Leslie Thompkins years later as she tends to his wounds after a brawl, stuff like this is why he refuses to believe she’s cured. Clownhunter saw her evil side first hand and it’s hard to keep blaming Joker alone for all the death and destruction.