Harley Quinn is trying to undo the damage the Joker has brought to Gotham City — and she’s gained a powerful enemy in the process.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Harley Quinn #1 by Stephanie Phillips, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia & Deron Bennett, on sale now
Harley Quinn has grown considerably in the last decade, transforming from a morally dubious but often villainous figure to one of the DC Universe’s most surprising and skilled anti-heroes. But as she’s grown more dedicated to fixing the mistakes of the past, Harley has found a new role for herself in Gotham.
In Harley Quinn #1, Harley Quinn is trying to clean up the “clown problem” in Gotham City by rehabilitating former henchmen and making amends with all the people she’s personally wronged. But the arrival of Hugo Strange might just complicate matters.
Harley Quinn was formerly the Joker’s most dedicated assistant, helping bring chaos and pain to countless people around Gotham City. Painfully manipulated by the Clown Prince of Crime, Harley has been growing as a person in recent years, carving out her independence from her abusive ex and trying to make amends for the crimes she committed in the past. This reached a head during the events of “Joker War,” with Harley saving Batman’s life, fighting against Punchline, and even blinding the Joker in her attempt to force Batman to finally end the threat of the Joker once for all. Now healed up but still dealing with the fallout of her past crimes, Harley has decided to take an even more proactive role in fixing the world that she helped break.
Batman comes to find Harley in her apartment after learning she’s just been in a fight with Killer Croc. But it turns out it’s because Harley is trying to actually make amends with the other villains from around Gotham that she’s hurt or enraged over the years — which was why she even visited Croc in the first place. Batman expresses a genuine hope that Harley has changed for the better — and gets to see her in action when a mob overtakes Amusement Mile and threatens to kill former Joker henchmen. Batman arrives on the scene to break up the fight but is interrupted by Harley — who keeps him from beating down on the former Joker henchmen who actually only had been defending himself.
Citing her experience as both a psychiatrist and as someone trying to overcome the damage done by the Joker, Harley argues this might be the best way she can help Gotham — and even gains her first assistant in the form of the ex-henchman the pair just saved. The thing is, she isn’t wrong. By reaching out with a helping hand and using her own considerable skills to help others, Harley could quietly become a major force for good in Gotham City — with one potential future from Young Justice hinting at her full potential as a doctor for the city. It’s a major turn for Harley, who had been granted a clean slate by completing her time with the Suicide Squad. It’s also notable that she’s genuinely choosing to use her time to the best of her ability, repairing the damage done to Gotham in the best way she can.
While it’s clear she wants to make amends — and even seems to have plans to try and reunite with Poison Ivy when she’s done — it’s also worth pointing out that Batman isn’t fully sold on the former villain yet. Although he has given her some of his confidence (and even rewards her with the toaster she requested as a token for her genuine efforts to improve), Batman is quick to point out that as part of her work, she can’t have any backslides into villainy or anarchy. It might be harder to reign in those impulses too, given that mobs of people around Gotham have been threatening and attacking “clowns” — with one even spitting on Harley as a mob surrounded them. If Harley really is serious about improving the city and proving herself, then she might be in for a harder challenge than she realizes.
Only complicating matters could be the return of Hugo Strange, who is specifically released from prison to deal with the chaos that has come to Gotham City. Recruited by Simon Saint to bring down any clowns left in Gotham, it’s likely that Hugo will soon be targeting Harley directly — which could push her to some dark edges to survive.
