Also heavily involved is Harley's love of Love, and her being willing to do pretty much anything in the name of it. 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.

Eventually each of the directors wanted to do a Harley episode, so the character began to appear in stories without the Joker. 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 the Joker and a recurring core member of the Suicide Squad, with Poison Ivy becoming her primary romantic interest. Harleen helped the Joker escape and, renaming herself Harley Quinn, became his sidekick in hopes that she could win his love, going on a crime spree across the United States of America.

The series begins when, after a failed scheme, the Joker gets so pissed at Harley that he kicks her out of his gang — the rest of the series deals with Harley trying to make it on her own. Beautiful Dreamer: In issue 2, Ivy wakes up in bed with a sleeping Harley surrounded by several cuddly cats and dogs. Shipper on Deck: During the first run, Harley notices the Unresolved Sexual Tension between two detectives and decides to encourage them to get together.Anti-Villain / Anti-Hero: Harley, who fluctuates between a good-hearted villain and devious but heroic very rapidly. At the end of the annual, Harley reveals that she stole some of the hallucinogenic gas to share with Ivy. 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 a friendship between her and fellow supervillain Poison Ivy, and 1994's "Harlequinade" and "Harley's Holiday", which explored her life without the Joker.

Victoria's Secret Compartment: Harley finds her wanted poster in the shirt of a hitwoman that tried to kill her. Robbie reprises her role in Birds of Prey (2020) and The Suicide Squad (2021), with elements of her portrayal's design consequentially incorporated into comics, while Lady Gaga will portray the character in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024). In the annual, Harley fantasizes about being Godzilla when hurtling across New York city via catapult. Wake Up Fighting: In Harley Quinn Invades Comic-Con International San Diego, Harley falls asleep beside the hotel pool.

She also loves animals as she rescues a dog from being abused by his owner and even opens up a floor for the animals from the vet so that they could have a place to live at. The Valentine's Day special sees Harley re-enacting Titanic (1997) on the Hudson River ferry ("I'm the queen a' the world! I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: Harley Sinn has her secret hideout on the Island of Horrible Death. Happy Harlequin Hat: Completing her harlequin inspired outfit is her iconic red and black hat, though it has two flaps and no bells.

Unlike the Joker, she is able to simulate sanity, thus being able to pretend to be a "normal" person. The green alien that became a cow (and caused a Zombie Apocalypse) is a reference to a famous Fantastic Four story with the Skrulls hypnotised and turned into cows. Barred from the Afterlife: In one issue Harley was killed and sent to Hell, but was banished from the place due to her focus on joy and love. Jimm Salabim asks which Wonder Woman she wants to be - the classic warrior on horseback, the TV one, the '70s comics one with the white slacks, the Perez-era one, the New 52 one.Lighter and Softer: Than most of the other books in the New 52, which tended to be very serious, despite this one having a lot of death and even some gore. The Valentine's Day Special takes aim at pointless comic crossovers that go nowhere and Wall Street bankers. 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 was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series episode entitled " Joker's Favor" while Dini was writing the episode.