<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Batman Character
Harley Quinn
Publisher	DC Comics
Gender	Female
Species	Human
Creator(s)	Paul Dini Bruce Timm
First Appearance	Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor" (1992). In the DC Comic Book Universe: Batman: Harley Quinn (1999).
Profession	psychologist, criminal
Affiliations	Secret Society of Super Villains, Secret Six
Special Features	insane, emotionally unstable

Harley Quinn is a fictional cartoon and comic book character in the world of DC Comics, particularly associated with their Batman and Joker characters.

Like many comic book characters over the decades, Harley started off as a popular character on a TV Series comic book adaption, in this case Batman: The Animated Series in 1992. Her character was successful and popular among fans, and eventually she was adopted into the Batman comic book series in 1999.

Harley dresses as a Harlequin clown, and was originally created as a kind of sidekick of Batman's arch nemesis and homicidal maniac, the Joker. Harley began as a psychologist Dr. Harleen Quinzel, who was always facinated with the Joker's psyche. Eventually, she gets her dream job of of psycho-analyzing him at Arkham Asylum, Gotham City's treatment center for the criminaly insane. Instead of curing him, Dr. Quinzel instead takes a leap into madness, falling in love with him and helping him escape.

She created the Harley Quinn persona, and developed her own costume and style of madness. She is known for her acrobatics and her use of gag-themed weapons such as giant mallets and oversized pistols. She ran with the Joker for some time, often ending up back in Arkham, this time in a cell. She developed endearing nick names for the Joker, such as "Mr. J" and "Puddin'", and continued to act the part of the girlfriend to the soul-less emotionally twisted maniac. Finally, probably beginning to feel for her himself, the Joker tried to kill her. This finally lead to her "splitting up" with him.

Harley's popularity inspired DC to try her out in her own short lived comic book series.

Over the years, she has teamed up with another Batman villain, Poison Ivy, who helped her recover from her near death from the Joker. Poison Ivy's plant potions made Harley stronger and more nimble than ever, even making her immune to most poisons, including "Joker Venom", the Joker's favorite murder weapon. Recently, she has been paroled from Arkham after helping Batman bring in another Batman villain, the new Ventriloquist.