Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman #151!If it were ever in doubt whether Harley Quinn should be considered a Bat-Family member or not, her latest feat should clear things up. Harley’s been all over the map when it comes to the hero/villain continuum, but where does she fall during DC’s latest calamity?
Amanda Waller has seized the DC Universe by force, unleashing her all-Amazo Squad Task Force VII on the world and stealing the powers of nearly every metahuman on Earth. To make matters worse, opportunistic villains are taking advantage of the chaos, leaving Harley Quinn as Gotham City’s only hope to save it from complete and utter devastation.
Harley Quinn Stops the Riddler from Destroying Gotham
In Batman #151’s backup story, “Absolute Power Plant!” by Tini Howard, Marianna Ignazzi, Giovanna Niro, and Clayton Cowles, Gotham is going to hell. The Bat-Family is nowhere in sight and the streets are filled with some of the city’s worst criminals and supervillains (save those with powers like Poison Ivy, who have gone underground). Feeling up for a bit of excitement, Harley Quinn joins in the fray. But once a gunman starts shooting at her, Harley retreats into the sewers for safety.
…Harley Quinn races to the power plant to stop the Riddler.
While in the sewers, Harley finds one of Batman’s communicators which is picking up a message from the Riddler. Harley listens to what Nygma is saying and discovers that the villain is threatening the Gotham County Nuclear Power Plant. Fearing the nuclear fallout, Harley Quinn races to the power plant to stop the Riddler. Harley arrives at the plant and orders Nygma to stop the plant from leveling Gotham, but while throttling him, Harley Quinn accidentally knocks the Riddler out, leaving Harley and a pair of scientists to solve his riddles.
Harley Quinn frees the scientists Riddler took hostage and the trio tackles the puzzles the King of Conundrums left behind. Harley gets the first one right but struggles with the next two. Thankfully, each of the scientists gets a riddle right, stopping the power plant from melting down. The two express their sincere gratitude for Harley but unfortunately, due to the power plant’s security protocols, Harley’s actions cannot be revealed to anyone, not even Batman. Harley Quinn is forced to sign an NDA, keeping her heroic act a national secret.
Harley Quinn’s True Alignment is Complicated
When Harley first burst onto the comic book scene, she was infamously the Joker’s partner-in-crime. For years, she willingly went along with his heinous crimes while she was in a toxic and abusive relationship with the Clown Prince of Crime. But years after putting up with the Joker, she finally went out on her own and began to carve a path separate from the Harlequin of Hate. Of course, early into her journey of self-discovery, Harley Quinn was still committing crimes and generally being a force of chaos.
But Harley slowly found herself working on the right side of the law, teaming up with heroes like Power Girl, Wonder Woman, and even Batman on occasion. Instead of victimizing innocent people, she started going after bad guys (or at the very least people who were real jerks). While she was never officially inducted into the Bat-Family, Harley Quinn developed a truce of sorts with them and partnered with Gotham’s heroes on various occasions. Harley’s growth into a hero even earned her a spot on Jon Kent’s brief Justice League during Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths.
That’s not to say Harley has always been on the straight and narrow. In the current Harley Quinn series, Harley revisited her supervillain life, even bringing her classic jester look back, and started working with other costumed criminals. Of course, this was part of a new effort to help villains’ mental health and ensure their crimes were actually helping their lives. She did kind of get in trouble with Tim Drake over this stunt, but Harley Quinn was forced to team up with the Boy Wonder when a new police officer with an anti-vigilante agenda began targeting them.
Harley Quinn’s return to the supervillain life can be seen in
Harley Quinn #38 (2024)
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Harley Quinn is Complex But She’s Ultimately Good for Gotham
Granted, the only reason Harley even went out into Gotham was because she wanted to join in the giant street fight. But the moment she discovered that the city was in serious danger, she ran toward the trouble instead of finding Ivy and getting out of dodge. The old Harley Quinn never would have done that, but she’s gone through some serious changes in the past few years. And no, she wasn’t able to solve the Riddler’s puzzles all by herself, but if it wasn’t for Harley Quinn, Gotham would be a smoldering heap.
If that doesn’t prove Harley Quinn is Bat-Family worthy, what does?
Harley Quinn is a lot of things. Kooky. Irrational. Unpredictable. Admittedly when it comes to Gotham’s vigilantes, she can’t always be trusted, especially since she’s still not above the occasional robbery (only sometimes, though). But while Harley still has shades of her old self pop up, she’s undeniably changed for the better. She’s still not a ‘full’ member of the Bat-Family, but Harley Quinn just saved Gotham when Batman, Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl couldn’t. If that doesn’t prove Harley Quinn is Bat-Family worthy, what does?
Of course, it takes more than just being a hero in Gotham to be a Bat-Family member. But Harley’s not just another colorful costume in Gotham. She’s someone who genuinely cares about the well-being of the city and its people. Is she a little off sometimes? Yes. But at the end of the day, she’s evolved to the point where she knows saving Gotham is a priority. Who knows if the Bat-Family will ever come calling for Harley Quinn, but feats like this prove that she’s indeed worthy of the team.
Harley Quinn is the Best Choice for the Bat-Family’s Next Member
Batman knows that Harley isn’t the same criminal sidekick she was so long ago and knows that she really does have a good heart. With the Bat-Family bigger than ever, it’s not that big of a stretch to imagine they could wind up formally inducting her in the next few years. There’s no guarantee she’d even join (Harley does appreciate her freedom after all). But as long as Harley Quinn is out there, protecting Gotham from apocalyptic scenarios like this, she’s proving she’s Bat-Family material.
Batman #151 is available now from DC Comics.
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Batman #151 (2024) |
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