Harley Quinn is one of the most famous women characters in the DC Comics Universe, known for her bright appearance and for making friends with Joker. The character’s nickname is derived from her real name, Harleen Quinzel, as an association with the word “harlequin”.
Unlike the Joker, who began his journey in 1940 with comic books, the character of Harley appeared only half a century later, in 1992, in the animated series Batman.
During the 10 days that it took to write the script for the episode, the image and role of the heroine were constantly changing, at first Paul Dini, the creator, had the idea of a woman – a thug in dark glasses, who would obey the Joker without question, but then Dini came up with the idea to make the heroine funny, so that she could joke and sometimes even funnier than the Joker, because of which he would be angry at her.
When the creators started choosing the name for the new character, there were quite many options, including Columbine, but in the end, Harley Quinn was chosen, which is similar in sound to “harlequin”.
According to Dini, the final image of Harley Quinn was inspired by a clowness Calliope, who appeared in 1987 in one of the episodes of the Days of Our Lives series. That clown was more fairy-tallish and not evil, but there is a noticeable similarity in behavior. Calliope was played by Arlene Sorkin, who later voiced the original Harley character.
As for the biography of the character, it is full of interesting moments. In her youth, Harleen Quinzel was a talented gymnast, which allowed her to earn a sports scholarship to enter university.
Harley chose not the most trivial specialty – psychiatrist. But the girl did not show great diligence in study, instead, she seduced teachers, on whose subjects she did not do well.
Harley planned to become a popular psychologist with her series of books and went to work at Arkham Psychiatric Hospital to make a name for herself on the most difficult cases with homicidal maniacs. After three months, she was allowed to hold sessions with the Joker, who had fallen in love with her.
Harley helps the main DC villain escape, and when the hospital management finds it out, Quinn soon finds herself in the clinic herself, but as a patient. After an earthquake destroyed Gotham, Harley was able to escape from the destroyed Arkham, find the Harlequin costume, and meet Joker, who allowed his savior to join the gang.
What is Harley Quinn?
Harley Quinn is the name of a fictional character, supervillain, and anti-hero of the DC Comics universe. She first appeared in the 1992 Batman animated series, which was later adapted into comic books. Harley Quinn is the Joker’s main associate, for the same reason she hates Batman and his sidekicks. She also befriends Poison Ivy and Catwoman.
In terms of visual identity, Harley Quinn got her personal logo only in 2019, when the series about her came out. The badge of the bright evil character from the DC Comics Universe looks very girly and perfectly suits Miss Harley.
The Harley Quinn logo looks like a shiny neon banner in bright pink, the favorite color of the character. Written in outlined cursive, the lettering is set in the title case and placed in two levels. The corporate “DC” logo, with the two letters inscribed into a circle, is placed on the top part of the banner, and executed in light-blue neon. The blue part is significantly smaller than the pink wordmark.
Apart from the official franchise logo, Harley Quinn also has her personal symbol, which is solely graphical. The heroine looks very bright and is mostly known for her two-colored hairstyle, She also has many tattoos, but one symbol prevails. The card-themed emblem is made up of three rhomboid diamonds, which can be executed in a black-and-white palette, but sometimes has splashes of red in it.