Harley's the lighter element in a very dark world.
She would just as soon whack you on the head as she would kiss you...
...and run away laughing either time.
They always talk about the girl next door.
Well, there's also the bad girl next door, and that's what Harley Quinn is.
She is a dangerous person but she's funny. She's sweet and she's also lethal.
She's a chaotic person and they're usually the ones left standing...
...at the end of the day with bodies all around them. Heh, heh.
In the early '90s, Batman: The Animated Series...
...needed something special and something different.
On that list was Harley Quinn.
This character Bruce Timm drew but sprung from the mind Paul Dini.
Where Harley Quinn came from, she first appeared in a story called "Joker's Favor."
When I was coming up with the idea for the story, I was going like:
"Well, Joker always has a gang of hench-people with him."
And I thought, "What if there's a girl there?
What if she's more of a live-wire? What if she's somebody who kind of laughs--
You know, not only laughs at his jokes but also makes jokes herself.
And that gets the Joker angry with her. Like, "Hey, don't steal my thunder, gal!
You know, you're supposed to be running around and opening doors for me.
So, you know, know your place here."
And I wrote her in and she was funny.
A Joker's girlfriend, that could have been a one-episode thing.
And then you never saw her again. But she was a great character.
There's something about Harley Quinn. I mean, there's the look.
There's the attitude, then there's the voice.
[HARLEY CLEARS THROAT]
DINI: My friend, Arlene Sorkin, was doing a character on Days of our Lives.
It was sort of that wise-cracking blonde character.
Gonna call in a specialist, boss?
And I thought, "That's a good voice for the character. Kind of, maybe, a Judy Holliday...
...classic 1930s screwball blonde type.
Sure thing, Mr. J.
It's a grating kind of voice, but in a fun way.
That's what's appealing about her. It's like, it's the personality that's coming through...
...that's appealing, and it draws you to her.
She may be a homicidal maniac. At the same time, she's a fun homicidal maniac.
Bruce's model was terrific. I remember coming in, and when we were...
...coming up with the look of the character, I drew a sketch.
And it looked very much like a wise-cracking blonde type.
And it looked very '60s in a mini-skirt and, you know, a weird mask.
You know, it really, kind of returned to that style of the classic TV show henchwoman.
And Bruce looked at it and went, "Hm. That's going right in the blackmail file.
I think we can do better."
And he sat down and like, with the ease of a sword stroke went:
[SWOOSH]
And came up with the Harley drawing we all know and love.
It was her first model. And, in many ways, her best model.
CARLIN: It is a court jester costume, which is a little silly.
If you think back on the history of court jesters...
...and even things like Punch and Judy shows...
...the comedy was painful. And Harley Quinn is somebody who...
...updates that whole medieval cruelty-is-funny kind of thing.
GLASS: If you go back to medieval times, the trickster has always been...
...sort of, you know, part of the king's camp, you know.
Or the court, you know. And so they always are favor of the king, you know.
Make him laugh. Make him happy.
And I think, once again, that's what Harley does for Joker.
The thing that was interesting to us at DC was how quickly she caught on.
And that does not happen every day.
The '60s was, like-- There was a million characters caught on.
But, really, late '70s till Harley Quinn in '90...
...it was a long run.
Waiting. Heh, heh, heh.
In fairly short order, she made her leap into the pages of DC comics...
...with "Mad Love." This wonderful deep dig into her character and her background.
When Bruce and I went to lunch one day, we thought, "What is her origin?"
Because we were looking at doing a comic book story about her.
And we came up with the origin of, like, "Hey, what if she was--?
What if she's the Joker's therapist and he did a little switch on her...
...and turned her evil? You know, worked on what was already there...
...and brought her over to his side." And once we put that in there she just became--
She had a history. She had a back-story.
And kind of tragic flaw that she would have fallen for this guy.
It's a sad story and at the same time it's an uplifting story, in its own way.
People thought of it as, "Oh, that's canon." You know.
It's coming from the guys who make the show...
...so this is really an episode of the show on paper.
GLASS: To me, that's the springboard, from her just being the side character...
...to becoming the Harley Quinn that we know and love today.
And I know a lot of people who I think look at that as the quintessential book...
...that really brings Harley-- You know, makes her a rock star.
DINI: In coming up with possible scenarios for who Harley was before--
First, before she was Harley Quinn, and even before she was Dr. Quinzelle.
I think that she had always wanted to delve into...
...the mind of people with psychological problems.
What she didn't recognize was there was a flaw in her personality that drew her to them.
That maybe they were a mirror of something in her.
And I think her relationship with the Joker definitely brought that out.
[SIREN WAILING]
Harley Quinn, I mean, she wouldn't exist without Arkham.
I mean, most villains end up there. She kind of started there.
CARLIN: Nobody really thinks that the psychologist and psychiatrists...
...might have some problems they need to work on as well.
If you're dealing with that level of psychosis...
...and just disconnect from society, it might be catchy.
The real problem for her was that the Joker was the one...
...who saw an opportunity and he went for it.
He knew how to work her.
And I think she learned more from him and more how to twist things around...
...and more how to work other people than from any book on psychology.
GLASS: I think Harlene Quinzelle had this character locked up inside of her...
...and the Joker was the key. The Joker opened the door.
The Joker let Harley Quinn out and let her live.
He freed her from her prison.
She's manipulating everything.
Harley's the devil, if you really want to look at it in one way.
You can't believe anything she's saying or doing.
It's all coming from different sides, but through it all, there's some heart there...
...which is what makes her so interesting.
Harley can't control that her heart is a little bit on her sleeve.
I think Harley Quinn is actually a nicer person than the Joker is.
I think she has empathy. Maybe not for the same things everybody else does.
She's not as far gone as the Joker. There's still hope for her.
GLASS: Look, he's crazy, you know. But at the same time, I am sure...
...there are moments were that craziness is down a little bit...
...and she got to see inside something.
So she's gotten as close to, you know, evil as you can get.
And has seen all different sides of it.
And has not only fallen in love with it, it has fallen in love with her.
I was aware that they were using her in the new 52 and my first thought was:
"Oh, great. The kid is working. They haven't left her by the side of the road."
There was some reinvention, but I could still recognize...
...the character, or elements of the character.
She's not just defined by being the Joker's girlfriend.
She's much, much more.
And she's been a very popular character.
Not just in straight Batman comics, but she's had her own title.
She's been in numerous adventures with Poison Ivy and Catwoman.
She's a member in good standing of the Suicide Squad.
GLASS: Conflict makes great stories, you know.
So when you put a bunch of thieves in a room, no one trusts anyone.
So I think that all these characters don't trust anybody...
...but then end up being forced to trust each other.
I think that's what makes it interesting in Suicide Squad.
But yet, they're always going to fall back to that, you know:
"The minute I get comfortable, is that when I get it in my back?"
Is that when someone's going to put the knife in there?
Harley's going to be smarter than she is stronger.
She is going to surprise you. She's unpredictable.
And someone like Amanda Waller, I think she actually respects a Waller.
I think there's a mutual respect. I mean, Waller brings her in.
Knows she's a wild card but also knows that Harley's good for the team...
...and that sometimes you need a wild card to win.
And I think we prove that over and over in the book...
...because Harley, sometimes, will be the last person standing.
The way I pitched her was, "Let's strip her of everything.
Let's see a Harley who is all on her own...
...who is not having to be reliant on the Joker...
...who isn't obsessed, at the moment, with the Joker.
I got a lot of flak, and I knew I would, when I put Harley with Deadshot.
And part of the reason was, once again, let's examine her in a different relationship.
Let's see what that looks like. l mean, all this was a chance...
...to explore Harley in a different light than we'd seen her in before.
CARLIN: The Joker was Harley's first big love.
And I think that never goes away entirely.
There's always going to be a little pang when you see them.
There's always a little bit of, "lf only it had worked out."
I don't know if there's ever going to be a real resolution...
...to the Deadshot-Joker-Harley triangle.
It is surprising and appealing to me to see that the Joker...
...He does have some kind of feeling for Harley.
He just doesn't know what to do with it.
And he's-- He doesn't like it about himself.
GLASS: Joker's madly in love with Harley, you know?
He's obsessed with her. Why does he show back up and get so upset?
Because she's a prized possession? Maybe. One could make that argument.
But I think it's more than that. I think that he is literally hurt...
...and wants her to feel his pain and hurt because he cares about her.
It is something we use in this Assault on Arkham animated film.
And we play up the two guys against each other, and the jealousy that's there.
I don't like people touching my stuff.
And at the same time, we show that Harley is kind of manipulating both sides...
...to her own gain.
I think this is unfortunately something that happens...
...to regular people in their regular lives as well.
These kinds of relationships are out there.
GLASS: I think Harley speaks to a lot of girls out there.
She is a bad girl with a heart of gold.
And I think that, at the end of the day, people relate to that...
...because, think, inside, even if we're good, we always want to be a little wicked.
I think that there's so many layers to her.
If you were to sit and talk to Harley in a bar I think you'd lead--
You'd start the conversation thinking one thing...
...by the time you left, you realize you were completely wrong about her...
...that there's so much more to her than what's on the surface.
CARLIN: If you look at the current Harley Quinn comic done by Jimmy Palmiotti...
...and Amanda Conner, you'll see that she does her best to try...
...to make a go of playing it straight.
It's impossible to predict where Harley Quinn is going to go.
GLASS: To me, the Joker's the greatest villain in comics...
...so I feel like no one really can top him, to me.
But if anyone could come close, it'd be Harley Quinn.
It's very flattering to know that I help-- I had a hand in the creation of a character...
...that later went on to become, you know, one of the great adversaries.
At least the adversaries of this time period.
I'm just happy the character exists. She's still out there.
And I hope that however she survives, or if she survives, into, you know...
...throughout Batman's history, whoever is handling her from this point on treats her...
...with a little bit of affection and respect and just have some fun with her.