Since her introduction in the animated Batman series, Harley Quinn’s popularity has skyrocketed, getting herself her own live-action movie and an animated show on the DC app. Mostly going hand in hand with the Joker, Harley has recently walked out of his shadow and gone on to her own role as sort of an antihero.
Now Harley Quinn is often associated with teams like the Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey and she’s even been known to help Batman on some occasions. This begs the question as to whether or not Harley is ready to join the big leagues with the ultimate superteam the Justice League, or if she’s simply meant to be an Anti-hero. Here are five reasons why she’s a Justice League candidate, and five reasons why she’s better off doing what she does now.
JL: She’s A Very Skilled Combatant
Before she was a crazed lunatic with clown makeup and a giant mallet, Harleen Quinzel was a lot of things. Combining her agility and her gymnast background, Harley Quinn has become one of the best fighters in DC, being able to take on just about anyone.
Like Nightwing, Harley uses backflips and somersaults to dodge punches and her huge signature mallet makes her a force to be reckoned with. A truly welcome skill to have if she were to join the Justice League.
Anti-Hero: Her Alliances With Poison Ivy & Other Villains
Being a part of the Suicide Squad that’s made up of villains or former villains and even creating her own team of misfits, Harley doesn’t always hang out with good people. Since her reintroduction in DC Rebirth Harley has been in a relationship with Poison Ivy who is also considered an anti-hero in her own right.
Joining the Justice League might anger the people she’s normally surrounded by and could cause some bitter feelings and could even lead to violence.
JL: Her Hatred For The Joker
Harley Quinn and the Joker’s breakup was anything less than cordial. As we saw in Birds Of Prey and in the Harley Quinn animated series, Harley didn’t take the break up well at all and did suffer quite a bit. The Joker on the other hand just moved on with his life and didn’t even give Harley a second thought.
Like any person, Harley didn’t take this well and went on a bender trying to mend her broken heart. And every time she saw Mr.J afterward it would end in a fight or very unpleasant back and forths between each other. With the Justice League being a pain on the Joker’s side, its a perfect way to get back at him.
Anti-Hero: Her Extreme Methods Of Justice
Most DC superheroes live a certain code of not killing. Harley Quinn, like many villains, doesn’t care who she hurts and kills in the process of doing what she wants and her extreme methods sometimes cause a lot of people to die.
From her various dangerous pranks with the Joker or her own gags, Harley has put a lot of people in the hospital and has been responsible for many unnecessary deaths due to her carelessness for human life.
JL: She Can Work Well With Others (Sometimes)
Like we saw in Birds of Prey, Harley isn’t completely selfish and she sometimes helps people. When it’s convenient for her, Harley proves she can be a team player and can help out a lot with her tactical knowledge, fearlessness, and acrobatics.
She’s worked with several teams both good and bad and has proven to be a solid ally. As a leader, she might still need some work as we saw in the animated series but overall Harley is a good teammate if you can keep her in check.
Anti-Hero: Her History
We all know the history behind her transformation, she was a respected psychiatrist at Arkham before she met the man who would change her life forever. After being dropped in a vat of acid and enduring torture and manipulation from the Joker, she became Harley Quinn.
With her entire way of being changing at the drop of a hat, it’s hard to wonder whether she’d be stable enough to be a reliable member of the Justice League. Could she be trusted to carry out a mission or could any little thing set her off?
JL: She’s A Psychiatrist
Despite her look and instability, Harley is still a doctor and an intelligent psychiatrist. Even after she traded her doctor robe and pencil skirt for the red and pink ponytails and short shorts Harley proved she could still diagnose people and read into their psyche.
Like we saw in the comic Heroes in Crisis, even our favorite heroes need some therapy sometimes and having a teammate that could diagnose and help could be really helpful.
Anti-Hero: She’s Impulsive/Unpredictable
Like we mentioned before, Harley’s mind is all over the place, it’s hard to narrow down what she’s thinking. Harley has been known to act on her emotions and she’s very impulsive and oftentimes unpredictable.
As a hero, you would need to be mentally stable and one of the most important parts of being a superhero is not letting your emotions get the best of you. Harley will let the smallest things bother her and sometimes her reaction could be blown out of proportion.
JL: She Already Has A Dynamic With Batman
For years, Harley was a thorn on Batman’s side due to her association with the Joker. Harley saw Batman as a killjoy and often enjoyed making him mad and drawing him out. Since the breakup with the Joker, the two have teamed up and even had a small romance.
When it comes to hating the Joker, the two share that in common and although they have different methods of justice, they still find a way to work together and even trust each other.
Anti-Hero: She’s Not In It For Heroics
Whether it be to prove she can stand on her own or for her own motives, Harley has never liked the idea of being a hero. To her, heroes like Superman and Batman are boy scouts who just follow the rules and never want to have any fun.
The superhero lifestyle is boring to Harley and holding herself to Justice League standards can be tough and even nearly impossible.
So should Harley Quinn join the Justice League or is she fine working by her own rules?
