Warning! Spoilers ahead for Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #2!One of the most powerful lines from The Dark Knight comes to the DC Universe’s canon, but not in the way fans expected. As Harley Quinn is gripped by a bad dream, a friendly face helps Harley come to terms with her place in the DC Universe as she borrows from Christian Bale’s Batman flick.
In Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #2 by Tini Howard and Hayden Sherman, Harley finally breaks through her nightmare caused by the supervillain Insomnia. She also discovers the voice that’s been speaking to her is Lady Quark, who used Harley Quinn’s nightmare to analyze the threat she presented to the multiverse.
Lady Quark tells Harley Quinn that her soul is one of the strongest in the multiverse and that even if the world doesn’t want her, Harley is necessary to stop the current calamities in the multiverse. Harley likens her state to being the hero the world needs, but not the one it deserves. Quark asks if Harley came up with that beautiful statement, with Harley sheepishly saying yes.
Harley Quinn Stole From The Dark Knight To Understand Her Place in the Multiverse
The Dark Knight is one of the most critically acclaimed comic book adaptations and a movie that’s been appreciated by Batman fans for well over a decade. In the film’s dramatic ending, Batman agrees to take the blame for Harvey Dent’s actions as Two-Face to protect his image and give Gotham a symbol it can look to. Commissioner Gordon explains to his son that Batman is the hero that their city deserves, but not the one it needs at the moment, an exchange that’s become one of the film’s most notable and oft-quoted lines.
Harley Quinn’s botched quotation from the film is an apt comparison to her current situation. Thanks to her new powers, Harley is finding herself thrust into a multiversal spotlight to fix problems that she has absolutely no idea how to repair. Harley has also been blatantly clear that she doesn’t want to deal with issues that big and that there are heroes much better suited at handling problems in the multiverse. But as Quark told Harley, the world requires a different kind of hero to solve the issues facing the multiverse: Not one it necessarily deserves, but one it needs.
Harley Quinn is Finally Getting On Board with Being a Multiversal Hero
The Dark Knight’s pivotal dialogue establishes that there’s a difference between the types of heroes necessary for certain situations. Harley Quinn has been limiting herself and spent so much time thinking that she’s not worthy of being a multiverse-level hero. But Lady Quark is finally helping Harley see that, worthy or not, Harley needs to step up and figure out what’s going on in the multiverse and how she fits in. Maybe it’s not what The Dark Knight had in mind during its iconic scene, but Harley’s appropriation of the dialogue is helping her rise to the challenge the multiverse is presenting her.
Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #2 is on sale from DC Comics now.
