Warning: This article contains spoilers for Harley Quinn #26!In recent years, Harley Quinn has deviated from her original form as Joker's lovesick jester, and even from villainy altogether. Due to her popularity, Harley now exists as a more nuanced and sympathetic character, a redeemed villain, and what could only be called an anti-hero. Some would even claim Harley Quinn is a hero now, though the Clown Princess herself begs to differ.
Harley Quinn's solo series is all about self-discovery. This concept has been taking quite literally in the "Who Killed Harley Quinn?" storyline. After being killed and then raised via Lazarus Pit, Harley soon learns that she has more enemies than she previously thought. As it turns out, Harley's greatest foe is herself—a fork-tongued, excessive-chain-wearing, Batman-Who-Laughs variant of herself from an alternate universe. The Harley-Who-Laughs has one goal: kill all the Harleys. Reluctantly, Harley Quinn must pick up the pieces and save the day once more.
Harley Quinn Chooses Not To Be A Hero
In Harley Quinn #26 by Stephanie Phillips, Matteo Lolli and David Baldeòn, Harley Quinn is facing the consequences of her own actions—specifically crushing the Harley-Who-Laughs' teleportation device and transporting 48 other multiversal variants of herself into her universe. Since these Harleys are all... Harley, they're not the easiest bunch to wrangle. Even with Batwoman on the case, only Harley truly understands herself. With a killer on the loose and Gotham filled with even more chaos-inducing criminals than usual, it's unfortunately up to Harley Quinn to save everyone. With Gotham burning beneath them, Harley and her best friend Kevin find themselves butting heads—and not for the first time since her death. Snapping at Kevin, Harley its that she's tired of always saving the day. In a city full of Bats, she points out, it should be their job to deal with the mess. All she really wants is to hang out with Ivy and have fun.
While Harley Quinn has the potential to be an amazing hero, she's missing the most important factor. At the end of the day, she doesn't want to be a hero. She still enjoys committing crimes, she enjoys not being burdened with the protection of others, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and forging her own path. However, as her best friend Kevin points out, just because she's saved the day a few times, doesn't mean she's owed any recompense. Harley's unwillingness to face herself and ignore what Gotham expects her to be is blocking her potential to become a great hero. Even Poison Ivy is taking on a greater moral responsibility, causing her and Harley's paths to slowly diverge.
While, like Red Hood, she leans more into vigilantism and taking crime on a case-by-case basis, Harley Quinn will not be donning a cape and outward-facing underwear anytime soon. After all, Gotham's got enough heroes as it is.
Harley Quinn #26 is now available from DC Comics.
