Warning: contains spoilers for Future State: Harley Quinn #1!
newly reformed Scarecrow, Dr. Quinzel makes an observation about a group of Gotham criminals that even the World’s Greatest Detective seemingly never noticed.
In Future State: Harley Quinn #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Simone Di Meo, fans are introduced to a not-too-distant tech-noir future of Gotham City taking place in the newly established DC timeline created pyromaniac supervillain known as Firefly, Harley points out the problem with not just Firefly but every fire-bug villain that has raged through Gotham for years.
The problem with all of the pyromaniac villains as pointed out by Harley is a simple one: there are just too many of them. Among the many pyro-criminals in Gotham City are Firebug, Heatwave, and multiple versions of Firefly, all of whom share the same desire to burn the city to the ground for their own gratification. According to peer-reviewed health journals, pyromania disorder is a rare condition for which only three to six percent of people in inpatient psychiatric hospitals meet the diagnostic criteria. Harley Quinn points out the statistical improbability while devising the plan to catch Firefly, which unsurprisingly works without fail, earning her her freedom from custody.
If there is one thing Doctor Harleen Quinnzel knows, it is the varied mental health conditions impacting patients in psychiatric care facilities, since it was part of her job description to know that specific information and treat those suffering from such conditions. While it has been some time since she has practiced in psychiatric treatments, Future State: Harley Quinn #1 showed fans that Harley still knows how to flex those mental muscles that earned her her PhD. Harley not only used her mind for the good of Gotham while also getting herself out of a bind in the first installment of her newest comic series, but Harley Quinn also drew attention to the statistical inaccuracies with the Dark Knight's pyromaniac villains; something Batman should probably look into, as there may be a way to stop the process by which Gotham is apparently creating pyromaniacs, or drawing them in from elsewhere in the country.
