Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman #151!If it was ever in doubt whether Harley Quinn Should be considered a Bat family Member or not, her latest feat should clear things up. Harley has been all over the map when it comes to the hero/villain continuum, but where does she fall during DC’s latest disaster?
Amanda Waller has taken over the DC Universe by force, unleashing her all-amazo squad Task Force VII on the world and stealing the powers of almost every meta-human on Earth. To make matters worse, opportunistic villains take advantage of the chaos, leaving Harley Quinn as Gotham City’s only hope to save it from complete and utter destruction.
Harley Quinn stops the Riddler from destroying Gotham
in Batman #151 Backup story, “Absolute Power Plant!” By Tini Howard, Marianna Ignazzi, Giovanna Niro and Clayton Cowles, Gotham has gone to Hell. The Bat-Family is nowhere in sight and the streets are filled with some of the city’s worst criminals and supervillains (save those with powers like Poison Ivy, who have gone underground). feeling for a little excitement, Harley Quinn joins the fray. But once a gunman starts shooting at her, Harley retreats into the sewers for safety.
… Harley Quinn races to the power plant to stop the Riddler.
While in the sewers, Harley finds one of Batman’s communicators picking up a message from the Riddler. Harley listens to what Nygma says and discovers that the villain is threatening the Gotham County Nuclear Power Plant. Fearing the nuclear fallout, Harley Quinn races to the power plant to stop the Riddler. Harley arrives at the factory and orders Nygma to stop the factory from leveling Gotham, But while gargling him, Harley Quinn accidentally knocks the Riddler outLeaving Harley and a couple of scientists to solve his riddles.
Harley Quinn frees the scientists Riddler took hostage and the trio tackles the puzzles the King of Conundrums left behind. Harley gets the first one right but struggles with the next two. Thankfully, each of the scientists gets a puzzle right, stopping the power plant from melting down. The two express their sincere gratitude to Harley but unfortunately, due to the power plant’s safety protocols, Harley’s actions cannot be revealed to anyone, not even Batman. Harley Quinn is forced to sign an NDA, keeping her heroic act a national secret.
Harley Quinn’s true alignment is complicated
When Harley first burst onto the comic book scene, she was the Joker’s infamous partner-in-crime. For years, she willingly went along with his heinous crimes while she was in a toxic and abusive relationship with the Clown Prince of Crime. But years after she met the Joker, she finally went out on her own and began carving a path apart from the harlequin of hate. Of course, early on in her journey of self-discovery, Harley Quinn is still committing crimes and is generally a force of chaos.
But Harley slowly found herself working on the right side of the law, alongside heroes like Power Girl, Wonder Woman and even Batman. Instead of victimizing innocent people, she started going after bad guys (or at least people who were truly compassionate). While she was never officially inducted into the Bat-Family, Harley Quinn developed a bond of sorts with them and partnered with Gotham’s heroes on various occasions.. Harley’s growth into a hero even earned her a spot on Jon Kent’s short Justice League during Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths.
That’s not to say Harley has always been on the straight and narrow. In the current Harley Quinn series, Harley revised her supervillain life, even bringing back her classic jester look, and started working with other costumed criminals. Obviously, this was part of a new effort to help the mental health of the villains and ensure that their crimes were actually helping their lives. She was at odds with Tim Drake over the stunt, however Harley Quinn was forced to team up with the Boy Wonder When a new police officer with an anti-vigilante agenda started targeting them.
Harley Quinn’s return to the supervillain life can be seen in Harley Quinn #38 (2024)!
Harley Quinn is complex but she is ultimately good for Gotham
Honestly, the only reason Harley is even out in Gotham is because she wanted to join the giant street fight. But the moment she discovered that the city was in serious danger, she ran to the trouble instead of meeting Ivy and getting out of Dodge. The old Harley Quinn would never do that, but she has undergone some serious changes in recent years. And no, she couldn’t solve the Riddler puzzles by herself, but If it wasn’t for Harley Quinn, Gotham would be a smoldering heap.
If that doesn’t prove that Harley Quinn is Bat-Family worthy, what does?
Harley Quinn is a lot of things. Cookie. Irrational. Unpredictable. Admittedly, when it comes to Gotham’s vigilantes, you can’t always be trusted, especially since she’s still not above the occasional robbery (only sometimes, though). But even though Harley still has shades of her old self pop up, she’s undeniably changed for the better. She is not yet a ‘full’ member of the Bat family, however Harley Quinn just saved Gotham when Batman, Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl couldn’t. If that doesn’t prove that Harley Quinn is Bat-Family worthy, what does?
Of course, it takes more than just being a hero in Gotham to be a Bat-family member. But Harley isn’t just another colorful costume in Gotham. She is a person who truly cares about the well-being of the city and its people. Is she a little off sometimes? Yes. But at the end of the day, she has evolved to the point where she knows that saving Gotham is a priority. Who knows if the Bat-Family will ever come calling for Harley QuinnBut feats like this prove that she is truly worthy of the team.
Harley Quinn is the best choice for the next member of the Bat-family
Batman knows that Harley is not the same criminal sidekick she was so long ago and knows that she really does have a good heart. With the bat-family bigger than ever, it’s not that big of a stretch to imagine that they might wind up formally inducting you in the next few years. There was no guarantee that she would even join (Harley really values ​​her freedom after all). But as long as Harley Quinn Is there, protecting Gotham from apocalyptic scenarios like this, she proves that she is Bat family Material.
Batman #151 is available now from DC Comics.
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Batman #151 (2024) |
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