Warning: Spoilers ahead for Harley Quinn #44!Harley Quinn is a character of many faces, growing immensely throughout her comic book history, from starting out as the Joker’s mistreated sidekick to becoming an independent anti-hero, and a staple of many team-ups, including the Suicide Squad and The Bat -Family. Harley Quinn’s popularity has grown, but with it her almost uncontainable characterization, and her comic series has finally admitted that Harley Quinn’s character is out of hand.
In DC’s preview for Harley Quinn #44 – Written by Elliott Kalan and art by Mindy Lee – There is a moment of meta-commentary where Harley admits that she was largely disjointed, as she points out some of the problems she is facing with herself..
Harley mentions how she tried to redeem herself from her misdeeds while with the Joker, but now she’s too good to be a villain while she’s too chaotic and morally gray to be a hero. Harley Quinn’s internal struggle shows how the new era can fix her while also reflecting her dramatic character growth.
The new era of Harley Quinn is ready to fix the inner turmoil of the DC fan-favorite
Harley Quinn #44 – Written by Elliott Kalan; Art by Mindy Lee; Lettering by Lucas Gattoni
Harley Quinn’s internal struggle between good and evil is nothing new, but the preview shows Harley’s interesting perspective of being unhappy with her current life. Harley presents himself as a broken character, being a hero one story while committing crimes the next. She notices how she no longer enjoys what she’s doing while also feeling alone being cut off from Poison Ivy. As an interesting new direction for her character, the preview shows Harley Quinn in a rough Place With no support as she reminisces about when she was a bright, hopeful college student.
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Tiny Howard’s run ended on a high note for Harley, but now with Poison Ivy on the run and Vandal Savage as Gotham’s commissioner, Harley Quinn could be facing a lot of internal and external turmoil. After Howard’s run is largely full of colorful and crazy stories, A darker, more reflective Harley with a stronger anti-hero outlook could be a nice change for Harley’s characterWhile getting back to basics. With Harley recalling her struggle between hero and villain, it’s evident that the new creative team is looking to bring Harley’s characterization as an anti-hero back on track.
Harley Quinn is a multifaceted character who can be funny and serious
Can the New Era balance all that makes Harley Quinn?
Harley is definitely a chaotic character, but there’s more to her than a slapstick anti-hero. She is an emotionally complex and highly skilled character who can portray multiple facets of her identity without devolving into a caricature of herself. With Ivy gone and Harley feeling lost, The new era of Harley introduces a downward spiral for Harley to pull out and grow from. It is worth pondering whether the new era of Harley Quinn will take her in a new and interesting direction and also be able to fix her messy characterization.
Harley Quinn #44 Will be available on October 23, 2024 from DC Comics!