Warning: Spoilers for Harley Quinn #43!Harley Quinn May look like a joker – and she may have the name of the archetypal jouster – but she is no laughing matter. She’s come a long way from being a side villain to becoming a hero in her own right, but still the heroes of the DC Universe don’t often give her much credit. Seeing as she’s a licensed therapist, not to mention a brilliant fighter, one Gotham hero is finally starting to notice her skills.
Against a Gotham villain who was once an ally, Harley Quinn uses more than just her fighting prowess to save the city in Harley Quinn #43 by Tini Howard, Natacha BustosSweeney Boo, and Steve Wands. With Robin’s help, Harley Quinn is able to eliminate Mr. Freeze’s problem, but she does it in a way that no Bat-Family member would ever think possible: through talk therapy. Then Tim Drake pulls her aside to tell her something that sends her reeling: He is now starting to take her seriously.
This scene is especially poignant because Harley has been trying to “woo” Robin as a friend for the past few issues. with Tim Drake now firmly on Harley’s side – As a hero and as a friend – there’s no telling how high Harley could go in the Gotham hero ranks.
Harley Quinn is finally being taken seriously – by Tim Drake’s Robin
A new dynamic duo
Harley has come a long way, and while she’s never really minded that she’s a joke to other heroes, she proves them wrong every once in a while. After all, she outfoxed Batman when she first met him and can bring down DC’s trinity even today. But she’s more than just a superb fighter, because Robin is the one to say exactly what sets her apart: psychology. In the words of the boy wonder, “You may not be a…good guy…but you are not a bad person.Robin tells you what DC fans may have forgotten: Harley Quinn has a secret superpower, and it’s her PhD in Psychology.
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Instead of beating him into submission, Harley Quinn tries to talk Mr. Freeze off the cliff from his icy hold on Gotham. She is not only a joke-slinging acrobat, but a brilliant doctor Who understands the minds of the criminals of Arkham Asylum, probably better than Batman. She even called out the biggest superhero problem: their desperate need to punch each other instead of just going to therapy.
Harley Quinn is here to save the day
With a little talk therapy
Harley’s psychological expertise means she has a password into the inner lives of the villains she faces. She understands them as more than just Batman’s punching bags. Even from her past abusive experience with the Joker, she understands how these villains work – and more importantly, she knows how much pain they’re in. Harley Quinn decided to meet the villains of Gotham on their level and as a psychologist. In this arc, every fight she finds herself in is fought in her style: talk therapy – with a little kicking on the side.
It’s about time Harley Quinn gets the recognition she deserves in DC Comics. Robin is the first to notice her as a legitimate member of the Bat-family, and the rest of the DCU will soon follow. Long gone are the days of Harley Quinn as a sidekick, or even as a joke. Harley Quinn is finally being taken seriously.
Harley Quinn #43 Available now from DC Comics!