Yas Quinn

TO CELEBRATE 30 YEARS OF CHAOS WITH HARLEY QUINN, TOTAL FILM CHARTS THE DC STAR'S QUINTESSENTIAL ORIGINS AND STRATOSPHERIC RISE, WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THE TEAM BEHIND THE MAID OF MISCHIEF.

- MATT LOOKER

Gotham’s infamous Rogues Gallery – that is, the roster of supervillains that Batman has repeatedly fought throughout his career – consists of many wrongdoers with a long, comic-book-storied history, often dating back to the ’40s.

However, Harley Quinn is a much more recent creation, with an origin story that doesn’t begin in the usual medium. In fact, for one of the most popular comic-book characters currently in existence, her very first appearance didn’t happen in a comic book at all, but in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series.

In ‘Joker’s Favor’, the 22nd episode of the show, which aired on 11 September 1992, Harley Quinn was devised to be just an interesting female addition to the Joker’s crew of many male henchmen. Little did anyone know then that this simple throwaway idea would become something so much bigger. “Her incredible popularity really snuck up on me,” explains co-creator Bruce Timm. “I wasn’t even aware of it and then over the years I began to gradually realise I was seeing more people dress up as Harley at conventions, and I started seeing a lot more Harley merchandise.”

ANIMANIAC

It was writer Paul Dini who first came up with the idea, inspired by his friend, Days Of Our Lives actress Arleen Sorkin, who would often adopt a fun, ditzy comedy voice. Of course, when it came to actually casting this brand new character, Sorkin was the obvious choice to bring in for the role and Harley became a character that she would go on to voice across various formats for the next 20 years.