Why does this forum seem to dislike Harley Quinn?

[Jman27]

I can't find the Harley thread so i will ask this here. Was it ever explained why Harley was forgiven for her role in the Injustice universe for helping killing metropolis and superman wife? Unless the comics told something different I was always wierded out that Batman was OK with working with her in that universe considering she helped out Joker which mess up Superman in the first place.

[Frontier]

I can't find the Harley thread so i will ask this here. Was it ever explained why Harley was forgiven for her role in the Injustice universe for helping killing metropolis and superman wife? Unless the comics told something different I was always wierded out that Batman was OK with working with her in that universe considering she helped out Joker which mess up Superman in the first place.

I don't think she was ever clearly forgiven so much as they were so desperate for allies and Harley just ended up joining them and fighting against the Regime as her "redemption" even if it was all partially her fault.

[Jman27]

I don't think she was ever clearly forgiven so much as they were so desperate for allies and Harley just ended up joining them and fighting against the Regime as her "redemption" even if it was all partially her fault.

Oh ok I never did like that. I thought there was some other deep reason

[Gaius]

I can't find the Harley thread so i will ask this here. Was it ever explained why Harley was forgiven for her role in the Injustice universe for helping killing metropolis and superman wife? Unless the comics told something different I was always wierded out that Batman was OK with working with her in that universe considering she helped out Joker which mess up Superman in the first place.

Knuckle-draggers over at NRS didn’t care about alignment or reasoning beyond “Batman = Good, Superman = Evil”.

Taylor being a Harley fanboy means he also had no desire to see her held accountable or try to explain why in the comics she wasn’t. Well, unless the Kents or Ra’s are on the page.

[TravelerInTheDark]

Why should I like Harley Quinn? She's more annoying than entertaining to me. She also has the habit of bringing down other characters more than acting in any kind of supportive capacity when she shows up in my comics.

[Tsukiakari1203]

Why should I like Harley Quinn? She's more annoying than entertaining to me. She also has the habit of bringing down other characters more than acting in any kind of supportive capacity when she shows up in my comics.

i agree with this. I always groan when Harley shows up

[Gridde]

Why should I like Harley Quinn? She's more annoying than entertaining to me. She also has the habit of bringing down other characters more than acting in any kind of supportive capacity when she shows up in my comics.

The current Batman run is a good example of this. The latest arc is meant to be all-out war between Batman and Joker but the whole thing was basically Harley fighting Punchline a few times, Harley saving or generally punking Batman a ton, and then ultimately Harley resolving the Batman/Joker conflict singe-handedly. All while Batman blunders his way through everything being generally useless. I'm also going to be bitter for some time that Bruce and Dick's big reunion was relegated to two panels in order to make room for multiple pages of Harley teaching Batman about morality and getting the drop on him with ease.

I really love the character in her animated series (and that whole show in general) but in comics she has no consistent characterization and is generally really over-exposed, coupled with the fact that there seems to be some sort of editorial mandate to have her be the star of whatever book she's guest-featuring in.

It's all basically Deadpool 2.0. That character went through the exact same thing and a lot of people ended up hating him for it.

You are aware she was trained to fight on themiscyra pre flashpoint right? And that's after the fact she was made superhuman

Even the general image you have of Harley is a psychological ploy she puts out to get people to view her as weak and underestimate her and give her an advantage in a fight

That's why she couldn't stay with the Joker because he began to resent her plans actually working and subsequently began abusing her

I seriously doubt any of this is still canon, given she lost a melee fight with Punchline. Either that or, as previously discussed, her character is so inconsistent and messy at this point that the current Batman team have no idea what her powers/abilities even are.

[Jackalope89]

Honestly, even the few episodes of the Harley show I watched, I watched it for Ivy. I went from liking Harley, to being annoyed by her presence in most things.

No, its not limited to just her. I do the same with Bendis' Jon Kent too.

[Gridde]

Honestly, even the few episodes of the Harley show I watched, I watched it for Ivy. I went from liking Harley, to being annoyed by her presence in most things.

No, its not limited to just her. I do the same with Bendis' Jon Kent too.

I like that she's clearly a flawed character in the show, and gets called out on it. Can definitely see people finding her annoying though.

The supporting cast are what make really make the show good. Takes a bit of time for it to gain traction.

[Restingvoice]

I seriously doubt any of this is still canon, given she lost a melee fight with Punchline. Either that or, as previously discussed, her character is so inconsistent and messy at this point that the current Batman team has no idea what her powers/abilities even are.

Harley's training in Themyscira is definitely not canon because in Rebirth Themyscira is closed off from the outside world with an illusion and barrier by the Olympians since the island is a prison to contain Ares that even his sons Phobos and Deimos are not able to break in.

Only some characters like Diana, Steve, Donna, Grail, and Diana's brother Jason can get in and out when the Olympians allow it. Anyone else will see the illusion island that looks like Azzarello's Wonder Woman.

Ares and the island protection has only been released in the past 2 years and by this point, Harley's bound to Suicide Squad.

You can argue that Harley is trained by the illusion Amazons since Batman has interacted with them, but I don't know the story details and they're not the same as Pre-Flashpoint Amazons. Very hostile to outsiders.

The more correct answer would be she's good because she's good enough for Suicide Squad.

[kaimaciel]

I like Harley, but she's used way too often. She's like Frozen, a few times is alright, too much and it gets annoying.

[Aramis]

From what has been discussed, I think it can be summarized in a set of possible reasons. Some are valid, some others not so much.

1. Sexism. People that simply don't want female characters to be as popular or strong as some male ones; or people that want female characters just to be sexy and sattellite characters of a male one.

2. Her humor. People that find her annoying, or too over-the-top nowadays. Like Deadpool.

3. Nostalgia. People that met a character in a certain phase of their history (or in her case, her origin) and want those characters to always be that way.

4. Her popularity. People that "hate" how she became a really, REALLY popular character, "without earning it".

5. Her scene in HiC lol



Now, my opinion. First, you have to know that I am a 90's kids, I grew with the Bruce Timm Batman show. However, I like characters that evolve, that change, that improve.
Another thing. I don't like current, comic-Batman. Like, at all. For many reasons. Sometimes I simply hate him. On the other hand, I do love the rest of the batfamily, and some of them (Dick, Jason and Cass) are part of my TOP 10 DC favs.

Now, about Harley... I like her, especially her modern incarnation. She's not one of my favorites or anything, but I like her. I liked how she evolved, her humour, and how she left Joker behind. Yes, she's everywhere nowadays, but as she is a comedic character, I don't really mind. Somehow, her interventions and cameos seem natural and fluid to me, unlike how Bruce is literally everywhere for no reason.
I can understand that people don't like her humour, or her popularity. Some other reasons (nostalgia and sexism) are a bit more difficult to defend, but some others are really understandable. I think it depends on the case.

[Tzigone]

You left out the bit where she does villainous things, but then ends up not treated like a villain by heroes - unless that's what you meant about her being comedic, so it's okay. It's not okay with me. That bothers me a lot. Hated it with Lobo, too. And Deathstroke. It makes the heroes look very bad. Or where other characters get nerfed to make her look better - also happens a lot (especially with BatGod, but seen it with various) and I hate that, too. Things like Barbara not in the Birds of Prey and Harley being there instead are another manifestation of this. Again, happens with popular characters a lot, but when a fan's favorites get tossed aside so another can be used in their place, it annoys them. Which is also an issue that I think causes a problem with legacies, but others love it. So I guess you s say I hate her because she's popular (actually, I don't know that it qualifies as hatred, but I actively avoid things she is in until after I find out if any of my annoyances get hit, but I do the same with Batman published since the late '90s in non-Bat titles - feel way more passionate dislike about him in the modern era than I do her). But it's way that popularity affects other characters that bothers me, not the popularity itself.

[WebLurker]

I don't read her in the comics, but I'm okay with the character in general.

[Nite-Wing]

I wonder how long this "Harley was never redeemed" meme is gonna continue. I know it comes from angry fans who are mad about injustice but if you don't play the injustice games and just read the comics I can grasp why you have this opinion but I still don't respect it. In the games you have Superman. Supergirl, Black Canary and Green Arrow literally ask this same question in game and form their own conclusions. Maybe you all should play the games and stop looking for answers to questions already answered. Its blatant ignoring canon and its somehow taken off on the internet and this forum in general.



Its a shame that a female character has to be the face of this scorn on this forum but it does highlight the weirder aspects of internet culture and fights going on currently. Anytime a female character is presented a certain way and is changed it is met with derision usually it's never popular so any inherent sexism can be downplayed by reasonable cause for concern arguments against the change but the difference between Harley Quinn becoming popular because of her emancipation from the Joker and rise as one of DC biggest characters and a franchise all her own compared to say Supergirl or Batgirl getting hate and depushed because of costumes or storytelling decisions can't be overstated.