Why is Harley Quinn so popular?

[CEOjo]

She even exceeds WONDER WOMAN of all people to an extent in terms of DC females. Why is this the case?

My thoughts on why I think this is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeWOLByoDfc

[FlictsLantern]

Very good analysis. I agree with you with the herd effect. Lots of people like her, so it makes even more people to know her and become a fan. I think she has the vantage of being a fresh character. Most of us saw her first appearance, we follow her growth... Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, are all great characters, but are not, for the lack of a better term, "ours" they were created in another time, with other people in mind. Now, Harley, harley is the "little baby" we follow every step of.
That said, I was a big fan of her in Batman Animated, but did not liked her books on the New 52. They turned the fun psicho in yet another blood-for-blood-sake character. This does not seem to change in the Rebirth era, so... I am not as amused with her anymore.

[Trey Strain]

I don't know, but when something like that happens the company just has to go with it.

[Nite-Wing]

She was presented to an audience outside of the comics fans with the arkham games and basically became DC's most popular female character

[Icefalcon]

It's a bit of an odd question in the fact that why is anything popular? Because a lot of people like it. Popular doesn't have to be good, or even morally acceptable it just needs a large fan base.

A similar thing happened with Wolverine in the 90's. A surly occasionally blood thirsty anti hero became the poster boy for Marvel and he's still fairly up there sales and recognition wise although I think Spidey has clawed back the top spot

[codystarbuck]

She was presented to an audience outside of the comics fans with the arkham games and basically became DC's most popular female character

Her popularity began with the animated series, which reached far more people than the video games. A lot is down to Paul Dini's writing, the character design, and Arlene Sorkin's wonderful vocal performance. Everything else follows from that. Quite frankly, the comics don't capture what made her great in the cartoon.

[Doctor Know]

Probably the same reason the Joker and Deadpool are popular. People like the unconventional characters. They can be more genuine in a sense.

[Icefalcon]

Probably the same reason the Joker and Deadpool are popular. People like the unconventional characters. They can be more genuine in a sense.

Do you know as I read that I was able to draw quite the parallel between Harley and Deadpool that I'd never noticed before

[Trey Strain]

One of my favorite writers, John Meston, once said that you have to write what you like and hope that the public likes it too. If they do, that's great. If they don't, you get sent down the street.

But to be a bit more analytical, maybe Harley injected some fun into the grimness of Batman.

[codystarbuck]

One of my favorite writers, John Meston, once said that you have to write what you like and hope that the public likes it too. If they do, that's great. If they don't, you get sent down the street.

But to be a bit more analytical, maybe Harley injected some fun into the grimness of Batman.

Or,brought it back. Batman wasn't that grim in the 70s and before, even in the O'Neil/Adams stories. He is serious, but still kept a sense of humor and the books had lighter moments, occasionally. BTAS captured that, especially since they were aiming at kids (though kept it so adults could enjoy it) and Harley epitomizes that. Other characters in the series did, too, leading to their addition to the DCU, like Rene Montoya and increased profiles for characters like Poison Ivy and Harvey Bullock, based on how they appeared in the cartoon.

[Lee Stone]

She's pretty much Lobo but with the added bonus of t&a.
So she appeals to a wider set of the current target comics audience.

Strange that her popularity doesn't appear to overlap so well into digital.
So it's possible that most of her fans are collectors and/or variants buyers.
It's also possible that her popularity may help distinguish trends between 'old school' comic readers that are conditioned to go to shops and the 'new breed' digital readers.

Btw... it's funny, but when I see her these days she reminds me more of Tank Girl than the original Harley Quinn.

[cgh]

Btw... it's funny, but when I see her these days she reminds me more of Tank Girl than the original Harley Quinn.

You are exactly right. Back in the day, Tank Girl was really popular with a certain type of teenaged girl. They would probably refer to themselves as "freaks" or whatever but in reality they were just acting out and being rebellious like a lot of young people. Girls adopted TG's fashions and attitude at all kinds of events and even in daily life. I knew a girl who was a TG fanatic even though she looked nothing like her in any way. She just identified with her and this is a powerful thing for young women.

The Harley love comes from the same basic source - a lot of girls see someone who is a "total freak!!!" or whatever. They think of themselves as dangerous wild cards (haha) who don't fit in for whatever reason. They want to identify with a female character who is dangerous, unpredictable, rebellious and also sexy (unfortunately). Wonder Woman doesn't fit this bill at all and tends to appeal to a completely different kind of girl, either very young or somewhat older. The original HQ didn't really fit this either as she was essentially an abused girlfriend and lacked agency.

My local comic shop has mostly female employees and a lot of female customers and dressing as Harley for whatever convention or event, no matter how small, is a given for a lot of them.

Like everyone's good buddy Trey said above, you can't plan for this stuff. DC just needs to roll with it for as long as it takes to burn itself out.

[Trey Strain]

I used to ask girls why they idolized Madonna, and about all I could get out of them was, "She does what she wants to."

Maybe it;s something like that.

[unholyrevenger72]

For the ladies it's because being in an abusive relationship is very relatable... sadly and her indomitable spirit.

For the strait guys every one wants to stick their dick in crazy at least once.

[Atlanta96]

I think it's because she stands out among all the other women in comics as a crazy, goofy, mentally troubled villain/antihero. She's a rare kind of female character that grabs people's attention, and is interesting enough for people to get invested in.