Why is Harley Quinn so popular?

[Nite-Wing]

I love the old Harley from TAS and the comics pre New 52. I can't stand New 52/Rebirth Harley. I don't see much of anything of why I loved the character in Harley as she is now, as she's basically written as a female Deadpool in juggalette get up.

a female deadpool is gwenpool or lady deadpool
Harley Quinn is being written as Harley Quinn aside from her appearance changing nothing has been changed about her personality

[mathew101281]

The character has evolved(as most characters do over time). No comicbook character stays the same.

[Beaubier]

a female deadpool is gwenpool or lady deadpool
Harley Quinn is being written as Harley Quinn aside from her appearance changing nothing has been changed about her personality

New 52 Harley ramped up the crazy and sadism and dialed down the fun and playfulness. As well as adding in a lot of trashiness as well and giving her a hideous character design. I tried again to read one of her more recent issues and also did not find it very funny but rather very obnoxious.

Lady Deadpool didn't really have a similar personality to Deadpool although her origin story is almost the same as HQ's.

And characters do change obviously but that doesn't mean I'm obligated to like those changes or support those books.

[Falcon7]

And this is one of my points of contention with gender swapping/making an exisiting character a minority. Create new characters. STOP forcing your polly corect agenda on exisiting ones. That shows me those people have zero talent.


Harley is a great character. Amanda Waller is a great character. Jessica Jones is a great character. Hellcat is a great character. Black Widow is a great character. MockingBird is a great character. Falcon is a great character. Black Panther is a great character. Shang Chi is a great character. ALL NEW characters. The thing that pisses off fans of a particular character is when they wipe out exisiting history for some agenda. People that like that type of crap are not fans.

[Beaubier]

And this is one of my points of contention with gender swapping/making an exisiting character a minority. Create new characters. STOP forcing your polly corect agenda on exisiting ones. That shows me those people have zero talent.


Harley is a great character. Amanda Waller is a great character. Jessica Jones is a great character. Hellcat is a great character. Black Widow is a great character. MockingBird is a great character. Falcon is a great character. Black Panther is a great character. Shang Chi is a great character. ALL NEW characters. The thing that pisses off fans of a particular character is when they wipe out exisiting history for some agenda. People that like that type of crap are not fans.

I'm not sure how this is related to the topic.

[Falcon7]

It is related because Harley is a new character.

[Beaubier]

She's existed since 1992. I don't think I'd call that 'new'.

[Carabas]

And this is one of my points of contention with gender swapping/making an exisiting character a minority. Create new characters. STOP forcing your polly corect agenda on exisiting ones. That shows me those people have zero talent.


Harley is a great character. Amanda Waller is a great character. Jessica Jones is a great character. Hellcat is a great character. Black Widow is a great character. MockingBird is a great character. Falcon is a great character. Black Panther is a great character. Shang Chi is a great character. ALL NEW characters. The thing that pisses off fans of a particular character is when they wipe out exisiting history for some agenda. People that like that type of crap are not fans.

Harley Quinn: 1992, and not a comicbook creation
Amanda Waller: 1986
Patsy Walker/Hellcat: 1944/1976
MockingBird: 1971
Falcon: 1969
Black Panther: 1966
Shang Chi: 1975

None of these are new characters by any standard.
Okay, Jessica Jones. But a) Bendis and b) awesome Netflix show that utterly eclipses the comic.

New characters generally do not work in this day and age. The audience is openly hostile to 'new' new characters far more than it is to new characters that have a very familiar name and costume.

In the last few decades Marvel and DC have barely managed to get any succesful new white male characters, nevermind any minority characters.

[Atlanta96]

Harley Quinn: 1992, and not a comicbook creation
Amanda Waller: 1986
Patsy Walker/Hellcat: 1944/1976
MockingBird: 1971
Falcon: 1969
Black Panther: 1966
Shang Chi: 1975

None of these are new characters by any standard.
Okay, Jessica Jones. But a) Bendis and b) awesome Netflix show that utterly eclipses the comic.

New characters generally do not work in this day and age. The audience is openly hostile to 'new' new characters far more than it is to new characters that have a very familiar name and costume.

In the last few decades Marvel and DC have barely managed to get any succesful new white male characters, nevermind any minority characters.

There's a chance that new creations like Jon Kent, Kamala Khan, and the new Green Lanterns will stay relevant for a while. Damian Wayne took off fast, Jaime Reyes is also doing alright. But I agree most characters introduced in the last decade are doomed.

[Carabas]

There's a chance that new creations like Jon Kent, Kamala Khan, and the new Green Lanterns will stay relevant for a while. Damian Wayne took off fast, Jaime Reyes is also doing alright. But I agree most characters introduced in the last decade are doomed.

But none of those are new original characters. Theye're a new Superboy, a new Ms. Marvel, a new Robin (and not even the most recent one at that), a new Blue Beetle, bunch of new Green Lanterns...

You are confirming my post.

[TsukiSentinel]

But that's Catwoman . . . not Harley. Harley is supposed to be incompetent, even when it comes to seduction.

In fact, now that I think of it, Harley is basically becoming Catwoman. The differences between the characters are starting to disappear.

- athletic ability: check
- scantily clad and sexually confident: check
- intelligent: check
- anti-hero: it's complicated, but Harley isn't exactly a villain.

Meanwhile, Catwoman is being phased out of the comics. Harley is supposed to be the opposite of Catwoman and Ivy. Athletic, yes, but dumb and incompetent, sexually submissive and desperate to please the joker, and an outright villain.

Can we have THAT Harley back, please?

[Falcon7]

She's existed since 1992. I don't think I'd call that 'new'.

New means she is not a gender swap/polly correct minority do over. She is a new character.

[Falcon7]

There's a chance that new creations like Jon Kent, Kamala Khan, and the new Green Lanterns will stay relevant for a while. Damian Wayne took off fast, Jaime Reyes is also doing alright. But I agree most characters introduced in the last decade are doomed.

Ther fault lies with the "creators." They have zero talent and cannot create lasting characters like the original ones I listed.So they do over existing ones, which lacks real creative talent.

[Carabas]

Ther fault lies with the "creators." They have zero talent and cannot create lasting characters like the original ones I listed.So they do over existing ones, which lacks real creative talent.

Nah, it's fan mentality. The modern fanbase is openly hostile to any and all attempts at creating new things.

If Duke Thomas and Harper Row would have been created in the 40's/60's and Babs Gordon and Dick Grayson in 2016, everybody would hate these new upstarts.

[Unfinishedsentenc]

Nah, it's fan mentality. The modern fanbase is openly hostile to any and all attempts at creating new things.

If Duke Thomas and Harper Row would have been created in the 40's/60's and Babs Gordon and Dick Grayson in 2016, everybody would hate these new upstarts.

Both of your examples aren't vapid, superficial re-inventions of existing characters though. Now, I have no problems with Duke or Harper--if anything I welcome them since they are new and original. But estranging the Joker and Harley Quinn simply because you cannot come up with fresh, exciting, engaging stories where they're together (or because their relationship offends the sensibilities of your audience) is where I draw the line, so to speak. That's when it's simply a matter of imagination. Talk about fan mentality; people can't even witness one fictional female character being defeated or intimidated by a incidentally male character without boycotting the entire comic or, worse, demanding change.