Out of all the characters created for Batman: The Animated Series, without a shadow of a doubt, the most famous and well-received character was Harley Quinn. Created for the show in 1992, Harley Quinn started life as a henchwoman to aid the Joker, but with her bright costume and memorable accent, she became something of a staple. When the Joker turned up to fight the Dark Knight, she’d usually be present. Over time, Harley Quinn and her relationship with the Clown Prince of Crime changed. From a henchwoman, she became the Joker’s love interest and viewers became witness to the most toxic and mystifying relationships in comic book history. While at times infatuated and absorbed in their love, often the Joker abused his deluded main squeeze. At times, she would want him dead, while the next moment it was back to the blind love. All in all, this schizophrenic relationship was prevalent, but the dynamic and story between the two characters was never explored in detail. That is, until Mad Love – one of many stories to enhance the Joker’s character, but the ultimate story that defined Harley Quinn.
Released as a special as part of The Batman Adventures series, Mad Love was published in December 1993, written by Paul Dini and drawn by Bruce Timm. This story was latter adapted and made into a New Batman Adventures episode in 1999. In twenty minutes, the animation pretty much captures everything Dini and Timm produce here. I’d highly recommend enjoying Mad Love in both formats. Regardless, DC has released Mad Love in a trade paperback, so it’s an easily available read.
Mad Love is the first time we’re shown Harley Quinn’s origin story. After three decades of the character being highly present not just in comics and animation, but also in movies, Harley Quinn has become a strong staple in the pantheon of mainstream DC characters. Although her costume has become more twenty-first century, her personality has become even more insane, and her overall character is more detached now from the Joker than it used to be, her relationship with Batman’s greatest foe is still a source of huge interest. Over the years, the Joker has killed countless people often just for the sake of it. How has Harley Quinn survived in this relationship – and why? Why does she keep coming back to the Joker, and why hasn’t he killed her yet? These are the questions which Paul Dini and Bruce Timm look to answer in Mad Love.
Although a deluxe format book, Mad Love begins like any other average Batman Adventure or animated series tale. It starts not with Batman, the Joker, or Harley Quinn, but with Commissioner Gordon. In for a routine dentist appointment, Gordon is shocked to find both the Joker and Harley Quinn are his new dentists. Their trap has succeeded – and now it’s time for Gordon to die. But suddenly, that’s when Batman arrives. He worked out the Joker’s location and plan after Harley Quinn left a very obvious clue behind. This is where the abuse begins – the Joker feels lumbered down by Harley Quinn. Because of Batman, Gordon is rescued and the Joker and Harley are forced back to the drawing board. The Joker comes up with a plan to hang Batman upside down above a fish tank full of hungry piranha, but when he realises that piranha can’t smile, he is forced to abandon it (this does – admittedly – ignore the classic Laughing Fish Joker story, which was adapted into an episode of the animated series). Therefore, we see the Joker at his most depressed – and his most angry. He takes it out on Harley Quinn, whose obsessive loving behaviour towards the Clown Prince of Crime becomes too much. He throws her out on the streets, leaving her to wonder how and when – in her words – “did my life go Loony Tunes?”
The meat of Mad Love focuses on Harley Quinn’s origin story and explores her character. It’s become something of a fashion, especially after 2016’s Suicide Squad movie, to portray Harley Quinn as an innocent soul who was tainted by the Joker. Here, Dini completely disregards that as we’re shown that Harleen Quinzel (that’s her real name) basically made love with her university teacher just so she could get her psychology certificate. She then became an intern at Arkham Asylum just to meet and speak to some high-profile patients, one of whom is obviously the Joker. Both characters take to each other immediately, with Harleen’s attention fixed on him from the minute she arrived, while the Joker escapes from his cell to send her flowers. Although Harleen speaks to the Joker about this behaviour, she doesn’t report it. Somehow, Harleen is cleared to have one-on-one sessions with the Joker, which are very personal. We witness the Joker tell Harleen information about himself which he has never relayed to anyone – such as his abusive father and memories of the circus. Over time, Harleen is groomed into the Joker’s world and she begins to see him as a victim of his past, and at present, Batman. That’s when she becomes Harley Quinn, stealing a costume from a fancy dress store and breaking the Joker out of Arkham. It’s an origin story which has become etched into the Batman mythos, and is deservingly up there with the backstory of the Joker himself. But Dini’s version is by far the best version, and it’s all down to character. It would be too boring and cliched if Harleen Quinzel was innocent and pure. A lot of the characteristics that are present in her Harley Quinn persona are present beforehand, such as her curiosity, delusions, and cunningness. Meeting the Joker develops those traits to the extreme, but Harley Quinn is certainly a victim to some extent, and this becomes clear as the story progresses.
Harley Quinn produces a plan to win back the love of the Joker. She sends a video tape to Batman, telling him that the Joker has gone mad, and that she will give him any information he wants about the Joker if he meets her by the docks at night. This trap works in Harley Quinn’s favour, and she captures Batman and takes full advantage of the Joker’s earlier piranha plan. Hanging Batman upside down above the water tank. Harley even manages to solve the Joker’s smiling problem. With the Dark Knight upside down, he can see the piranha as if they are smiling. However, this detail becomes irrelevant when Batman proves to Harley Quinn that the Joker has been lying to her since day one. His stories about his father and childhood are all false, created just for sympathy. These are stories which Batman is all too familiar with, but Harley Quinn – neck deep in delusion and obsession – refuses to believe the Dark Knight. Just as she prepares to kill Batman, he tells her to call the Joker. He wouldn’t believe his greatest nemesis is dead unless he saw it happen. When the Joker arrives, his rage is even greater. Even after Harley Quinn tells him about the smiling piranhas, the Joker is so angry at Harley Quinn for using his plan that he pushes her through a window, sending her falling several storeys down until she lands, bloody, in a back alley. This moment would perhaps qualify as the bloodiest and most violent moment in The Batman Adventures series. Harley Quinn is now out of the picture as the Joker sets Batman free, believing that he should be the only one to kill Batman, and his death has to be creative. But then, the Joker goes against that and nearly kills Batman boringly with a bullet to the brain. Of course, the Dark Knight avoids this fate by fighting back against the Joker, but this moment has always bothered me. Earlier in the story, the Joker lambasts Harley Quinn when she suggests that he could just shoot Batman. He says he wants Batman to die in a creative and hilarious way, not with a simple bullet. Perhaps the Joker nearly gave into temptation, but this moment does stand out. Regardless, this is followed by a great moment when Batman and the Joker have their final confrontation on top of a moving train. The Dark Knight admits that Harley Quinn almost got him, and that she came much closer than he ever did. This revelation annoys the Joker even more, but Batman punches the Clown Prince of Crime off the train and the villain falls to his fate. In the end, Harley Quinn, battered, bloody, and bruised, returns to Arkham to recuperate, telling herself that her relationship with the Joker is over for good. But when she notices a rose left for her by the Clown Prince of Crime, she is happily back to square one. This proves that no matter how hard she tries, or how terribly the Joker acts towards her, Harley Quinn will always fall for him. It’s because she believes him to be a victim of pretty much everything, regardless of his insanity and love of murdering. She even believes that his abusing her is normal, and just part of their relationship. While that belief may slip several times in the story, it’s never for long as she will always return to the Joker. But why does the Joker keep on letting her back? That’s never really explained in the story. Throughout, he just believes her to be a nuisance, but clearly there is some love as he sends her that rose at the end. Perhaps the answer to that question may be seen easier in other stories, but in Mad Love, the reasoning behind the Joker’s love for Harley Quinn remains disguised.
Reading Mad Love in comic form is a joy. Paul Dini as a writer does more than convey a good plot and brilliant characters. Sixty pages of story mean that Dini has lots of room, and overall Mad Love is paced very well. It never overstays its welcome and the different elements of the story are given time to breathe and develop. Structurally, the Harley Quinn origin story slots comfortably in the middle, bookending an energic start with much mystery (surrounding the Joker-Harley relationship) and a tragic ending with much action. Mad Love never outstays its welcome and every page feels like it’s of value. Sometimes, Dini and Timm will use a splash page to create a strong impression or to evoke an emotion, and Mad Love does that very successfully because it features characters we have a strong view of or interest in. Character is often the key in any story, and when they are written correctly, the drama is powerful.
As the visual artist and influence for the animated series, Bruce Timm’s work here is flawless in every way. Dini’s excellent capture of character is backed up beautifully by Timm’s dramatic and powerful artwork, which stands out with its very creative panels and page breakdowns. Bruce Timm credits Keith Giffen as a key influence for the storytelling, and the energetic style conveyed here proves just how masterful these two storytellers are. The inking is bold and attractive, and the colouring (also by Timm, and Rick Taylor) is fantastic. Overall, the art brings the story to life and adds more to Timm’s writing.
VERDICT
Overall, Batman: Mad Love is a classic story and part of The Batman Adventures series. It’s a character study, but one which never feels cliched or boring. The relationship between the Joker and Harley Quinn is interesting and more details are provided, but there is still more disguised and that’s the way it should be. Although a few flaws in the plot are present, it’s nothing which ruins either Dini’s brilliant plotting and character, or Timm’s flawless visuals. It’s a classic.
Next Week: Tales of the New Teen Titans (1-4). Written by Marv Wolfman with art by George Perez, Brett Breeding, Pablo Marcos, Gene Day, and Ernie Colon.
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