After what I can describe only as tedious filler in the previous issue, Harley Quinn looks to get back on track with a new story. Of course, this is Harley, so nothing can ever be straightforward. After the revelation at Christmas that her mother has cancer, we knew things were about to get more complicated for Quinn. We just didn’t know how much yet.
(Spoilers Incoming)
We start with Harley on a rooftop talking about how scared she is for her mom. However, before we get too deep into Harley’s emotional state, a young Tamaranian woman appears before Quinn. She states that her name is Mirand’r of Tamaran, and that the Lords of Order and Chaos have sent her to see if Harley is worthy of becoming their new agent. Before Harley can become this though, she must complete six trials to prove herself. However, Harley accepts simply because she wants a flaming sword. At the same time in Gotham, a crime scene sees an underworld connection dead on the floor. As Commissioner Gordon inspects the scene, the corpse begins to convulse and move, forming the face into an undead grin. While the immediate suspect is the Joker, Batman arrives and finds evidence pointing to another suspect. This evidence is platinum blonde hair with blue dye at the end, wood from a hammer and fur from a stuffed beaver.
Back in Coney Island, Harley’s mother is about to start her treatments when Harley is kicked out of the hospital. She tries to go home and sleep off her frustration, but nothing is working. At this point, she goes for an evening walk when she encounters the Dark Knight. Harley immediately attacks and even manages to land a few solid hits to Batman. Despite Batman saying that he didn’t want to fight, Harley continues her assault. Batman then blames her for the murder, which sets Harley off in a rage. Unfortunately for her, her fondness for running her mouth backfires when she mentions Batman’s failed marriage to Catwoman. This results in Batman landing a hit that floors Harley. She then states that she’s changed and has reformed since leaving Gotham. She pleads with Batman to believe her. “Bats. After all we been through, all the ups and downs, ya really think I’m irredeemable?” Batman replies, “After all we’ve been through…I know you are.” The reader can visibly see this break Harley to the point that she doesn’t struggle when Batman cuffs her. After slight resistance, Harley lays her head on his chest and says, “I’m…I’m a good person, Bats. I swear.” At the same time, back in Gotham, the body that was found starts to reanimate. The flesh turns all black as the creature sits up and states, “If I’m here…that means Batman and Harley Quinn are falling right into my trap.”
This was the best issue of Harley Quinn in a few months. When it comes to Harley, the writing is often painfully hit or miss. Ever since the creative team was switched last year, I find that they often turn the dial on Harley’s wackiness up to over 9000 (any Dragon Ball fans out there?). While this can work sometimes, I’m not sure if it’s working right now. While Harley is one of my favorite DC characters, the writing has been lacking for months, but this story could turn things around. While the beginning with the Lords of Order and Chaos contribute to the over the top craziness, the story becomes grounded very quickly. To see Harley seem so broken when Batman claims that she’s irredeemable is something we’re not used to anymore. Maybe teaming Harley up with such a grounded character is exactly what she needs to make this story arc feel important. I think that’s what’s been missing. Before the creative team switch, we had a solid story arc behind everything. Now, it seems Harley is jumping from one random adventure to the next and each gets more insane than the last. To bring Harley Quinn back to earth with her being framed for murder and her mother being diagnosed with cancer may be exactly what the series needs. Harley is a good character at her core. The problem is that no one seems to know how to properly write her when she’s on her own. Hopefully this arc with the Dark Knight can serve as a course correction for the series before it gets too late to save.