Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn (formerly Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel) was an up-and-coming psychiatrist from Gotham, working at Arkham Asylum on the most incurable psychopaths and criminal compulsives. While working with and being the Joker's psychiatrist, largely for a book and a study she was writing on the subject, he slowly drove her insane, playing on her adoration for the Clown Prince of Crime. She became his partner in crime. However, recently released from Arkham, she was recently recruited by the Thunderbolts with a clean bill of mental health - though her behavior tends to belie this assessment, calling into question the judgment of Arkham doctors and possible behind-the-scenes deals. Despite her criminal past, she seems to currently be a heroine, sporting all manner of weapons, from uzis to bazookas, sledgehammers as big as her manic grin and other firearms as eclectic as her odd personality. The amount of property damage she can do, even when doing 'good' often brings into question whether she was less destructive as a criminal.

Background
With a genius level IQ, a full gymnastics scholarship to Gotham State University, and a promising career in Psychiatry, Harleen Frances Quinzel was really going places. Her mothner was a harsh woman who often put Harleen down. Her younger brother - a deadbeat dad who still lives with her mother and yet is constantly given slack which Harleen was never given. Her father was a criminal con-man, known for seducing women and squandering their money. She wanted to become a psychiatrist to figure out the criminal mind, to undersnd why her father did what he did to their family.

For her graduate thesis, Harleen wrote a thesis - that there are only two circumstances under which a person totally disregards the rules of society - When they commit a crime, or when they're in love. When she graduated with glowing recommendations, she started her first year residency at Arkham Asylum, one of the youngest residents to ever attend the sanitarium (as a doctor). Since she was writing a book on serial killers and their motivations, she was given complete access to the biggest, most insane resident in Arkham, the Joker.

She became fascinated with the Joker and his insane motives, feeling that she was able to figure out what actually made him 'tick.' Joker had not been talking to any of the other doctors, brooding over his most recent defeats from the Dark Knight. During multiple sessions with the Joker, the Joker 'opened up' to her, telling her how his father had abused him, and Harleen gained a great deal of sympathy for the Clown Prince of Crime, especially since her own family had been rather emotionally abusive to her as well. She learned more about his tragic past, and started falling in love with him. When Harleen told him that he could call her Harley Quinn, a nickname from college, the Joker couldnt help but laugh about that, asking if she was flirting with him. When she approached him, he started to strangle her, but instead of being afraid, he saw the girl seemed to be looking at him with adoration and love.... so he stopped, saying the strangling was a joke. Amazingly enough, Harleen bought it. During more sessions, Harley's mind started to snap as her infatuation for the Joker grew, until one point, she helps him escape, dressing up like a harlequin jester to further try to endear herself to the psychopath, knocking out several guards in the process and taking on the new persona of Harley Quinn, the Joker's lieutenant and sidekick.

When she found out (from Batman) that everything the Joker had told her were lies or attempts to scam her, she was crushed, often refusing to believe it even when there was incontrovertible proof. It was, however, the start of Harley trying to leave Joker, even though she kept eventually running back to him and forgiving him for all the awful things he does - including throwing her out of a window, kicking her out of the hideout and onto the streets, giving her up to the police in hopes of a better deal for herself, giving her up to Batman so he can escape, using her as bait, slapping her around, using her as a test guinea pig, etc - all that is forgiven at the slightest positive encouragement from her Puddin'.

During one of these breakups, Harley met Poison Ivy on the outside when both of them were robbing the same museum. Harley helped Poison Ivy escape the cops, and Poison Ivy gave her a place to live with her, and the two quickly became partners and the best of friends, to the point that Poison Ivy gave Harley multiple injections to make her immune to poisons and toxins, just like Ivy herself was. She also constantly tried to encourage Harley to leave 'that demented, abusive freak,' feeling that Harley was far better without him holding her back and hurting her.

It didn't help - Harley always kept going back to Joker. Ivy couldnt stand it, seeing Harley almost as a little sister and best friend, but she was always there when Harley and the Joker would go through their 'rough patches' - always trying to encourage Harley to leave him or shoot him in the face or something.

She would be sent back to Arkham time and time again, usually by the Batman, but always would wind up escaping, either on her own or with Mistah J, though sometimes she got out legally by convincing the review board that she was sane (and sometimes she even -was-). Eventually, she did finally get fed up with with Joker and set off on her own. She formed her own gang, called the Quinntets. It didnt last very long - the gang tried to kill her after a few capers and a run-in with the Riddler on another job, and several in the gang were killed shortly afterwards. She still harbors deep feelings for Mistah J - to no end of frustration to friends like Selina, and ESPECIALLY to the frustration of Poison Ivy, who loves her like a best friend and almost like a sister.

Free once again, and given a clean bill of health, she's now been approached by the Thunderbolts, a government agency, who try to use reformed criminals for a positive purpose.

Personality
As a psychologist, she was actually quite brilliant. Still a genius, it's not usually readily apparent because of her flambouyant actions and often goofy attitude. Until recently, she was the poster child for a someone with battered woman syndrome - no matter how many times the Joker would throw her out (of the hideout, out of windows, out of a moving car, whatever), all he had to do was send her a flower and a note, or just apologize, or give her a little praise and she'd come running back to her Puddin'. Even when she would break up with him or go through rough patches, she is always infatuated by the Clown Prince of Crime. Even knowing that he's bad for her. She's like the quinn-tessential cheerleader that goes out with the 'bad boy' even when all of her friends are saying he's bad news. Of all Batman's adversaries, she actually is cheerful about life and has a positive outlook most of the time, not obsessed with Batman or criminal activity. If anything, her main obsession is with the Joker. Since her breakup with the Jokers (and this time, she means it!), her main obsession is with getting positive reinforcement from others. Unfortunately, until recently, 'others' tended to mean friends like Ivy and Catwoman, so her actions again are rarely what one would call 'good' 24/7. But she tries at least. Usually.

She's a lot smarter than she lets on, a good strategist, and CAN be seductive. She's prone, however, to flights of fancy, childlike behavior, and leaps of logic - sometimes violent leaps of logic. She's also EXTREMELY loyal to her friends. If you're her friend, she will do practically anything to defend you or help you. Most friends will help you move into a new apartment for a pizza and a beer. Harley will help you knock over the First National Bank of Gotham, kidnap the Mayor, and trick any superhero into an inescapable deathtrap. And she won't even need the beer.