From Classic to New 52: The Evolution of Harley Quinn

  So, as many of you adorable geeks know, the up-and-coming comic book character Harley Quinn has changed drastically over the past few years. Now, I say "up-and-coming" because, while Harley has been around for 22 years, she has just now started getting the recognition she deserves. 

 Classic
 Born into the world of Batman: The Animated Series on September 11th, 1992, Harley, at the time, was The Joker's partner in crime as well as his love interest. That said, a sidekick as deranged and trusty as Harley had to have a costume that fit with the Clown Prince of Crime's ever-so-delightful theme. So the immediate answer was a red and black jester getup that is often described as "classic" Harley Quinn.

Most long-time Batman fans prefer the classic look, and it's easy to see why. It's simple, it's cute, it's consistent. Fans had quite a bit of time to get attached; this outfit also appeared in Harley Quinn comics, and stuck around for over a decade. But, all good things come to an end. NEXT.




Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham Asylum was released in 2009, developed by Rocksteady Studios. In this particularly amazing game (which I completed with all of the Riddler's puzzles solved - oh yeah) , Harley's outfit was completely changed. And in my opinion, not in a bad way. Since the game itself was based in Gotham's very own Arkham Asylum, they chose for Harley to wear a bloody, beaten up, and quite raunchy nurse's outfit. She was the Joker's assistant all throughout the game, but the jester outfit was tossed out the window. Along with her Sexy-Nurse costume, she sported cute blonde pigtails that you see throughout the rest of the Arkham games, and are seen in a TON of fanart. Not creepy fanart. Well, that too. Not that I'd know.... Erm....Just look at the pictures.

 

Cute, right? I think so. But, unfortunately, others did not agree. This outfit caused an angry, cyber mob that consisted of bitter lady-geeks and long-time Batman fans who thought that the outfit wasn't practical and didn't capture Harley's personality (which is kind of understandable, but I mean.... c'mon. She's too cute in this outfit!). 

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Injustice was a DC Comics fighting game that is basically Mortal Combat but with DC superheroes and villains (awesome, right?). It was released in June of 2011, and was a total hit. The premise of the game is kind of complicated... Let's just say that two parallel universes collide and war is started between them. So, there are two different Harleys (dream come true!), which means two different costumes. My preferred outfit is more harlequin/jester oriented, while the second one is more of a punk-ish badass outfit. Here's some awesome final draft concept art:

 Who wouldn't want two Harleys? Well, obviously Batman wouldn't. But what does that guy know about girls, anyway?

Suicide Squad
Harley Quinn was introduced into the Suicide Squad in 2011, a secret organization that works for the US government. While this may not sound very Harley-like, our beloved Little-Miss-Psycho has long since moved on from Joker. Who needs that clown, anyway? The outfit she wears in this series is honestly one of my favorites. It's a black and red, front lace-up two piece that's sexy and dark. I absolutely love it, don't you?

 

Unfortunately, this too upset our fellow nerds. Many readers bashed on this outfit for being too sexualized - but I don't see anyone complaining about Power Girl's boob hole. Point made.

Arkham City

Arkham City is the sequel to Arkham Asylum, where Harley and Mistah J have once again escaped the crumbling walls of their cells. Released in 2011, this was another controversial costume that Harley rocked. You could say that 2011 was the rebirth that made Harley as popular as she is now, cause it was awfully Harley-packed. Anyhoo, the designers gave her a corseted top, skin-tight pants and, of course, her adorable blonde pigtails - this time with red-and-black tips! 

She definitely looks murderous, which I totally love, and she still

looks completely insane - which I love even more! While it isn't my favorite, I still love what they did with it. However... some gamers that were already familiar with Harley had even more to say about it. "Over-sexualized", "impractical", "unreasonable".... The usual. 

 The New 52

In late 2013, a line of new Harley Quinn comics were published. Written by Amanda Conner

and Jimmy Palmiotti, drawn by Chad Hardin, this comic series is hilarious. I love it! And I love her costume even more. Reverting back to black and red, the whole ensemble has an old-meets-new vibe. She also appears in a roller-derby costume (which I'll be cosplaying in October!)

Controversy

In my opinion, the evolution of Harley Quinn has been a positive one, but many don't agree. Whether its practicality, over-sexuality, or whatever else the angry nerds don't like, they just haven't come around yet. What do you think? Tell me in the comments or tweet to me at @Dr_Potatoes_.

Much love,

Dr. Potatoes ♥

  

The Infamous Dress

Okay, so there's this dress. The ULTIMATE dress. And while it may not be exactly infamous, it's still pretty popular. If you're one of my long-time Twitter followers, you know which one I'm talking about.

Now when I received said dress, I didn't expect it to be such a hit. But everywhere I went, everyone loved it. And when I revealed to my much-loved followers, they loved it too! And eventually, people just knew what I meant when I said "Should I wear the dress this Wednesday to Mavericks?". And so, it just became "The Infamous Dress". Here's some pictures:

And now you see why it's the ULTIMATE dress. Not only is it adorable... It's Batman! I got it at Hot Topic, but I wouldn't think it would be in stock. It's all mine.... *maniacal laugh*

Welcome to the Doctor's Office

Why, hello there. If you're reading this, you (a), are following me on Twitter or (b), have stumbled on the best discovery you will ever make!

My name is Evelyn Long, a.k.a Dr. Potatoes (pictured below). I'm a comic-book reader, recreational gamer, artist and student. I post about comics (obviously), as well as the dumb day-to-day stuff I do that, for whatever reason, people seem to enjoy hearing about oh-so-much. You could consider me a "nerd-girl", but really, I'm just a person who likes comic books and video games that happens to be a female. I'm sort of a newbie to the comic book world. But in a little less than a year, my mind was slowly taken over by daydreams of Nightwing gliding over the Big Apple... heh.. hehe... 

ANYWAY, I hope you enjoy my geeky rants. If you do, and you aren't already following me on Twitter, go do it, fool!  @Dr_Potatoes_