New Harley Quinn Comic Adds An Unnecessary Detail To Joker’s Abuse
DC’s Harley Quinn had an abusive relationship with the Joker that she has been putting behind her, but taking abuse lightly is never appropriate.
You Are Reading :New Harley Quinn Comic Adds An Unnecessary Detail To Jokers Abuse
Warning: contains major spoilers for Harley Quinn #5!
Harley Quinn’s relationship with the Joker is one of the most abusive in comics – yet it’s one that DC sadly can’t seem to stay away from. Harley Quinn #5 provides a brief comment that seems to be a nonchalant lean towards confessing additional abuse the titular character suffered under the Clown Prince of Crime. While Harley certainly can’t be seen as sane – her persona is built around the idea that she isn’t – she never deserved what the Joker dealt her way.
From her debut in Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn has been associated with Joker. Their relationship is one of the most toxic and abusive in comics. As of late, Harley has finally been separating from him, moving on and carving out her own identity independent of him. However, there are times when their history comes up, which wouldn’t be bad if it was treated with appropriate severity instead of as a continuous joke that is taken lightly.
Created by the team of Stephanie Phillips, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia, and Andworld Design, Harley Quinn #5 continues the Mistress of Mayhem’s encounter with Hugo Strange as she attempts to save her loyal henchman, Kevin, and others kidnapped by the supervillain. Harley uses a ploy involving the restroom to be escorted away from Strange and begin her breakout from his headquarters. When Harley arrives at the bathroom with the two guards escorting her, she asks them a question, just before almost letting a comment slip about her former abuser.
While she doesn’t finish this remark, fans will likely wonder how this sentence could have ended – and will fill in any number of options within the blank. Either way, it can’t be good considering the context of this panel. For starters, this has all been surrounded by talk about the bathroom – a private, and often unhygienic, place. Additionally, it implies that Joker and Harley went into secluded rooms together – or even with other people.
It’d be nice to assume that the bathroom was just a bizarre location that Joker liked to throw parties in. It would also be pleasant to be able to assume that Joker and Harley had some casual mayhem antics involving bathrooms, which could include destroying toilets via baseball bats, hammers or explosives, or maybe clogging pipes and causing overflows for no reason other than for kicks. However, with Joker, things are rarely so simple – or so innocent. The much more disturbing implication – is that Harley was forced to have encounters with multiple people – whether with Joker, or with people brought in by Joker, in private rooms. This speculation is naturally dependent on what “Mr. J used to like”, but there’s no way to know for sure since this statement is never concluded.
Regardless of what Joker liked, the casual attitude given in this instance is highly concerning. While this could be a ploy by Harley to keep her captors distracted by playing on stereotypical obsessions that USED to define her, that may not be the case. It could be a flippant manner of addressing abuses Harley has suffered – which wouldn’t be the best way to handle it. Harley’s a highly intelligent character with a doctorate in psychology. She has vast professional knowledge about trauma and the trauma she suffered at the hands of the Joker would certainly be extreme. Harley’s continual distancing of herself from her former life is one that needs to continue. She’s a stronger character who doesn’t need to perpetuate abuse for readers. Harley Quinn has been making progress and has a long journey ahead, but Joker’s abuse should never be taken lightly.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/harley-quinn-joker-abusive-relationship-bathroom-party-guards/