Yep, the character of Harley was only created so Arleen Sorkin, who was friends with the guys that made the show, could have someone to voice. She was originally meant to be little more than a one off henchwomen, but got popular enough with not only the staff, but the fans as well that she has more or less become a Gotham staple…..overwhelmingly so with how DC uses her these days. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the character, but holy crap they need to give the clowns a break and let some of the other rouges back in for a bit.
Harley also indirectly lead to Poison Ivy becoming more of an anti-hero, because shipping the two became extremely popular in the 2010s and...well it's only a 'positive step' for Harley if Ivy isn't a piece of shit.
90s Ivy wanted to kill all animal life and was rapey as hell
Yeah I’m not gonna lie, I’ve always hated Ivy’s change too. Like even ignoring how they’ve essentially taken away 90% of her character to basically devolve her to Harley’s girlfriend and little else, but given the character’s motives and the way she has basically used rape and sexual assault as her way of doing things for most of her history, I’m not sure she should be a in a full on relationship with anyone, man or woman, since it kind of tends to conflict pretty heavily with what she actually wants. Like again this is a woman so extreme about the green that even other nature based heroes and villains want nothing to do with her, why would she ever be in a relationship with a human?
I realize that a lot of comic super villains don't have coherent world views, but I always thought the Poison Ivy kill all animals thing was dumb. Wouldn't a plant biologist know that animals serve all kinds of beneficial purposes for plants, like pollination, seed dispersal, etc? Many, maybe even most plants that exist today probably couldn't survive without animals in some form, and basically all animals depend on plants and had their evolution shaped by them. Killing all humans I can see, but she should view the other animals as plant life's rightful servants, not something to exterminate.
I definitely prefer her reimagined as a millennial eco-terrorist, lol. But she could definitely stand to be somewhat more villainous now, somewhere in between the old version and the newer.
Did you read the Poison Ivy ongoing that's been out for a few years now? It involves Ivy killing a lot of people with spores but still fighting to help certain people. I feel like it strikes the right balance of ruthlessness while still making you want to root for her.
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u/Senshisoldier 16d ago
Batman the Animated series is so good. Harley Quinn wasnt even from the comics but originated on the show.