Harley Quinn


 * This article is about the Fighter. For other uses, see Harley (Disambiguation).

Harley Quinn, originally known as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, is a Fighter from the DC Universe in MultiVersus.

Origin
During the run of Batman: The Animated Series, screenwriter Paul Dini had been writing the episode Joker's Favor with the intent of making Harley Quinn, a character who hadn't existed in DC Comics up until that point, a bit part and exclusive to that episode. As Dini was putting the story together, he wanted a foil to the Joker, being a character who contrasted with the Joker's twisted philosophy. Influenced by molls present in the 1960s live-action Batman series, Dini made Harley Quinn a henchwoman to the Joker. Quinn was played by Arleen Sorkin, who Dini had known in college and was influenced by her role as a jester in an episode of Days of Our Lives. After seeing a rough cut of the episode, the producers of the show were impressed by the character and made her a recurring character within the DC Animated Universe, before leaking into the mainline DC continuity.

Harley Quinn is a character from the DC universe, usually portrayed as either a supervillain or an antihero, who made her debut in 1992's Batman: The Animated Series, making her one of the few major DC characters to not have debuted in a comic book. Her initial origin story features her as a former psychiatrist at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum known under the name of Dr. Harleen Quinzel who fell in love with The Joker, her patient, eventually becoming his accomplice and lover, although, in some recent incarnations, she would eventually abandon him and walk her own path.

According to the main lead writer for MultiVersus, Harley's portrayal in the game is an original interpretation that combines both her New and Prime Earth incarnations, as well as her other depictions from throughout DC media.

Official Biography
"She’s tried being a good guy, but being bad is just too much fun."

Harleen Quinzel was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum until the fateful day she met the psychotic villain The Joker… and everything changed forever. After years of being The Joker's sidekick and main squeeze as Harley Quinn, she finally found the courage to leave and forge her own destiny. Her rise to power hasn’t escaped Batman’s notice, and he’s noted that she has the potential to become one of Gotham City's, or even the world’s, greatest villains.

Default Variant
Harley Quinn's default look seems to be a hybrid between her design in the Suicide Squad and the Suicide Squad: Rebirth comic book series.

Gameplay
Harley Quinn is an Assassin-type character who specializes in hit-and-run tactics with plenty of mix-ups and fast combos that can effectively juggle opponents. The core of Harley's gameplay revolves around her confetti debuff, which can be applied by many of her attacks and specials; once it reaches max stacks, enemies will be ignited for a few seconds. Harley also has a thin frame, which results in smaller hurtboxes, meaning that she can be very elusive and avoid damage at ease.

Her entire kit is built around her exceptional juggling potential. Her Side Attack as it is very fast, with its last hit launching the enemy upwards, while her Up Attack can not only set-up juggles but also packs KO power. Up Air Attack is very fast, with a large disjointed hitbox that not only keeps enemies in the air safely, but also adds stacks of confetti. Harley's Up Special, Batter Up!, is arguably her most powerful juggling tool, being both great at keeping enemies above her, as well scoring early ring outs.

Harley's air mobility is also among one of the best in the game, with plenty of quick attacks. Her Side Air Attack, for instance, is a fantastic combo starter and spacing tool, especially with short hop cancels, and its low knockback scaling allows Harley to easily chain her other moves. Neutral Air Attack covers a large radius around Harley, and has a late hitbox behind Harley that is a powerful sweetspot. Lastly, Down Air Attack is a powerful ranged spike (which becomes even more oppressive with the Glove Control Signature Perk).

In terms of Specials, Harley's kit is loaded. Her Neutral Special, Stuffie Bat, can be detonated manually, which adds to her mix-up potential. Her Down Special has plenty of versatility, being useful for stage control, setting up traps, as well recovery. Her Side Special adds a lot of elusiveness to Harley's mix-ups, and can be great for stalling in the air since it slows downs Harley's falling speed briefly.

Harley's abilities are offset by her low weight, being one of the lightest in the game, as well poor range for some moves. Her vertical recovery is also limited if her Down Special is on cooldown.

For 2v2 fights, Harley is at her best when paired with faster character who can put pressure, allowing to build stacks of her confetti more efficiently; Batman, Arya and Finn are exceptional partners for this. Alternatively, she pairs great with strong projectile users, such as Morty, LeBron and Tom & Jerry, especially if they're equipped with Perks such as That's Flammable, Doc!, allowing for constant ignitions on top of Harley's confetti explosions.

Trivia

 * Harley Quinn is the only one of the original revealed Fighters to not have appeared on the main title screen of the game so far.
 * Harley Quinn's render from MultiVersus was used on the updated thumbnail of the 156th episode of DEATH BATTLE! (titled "Harley Quinn VS Jinx"), a popular web series produced by Rooster Teeth, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
 * Harley Quinn, Batman, The Man in Black, Morty, and Rick are, currently, the only Fighters in the game who can swear if the player has toggled the "Mature Language" option on in the Settings menu.
 * Harley Quinn's voice actress, Tara Strong, also voiced Ember McLain in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2.

External

 * Harleen Quinzel (Prime Earth) and Harleen Quinzel (New Earth) on DC Database.