What was Harley Quinn’s first appearance in the comics?

Becoming the second interpreter of Harley Quinn in cinemas, Lady Gagawill debut in the role in “Joker: Delirium for Two”, a film that goes into theaters next Thursday, 3rd, in order to present a sequence to the events seen in “Joker”, a 2019 film starring Joaquin Phoenix — who in the new title reprises the role of Arthur Fleck; remember the trailer!

It is worth remembering that, before Gaga, Margot Robbie (“Barbie”) was responsible for bringing the first flesh-and-blood version of the Clown of Crime, debuting with blonde hair with half pink and half blue tips in 2016 in the film that started the “Suicide Squad” franchise, where the Harley Quinn’s romantic partner was played by the singer and actor Jared Leto (Morbius).

But when was Harley Quinn’s first appearance in the comics?

Long before the big screen, Harley Quinn appeared on the small screen, since, before going to DC Comics comics, she appeared on TV! Created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dinithe villain of the Gotham City Watcher stories appeared more than 20 years ago in “Batman: The Animated Series”, being introduced in the episode “Joker’s Favor”, originally aired on September 11, 1992, as Joker’s right-hand man during an attempt to end Commissioner Gordon’s life.

However, with her iconic appearance on television, including a fight sequence with Batman, it didn’t take long for her to appear in the comics, as Harley Quinn appeared on the pages just a year after debuting on the small screen, appearing in issue number 12 of “The Batman Adventures” (1993).

In this story, Batman is chasing a criminal outside of Gotham while Barbara Gordon decides to take a risk and go dressed up for a costume party as none other than her heroine and secret identity: Batgirl. There, she sees Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy trying to kidnap Sandy for a ransom of ten million and, after a little luck, manages to free him. Still, she is cornered by the two villains, managing to save herself after an unexpected intervention from Catwoman.

It is also worth highlighting that, neither in the first TV title, nor in the first plot read in the comics in which Harley Quinn appears, is her origin explained. This only happens in “Crazy Love and Other Stories”, originally published in 1994, where it is revealed that the character’s real name is Harleen Frances Quinzel, and that before living her criminal version, she was a talented gymnast in high school and attended veterinary and biological sciences, before arriving at psychiatry.

Her last training took her to Arkham Asylum, where she decided to begin an experiment in an attempt to get into patients’ heads. This test would change her life forever, as it was when she discovered the mind and charms of Joker, a criminal with whom she ended up falling in love and committing several crazy things for love, one of which was killing her supervisor, Dr. Sterano, after he discovered about the feelings she had for the Clown Prince of Crime.

After this fateful event, Joker manages to escape from Arkham and take Dr. Quinzel to the Ace Chemical Processing Plant, where she falls into a tank of chemical compounds, emerging strong, crazy and willing to live a life of insanity like Harley Quinn.