Listen, there are things that have happened in the past that at the time seemed…ok for one reason or another. But as we became more “aware” and “understanding” of certain situations, we realized that we shouldn’t continue on the path from before. The creation and evolution of Harley Quinn is a great example of that. She was born in the Batman animated series in the 90s by Paul Dini as a new partner for the Joker, and she transferred into the comics soon after.
But it was made clear over and over again that she and Joker had a VERY abusive relationship, they even showed that in the animated series once where he almost kills her for capturing Batman without him. In the comics, their relationship eventually reached a peak where many were tired of the abuse, so she split, got her own comic series (done by the incredible Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner!) and became her own woman. Even getting her true life partner in Poison Ivy.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because that comic was the inspiration for the Harley Quinn animated series that just debuted Season 3 on HBO Max. According to Showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, they hear the requests from fans for Joker and Harley to get back together and it won’t happen:
“We still have the occasional fan reaction of ‘I don’t like Harley and Ivy together. She should get back with the Joker,’ which we’re never going to do,” Schumacker said. “Harley and Ivy will never break up in the series as long as we have a say. That’s something that we never want to touch again.”
Do recall that the start of the series was about Harley learning the truth about Joker, and then later on he tricks her into falling for him again…only to try and kill her. Yes, Joker is in a “new state of mind” in Season 3, but she has Ivy, and Ivy is better for her than Joker, and there’s no disputing that.
Source: Variety