The following contains spoilers from DC's Harley Quinn Romances, on sale now from DC Comics.

Harley Quinn was originally a one-off character in Batman: The Animated Series. Her tenure was extended by her quirky tendencies and fans' adoration, but the extent of it was nearly unprecedented. The character's integration into the DC Universe has sped up and intensified, with Harley Quinn arguably being one of the few DC television shows that aren't in clear danger of cancelation and her comic presence is getting close to making her a bona fide member of the Bat Family.

As she comes more into her role in the DC Universe, she has been pushing aside characters with similar roles such as Ambush Bug, DC's lesser-known equivalent to the destroyer of fourth walls, Deadpool. Harley is becoming more of a character who speaks and acts in meta spaces, while Ambush Bug's role as a more direct fourth wall breaker, is becoming smaller. Harley's role in DC's Valentine's Day special, Harley Quinn Romances, demonstrates just how much the jester has become a meta character in her own right.

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Harley Quinn Breaks Through DC's Genre Convention

dc harley quinn romances cover header

Harley Quinn Romances collects a number of humorous tales centered around couples, and one, "Stranger than Fan Fiction" (by Alexis Quasarano, Max Sarin, Marissa Louise and Taylor Esposito), focuses on a meta aspect of Harley and Poison Ivy's relationship -- fan fiction. Long before the two villains became a couple, their relationship began on the pages of AO3 and Wattpad, and Harley in this narrative writes fan fiction about the two of them meeting in high school. In another, Harley chats with a cadre of other superheroes, such as Aquaman, about their passionate trysts.

In both of these narratives, Harley makes meta jokes. In addition to her fan fiction being a joke in and of itself, she points out during a fight scene how hard it is to write fight scenes. In the Aquaman-centric "Splendor in the Foam" (by Ivan Cohen, Fico Ossio, Sebastian Cheng, Carlos M. Mangual and Michael McCalister), Harley references the fact that one of her table mates' stories only got four panels, and that it is very important whether the story happened pre- or post-crisis.

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Harley Quinn Outshines Ambush Bug

Harley Quinn standing over Gotham City in Harley Quinn Rebirth #43

It's important to note that Harley Quinn being a meta character is hardly contained to this one anthology. For example, Harley Quinn's second season reveals that the titular character is aware that she is in a television show. This is the very definition of a meta narrative and provides further evidence of Harley's new role across all mediums.

Harley Quinn is a decade younger than Ambush Bug, but it's clear that her popularity and tenacity as a lead character far outweigh that of the popup-making meta commentator. She's been slowly moving into meta space since her first appearance struck a chord with fans. Harley's ability to be more than just another supervillain was what pulled her from the Joker's control and helped her become DC's version of one of Marvel's best-known creations.