WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story "It's A Horrible Life!" from DC's Very Merry Multiverse #1 by Paul Scheer, Nick Giovanetti, Steve Lieber, Marissa Louise & Carlos M. Mangual, on sale now.

Harley Quinn's fluid morality has made her one of the DC Universe's most flexible and engaging characters of the last decade. Even when she sees across the Multiverse, she can go from heroic to dastardly. But it turns out there's one version of the character who terrifies the core-DC Universe Harley above all others.

Harley Quinn just met her most nightmarish version ever in the Harleen Quinzel from Earth-33, who has become a realtor in Southern California and is described as a typical "Karen."

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In "It's a Horrible Life!," Harley Quinn finds herself particularly despondent and lonely during the holiday season, even considering suicide by jumping from a Gotham skyscraper. But she's stopped by Layma, the lost Wonder Triplet who eventually died and went to heaven. But he hasn't been made a full angel yet, and can only do so by saving the lives of others, such as Harley Quinn, in a direct-send up of It's a Wonderful Life.

Rather than show her the past, Layma takes Harley across the Multiverse, introducing other versions of Harley: On Earth-42 (home of the Lil' League), Harley Quinn eventually became White Lantern to help contend with her world's version of "Blackest Night", proving pivotal to turning the tide against this world's version of Nekron. On Earth-50 (home of the totalitarian Justice Lords), Harley is actually still in a relationship with the Joker, working together to undermind the Justice Lords where they can. On Earth-45 (the capitalist-minded fascist world that's home to Super-Doom), Harley Quinn was never actually born, meaning she was never around to keep Batman out of the hands of the Joker, leading to his demise and the Joker "selling out" by transforming Gotham into the "family-friendly" Jokerville.

None of these adventures make Harley feel any better about herself until Harley is taken to Earth-33. Nominally a normal reality where superpowers are non-existent, Harley is shocked to discover her counterpart on this Earth is a realtor in Huntington Beach. Not only that, but she's grown into the kind of woman who doesn't believe in tipping, only uses Facebook, and always demands to speak to the manager, effectively becoming a "Karen," a term defined by Insider as "a pejorative for middle-aged white women" who use entitlement to try and control her life and the lives of others. Harley is horrified by this potential fate and promises to never feel sorry for herself ever again, leading Layma to take her back to the core-DC Universe and give her a fresh look at life.

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The concept of becoming a "Karen," which began as a meme and has evolved through numerous controversies over the course of 2020, being Harley Quinn's absolute worst fears makes perfect sense for the character. Especially since she's left her romance with the Joker behind, Harley has been defined by making her way in the world but without doing so at the cost of others, developing something of a conscience and awareness for other kinds of people and a desire to fight for those that the rest of society tries to put down. In Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Pugh, a young version of Harley is even shown actively resisting the kind of attitudes that typically define the Karen mindset, fighting for individuality and freedom over social norms.

For the liberated, modern, and uncontrollable current version of the character, Harley's worst fear would be to be forced into a basic and forgettable life, adding nothing to the world and being nothing but "basic." It's fitting that across the multiverse, more than powerful heroes or deadly villains or not even existing at all, Harley is most afraid of a version of herself that never broke free of the mold the world seemed to have built for her.

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