DC’s most volatile couple has spiked in popularity since recent news of their return to the silver screen in upcoming movies, but the relationship between these two has been thriving ever since the Joker first met Harley Quinn, upon her creation in 1992. The idea that Harley was the one person Joker actually was able to reach in some way, lent credence to his evil ways and elevated the Joker from a sour tempered prankster to a cult leader in the making who just hasn’t convinced us yet.
Whether fans find themselves being a little bit more Joker or a little bit more Harley, they can’t be Batman all the time, and further, it’s a mark of the maturity of the film franchise and the intellectual property, that they’re able to tell this type of story. No such compelling couple exists in the MCU, for example. If the DCEU can extend their reputation for hard boiled, gritty, storytelling into a film that handled adult romance even halfway seriously through Joker and Harley, they would be able to break new ground in the genre and continue using these tales as a framework for one of the most extensive morality metaphors ever. The evolution of the medium, and the aging of the fan base, is a real phenomenon. But unlike substances that may harm your body, comics and the characters that run around in them don’t have a problem with embracing more fans on a more mature level.
20 KING AND QUEEN OF GOTHAM
Will Smith’s appearance as Deadshot was probably mostly responsible for the production of Suicide Squad, but it’s not likely the actor will make a return as the expert assassin, even if they do manage to convince someone, somewhere, someday, to get on board with Suicide Squad 2. Two years later the enduring characters from the movie are Joker and Harley Quinn, and not just for the purposes of this list.
With the exception of Amanda Waller, no other character has come out of that movie with any mention of a future in the universe. That means, running unopposed, for now, they are the King and Queen of Gotham.
19 FROM HER TO YOU
The Joker-Harley-ification of this classic meme breaks down the significance in some ways. Unless literally everyone in this symbolic individual’s life shares characteristics with either the Joker or Harley Quinn. Must be a rough place to be. Everyone wakes up sometimes and thinks the world’s gone completely off the rails. No two characters will remind fans more of the essential nature of order when faced with their twin smothering blankets of chaos.
This meme even goes so far as to call out disorder within the family ties of a romantic relationship. Then again, if one looks around and all they see are Joker and Harley Quinn personalities around, it may be time to look inward.
18 BEAUTY AND DARKNESS
The teeth side by side makes this meme work, in spite of a debatable turn of phrase. On one hand, this caption has a point: when Joker and Harley met, they each gravitated toward an opposite of themselves. One might argue that as his therapist, Harleen Quinzel held onto a passion for the unbridled freedom the Joker carried himself with.
The argument from the Joker’s perspective is far more complicated. Typical supervillain, he rarely makes his feelings for Quinn clear, and his ambivalence toward her as more than a glorified henchperson is the subject of much strife between them. As ironic as it is to say the character might change, letting the Joker reciprocate this romance a bit would be a nice twist.
17 WHEN DREAMS BECOME REALITY
Speaking of Joker and Harley dreams inspired by this meme, the new DC movie rumors at Warner Bros sound like they’re focused on solo movies, but this romance itself could be stretched into a trilogy even just based on the brief introduction audiences got to the two most recently.
If 50 Shades of Grey can be released into a film trilogy, the tryst of Joker and Harley Quinn could easily contain enough craziness and dramatics to fill up three movies. The first one would center around the scene celebrated by this meme. An Arkham movie, almost entirely in the prison, tracking the slow transformation of Dr. Quinzel into the future Suicide Squad team captain.
16 POP RELATIONSHIPS
Just a couple of mixed up kids, trying to make sense of themselves in a mixed up world. Together. As POP!s. Is there any marketing form factor these characters don’t look compelling as? Enduring character design can’t be credited enough for the success of Joker and Harley. Both drawn, one of to leap out of the comic book page, the other the television set.
In addition to all of their lovable quirks, Joker and Harley are some of the best designed characters in comics, and their cosplay proliferation at conventions proves it. Both can also be tricky to get right for some artists. Beautifully, this pictured design can’t go wrong, but over-caricature, in many other forms, can be a danger.
15 A TOUCH OF CLASS
Versatile, for any occasion, this couple enjoys dressing up as much they enjoy dressing down. There’s a universal appeal to characters that feel equally at home trashing a white tie event, as they would knocking over a corner store -- maybe it’s something about the makeup.
As much as they like to dress the part, most of their formal activities and high society behavior will have to be confined to their mental fantasies, since it’s impossible for the two to function at any real event around other people. But they are the belle of their own ball, no question, and that’s mostly all they really care about.
14 JOKER/HARLEY OPINION POLLS
Sometimes it feels like reports that look like this are driving development in the expansion of the DCEU. For the most part, these characters are neck and neck in fans’ hearts for seeing future solo projects. The Joker is an enigma that will warp every idea of hero and villain we have if he gets his own movie. Howver, news of Geoff Johns taking the helm of the movie franchise carries special implications for the Joker in particular.
If the Three Joker theory will be paid off in the near future, as promised, all of these movies will make more sense, but by every other measure, Harley Quinn is the character of the hour.
13 SHE WAS FEARLESS
A pretty generous statement from the Joker here, but this could still read like a line out of the synopsis for the middle movie in the trilogy of Joker and Harley. It would be great to see the Joker actually pass a test that proves he deserves Harley’s love. If put into the position to defend her, while going through, doing their little Bonnie and Clyde routine perhaps, all the better.
Any moment that the Joker has to grudgingly defend Harley’s honor, the romance will win and they can do whatever criminal activity has to be done to fill up a mature Joker and Harley focused story.
12 STRAIGHTJACKET LOVE
Symbols of mature tones are some of the best parts of working in characters as vibrant as these. Clearly, this meme is referring to the straightjacket as a symbol for the hold love can have over us. Most likely that’s what it means, anyway. The asylum takes the whole thing literally, but any case for the Joker and Harley being the most romantic couple in comics starts with this origin story here.
Any love, as long as it’s true, that blooms in a place as bleak and drab as Arkham, is automatically compelling. It could be that love is the only thing that can guide a person through the pitfalls of mental illness at that stage.
11 MOST ROMANTIC
It would be one of the great ironies, though maybe a fitting one, that romance, a topic that the superhero movie genre has struggled with greatly, had to wait until the supervillain movie to be done right which could have a handful of explanations. But if the options are Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor vs. Joker and Harley, there’s no contest.
As great as Gal Gadot and Chris Pine may be, the brightest and most sunshiny version of Joker and Harley puts them in the I Love Lucy category of great romances. Those crazy kids may not always get it right, but love keeps them together, and that’s something the lonely and depressed at home can root for.
10 NEXT DCEU MOVIE
If the two aren’t coming back together, and for casting resources reasons that may be how it shakes out, it will be an all out sprint to see who gets the next solo movie. Harley Quinn is a newer character to the big screen with a brilliant actress, Margot Robbie, absolutely crystallizing herself into the role and, as a conflicted antagonist, her character still has a lot of arc to explore in not being 100% bad to the core.
On the other hand, the Joker’s a man, so people already know how to sell and buy those movie tickets. If one wanted to put a logical twist on the agent of chaos, make one of those three Jokers gender-fluid -- try putting out that solo movie.
9 DRIVE EACH OTHER CRAZY
Every couple has that phase where they find out their out of sync in all the right ways together. The things that they like and dislike start to line up in a really graceful way. The nice thing about this couple is that they never take those moments for granted.
Each of them is hardly able to contain their inner animal from stomping all over everything at all times, so it’s likely they do spend a good amount of time in a natural state of unrest. It probably makes everyone around them really uncomfortable, but it makes those times they line up all the better.
8 A BEAUTIFUL CHAPTER
Ah, the words we tattoo on ourselves because they hurt too much to say aloud. Joker and Harley probably aren’t this direct with their feelings, but the sentiment is there, that’s the great part about this couple. When the two really pop, each character could exist on their own, doing their interesting things, but it’s impossible to imagine them being with anyone else.
A proper telling of their love story draws them together like Romeo and Juliet. Or, it could trace a tale of manipulation and abuse by a master psychopath like the Joker, that wouldn’t be too far off either, according to some.
7 LIGHT THROUGH DARKNESS
The Joker has to have a soul for there to be any light escaping from there. The sentiment is a nice attempt, but the Joker needs to be cordoned off, with a giant hat on, that pleads with him not to be taken as a romantic role model. This will always be an inherent problem in expanding, glorifying, and romanticizing the clown prince of Gotham.
To what extent does one caricature this character? How much of the audience wants to see him win the day a little bit, and then how many of them actually want to see him win the day a lot? Revisit this question after Venom.
6 IN LOVE WITH AN IDEA
Always a tough conversation to have in any relationship, especially for these two, but even still, this sounds like a second act argument. In the introductory movie of any relationship’s franchise lifetime, (real or fictional for that matter), each partner’s perceptions of each other must be broken down entirely before the two can achieve true intimacy.
Dr. Quinzel was probably first attracted to the Joker’s case because of its extreme ideology. Separating the schtick from the guy inside is the job that made Harley Quinn the villain she is, and figuring him out and what he does for her is an unending task.
5 EXPLAINING THE JOKE
There’s a lot of Joker-splaining in this relationship, one presumes from the start. Although, he’s right in the parameters of this panel, despite what admitting that does for the clever illusion of this list. Ideally, one supposes, if any two people should be on the same wavelength, it’s Joker and Harley Quinn, although each should be used to not quite syncing up in frustrating fashion.
Truthfully, this angry Joker isn’t the recent character fans have seen in the past few movies, or even comics. The Joker is misunderstood, but not by himself. At times he seems the most self actualized character there is; sure of himself as the wild card, walking into the room eager to turn everything upside down.
4 WE’RE NOT VILLAINS
Somehow this sounds a little bit more earnest coming out of Harley’s mouth than the Joker’s. The topic of Harley’s redeemable soul is still on the table for many fans. When it comes to the Joker’s redemption, not so much. Maybe she has just really gone around the bend for good, but it would nice if there was still a small part of Harley that thought she could reach him.
Maybe she started playing along with his world to get closer in order to treat him and then got caught up. If Harley’s goals and morality run just a little bit counter to the Joker’s, the couple becomes a little bit more endearing.
3 PURSUING TORTURED SOULS
The comparison between Harley Quinn and Catwoman may end here, but hopefully it’s not the last time the two characters are seen in the same frame. This meme highlights the similarities between the two characters and their overlap beyond a willingness to work outside the confines of the law. In addition to the relationships they’re in, Harley and Catwoman are also pursuing their own tortured souls.
Each rejecting stability in their own way, have painted themselves back into a costumed lifestyle by their guilt, failure, and abandonment. Contrary to their male counterparts, Catwoman and Harley aren’t captivated by dogma and ideology, their goals aren’t for revenge, but to figure out how to get by in this world however they can.
2 TWO HALVES
Whether it looks more like Kill Bill or an entire movie of the scene with the ear in Reservoir Dogs, either a Harley Quinn or Joker movie sound like they’d both be up Quentin Tarantino’s alley. The auteur director, known for his use of gratuitous violence, has stayed away from conversations about the superhero genre for the most part, (though his name was once tied to Luke Cage).
Tarantino usually hedges toward reality based events with real stakes to play his characters from, so working with a canvas like Gotham City could put him out of element slightly. But since the project is trying to find beauty in apparent chaos, the director’s trademark vision would serve either of these characters well.
1 KINDRED CRAZY
Despite protests to the contrary, many fans can see some of their own feelings in the Joker and Harley characters, the urge to decry the entire system as failed and feeling like the only logical thing to do is act accordingly, is an all too relevant philosophy. Putting that hopelessness alongside love, arguably one of the strongest forces in the universe at holding things together, reaches into a core tension in everyone and being pulled between two poles sums up a battle many people wrestle with every day between optimism and pessimism.
Somewhere in the collision of these two characters, they create a beauty that taps into that. However, they can still be mighty uncomfortable to be around if you don’t like shouters.