Despite the role the Harley Quinn's classic origin than fans originally thought. A secret from her past showed that Harley may have had an ulterior motive during her first meeting with the infamous villain.
Few origins have as tragic a beginning as Harley Quinn. DC fans know the classic story of a young, hotshot psychiatrist that worked at Arkham Asylum and took on the Herculean task of analyzing the most dangerous villain inhabiting the facility. She did her duty and tried treating the Joker, but their sessions proved to be the future Harley Quinn's downfall. Before Dr. Harleen Quinzel knew what hit her, she had suddenly fallen madly in love with the clown and became his willing partner-in-crime, abandoning her life and career to him in his world of chaos and destruction.
And while that's the story fans may have in their heads, a glimpse into the past totally changes Harley's first meeting with the Joker. In Harley Quinn #5 by Karl Kesel and Terry Dodson, an FBI profiler has been tasked with tracking down the eponymous character and does a deep dive into Harley's past. When researching Harley Quinn’s stint as a psychiatrist, the agent discovers that Quinzel was quite insistent on meeting the Joker from the vety beginning. When the doctor does finally get her chance to talk to the Joker, Harleen tries everything she can to get the unusually stone-faced clown to talk. After breaking the ice by pointing out her name can easily be altered to Harley Quinn, she manages to get a reaction out of the Joker, only for him to viciously attack her. But as he throttles her, the Joker sees Harley looking up at her with love in her eyes.
It’s not uncommon to see proper Harleen Quinzel into Harley Quinn.
Everything that makes Harley 'Harley' was already there right up until she actually met the clown. There’s still a tragic element to her meeting the Joker, but at least Harley Quinn had more control than previously thought.
