The Harlequin is the name of four clown-themed

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

characters. The original Harlequin was a foe of the Golden Age

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

and later became his wife. The second Harlequin originally debuted as the Joker's Daughter and was a member of the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

. The third Harlequin was a member of the

Injustice Unlimited The Injustice Society (a.k.a. the Injustice Society of the World) is a group of supervillains in the . They are the main antagonists of the Justice Society of America. The Injustice Society first appears in ''All Star Comics'' #37 (October 1947) ...

supervillain team and battled

Infinity, Inc. Infinity, Inc. is a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first incarnation is mostly composed of the children and heirs of the Justice Society of America (JSA), making them the Society's analogue to t ...

The fourth Harlequin has only appeared on a few occasions and is an enemy of Alan Scott. Joker's daughter becomes Harlequin in ''Teen Titans'' #48.

Publication history

The Molly Mayne version of the Harlequin first appeared in ''All-American Comics'' #89 and was created by

Robert Kanigher Robert Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over ...

and

Irwin Hasen Irwin Hasen (; July 8, 1918 – March 13, 2015) was an American cartoonist best known as the creator (with Gus Edson) of the ''Dondi'' comic strip. He also had a significant run on DC Comics' original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, in the 1940s as we ...

. The Marcie Cooper version of the Harlequin first appeared in ''Infinity, Inc.'' #46 and was created by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

. The unidentified Harlequin first appeared in ''Green Lantern Corps Quarterly'' #5 and was created by

Ron Marz Ron Marz (born November 17, 1965) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on titles such as '' Batman/Aliens'', ''DC vs. Marvel'', ''Green Lantern'', ''Silver Surfer'', and ''Witchblade''. Career Marz is known for his work on ''Si ...

and

Jim Balent Jim Balent () is an American comics artist, writer, and publisher from Pennsylvania. He is best known for his long run on ''Catwoman'' between 1993 and 1999. Balent has also drawn ''Batman'' and '' Lobo'' for DC Comics, as well as some of the iss ...

. The Harlequin appears in ''All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' #7 (July 2011).

Fictional character biography

Molly Mayne

The original Harlequin was Molly Mayne who appeared in stories alongside the Golden Age

(Alan Scott). Mayne developed a crush on Scott and, donning a colorful costume (which included

harlequin glasses Altina Schinasi (August 4, 1907 – August 19, 1999) was an American sculptor, filmmaker, actress, entrepreneur, window dresser, designer, and inventor. She was known for designing what she called the "Harlequin eyeglass frame", popularly known ...

, a

conical hat In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, o ...

and a

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

), started a life of crime to attract his attention. Her crimes tended to be harmless and mostly for show, although the two clashed on several occasions in the late 1940s. She briefly joined the

Injustice Society The Injustice Society (a.k.a. the Injustice Society of the World) is a group of supervillains in the . They are the main antagonists of the Justice Society of America. The Injustice Society first appears in '' All Star Comics'' #37 (October 1947 ...

until she turned on them by aiding the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in '' ...

. She had a deep running altruistic streak, which occasionally led her to join forces with her enemy/would-be love interest. Despite being attracted to the Harlequin, Scott never entered into a relationship with her and she eventually gave up in despair. She made a deal with the government in which she went on intelligence missions in return for amnesty for her past crimes and then quietly retired. On one occasion, she assisted Green Lantern,

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

and

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...

in capturing another foe of her love, the

Sportsmaster The Sportsmaster is the name of different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the character; Lawrence "Crusher" Crock, is usually depicted as a criminal who uses sports-themed weapons and ga ...

. Years later, after the death of his first wife Rose Canton, Alan Scott realized that he had loved Molly all this time and they got married. As the years passed a problem developed for the two; the Starheart (which gave Scott his powers) had reversed his aging processes, so he was physically a young man while Molly had since aged into an old woman. In despair over the rift this had caused between them, Molly sold her soul to the demon Neron in return for youth during the "

Underworld Unleashed ''Underworld Unleashed'' was a multi-title American comic book crossover event released by DC Comics in 1995. The main theme of ''Underworld Unleashed'' involved the new ruler of Hell, a demon-lord named Neron, offering first many of the DC Un ...

" storyline. Her body became that of a young woman (who had the power to create nightmares) but her soul remained in

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

. Scott fought his way through Hell to obtain it and, with the help of the young Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, returned it to the Harlequin's body. This resulted in re-aging Molly, but making her whole once again. Some time thereafter, Scott himself was returned to his true physical age, as well. Mayne and Scott remain happily married to this day.''Underworld Unleashed: Abyss - Hell's Sentinel'' #1. DC Comics. During the ''Brightest Day'' crossover event, Molly briefly appears when Alan's daughter Jade (DC Comics), Jenny arrives at the Scott home in search of her father's old lantern. Molly informs her stepdaughter that Alan had been depressed in recent weeks, as Jenny had not been to visit her family since her resurrection at the close of the ''Blackest Night'' crossover event. Later, a doppelganger of the younger, villainous Molly is created by Alan's ring after he goes insane and battles the Justice League. The doppelganger is briefly seen torturing Mikaal Tomas, Starman. A panel in "The New Golden Age" one-shot revealed that Harlequin has a son named Michael Mayne through an unknown man. Michael would later become Harlequin's Son utilizing some of his mother's technology.

Duela Dent

Duela Dent is the second character to use the Harlequin name. The character was introduced in ''Batman Family'' #6 (July/August 1976). Originally appearing as a villain, she called herself the Joker's Daughter, and not only claimed to be the daughter of the Joker (character), Joker, but also of the Catwoman, the Scarecrow (DC Comics), Scarecrow, the Riddler and the Penguin (character), Penguin as well. In Pre-''Crisis on Infinite Earths, Crisis'' continuity, she later revealed her true father was Two-Face, joined the

and renamed herself the Harlequin. Duela's age has been Retroactive continuity, retconned many times during the course of her history. When introduced she was a teenage girl, but in the later books, she was portrayed as a much older woman. Recently, she has been returned to a far younger age. In current continuity, Duela continues to claim various supervillains as her parent. Freely alternating between heroic and villainous roles, Duela is considered a delusional former member of the original Teen Titans, but later becomes a member of the evil Titans East. She later betrays Titans East when offered membership with the current team. Soon after, Duela is killed by a rogue Monitors (comics), Monitor in issue #1 of ''Countdown (DC Comics), Countdown'', following a failed kidnapping attempt on a celebrity and pursuit from Jason Todd. It is later revealed that she is a native of Earth-Three#New Multiverse, Earth-3 and the biological daughter of the Jokester and Three-Face (Evelyn Dent), that world's heroic equivalents of the Joker and Two-Face.

Marcie Cooper

As a youth, Marcie Cooper was recruited by the Grandmaster to join the Manhunters. Her grandfather, Manhunter (comics)#Dan Richards, Dan Richards (a.k.a. the Manhunter), also encouraged her to join the group as he had years ago. The Manhunters gave her a job working at KGLX radio in Gotham City, alongside Molly Mayne-Scott, who was a former agent called the Harlequin. Marcie began dating Northwind (comics), Northwind and later Obsidian (comics), Obsidian, both of

, and infiltrated the super-team from within. When the Manhunters began to strike at Earth, Marcie stole Molly's illusion-casting glasses, taking the identity of the Harlequin. She failed to recruit Obsidian to the Manhunters and tried to kill her grandfather after he betrayed the Manhunters. Dan Richards was later killed by the Manhunter Mark Shaw. Single-minded in her attempt to destroy Infinity, Inc., she joined

and masterminded the assassination of Sylvester Pemberton, Skyman: it was on the wedding night of Hector Hall and Lyta Trevor; the Harlequin posed as Jade (DC Comics), Jade and used Solomon Grundy (character), Solomon Grundy as her pawn in killing Skyman. She then took Grundy, gathered the Dummy (DC Comics)#The Dummy, Dummy and took the pair to meet with Artemis Crock, Artemis, the Icicle (comics)#Cameron Mahkent, Icicle II and Hazard (DC Comics), Hazard. The plan to murder the Infinitors was told to all and put into action. Pat Dugan was used as bait to bring the heroes to Stellar Studios, but the battle went bad for the villains. When Solomon Grundy realized he had been manipulated by the Harlequin, he savagely beat her. Afterwards, she was given over to the authorities. The Harlequin has not been heard from since (though Roy Thomas has stated that she was not killed). Cooper did make a cameo appearance in Alan Scott's dream sequence. Some readers have speculated that she may be the mysterious Harlequin introduced in ''Green Lantern Quarterly'' #5-6 (summer and fall 1993). This new Harlequin is shown standing next to the Golden Glider in ''Underworld Unleashed'' #1 (November 1995), whom some misinterpreted as being Marcie Cooper herself. Another piece of speculation entails Marcie Cooper having been the Marcy from ''Secret Origins'' (vol. 2) #20 (November 1987) and ''Batgirl Special'' #1 (1988). That last idea was tentatively acknowledged by ''Millennium Index'' #1 (1987).

Unknown

A mysterious new Harlequin debuted in ''Green Lantern Corps. Quarterly'' #5-6 and battled Alan Scott. As a little girl, she discovered she had illusion-casting powers. She learned all about the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott, and how the first Harlequin became his lover. She knew it was her destiny to become the next Harlequin and to be with Green Lantern. She created illusions of Icicle (comics), Icicle and Solomon Grundy for Alan Scott to battle and then revealed herself to him. During that encounter, Scott mysteriously regained his youth. Though at first he thought this an illusion, he later learned that the original consciousness of the Starheart had been reawakened and M'La had been tortured and slain. During her battles with Scott, she eventually attacked his wife, Molly Mayne-Scott (the first Harlequin). She created illusions of a decrepit version of Molly, while she flooded Scott's head with visions of them together (in space, as barbarians, as detectives and eventually as medieval warriors). Scott was able to break free when he unleashed his simmering rage against her and showed her a world where he ruled over Hell and she was his captive slave. She stopped the battle, fled shouting that he had ruined everything, and instantly disappeared into the air. During the ''

'' crossover event, the unknown Harlequin appeared in Hell alongside the other villains summoned by Neron in ''Underworld Unleashed'' #1. The unknown Harlequin returned and made an appearance in Alan's dream sequence.

Powers and abilities

The primary tool of the Molly Mayne version of the Harlequin was her glasses. The glasses were later explained as a gift from the Manhunter (comics), Manhunters as one of their agents. By using the glasses, she was able to project realistic three-dimensional holograms and fire energy blasts. In recent years, the glasses enabled an aged Molly to "maintain" the physical vitality of her youth's athleticism. Her secondary tool is a mandolin with an extending handle which she uses as a defensive weapon, especially against the Golden Age Green Lantern (due to his ring's weakness to its wooden construction). The Marcie Cooper version of the Harlequin wears special glasses that allows her to hypnotize people and to create realistic illusions in the minds of the people around her. She can even project illusions over television. She also wields a mandolin with an extending handle that can be used as a weapon. A psychopathic killer, she is not afraid to do whatever it takes to destroy her opponents. The unidentified Harlequin has illusion-casting powers similar to her predecessors. However, her illusions are much more intense and powerful than the illusions cast by Molly Mayne and Marcie Cooper, which were created from their glasses. When casting her illusions, if the victim has any doubt that the illusion is not real, they will feel the pain that her illusion is inflicting on them.

Other versions

''Kingdom Come''

A new Joker's Daughter appeared in the ''Kingdom Come (comic), Kingdom Come'' miniseries and ''The Kingdom: Offspring (comics), Offspring'' #1. She is identified as both the Joker's Daughter and the Harlequin in annotations for the series and according to Alex Ross. The card set calls her a riot girl, who is "one of many to follow the Joker's chaotic style". She is not related to either Duela Dent or the Joker. It has been stated that the ''Kingdom Come'' storyline is now Earth-22 in the DC Multiverse. Previously, it was called Earth-96 in the first Multiverse.

Miscellaneous

* The Harlequin was ranked 100th in ''Comics Buyer's Guide's'' "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list, although this list does not specify which version of the character was chosen.