It's No Crime:
A Quick & Dirty Harley + Ivy Page

"While attending college, Pamela Lillian Isley, a brilliant student of botany, is seduced by her science teacher, Dr. Jason Woodrue, and convinced to become the integral part in his plant toxin experiments. Unknown to a young and trusting Pamela, Dr. Woodrue introduced deadly toxins into her bloodstream and the toxins fused with her very essence-- turning her into something beyond human. Strangely, this gave Pamela a resistance to all poisons, but it also gave her a poisonous touch and the infamous deadly poisoned kiss. With these newfound powers, Pamela Isley assumed the guise of Poison Ivy to wreak havoc in Gotham City by committing crimes of eco-terrorism and dangerous passion."

Although I edited slightly for space, I originally swiped this paragraph (and several Poison Ivy pics on this page) from a very sleek-looking Poison Ivy fansite, The Flora Lounge. (Hey, I said this page was quick and dirty, what do you want from me?)

Harley Quinn was originally brought onto on the Batman: Animated Series which aired on Fox and later the WB. Her character became so popular she was later introduced into the comics continuity. Born Harleen Quinzel, she went to Gotham City University on a gymnastics scholarship, although she dreamed of becoming a pop psychologist. She met the Joker while interning at Arkham Asylum. He said he was fascinated by her name, which could so easily become "Harlequin." He also told Harleen, slyly, that it made him feel like he could open up to her. In their sessions, the Joker played on Harleen's feelings, telling her stories about his abusive father and how Batman persecuted him. Although it was crazy, Harleen fell in love with him, and when the Joker escaped from Arkham, Harleen went crazy with worry. She snapped when Batman returned him, beaten and bloodied. The Harley Quinn persona was created that night. She broke the Joker out of the asylum and they've been together, on and off, ever since.

Although greatly edited, I swiped this biography from HarleyQuinnWood, the most complete Harley Quinn shrine around.

The comics continuity is somewhat different, but Harleen was still a psychologist who went crazy, blah blah, so you get the basic idea.

Anyway. Their relationship since then has been anything but smooth. The Joker is incredibly abusive; in Mad Love, the comic that explains Harley's backstory, she actually manages to capture Batman, something the Joker has never been able to do. For this he pushes her through the window of an several-story building, breaking her arm and leg. Still, she remains obsessed with him.

Once, the Joker kicked Harley out of the gang, which is when Harley and Ivy teamed up for the first time. In the B:TAS episode "Girls' Night Out," Harley and Ivy set up living together and also manage quite easily to become Gotham's new "Queens of Crime." But to Ivy's disgust, Harley ends up going back to the Joker, as she always does.

Here's a look at Harley's character from a queer perspective... although I don't quite agree that Harley heterosexualizes the Joker. Even in Mad Love when she was skipping around in a lacy negligee, inviting him to "rev up your Harley," he wasn't interested in the least. Maybe the joke's on Harley in that regard, huh?

And here's a review by Vixen of the first solo Harley Quinn comic. This article explains a bit of Harley's backstory, refers to the abusive nature of the Joker/Harley relationship, and also includes the line "I can't believe I'm the only one who sees lesbian overtones..." in the Harley/Ivy relationship. No, you're not! :)

A gorgeous pic of Harley and Ivy embracing... yeah. Wow.

And what makes the previous pic even more amazing is that it's not fanart. You can actually buy it on a T-shirt. That's right-- it's official merchandise. In the larger picture, you can see the signature of Bruce Timm, who did most of the character designs for Batman: The Animated Series and its several spinoffs. (He also drew the pic at the top of this page. Interesting, no?)

When B:TAS moved from Fox to the WB, a lot of the characters got redesigned, becoming sharp and angular instead of round and soft. Bruce Timm likes to draw a lot of pinup-style portraits of his favorite characters: here's the old Poison Ivy and the new Poison Ivy.

Actually, I think the above sketch may be a concept drawing or a first draft, because it leaves out the new Poison Ivy's most striking trait-- her green skin, which emphasizes her altered biology. Here's the only picture of Harley and Ivy that I could find that features the new green skinned Ivy.

And here's a telling scan of four panels from the Batgirl one-shot comic that came out in February 1998. In case the text is too small, the word balloons read as follows:

Harley: Oh, Ivy can't hurt me. She gave me a special shot once so we can play and I won't get sick at all.
Batgirl: You mean you two...?
Harley: What?
Batgirl (holds up two fingers in a 'V' gesture): You and Ivy are... well... friends...
Harley: Yeah?
Batgirl (crosses her fingers): Y'know... friends... like...
Harley: Like what everybody says about you and Supergirl?
Batgirl: What? Who says...? Forget it! Forget it!

Look at that dreamy look on Harley's face-- she's so cute. (This was a holiday comic, which is why the headpiece of Harley's costume looks kind of like a Santa hat. Earlier in the comic she says that she celebrates Hanukkah, but one assumes the Santa look was just too cute to resist.)

Actually, that whole comic is very slashy. It's about Harley tricking Batgirl into helping her save Poison Ivy from terrorists, who kidnapped Ivy in order to get her to work for them. In the panel where Harley flashbacks to the terrorists bursting in on them, it's a very domestic scene, with Harley in street-clothes in an overstuffed chair reading a book, and Ivy arranging some flowers. Harley gets pushed out the window, and when she climbs back in it's too late.

When the terrorist's leader, Kit, invites Ivy to join her team, Ivy tells her "After what you did to Harley? Drop dead." Kit says Harley was a "pathetic clown," and Ivy responds "She was my friend. And more important to me than you'll ever know." Then she spits in Kit's face. Which leads to Batgirl asking Harley why she'd want to hang out around "that walking toxic waste dump," and that's when Harley tells her about the shot. Hmmm...

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