Harley Quinn’s New Team Gives Her the Role She Was Always Meant to Have

By Joe Anthony Myrick Published 17 minutes ago

The often-underestimated Harley Quinn was trained as a psychologist to be the voice of reason, and now she uses the skill with the Birds of Prey.

Warning: Spoilers for Birds of Prey #6!

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Summary

• Harley Quinn proves to be a rational voice of reason within the Birds of Prey team.
• Despite her past as a villain, Harley's skills as a psychiatrist shine through on missions.
• Harley should be included in the next Birds of Prey lineup due to her critical thinking abilities.

Now that she's a member of the Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn can finally be the voice of reason she always should've been in the DC Universe. Much of Harley Quinn's time in the DC Universe, both as a hero and as a villain, has seen her underestimated by her peers and even readers. She's constantly misunderstood by the masses as being nothing more than "crazy" & but she's never been completely irrational.

While she's admittedly far from being completely sane, Birds of Prey #6 by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero reminds readers that Harley Quinn is sane enough to be in her right mind as the voice of reason. If anything, it's a reminder of Quinn's skills as a psychiatrist, especially as she advises the distraught Black Canary throughout the mission.

Tensions are high among Wonder Woman's Amazons as disaster strike Themyscira, and when Dinah's sister is on course to be possessed by the ancient god Megaera, not even the Birds' leader, Black Canary, is thinking rationally. Instead, it's Harley Quinn who has to talk sense into her.

Harley Quinn Is Officially the Voice of Reason She Was Destined to Be

Perhaps it is merely by association with her past partner in crime, the Joker, but Harley Quinn is often portrayed as being criminally insane. Again, while not completely inaccurate, such a statement completely overlooks the fact that Dr. Harleen Quinzel was trained to problem-solve through rational means. She spent years of training to become a psychiatrist and a skilled doctor. After joining the Birds of Prey, she finally gets to put those skills into practice in a way that's visible to other genuine superheroes.

As a villain, Harley Quinn merely did whatever the Joker told her to do, and as a hero, most of her adventures see her partake in wacky hijinks rather than explore the critical thinking skills befitting of a doctor. These narrative tendencies all speak to the misconceptions surrounding her character from both her DCU peers and "real life" readers. Those misconceptions are why Harley's inclusion in this latest iteration of the Birds of Prey was initially surprising and controversial. Still, she's proving to be a strong asset to the team. The series is littered with little moments like this where Harley has to talk sense into her teammates.

Harley Quinn Should Be in the Next Birds of Prey Revamp

As Black Canary embarks on her next mission to save Barbara Gordon, she plans to shake up the roster with members best suited for this new mission instead of using the same roster. All things considered, Harley Quinn should be one of the few members from the previous roster to make the cut for this new one. She was a surprising X-factor when it came to getting her teammates to see things their emotions stopped them from seeing. Harley Quinn was instrumental in this last mission as the team's level-headed voice of reason & and that role will be needed again given the life-or-death stakes.

Birds of Prey #6 is available now from DC Comics.