The Harlequin is the name of four clown-themed DC Comics characters.
The original Harlequin was a foe of the Golden Age Green Lantern and later became his wife. The second Harlequin originally debuted as the Joker's Daughter and was a member of the Teen Titans. The third Harlequin was a member of the Injustice Unlimited supervillain team and battled Infinity, Inc. 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 and Irwin Hasen.
The Marcie Cooper version of the Harlequin first appeared in Infinity, Inc. #46 and was created by Roy Thomas.
The unidentified Harlequin first appeared in Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #5 and was created by Ron Marz and Jim Balent.
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 Green Lantern (Alan Scott).
Mayne developed a crush on Scott and, donning a colorful costume (which included harlequin glasses, a conical hat and a mandolin), 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 until she turned on them by aiding the Justice Society of America. 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 and Lois Lane in capturing another foe of her love, the Sportsmaster.
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" storyline. Her body became that of a young woman (who had the power to create nightmares) but her soul remained in Hell. 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.
During the Brightest Day crossover event, Molly briefly appears when Alan's daughter 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 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, but also of the Catwoman, the Scarecrow, the Riddler and the Penguin as well. In Pre-Crisis continuity, she later revealed her true father was Two-Face, joined the Teen Titans and renamed herself the Harlequin.
Duela's age has been 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.