THE LITTLE GIRL IN THE LAB COAT

Dr Harleen Quinzel had worked at Arkham Asylum as Joker's psychiatrist. Within a year, she had fallen in love with him and he had convinced her to join him. She became Harley Quinn. 

Harley Quinn was no more than a sidepiece for Joker and though she was obsessed with him and called him her "puddin'" or "Daddy" it seems more like he just lets her be instead of actually reciprocating her feelings. She's manipulated by him and often used as a distraction for Batman's forces or simply for stirring up trouble. Plus it doesn't hurt that Harley is always loyal to Joker and will do anything to break him out. Every. Single. Time. You can't help but feel a bit sorry for her. 

Probably one of my favourite portrayals of her is in Injustice: Gods Among Us. Even though it's not canon (and I'm a big stickler for official things), it's just so unique that I can't help but read it. In the series, the typical lines between bad and evil are blurred and you have bad and good guys on both sides, one led by Superman fighting for complete domination of the worlds to "govern it peacefully" and the other led by Batman simply to fight the control of Superman (because we all know how corruptible dictatorships are). Anyway, Harley's on Batman's side and we see a deeper side to her. Remember how I said that she was pretty much Joker's trophy girlfriend? Yeah, well a lot of writers treat her as such too so we don't really get a more dimensional character. However in this story line, we learn that she has a daughter named Lucy. We see how hurt she was by Joker's indifference to her absence. But most importantly, we feel how she feels. 

BATMAN'S PRODIGAL SON

He was taken from Batman by Joker and brutally beaten half dead before being blown up (though with his body still intact). Jason Todd was his name and he was the second Robin, Boy Wonder. 

Jason was completely different from his adoptive older brother, Dick Grayson. Unlike Dick, Jason hadn't grown up in the protective and loving embrace of his parents—in fact, he was what we might call a "street rat". He tried to steal the wheels off of the Batmobile before getting caught and subsequently brought under the wings of Batman. Jason wasn't as flexible as Dick, mostly because he hadn't been in the circus but he was just as eager to be Batman's protege. Neither was he as obedient as his older brother. Jason was more willing to take risks and dirty his hands a bit more, no doubt a habit from his old life. 

Shortly after Jason was buried, his body was retrieved by Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, the head of the League of Shadows. He was revived in the Lazarus Pits where Ra's al Ghul bathed now and then to retain his youth. Needless to say, Jason wasn't too thrilled about being woken from the dead and returned a little deranged. He returned to Gotham and became hellbent on seeking revenge on Joker, even taking up the clown's old identity: the Red Hood. 















But that wasn't his only mission. He also started taking the Black Mask's control over the drug trade and reformed it a bit by forbidding the dealers from selling it to children. Of course if they were caught, the consequences were sometimes lethal. His policies in dealing with criminals came into conflict with his Bat Family, who were while happy to see Jason alive (though not really well) weren't so happy about his new tactics. 

After a power struggle between him and his brothers over the cowl, Jason left to join the Outlaws, a group of anti heroes slowly returning to the good side again. A reconciliation between his family has yet to be reached. 

Jason Todd always intrigued me. He's full of contradictions—on one hand, he's stubbornly the black sheep of the family yet he still wants to fit in. His view of the world is much more pessimistic and dark due to many of his traumatic experiences. It's as if he's the embodiment of bad luck; fans had voted for his fate: death. One wonders how his character would've developed had public opinion swayed the other way. 

CLOWN PRINCE OF CRIME

Joker. His name alone sends shivers and awe down the spines of many fans. He's the infamous archenemy to Batman. He and Batman probably make up one of the most famous superhero/villain dynamics of all time. It surpasses that of Superman and Lex Luthor, and Thor and Loki. 

The best part of this struggle between order and chaos is the fact that neither side is willing to completely finish the other. To Joker, a world without Batman is boring—there would be no order to destroy; to Batman, killing Joker would mean bringing himself down to his worst enemy's level. They are the opposite sides of the same coin and like yin and yang, one cannot exist without the other.

In fact, it is believed (and commonly accepted among fans) that Batman helped to create Joker. Legend has it that Joker was a failed comedic struggling to provide for his pregnant wife. One day, he dons the identity of the Red Hood under the pay of some thugs and fell into a chemical vat while being chased by Batman. The accident left him horribly disfigured and insane. Oh, the irony that before, the Joker was a harmless pawn and now one of the greatest and unpredictable criminals. 

He is of course, my all time favourite supervillain. Not only does he allows keep me on my toes but he has some surprisingly deep quotes. What he says reveals the state of society and his utter disregard for the strange ways things like merit and respect are awarded. All I have to say is that there's more to Joker than what meets the eye, and I'll leave with some of his more memorable and deep quotes. 

Life, dear Greg, is a theater of the absurd. Be honest and gentle, and a man goes to a pauper's grave. Lie and cheat and kill, and that same man could rule the world!

So, who's the real sicko, America? Me, for carrying out this little prank? The producers and executives at the network, who let it all happen-- or is it you people, who mindlessly watched it all on your television sets?

All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day. You had a bad day once, am I right? I know I am. I can tell. You had a bad day and everything changed. Why else would you dress up as a flying rat? You had a bad day and it drove you as crazy as everybody else... Only you won't admit it!

DYNAMITE DUO > NIGHTWING & STARFIRE

Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon or "Babs" in the Batverse. As children of Batman and Commissioner Gordon respectively, they are the unofficial heirs of their fathers. So it shouldn't come as a surprise for the two to be in a relationship—or at least they were before. 

At the very beginning, it was purely platonic, though only from Babs' perspective. Dick, on the other hand, thought differently:

If that isn't the cutest thing ever, I don't know what is. It sort of continues like this for a little while before they start admitting their feelings for each other and actually start dating. Like any other superhero couple, they had adventures as well as challenges, one of the main ones being the fact that Babs was paralyzed by Joker, Despite her new disability, Babs and Dick actually grew closer together as Babs assumed the role of Oracle, a hacker/intelligence vigilante in the Batfamily. 

But what was the cracking point?

The apple didn't fall far from the tree and like his father (Batman), Dick was a notorious workaholic, becoming obsessed with fighting crime. Finally unable to deal with her boyfriend's absences, Babs broke up with Dick. In the comics after, the two obviously still care greatly for each other so it was only a matter of time before they got together. And fall apart again. And repeat. Hopefully they'll be permanently together sometime in the future. 

Now about Starfire. She's part of his Teen Titans life, which I might add is just a side story, a tiny little spotlight on minor heroes. I'd like to think that the Batfamily aspect of Dick's life is the one that's most important to him as it's also the one that takes up most of his time. Since it's a spin off and it's not really part of the continuity universe, many fans, including myself, don't consider her and Nightwing as canon—that's only reserved for Barbara and Dick. 

So here's to hoping for another wedding.

DAMIAN WAYNE, DEMON BRAT

He's the perfect mix, the child between two of the most powerful people in the DC Universe: Batman (need I say he's Bruce Wayne?) and Talia al Ghul, (considered) the heir to her father, Ra's al Ghul. Genetically perfected in an artificial womb, he was born in the blood of the attending midwife whom his mother killed. Damian Wayne was raised without the knowledge of his father by the League of Shadows, a secret assassin society headed by his grandfather. After finally revealed Damian's father's identity to him, Talia sends her son to train under his father as way to disrupt Batman's work. Unbeknownst to her, he truly wants to help his father since it's his duty as the true born son. He attempts to take over the role of Robin from Tim Drake by fighting him, unsurprisingly forming a tense and difficult relationship. It also doesn't help that Damian has practically no social skills. After Batman's "death", his oldest son, Nightwing (or Dick Grayson) —though none of his ruthlessness—regain a little bit of his lost childhood.  The two brothers bond over as Batman and Robin until Batman's return. His mother becomes doubtful of her son's loyalty and eventually sends Heretic, Damian's clone to kill him. However, Batman was recently able to resurrect Robin with a Chaos shard. 

Honestly, Damian Wayne is a bit of a controversial figure. Most fans either love him or hate him—there's no in between. Fans of Tim Drake, the former Robin no doubt resent him to some degree for taking the place of their favourite, but I like to think that Damian eventually grew on them. When Batman disappears, Dick Grayson takes the cowl with Damian as his Robin. Under the tutelage of his adoptive older brother, Damian begins to lose some of his coldness but none of his ruthlessness.We have to keep in mind of his upbringing and the fact that he's still just a child. In the League of Shadows, showing emotions is considered weak. Gradually, Damian does express his caring side to others though in peculiar ways. And I find that adorable. Despite his brattiness (hence the nickname, "Demon Brat"), he does have his endearing moments like:

Now that makes all the infuriating moments worth it.