Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books produced by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for
Batman: The Animated Series as a henchwoman for the supervillain Joker, debuting in its 22nd episode, "Joker's Favor", on September 11, 1992. While intended to appear in one episode, Quinn became a recurring character within the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) as the Joker's sidekick and love interest, and was adapted into DC Comics' Batman comic book canon seven years later, beginning with the one-shot
Batman: Harley Quinn #1. Quinn's origin story features her as a former psychologist at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum named
Dr. Harleen Quinzel who has fallen in love with the Joker, her patient, eventually becoming his accomplice and lover. The character's alias is a play on the stock character Harlequin from the 16th-century Italian theater
commedia dell'arte.