I’m basically writing my thoughts as I think them, so if this is messy, tough shit. I’m talking about age and years here, but it depends on the source, so keep that in mind. I’m thinking about Harley’s reaction to Joker killing Jason, and if anything I say is canonically inaccurate, please let me know.
To my knowledge, we never even see Harley acknowledge Jason’s death. Harley was first created in 1992, with her first comic appearance in 1993. Jason was originally killed in 1988, so she wasn’t around at that point. I do wonder, though—when did she find out, and how did she react? (I know in some versions she was present, but nah, I pick and choose my canon like a goddamn pick-and-mix, and originally, she wasn’t there.)
Now, Joker and Harley’s age gap changes from story to story, but it’s usually somewhere between 10 to 20 years, with Harley being the younger one. Again, I pick my canon however the fuck I see fit, but originally, it was about 15 to 20 years, so we’re gonna stick with that. That puts Harley in her early to mid-20s and Joker in his late 30s to early 40s.
With this in mind, I don’t think Harley would have been around when Jason died. Joker was likely in his late 20s or early 30s when he started his career. Dick was Robin for about 6 to 10 years—let’s say 8—and Jason was Robin for around 2 to 3 years—let’s say 2. That means Jason’s death possibly happened just before Joker and Harley got together. Maybe at that point, Harley was already obsessed with him but hadn’t actually joined him yet.
So, in my cherry-picking mind, Harley and Jason never crossed paths before his resurrection, which brings me back to my two main questions:
1. How did she react when she found out?
2. When did she find out?
I imagine they met before Joker was locked up for killing Jason—by that point, Harley had already quit being a psychiatrist to pursue him. Maybe she even knew about it beforehand and still fell for him, or more accurately, was groomed by him (which I really hope I don’t have to argue).
Either way, I see two possibilities:
• If she knew before meeting Jason: She wouldn’t really think about it until she was confronted by a very much alive Jason. What’s wild to me is that Jason is actually closer to Harley’s age than Joker’s. Deep down, Harley likes Batman and Robin to a degree—she acts like she wants them dead and would kill them if Joker asked, but she enjoys the game and knows they’re good people. If she ever wanted to leave Joker (not that she would ask for help), she probably knows Batman and Robin would be the ones to help her, if she wasn’t a wanted criminal. She wouldn’t fully realize those feelings until after she left Joker and started working with the Bat-Family (which, by the way, I have mixed feelings about—my opinion changes day to day).
Her and Jason would probably have largely positive interactions once he let his guard down, but that would take a long time. I think they’d bond over wanting Joker dead, but they wouldn’t be allowed to work together because they’d just feed off each other’s violent tendencies. They’d probably spiral into a murder spree if left alone too long.
• If she didn’t know Joker had killed Jason until later: The reaction would be similar. She already had some level of respect for Batman and Robin, but when she found out, she was probably already on the verge of leaving Joker. Maybe that was the final straw—he murdered a 15- or 16-year-old kid. Sure, she knew kids probably died during their crime sprees, but Joker had never directly killed one before (to her knowledge). Maybe that was the moment everything clicked for her—years of manipulation and most likely dissociation beginning to crumble.
Harley is chaos personified. She lives for drama, good or bad, but that doesn’t mean she wants to kill kids. Joker did. He wasn’t just chaos—he was evil disguised as chaos. And maybe that’s when she finally left, going off on her own until she eventually merged with the Bat-Family.
Obviously, that wasn’t the only reason she left Joker, but it could have been a contributing factor. I know Harley isn’t a good person, but I don’t think she’s completely evil either.
