“Let’s go back and give a nod to that”: One of James Gunn’s Greatest DCU Characters That Came Straight Out of Batman: The Animated Series Has an Adam West Connection

Harley Quinn is one of the most important characters in Batman’s mythos, a rare occasion where an important character in the mythos of an A-list superhero was created outside of comic books. A creation of Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, Harley Quinn would go on to become one of the most popular characters in the Batman franchise, and headline multiple series of her own, in animation and in comic books.

On the 25th anniversary of the character, Paul Dini sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss the character and how she came about, dropping an interesting titbit that links the character directly with Adam West’s version of Batman.

Paul Dini revealed how Harley Quinn was connected to Adam West’s version of the Batman

Adam West’s Batman is widely hailed as one of the most comic representations of the Dark Knight, which would be unacceptable today as a mainstream adaptation of the Bat of Gotham. However, the show, as iconic as it is, influenced the Batman series that was created by Bruce Timm and his team as well, which became one of the greatest adaptations of the character in modern history. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Paul Dini, the co-creator of Harley Quinn revealed:

The idea occurred to me, let’s put in a female henchperson, because that seemed like a fun variation on the regular big thug guys. I liked the idea of someone kind of fun and funny that he could have a back-and-forth with.

I was thinking of the female henchwomen they had in the ’60s Adam West series. Often the Joker or Penguin would have a moll, so I thought, let’s go back and give a nod to that.

Adam West‘s Batman portrayed equally hilarious versions of characters like Joker and  The Penguin, who had female henchpersons working for them as well. These served as the chief inspiration for Harley Quinn, who was a bizarre take on a henchperson, who is mostly depicted as a stoic, burly yes-man who rarely has a personality, much less one that people enjoy.

Bruce Timm contributed other characters that have become staples of the DC Universe outside the DCAU

Bruce Timm was responsible, along with a slew of creatives, for creating characters that have become iconic DC archetypes, the kind that have been readapted in multiple adaptations of the DC Universe. Apart from Harley Quinn, there was Terry McGuiniss, who is Batman Beyond. There is also Livewire, which was created for Superman: The Animated Series, and has since appeared in shows like CW’s Supergirl and My Adventures With Superman.

Bruce Timm was also responsible for creating the Justice Lords, who were the twisted future versions of the Justice League that were a part of the police state. The Justice Lord’s Superman, along with the evil Superman from the Crime Syndicate of America, made a small cameo in My Adventure With Superman.