Warning! This article contains spoilers for Batman: Beyond The White Knight #2
Even after breaking away from the Joker in the most extreme way possible, Harley Quinn still finds herself tangled in his life in a dark alternate future of DC Comics, one that weirdly involves Batman. While it is no secret that Harley and Joker had their own twisted romance in the past, it seems like that love has been unwittingly rekindled, throwing Batman, Harley Quinn, and the Joker into DC’s strangest marriage ever.
Harley Quinn made her DC debut as a high-level henchman for the Joker and was eventually elevated to being known as his girlfriend as her popularity rose in the fandom. However, when the veil on their relationship was lifted, it became clear that Harley Quinn was in an incredibly toxic and abusive relationship as the Joker demeaned her at every turn and even physically abused her. While she broke away from that relationship some time ago, Harley Quinn recently put a permanent end to the Joker’s influence over her life by shooting him in the head and killing him in Batman: Curse of the White Knight #6 by Sean Murphy. At least, that’s what she thinks.
In Batman: Beyond The White Knight #2 by Sean Murphy with Dave Stewart, Batman learns the dark truth that, even though the Joker was murdered by Harley Quinn some time ago, the Joker lives on in his mind. While that seems like Batman is falling into full-on psychosis, there is actually a technological reason for this shocking phenomenon. When the two fought many years ago, the Joker implanted a microchip in Batman’s head that held the entirety of the Joker’s consciousness. Even after his death, the Joker remained alive and connected with Batman forever. While this may seem sinister on the surface, the situation actually proves to be the opposite. The Joker tells Batman that he isn’t here to torment him, but to help in any way he can, and he also tells him that the same goes for Harley Quinn. While his mission is to help them, the Joker isn’t aware of the progression of Bruce and Harley’s relationship after he was murdered. Apparently, Batman and Harley Quinn got married after the Joker’s death as Harley called Bruce her husband when she met him in one of his remote batcaves at the end of the issue.
With the Joker now existing inside Batman’s mind, Harley Quinn has inadvertently reentered something of a relationship with him along with Batman, which is a truly bizarre turn of events. While at one point the idea of that would be terrifying, this version of the Joker isn’t the sadistic Clown Prince of Crime who Harley killed, but the original version of the man who became the Joker, Jack Napier. In a previous series that led into this one, Batman: The White Knight, the Joker was reformed and reverted back to his original identity. That didn’t seem to last, however, as he was killed by Harley after sliding back into his insane ‘Joker’ persona. However, the version of the Joker that resides in Batman’s brain is seemingly all Jack, and it was implied in this issue that Jack actually does love Harley Quinn just as he truly loves Batman.
Harley Quinn was at one point completely obsessed with the Joker and wanted nothing more than his love and affection, though she reached her breaking point when she killed him. However, Jack is not the Joker and doesn't share his sinister qualities, so Harley may very well fall for him again as he apparently has feelings for her. Although, the only person who is aware of the Joker’s continued existence is Batman, Harley’s current husband. Overall, this is a very weird love triangle and it is bound to get even weirder as DC fans have only scratched the surface of Batman, Harley Quinn, and Joker’s strange marriage.