Harley Quinn just returned for a third season on HBOMax and the animated series offers an amazing version of the titular character. The HBOMax Harley Quinn draws from many sources in other media as well as the comic books, including her many variants. Thanks to Harley's pervasiveness throughout different media, many different versions of her exist.
The best Harley Quinn variants all share her unique personality but differ in many respects. Some took different turns in life, leading to heroism rather than villainy. Others possess extraordinary strength and power the regular Harley doesn't. Each builds on the iconic Harley Quinn introduced in Batman: The Animated Series, who inspired her first comic book variant.
The Batman Adventures
The first Harley Quinn in DC Comics brings the original animated version to the page. Harley first appears in The Batman Adventures #12 in 1993, not long after her initial animated debut. This Harley harbors more of a mean streak, making her distinctive. This Harley Quinn goes after Batgirl with more menace than her animated counterpart, though the character straddles the line between fun and fearsome in all her many incarnations.
The Batman Adventures Harley Quinn teams up with Poison Ivy from the start, a relationship that has proved incredibly significant in comics, television, and likely the movies if Margot Robbie gets her way.
Gotham Girls
Animated variants of Harley abound in DC Comics, including the Gotham Girls version. This variant takes visual cues from the updated animated style for The New Batman Adventures, and captures the ebullient spirit that makes Harley so compelling. This Harley shares mostly the same personality and abilities with others but focuses more on her relationships with other iconic female DC characters.
This 2002 series again teams her with Poison Ivy for many adventures that lay the groundwork for their ranking among DC Comics' best superhero couples, and their current romance in the HBOMax series.
Thrillkiller
Harley always entertains, but she also frightens and the variant from Thrillkiller may be the most frightening Harley Quinn of all. The version from the 1997 Elseworlds one-shot - the first comic Harley Quinn outside of animated adaptations - differs greatly from most others in any media.
In this alternate reality, Hayley Fitzpatrick murders her entire family and then sets out to kill Batgirl's. An unhinged Harley ends the comic seeking revenge for Batgirl killing The Joker, a woman in this universe and among the best Joker versions from DC Comics.
Yo-Yo
A Harley Quinn variant named Yo-Yo appears in the Flashpoint comic book storyline, easily among the darkest DC Comics' future timelines. Yo-Yo wears a very different costume with more armor than she ordinarily wears. She also wears roller skates, which adds a fun dimension to this particular version.
Yo-Yo mostly shares the same personality and abilities as her other versions and could possibly appear in the upcoming The Flash movie, set to adapt this storyline, if Margot Robbie returns to the role as she is very likely to do.
Injustice
The Harley variant from Injustice comics proves a complicated figure. She kidnaps Lois Lane and conspires in his plot to use her to destroy Metropolis. This leads directly to Lois and the Joker's deaths and Superman's turning evil, which Zack Snyder's Justice League loosely hinted at. But Harley sees major growth from this traumatic event, making this version especially compelling.
Harley also eventually joins the Justice League and marries Poison Ivy in this altered reality, a milestone moment in their decades-long journey toward becoming romantic partners in every medium.
DC Bombshells
DC Bombshells presents an alternate universe set in World War II and counts among the best DC Comics Elseworlds alternate realities. The Harley Quinn from this reality differs some from previous versions but also prefigures later ones, making her fascinating when considering Harley's growth as a character in every medium she's appeared in.
This Harley functions more as a typical hero. She fights the Joker's Daughter, who seeks to resurrect her father in the body of Poison Ivy. This leads to Harley and Ivy beginning a romance and the DC Comics Bombshells series presented their first kiss in a comic.
White Knight
Two different Harley Quinn variants exist in Batman: White Knight, including the original. The alternate reality comic book storyline from Sean Murphy reveals a second in Marian Drews. Drews took over the role of Harley Quinn in the Joker's Gang after Harleen Quinzel quit and she possesses far more power and lethal cunning than her predecessor.
Drews easily surpasses the original in terms of fighting skill and prowess, trained at a high level in various martial arts. She also wields mind control headbands that allow her to take over other people. She uses these liberally and without any of the nagging conscience that Quinzel dealt with.
Batman '66
Harley Quinn never appeared in the original Adam West Batman series, but she does in the Batman '66 comic book. This version embodies both Harley's inherent goofiness and the live-action series' silliness, making for a perfect combination. She wears a roller derby-style outfit complete with skates and a padded helmet.
This version also numbers among the most heroic Harley Quinns in the comics, as she turns against the Joker and sacrifices herself to save Gotham from the Joker Wave. The wave transforms Holly Quinn into Harley though, presenting Batman with a new unstable villain.
The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour
The HBOMax Harley Quinn blends several variants together to create a new one, and she's now a comic book variant herself. She appears in the comic book tie-in Harley Quinn: The Animated Series - The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour, set after the second season. This variant leads Harley's Crew and seeks to establish her own identity outside of The Joker.
Poison Ivy plays a major role in that, as she does in most other versions, but Harley is much more openly in love with Ivy, making this version the most actualized of all the comic book variants to appear so far.