Warning: Spoilers for Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn #1 below
Few characters in the DC Universe straddle the line between unhinged chaos and mental clarity more than Harley Quinn. A licensed psychiatrist, Dr. Harleen Quinzel worked at Gotham's Arkham Asylum before meeting the Joker and falling in love with him. After the Joker recruited her to join him on his criminal escapades, Dr. Quinzel transformed into the Harley Quinn that comics fans have come to know.
This balance is explored in Sean Murphy's Batman: White Knight series, where the dynamic between Batman and the Joker is flipped almost entirely. The Joker, also known as Jack Napier, actively tries to be psychologically stable while pursuing a political career. Harley supports his efforts and ends up marrying him, only for Jack to revert back to his villainous Joker identity.
The dueling sides of Harley's character from Batman: White Knight with her relationship to the Joker is an integral part of a new series called Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn. Picking up off from the events of Batman: White Knight, where the Joker is dead and Batman is in jail, this Harley-centric series gives readers a look into her life as a single mother of two infant children. When Gotham is hit with a copycat killer who uses the Joker's methods, Harley is scouted by the Gotham police due to her skills as a psychiatrist and her knowledge of Jack Napier. Without a great detective like Batman in town, Harley steps up to take on the job of finding whoever this new Joker is.
Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn puts forth a version of Harley Quinn where her past struggles with mental instability are not a detriment, but an advantage. With a creative team composed of writer Katana Collins, Sean Murphy, and artists Matteo Scalera and Dave Stewart, Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn #1 documents Harley's initial hesitance in getting involved with the case. With two young children to take care of, this Harley is apprehensive about jumping back into the world of Gotham crime, citing that "getting that close to evil is like walking a tightrope between madness and sanity. I already lost my balance off that rope once... I can't risk it again."
This balance is precisely where Harley is developed as a hero, instead of a villain, because her insanity does not preclude her heroism. While visiting Batman in jail, Bruce reminds her that even at her most chaotic, she still had her unparalleled sense of smarts. And her brilliance is what Gotham is in dire need of, regardless of whatever turbulence she feels still lingers inside of her.
While it remains to be seen where this investigation into Gotham's new Joker will take her, this new version of Harley Quinn does not demonize her unstable past. Instead, she is encouraged by characters in the comic to draw upon her struggles with her mental health as a way to gain insight into the person they are trying to track down. Her experiences with mental illness compliment her vast psychiatric knowledge, instead of canceling it out. The balance between her two sides is not something dangerous that must be suppressed, but rather something helpful to be used towards the betterment of society. While once a villain, Dr. Quinzel is now here to save Gotham in a way that only Harley Quinn ever could.