Harley Quinn has had quite a week. First she tried to win a Green Lantern ring on the internet but was outbid. However, she found another ring for sale. Turns out this ring is not a Green Lantern ring, but rather a Red and a Black Lantern rings that have been fused together. This gives her the power of a Lantern and fuels her darkest desires for death, destruction and mayhem. Now only Hal Jordan can possibly save the world, but who will save him from Harley?
The Positive
Harley Quinn’s character has gone through changes over the years, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that she started out as a villain and while she’s not really that anymore it is still a part of her. It’s great to see her indulging her dark side, and while she does keep her unique sense of humour, with the power of the rings it all takes on a much more sinister feel. It’s never explicitly said if it was just the rings making her act like that or if the rings were fueling what was already inside her.
Harley’s craziness even seems to take over Hal Jordan as well. I’ve never been a huge Green Lantern fan, so I did enjoy watching her beat up on the Green Lantern probably a little too much. It’s a lot of fun to see their battle devolve into a giant arm wrestling match over the city. As much fun as the Red and Black Harley is, I think her as a Green Lantern was even more fun.
Palmiotti and Conner continue their great writing through into this one as well. They have captured the balance of manic insanity so well throughout all of the various Harley books and it continues here.
The Negative
As much fun as the Lantern action is, there is a sub-plot about the London Legion of Superheroes coming to find her in New York. They have one or two decent moments, but on the whole, the storyline just feels like filler. They seem to be sticking around for a bit so hopefully they will have more to do in the next issue.
The art in the book is for the most part good, but the characters are very stylized. One of the two guys who finds the rings has such a stylized look and hair that it was actually hard to tell if he was human or not in some panels. It looks good on the heroes, but the normal people look a bit off.
The Verdict
Harley with the power of a Lantern ring is a pretty dangerous thought and we see exactly why here. This issue is a lot of fun and the creators continue to give us exactly what we want from these Harley books. The story works best when it’s Harley and Lantern, but tends to lose steam when we spend time with the London Legion.
