You think you know Harley Quinn. You’ve seen the bubbly gymnast with the mallet, the anti-hero who loves hyenas, and the survivor who finally kicked the Joker to the curb. But there is a version of her buried in a 2015 alternate-universe project that most fans refuse to touch.
It’s called Justice League: Gods and Monsters. Specifically, the prequel short titled "Twisted."
In this universe, everything you love about Harley is gone. There’s no "Puddin’," no red-and-black spandex, and definitely no redemption arc. Instead, we get a character who is a genuine, stomach-churning serial killer. Honestly, it’s the only time Harley Quinn has ever felt like a character from a true-crime documentary rather than a comic book.
What Exactly is Harley Quinn in Gods and Monsters?
Most fans are used to Harley being "chaotic good" or at least "chaotic neutral" these days. Not here. In the Gods and Monsters continuity—conceived by the legendary Bruce Timm—Harley (voiced by the iconic Tara Strong) is a full-blown monster. She isn't a doctor who fell in love with a patient. She’s a homicidal maniac who creates "dolls" out of human corpses.
The short film "Twisted" introduces us to this version when Batman—who is actually Kirk Langstrom, a literal vampire in this world—tracks her to an abandoned warehouse.
What he finds inside isn't a hideout; it's a slaughterhouse.
Harley has been kidnapping entire families. She kills them, taxidermies them, and poses them at dinner tables. She sews their lips into permanent, horrific grins. She even has a "family" of corpses she’s trying to complete. It is a far cry from the slapstick violence of Batman: The Animated Series.
Why the Design Change?
The look of Harley Quinn in Gods and Monsters is just as jarring as her behavior. She wears very little—basically just tattered lingerie and smeared face paint.
Bruce Timm actually admitted this was a bit of a middle finger to the industry at the time. Back in 2015, DC’s "New 52" reboot had redesigned Harley in a way many fans (and Timm himself) found unnecessarily "skanky."
Timm decided that if the mainstream comics were going to lean into that, he would take it to the absolute extreme. He wanted to make her look truly unappealing and "nasty" to match her depraved personality. It wasn't about sex appeal; it was about showing a woman who had completely lost her mind.
The Brutal Fight and That Ending
The confrontation between Batman and Harley in this universe doesn't end with a trip to Arkham.
They scrap. Hard.
Harley attacks him with a mallet first, then a chainsaw. She’s fast, she’s strong, and she’s totally unpredictable. But she isn't fighting a hero with a no-kill rule. She’s fighting a hungry vampire.
When Harley eventually gets injured by her own chainsaw, she does something very "Classic Harley"—she tries to surrender. She says she’ll go to jail and be a good girl.
In any other Batman story, that would be the end. The Caped Crusader would hand her over to the GCPD. But this is Gods and Monsters. Kirk Langstrom looks at her, scoffs at the idea of "rehabilitation," and kills her on the spot. He drains her blood right there in the middle of her "family" of corpses.
It is a bleak, definitive end for a character we usually see as immortal.
Is She Really Harley Quinn?
There is a bit of a debate among hardcore lore nerds about whether this is actually Harleen Quinzel.
In the credits and promotional material, she is often just called "Harlequin." This is a nod to a Golden Age Green Lantern villain, making this version a "composite" character. She has the name and the hammers of the Harley we know, but the "Pure Evil" soul of a horror movie villain.
She has zero redeeming qualities. No soft spot for animals. No tragic backstory involving an abusive boyfriend. She’s just a predator.
Why You Should Care About This Version
It’s easy to dismiss this as "edgelord" content from the mid-2010s. But looking back, it serves as a fascinating counter-point to the "Disney-fication" of Harley Quinn.
As Harley becomes more of a mainstream hero—appearing on backpacks and in LEGO sets—we forget that she started as a villain. Gods and Monsters asks the question: "What if Harley was actually as dangerous as the Joker?"
The answer is terrifying. It strips away the charm and leaves you with the raw reality of what a "clown-themed murderer" would actually look like in a world without plot armor.
How to Watch and Read
If you want to see this version for yourself, you don't actually have to watch the full Justice League: Gods and Monsters movie (though it's great).
- Watch "Twisted": This is the Machinima short on YouTube. It's only about five minutes long.
- Read the Prequel Comics: There is a Justice League: Gods and Monsters comic series that expands on the world, though Harley's role is primarily in the animated short.
- Compare the Voices: Listen to Tara Strong’s performance here versus her work in the Arkham games. The "Gods and Monsters" voice is lower, more rasping, and genuinely unsettling.
The next time you see a Harley Quinn cosplayer at a convention, remember this version. It’s a reminder that beneath the jokes and the bright colors, the character has the potential for some truly dark storytelling.
If you're looking to explore more "Elseworlds" takes on your favorite characters, start with the Gods and Monsters shorts. They offer a perspective on the DC Trinity—Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—that makes the "Dark Knight" look like a Boy Scout.
Check out the "Twisted" short on official DC streaming platforms or YouTube archives to see the most controversial version of Harley Quinn ever put to film.