I just finished reading DC Comics’ new Suicide Squad #1, and I’m… well, I’m upset. Where did my old Harley Quinn go? DC has taken my favorite character and turned her into an almost unrecognizable version of her former self.

I’ve never considered myself a DC fan, but I’m a Harley Quinn fan. I have artwork of her on my walls and a growing collection of action figures and statues. Preludes and Knock-Knock Jokes is one of my favorite trade paperbacks. I’ve watched her in Batman: The Animated Series. Not one of those Harleys looks like the Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad.

By “looks”, I don’t necessarily mean her outward appearance. It’s not a matter of clothing at this point. I wrote an article at Panels on Pages called Goodbye Sirens, Hello Sluts shortly after the announcement of the new 52 DC books, ranting about breaking up the Gotham City Sirens (which needed to be done anyway thanks to bad writing), and hypersexualizing the three characters. I thought that a costume change would ruin the character. I was wrong. The clothes don’t make the character. The writing does.

This is a much more morose Harley Quinn. This isn’t the independent Harley that we saw in Gotham City Sirens. She’s once again pining over the Joker, and this time it is almost as if his loss has broken her spirit. It’s hard to imagine Arleen Sorkin’s chirpy voice saying the dialogue that Harley says in Suicide Squad #1. The voice I hear in my head when I read Harley now is deeper, and doesn’t have her characteristic Brooklyn accent. It’s darker and edgier.

Writing a character in a completely different tone of voice can change everything. Put Harley back into her jester outfit, and she still wouldn’t be the original sweet and flirty Paul Dini / Bruce Timm character. At this point, complaining about the costume is futile. It’s not horrible. My favorite Harley Quinn costume has always been the Arkham Asylum uniform, and I don’t mind her showing some skin.

My only concern is that the chirpy, happily psychotic Harley Quinn that I fell in love with is gone, replaced by a cynical, battle-hardened criminal. Maybe it’s good that she’s growing up. However, as people grow they change, and I think our relationship has gotten a lot more complicated.