Harley explains that while she loves their chaos, she loves Napier more, which is why she went along with anything and everything he put forward to her as the Joker. However, his obsession with Batman means she was never going to be enough for him and eventually drove her away. Murphy reveals that the catalyst which caused her to leave Joker was when Quinzel found him torturing Jason Todd as Robin. She fled and brought Batman back to their lair where he mercilessly beat Joker on the verge of death, only for Quinzel to stop the Dark Knight from becoming that which he hates most: a murderer. What’s even more disturbing is that as she confesses this, we find out Napier doesn’t even remember if he killed the boy, as Todd’s body had disappeared by the time they reached to save him.

RELATED: Batman: White Knight is Gotham’s Liberal Wish Fulfillment

Quinzel reminds him how big of a monster his depression, dementia and schizophrenia really made him, with Napier admitting he wants to correct the course he took in life, pleading with Quinzel that he doesn’t just want her at his side, he needs her. This kind of vulnerability and intimacy sheds so much light on how she helped to make the Joker and why she’s now trying to save Napier’s soul, even if it costs her her own. Quinzel’s return is made all the more important with this revelation that she also saved Batman from himself — well, until we see him trip in White Knight #2 and force-feed Napier a bottle of mystery pills that seemingly cures him of his psychosis.

What makes Quinzel such a bigger player in the grand scheme of things is that while both men have always struggled with their identities, that has never been a problem for her. She’s always been herself; simply up for whatever the love of her life encourages her to blindly participate in. Now, the blinders are off and she’s thinking more. She’s not rash or swinging her baseball bat around, instead she’s more rational and mature. As issue #2 ends, we see this with her skepticism of Napier’s scheme to use Mad Hatter’s technology and Clayface as a signal-booster to mind-control the likes of Bane, Poison Ivy, Riddler and a bunch of other fiends to wage a campaign against the Bat.

RELATED: Batman: White Knight’s Joker Is That Crazy Ex Who Wants To Destroy You

Batman’s war crimes has cost the city a lot of infrastructure, injured people and even allowed corrupt politicians and businessmen to make a profit, so in her mind Quinzel is aligning with the lesser of two evils and doing the right thing. In his proposal to the imposter Harley, revealed as Marian Drews (a play on “merry-andrew,” a.k.a. a clown) by Murphy on Twitter, Napier wants to give Harley the version of himself she always wanted. This means that deep down he always knew what she deserved so the fact that this person was there underneath all the crime is playing on Quinzel and tugging at her heartstrings, which will end up being her test. Napier potentially faking his reform to destroy the symbol of the Bat won’t be the issue for Quinzel. The real issue will come if his antics destroys the symbol of their love.

As for the imposter, Murphy stated that Drews’ origins will come in issue #4 and we’ll see just how she slipped in to replace Quinzel, who left after she thought Joker was beyond repair. The fact that Joker couldn’t differentiate between the two will surely factor in down the line, reminding Quinzel how replaceable she was and can potentially be again. That said, White Knight is all about the duality of all of these characters and it’s refreshing to see Quinzel, not just as a referee in the fight to come, but actually as the voice of reason.