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Harley Quinn Annual #1 gives the Joker’s former girlfriend a new nemesis who is the perfect antagonist for the Clown as she struggles to reform.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Harley Quinn Annual #1, on sale now from DC Comics.
Harley Quinn has been reinvented in recent years, leaving behind her time as the villainous partner of the Joker to become a more heroic figure in the DC universe. While much of that growth has happened internally for the character, there have been those who’ve come up against her and tried to force her to slide back into her old habits, including a new nemesis who could prove to be one of Harley’s most unique enemies.
Harley Quinn Annual #1 (by Stephanie Phillips, David Lafuente, Marco Failla, Jon Sommariva, Miquel Muerto, and Andworld Design) introduces Harley Quinn to a new enemy in the form of Keepsake, who’s a perfectly creepy antagonist for the former Clown Queen of Crime.
Keepsake, aka Eli Kaufman, is a former henchman who decided that he wants to take a bigger place in the criminal world of Gotham City. Kaufman worked for a number of villains over the years, but his sloppy work and creepy attitudes often led to him being replaced. Over the years, he also stole a number of gadgets and weapons from those he worked for, quietly amassing an impressive armory of freeze rays, weaponized umbrellas, and flamethrowers. Eli went to work for the Joker only to become infatuated with Harley, who was still working with the Clown Prince at the time. Quinn ended up firing Eli, compounding his obsession with her.
In the annual, Keepsake demands that Harley join him in his plans to usurp the current power vacuum in Gotham City, and forces her by way of flamethrower to have dinner with him. He tries to convince her to work with him, in the process displaying deep-seated power fantasies. When she refuses, he ends up kidnapping her and bringing her to an Ace Chemicals Plant with the intention of forcing her to admit that she was better as a villain. But Harley breaks loose and tells him off for thinking she has to listen to anyone except herself. The pair end up wrestling in a vat of chemicals, and Harley almost drowns — only to be saved by her friends Solomon Grundy and Kevin (another former Joker henchman). Meanwhile, Keepsake escapes into the night.
Keepsake is a quietly perfect antagonist for Harley, especially as she tries to further cement her redemption and place within the extended Bat-Family. Much of Harley’s evolution as a character has been in regards to her attempts to reassert her own agency in her life and break free from the constraints and expectations that the rest of the world imposes upon her. Keepsake does his best to force her back onto a path she doesn’t want, and sees her more as an object than a person, much like the Joker did before him.
Keepsake also has potential as a genuine threat. He hints that he’s involved with Hugo Strange and his plans for Gotham City, suggesting he might be more nefarious than he seems. Everyone underestimating him plays to his strengths, as it allows him to get the better of Harley more than once in a fight. His arsenal is varied enough that he can throw a number of unlikely attacks at his enemies. He’s also hiding a secret weapon, with the issue revealing that he has physical powers as well, likely acquired from his time working with Bane or Clayface. It all comes together to make Keepsake an interesting and unique villain for Harley to add to her own personal rogues gallery.
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