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The Watch Vidocq Onlineman responsible for Harley Quinn's existence can sum up her philosophy in one sentence. "I may fall on my ass," chuckles Paul Dini, "but I'll kick yours first!"

Dini, along with Bruce Timm, created Harley for the wildly popular television show Batman: The Animated Series -- which iswhere she made her first appearance 25 years ago Monday. She was supposed to be a minor, one-off character.

SEE ALSO: Awesome dad Liev Schreiber took his 8-year-old son to Comic-Con dressed as Harley Quinn

"Harley was designed to be part of the Joker's gang for one episode," Dini recalls.

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He'd modeled the crazy jester character after his friend, Arleen Sorkin, who also served as the voice of Harley for the series. "She had some funny lines and a few great moments," says Dini. "We all liked the character an awful lot."

So did the audience.

When the BTAS teamleft her out of stories where they didn't thought she'd fit, such as the movie Mask of the Phantasm, fans complained. "People began missing Harley," Dini says, "so we started looking again for other opportunities to tell stories about her."

Dini's team soon realized they had something special. "We kept giving her these funny lines," he says. "The more she and the Joker played off each other, we realized they had a really nice chemistry and there was a relationship there worth developing."

Joker + Harley = Total freaking chaos

The relationship between Joker and Harley is as abusive as it is iconic. But it is their toxic interactions that made them the characters they are today.

As Dini says, the Joker is trying to turn Harley into "a perfect mirror of his idealized self." You can see that obsession in his stories, even now.

Harley was enamored with the Clown Prince of Crime at first, even when he treated her like dirt. "She really believed that he was the magic person who gave her this wonderful release that she must have been looking for at some point in her life," Dini says. "He opened the door to her soul that way."

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Eventually, Harley saw Mista J (as she called him) for what he was – a narcissistic scumbag. She's been dealing with that split for years, and her escape from an abusive, controlling relationship is part of what makes her a strong character.

"Harley grew in wisdom and strength in the relationship," Dini says. "She went off and became her own person."

Now, even when Dini tells stories set in what he calls their "sweetheart phase," he gives Harley a little more power in the dynamic. "I try and flavor it with more of what the character has become now," he says. "If he starts yelling at her for something she might have done, she instantly rises and defends herself."

Now that's the Harley we love to see.

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More than just a 'screwball'

Harley is often hailed as a feminist icon: she is a survivor and always sticks up for her fellow women. Sisterhood is important to her -- as we saw in Gotham City Sirens, the comic series that Paul wrote about the friendship between Harley, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman.

But Harley also broke the glass ceiling of animation with her humor.

"For years, humorous characters in cartoons have been almost exclusively male," Dini explains. "Most female characters have either been the temptress ­– like a Betty Boop type – or the victim – like an Olive Oil type. And even in funny animal cartoons, most of the characters are male. There was never a strong, female screwball character."

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Not until Harley Quinn, that is.

Dini likes to compare Harley's character to Bugs Bunny. Both have an attitude of stubborn optimism and determination, and crack jokes along the way.

"She can go out, fail, get into trouble, and then persevere and turn the tables on a bigger adversary," says Dini.

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Harley and the Sirens

Gotham City Sirenscemented Harley's role as the screwball. She was hysterical in BTAS, but her brand of humor shines when she's playing opposite the brilliant, serious Ivy and the dark, brooding Catwoman.

"It really is a lot of fun seeing them interact and having adventures together," Dini says. "Their personalities are just so vibrant and so crisp, and Harley is the fun of the trio."

The relationship between Ivy and Harley took shape in this book -- and came to be even better and more important than Joker-Harley.

"Her relationship with Ivy is a very important one," Dini says. "It's a very passionate, friendly, physical one. I can't really define it in regular terms as I would define another relationship. They just have a lot of affection and a lot of passion for each other when they're together. It's a very true relationship in my mind."

So when the Gotham City Sirensmovie was announced, I immediately felt Dini would be the perfect writer -- and he's still interested.

"If the opportunity came my way, if somebody wanted me to look over a script or sit in a room in sort of like a brainstorming session ... I would certainly be open for that," he says. "I know that the folks doing the movies have their own way of doing that, and there are times I'd much rather watch a good movie than attempt to get into the thick of it make one myself. But … certainly I'd be happy to give notes or throw in my two cents."

Got that, Warner Bros.?

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Harley in other hands

A quarter-century after that TV debut, Harley Quinn is a household name. Dini's been pleasantly surprised by this onslaught of love -- but he has also had to step back and allow other writers to put their spin on her.

"I usually enjoy what other people bring to the character," he says. "There are some times when I feel like she's a little too bloodthirsty, or a little too over-the-top sexy, or something just doesn't strike me as funny. You know, I might raise an eyebrow at that.

"But usually those things are few and far between ... as long as they keep that in mind – that she is first and foremost a funny, confident, smart character – I don't have any problem with that."

Dini has even taken cues from other writers when it comes to Harley's backstory. For example, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti -- long-time writers of the Harley comic book -- put out an issue in which her equally wild parents come to visit Harley in her New York City apartment. Dini embraced this first in-depth look at Harley's family as canon.

Dini and Palmiotti have been writing about the Joker and Harley in that "sweetheart phase," and they're having a ball with it. Their stories are "real world things, but distilled through this strange, strange relationship," Dini explains. "Those situations always make us laugh. The smaller the situation that goes awry with Joker and Harley, the bigger laughs Jimmy and I have with it."

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The birthday celebration

For now, Dini's enjoying the celebration around Harley's 25th birthday. He's one of the writers in the anniversary issue of the Harley Quinn comic book, out this Wednesday. His 8-page story: a humorous tale about her birthday party.

"It all came down to one thing – her talking on the phone with Poison Ivy about the Joker throwing her a party that night," Dini laughs. "Once I got the idea that Poison Ivy couldn't stop derisively laughing that the Joker would actually throw her a party on the phone, then I knew I had a fun story."

And like any good Harley story, this one comes with its ups and downs. "Of course, it boils down to Harley, wearing a sad party hat and cutting up slices of cake for her hyenas, who eat it all before she can get a piece." Don't worry, he adds: "it does have a happy ending."

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Harley's half-century

What would Dini wish for his character's next 25 years? He says he wants to see "the kid" keep working. There are plans for her to appear in more live-action ensemble movies, but he wants to see more of her solo story being told.

Dini liked what Margot Robbie did with the character in Suicide Squad, and was happy to see how excited she was about the role when they met.

He also loves seeing people – both men and women – cosplay as Harley. In particular he recalls Liev Schreiber's son, who went to Comic Con International in San Diego dressed as Robbie's version of the character. Whatever your gender, he says, you can embrace Harley's spirit.

Finally, Dini wants to see Harley get something every great cartoon character deserves – a breakfast cereal.

"She's already on Pez," he laughs. "Breakfast cereal's next. And then I figure a balloon in the Macy's Parade, and then I think that ensures her popular culture permanence."

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