Now that Batman’s Death of the Family storyline is in full swing, we’re going to start seeing a lot more tie-ins in other books. One of those is Suicide Squad, where Harley Quinn will be taking center stage in light of the Joker’s brutal return.

To get some more insight on what Death of the Family means for Harley and the Squad as a whole, we talked with writer Adam Glass.

IGN Comics: Can you talk a little bit about how Suicide Squad wound up being a part of the Death of the Family storyline?

Adam Glass: Obviously one of the featured players of our series is Harley Quinn. Harley’s got a long-standing relationship with Mr. J, so that’s how we got involved in it. Harley has now, through the New 52 and Suicide Squad, sort of debuted her solo album. She’s gone out on her own and has been exploring herself, especially with Mr. J being off the map.

So Mr. J has come back and doesn’t like everything that Harley’s done while he’s been gone. So this is them getting a chance to catch up and see where their relationship is at and also discuss what’s happened while he was gone.

IGN: We saw a bit of the Harley and Joker relationship back in Batman #13. Is your portion of the story taking place before, after, or alongside those events?

Glass: It starts in my story [in Suicide Squad #14] and then we see that she goes off and does Scott’s [Snyder] story [in Batman #13] and then at the end comes back at the end and has more of a story.

IGN: So was this a situation where Scott and those guys reached out to you and said, “Hey, there’s an opportunity to do this.”? Or was this something were you were told you had to tie into the story?

Glass: Funny enough, I think we kept the Joker alive while he was gone because we did a story about Harley Quinn and we did this whole thing where she stole the mask and all of that. Scott threw us some praise and said, “I really like that, I think it’s awesome.” And then I said that when he comes back, we’ll do something again, because it seemed right especially with Harley.

So when it panned out, he got on the phone with me as he did with a lot of other creators and said, “Look, this is what the plan is; this is what I’m doing, DC’s on board, and we want you to have your own stories too.” So I pitched him everything and he loved it, we ran it by DC, and they were cool with it. It was actually all very easy.

IGN: For readers that might not be following the Joker story but are reading Suicide Squad, will this tie-in still be relevant to the ongoing events of the series?

Glass: Absolutely. Last issue, we saw Deadshot killed Regulus but the way he did it was by also having to kill himself. So we pick up with that storyline, and the Joker will parallel and come into that story as we look at where the Squad is after this last mission and also reveal that all of them, except Harley and Deadshot, were all basically Basilisk sleeper agents. So we have stuff to deal with, and some unpacking to do. We totally do that as we parallel to the other story.

IGN: How will Harley’s involvement in this whole thing affect the rest of the Squad or her position on the team?

Glass: Good question! Basically, this will forever change Harley. Things are revealed, things are told, things happen that basically will define who she is as she moves forward. And that will have an effect on her relationship with the Squad, and especially her relationship with Deadshot.

IGN: You mentioned this earlier, but you explored the Harley/Joker relationship a bit back in Suicide Squad #6, which was an issue that I loved. What do you think is so interesting about that relationship and why do readers love it so much?

Glass: I think it’s different things for different people. People have said this before and I think it’s an interesting analogy. If you look at Bonnie and Clyde or you look at Mickey and Mallory, there’s something about a couple who are caught up in their own vanity; their own love. Where there’s a lot of love, there’s a lot of hate. I think it’s always a fascinating relationship because here’s somebody that everyone sees as a complete monster, and yet this woman sees something in him that’s not only a monster but she sees in him something more.

The idea of scratching the surface and looking deeper into that relationship – taking a real, serious look at it – what does it mean, who are these people? I’ve got mad respect for Bruce Timm and all those who came before and they’ve given us such a great character, so I just want to step her and their relationship out a little more. Taking it to the next step; anyone that’s been in a relationship knows you’re in, you’re out, you’re in love, you’re out of love. It’s a lot of work in a relationship. When they work at it, it comes out in a very different way.

IGN: What’s your take on the Joker himself? Why is he such a compelling villain?

Glass: Oh, wow.

IGN: I know that’s kind of a loaded question.

Glass: I think that he is, at the end of the day, the embodiment of what a villain is. What makes him so interesting is that his motivation isn’t money. Most people do crimes to get rich. He’s reaching for a much more lofty goal. He really wants to see destruction and terror and horror. I think if you sat and spoke to the Joker, and he was completely straight and honest with you, he'd probably tell you exactly what he wants.

Here’s what he does know: he wants to destroy Gotham City. He wants to take Batman down, because to him, he’s the yin to his yang. At the same time, what really makes him interesting, is if he lost Batman, he’d probably lose himself. What does it mean to destroy the very thing that keeps you going? He’s so psychologically interesting. I’m sure anyone that writes him or draws him will tell you this, but man, it’s such an honor and a privilege -- I’m sitting at my computer, 40-something years old, and I’m like, “Oh my god! I’m nervous! This is awesome! This is the f***ing Joker we’re talking about here!”

It comes with this whole package of your own feelings and your own stuff; I have an 8-year-old son and we talk about the Joker. Of course, he’s more Batman: Brave and the Bold Joker, Batman: The Animated Series Joker; he’s too young to see Heath Ledger’s take on him, but look. It’s a long way of saying he’s the ultimate villain because at the end of the day his motivations aren’t that of the average Joe Criminal.

He’s playing at a deeper psychological level. I think we all, even if we don’t want to admit it, have a little bit of Joker in us. But we’re good law abiding citizens and would never go that far or listen to that voice inside of us. He speaks to our biggest and greatest fears. Evil unhinged.

IGN: That’s really all I’ve got for you, is there anything you want to add about Death of the Family or Suicide Squad in general?

Glass: Death of the Family will be the next step in the evolution of Harley Quinn and how she fits into the Suicide Squad. It will forever change her and it will forever change the Squad and take the stakes even higher as we move forward onto our next great adventure, where death is always hanging in the balance.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito, or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN. He thinks  knows the world needs more horror comic books.

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