Harley Quinn is one of the many characters who crossed the fine line between a superhero and a supervillain. Although the border between them is an anti-hero, there are many arguments on where Harley lies. She is been walking in the middle of bad and good all these years in the DC World. But the thing that deserves a big round of applause is her popularity among the general public, which shows from the increased sales of the Harley Quinn Jackets over the years.
She was not initially created to steal as much spotlight as of today but was just a side chick of Joker in the cartoons. She is now a crucial element of the superhuman crew in the DC Universe as well as Warner Bros. Let’s have a look at her journey from comics to the screens to find the reasons behind her psychotic personality.
Debuted as a Cartoon Character:
She marked her entrance on the screens in an episode of the famous animated series in 1992 titled ‘Batman: The Animated Series.’ That’s the edge she has among all other characters who have come out of the comic books to the movie adaptations. She then appeared often in the show as a ‘right-hand woman’ of Joker, who he uses for his gains.
Things got spiced up when one of the writers of the show, Paul Dini, gave Harley a new look after being impressed by his college buddy, Arleen Sorkin, who was working on ‘Days of Our Lives’ at that time. Arleen used to wear a sexy jester attire, which convinced Dini to make Harley Joker’s girlfriend and hire Arleen to voiceover her. Her voice then became the signature Harley voice for decades.
Became a Brick of DC Universe’s Wall:
She entered the comics’ world seven years later with her presence in ‘Batman: Harley Quinn #1’ released in 1999. Her original version as the ex-doctor of Joker at the popular Arkham Asylum was then portrayed in ‘The Batman Adventures: Mad Love,’ released in 1994. She was portrayed as a doctor who gets captivated with her maniacal patient, but that is not what DC’s Harley is — she is wilder!
Her official appearance was in ‘Batman: No Man’s Land’ in 1999 when the American government left Gotham City on its own after a humongous earthquake. This Harley was the same one who fell for Joker madly, supported him in the running from Arkham Asylum, got seized, and instantly confessed to it. After the events, she got freed, suited up in her jester costume, and started to look for her lover. She does everything for her ‘puddin’, and even fought with Batman. As a reward, Joker put her in a rocket and crashed it, but Harley sustained and was taken care of by Poison Ivy.
Her Return to Arkham:
After many reality checks provided by Poison Ivy to her, she quit her relationship with Joker by hurling him into a neon sign. She was then portrayed as a girl knocking on the gates of her previous home, aka Arkham Asylum. She was taken in and led to her former jail with a big smile on the face.
She then returned to the limelight in 2009 with the super-hit video game titled ‘Batman: Arkham Asylum.’ Like other games, Batman is the main character who encounters a group of supervillains after sending Joker back to his cell. Harley’s role is portrayed by Arleen Sorkin, who comes in some of the cut scenes as a medical person in the iconic jail. The surprising part about her this appearance is that she was dressed up in a naughty nurse uniform instead of the iconic jester costume. The two ponytails that you see today came from her this look that she was attaining in the game as a nurse.
Appearing on the Big Screens:
As soon as Harley paved her way onto the big screens, all the spotlight went suddenly on her. She became a part of David Ayer’s movie, The Suicide Squad, released in 2016. She was carrying a baseball bat with a white shirt and blue shorts outfit. Her makeup got amped up with a darker shade of maroon and red. Margot Robbie became the face of Harley, who we see today, after being a huge hit in her previous movie, The Wolf of Wall Street.
Many critics who didn’t like the overall plot of the movie couldn’t help but praise the performance of Robbie as Harley. Some even named her the only watchable thing in the entire film. Well, of course, now we can’t even imagine any other face for Harley anyway.
In the 2020’s Birds of Prey:
In the recent movie that came out in February, Birds of Prey, we saw Margot reprising the role of the weirdo. The story seems like the aftermath of the breakup of ‘Harley.’ Like the older animated versions, Harley is happily single and is on a hunt for doing some crazy things and creating her system of living while completely ignoring the existence of Joker.
She allies with other psychotic females of DC, including Renee Montoya, Cassandra Cain, Huntress, and Black Canary. There is nothing about Joker in the movie, and we couldn’t be much happier.
The Sequel to The Suicide Squad:
Soon after the hit of 2016’s Suicide Squad, James Gunn stated that he would once again write and direct a sequel or a reboot. It is now all set to release in 2021, and thank god, and there is no one who replaced our Queen. Margot Robbie will be in-action in the sequel, so get ready to enjoy a series of more adventures and craziness. Well, her costume look has also leveled up.
We could see that her typical shorts and shirt are now layered up with a gorgeous fringe jacket and a leather-crafted Harley Quinn Suicide Squad 2 Jacket from the trailers. She looks even bossier, and we can’t help but fall in admiration with Margot Robbie even more.
This is how a Queen was born! Harley is proof that you can do whatever you want in this world without letting anything stop you — not even the man with whom you are so obsessed. So, let’s see what she brings to us in Suicide Squad 2.