We’re living in the age of the anti-hero, which is why audiences are perhaps a little
more interested in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie than Batman v Superman.
And also why Harley Quinn is the most popular female character at DC Comics these days instead
of Wonder Woman.
Both will make their silver screen debut in 2016, and it will be very interesting to see
how audiences respond.
Today though we’re going to focus on Harley Quinn as we begin our special series, Suicide
Squad Case Files, introducing each member of the squad and the actor who will bring
them to life in the 2016 film.
Now here’s the thing to know about Harley Quinn - she always steals the show.
Not only did she become the most famous character to come out of Batman The Animated Series,
but she’s often used to promote the Batman Arkham video games - not to mention was the
character Rocksteady chose to be the focus of their first real downloadable mission,
Harley Quinn’s Revenge.
And when The New 52 relaunched Suicide Squad, adding Harley Quinn to the team suddenly made
it a hot comic - which eventually led to her own solo series.
That series is one of the top comic books on the market, constantly on the edge of the
top ten selling titles, and has led to holiday specials to boot.
Why, February 2015 was even named Harley Quinn month by DC Comics, complete with themed covers
for all their titles plus clothing and merchandise at Hot Topic!
Millions of women have come to love dressing up for Halloween, but Harley gets to do it
all year round.
But while Harley Quinn is undeniably universally popular, that might have to do with the fact
that there are several active versions of the character.
She can appeal to so many different types of people because they can CHOOSE which Harley
to like.
That could be a potential problem for writer/director David Ayer and Margot Robbie, who will have
to make some hard choices as they shape their version of the character.
You don’t want anyone seeing the movie and exclaiming “That’s not MY Harley!”
Obviously, one version of the character is the original animated version.
From her first appearance in the episode Joker’s Favor to the Mad Love graphic novel written
and illustrated by series creators Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, telling her origin story,
this college gymnast is ambitious and ruthless, more interested in writing a tell all book
about the Joker than actually helping the patients at Arkham.
When she falls in love with her infamous patient, she fully leaves Harleen Quinzel behind, and
becomes a colorful - and powerful - poster girl for abusive relationships.
But while that version was wildly popular right out of the gate, it soon became clear
it didn’t translate particularly well to comic books, where the stories are more adult.
In fact it was Rocksteady who cracked the problem, taking the somewhat sacrilegious
step of altering Harley Quinn’s famous outfit and going the Halloween Adventure route.
This Harley evolved into a character who eventually took over her puddin’s gang, and was far
more competent - and self-confident - than her animated counterpart.
When DC launched The New 52, freed by Rocksteady’s now popular version of the character, they
introduced a Harley Quinn who was the most scantily clad yet - and no longer even blonde!
This Harley Quinn also proved to be a clever psychiatrist - regularly analyzing those around
her - and as deadly as the Joker, often torturing and killing all on her own.
And what’s more, she entered into a sexual and maaybe romantic relationship with someone
else, fellow Suicide Squad member Deadshot!
In fact, this version was probably as far away from the original Harley Quinn as one
could get, a complete one-eighty!
But interestingly, in that solo series that sells so well, husband and wife team Jimmy
Palmiotti and Amanda Connor present a Harley Quinn somewhere in the middle.
Still dangerous and smart, and a working psychiatrist, this Harley Quinn also brings back a bit more
of her playful innocent side as well - plus adds the extra layer of making her a Robin
Hood-type character, which takes some of the edge off of said violence.
Then finally there’s the version presented in the recent animated film Assault on Arkham,
which is based on the Rocksteady games and is rumored to be inspirational for the upcoming
film.
Here Harley Quinn is legitimately crazy, biting off people’s ears, but still clever when
it counts - and torn between new love interest Deadshot and the Joker, who’s now the “ex-boyfriend”.
So now that we know the different versions of Harley Quinn, here are the basic questions
for David Ayer and Margot Robbie.
ONE - How much of her psychiatrist background should she maintain as Harley Quinn?
Basically, do you like your Harley slyly clever or a fun ditz?
TWO - What’s her relationship with The Joker?
Is she a willing victim, or a scorned woman?
Ayer has asked on Twitter if “Harley is mad because she loves the Joker, or because
she loves him so much?”, hinting that the role will be Joker-centric in some way.
THREE - Is she a gymnast?
In the comics at one point, DC even had Poison Ivy give Harley a special potion which gave
her superhuman agility and strength, as well as an immunity to poisons.
FOUR - Speaking of Poison Ivy, will the duo’s sexual attraction to each other be addressed?
Even Paul Dini said he envisioned Harley and Ivy’s friendship as having a sexual element
to it, hinting at it in the limited mini-series he wrote.
Plus Palmiotti and Connor are also exploring that in Harley’s current solo series.
FIVE - What will she wear?!
It’s highly unlikely David Ayer is going to put Margot Robbie in a full bodystocking,
so that means we’ll either get the blonde Rocksteady version, or the two-toned New 52
version.
And finally SIX - mallet, or baseball bat?
Or does this Harley know how to use a real weapon?
As for Robbie herself, this has an opportunity to be a career defining role for the actress
- which she herself is desperate for, recently saying it’ll be a long time before she does
nudity again in an effort to distance herself from her breakout role in The Wolf of Wall
Street.
The direction in which Robbie takes this character largely depends on the direction in which
she wants to take her career - comedy, or drama.
This could also give her a good opportunity to connect with female audiences as Harley
Quinn is a very female friendly character, OR potentially alienate them if Ayer and Robbie
decide to present Robbie purely through the male gaze - think Sucker Punch.
So, which Harley Quinn do YOU want to see on the silver screen in 2016?
And do you think David Ayer and Margot Robbie are the right creative team to bring her to
life?
After all, Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Arleen Sorkin made such a strong original impression
with the character - who was introduced on a screen rather than most comic book characters
who are introduced on the page.
A character is a lot more open to interpretation the less audiences are already familiar with
how they sound and move...
Write your thoughts down below.
I’m Grace Randolph, and be sure to tell me who you want to see explored next on Suicide
Squad Case Files!