Harley Quinn (DC Extended Universe)

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Harley Quinn
DC Extended Universe character
SuicideSquadHarleyQuinn.jpg
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad
First appearanceSuicide Squad (2016)
Based on
Harley Quinn
by
  • Paul Dini
  •     Bruce Timm
Adapted by
  • David Ayer
  • Christina Hodson
  • James Gunn
Portrayed byMargot Robbie
In-universe information
Full nameHarleen Frances Quinzel
SpeciesHuman
GenderFemale
Occupation
  • Former psychiatrist
  • Criminal
  • Vigilante
AffiliationSuicide Squad
FamilyUnnamed father
Significant others
  • Joker (ex-boyfriend)
  • Silvio Luna (ex-fiancé)
NationalityAmerican

Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, later known as Harley Quinn, is a fictional character in the DC Extended Universe, based on the character of the same name from DC Comics. Portrayed by actress Margot Robbie, she first appears in film in Suicide Squad, playing a major role, and also stars in Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad. She is first depicted as Joker's psychiatrist in prison, then later his lover and partner in crime, before going off on her own misadventures in her DCEU appearances. Her introduction sequence in Suicide Squad mentions her as an accomplice and directly responsible for the murder of Batman's sidekick Robin.

Robbie's portrayal of Harley Quinn has received widespread critical acclaim.

Development and portrayal[]

Origins, casting and execution[]

Harley Quinn was a late addition to the lineup of DC Comics supervillains, making her debut in the 1990s as a love interest to the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. Nonetheless, she has become one of DC's most popular characters, especially as she has become an additional foil to Joker's character aside from Batman, and she later became a full-fledged character in the comics.[1] Though originating as a supervillainess, Harley, much like Catwoman, has been gradually developed as an antiheroine in later comic storylines.[2] She has appeared in numerous adaptations of DC Comics storylines, being voiced by Arleen Sorkin in the DC Animated Universe and other actresses such as Tara Strong and Kaley Cuoco in the adult animated series based on the character.

Australian actress Margot Robbie was cast to portray Harley Quinn in the DC Extended Universe, beginning with Suicide Squad, first being offered the role in October 2014.[3] Robbie stated that it took three hours to prepare her hair, makeup and costume for the role and "at least 45 minutes" to take it off.[4] In addition, Joker actor Jared Leto surprised Robbie by giving her a live black rat during filming.[5][6] Despite her initial shock, Robbie kept the rat as a pet, according to Amanda Waller actress Viola Davis.[7]

Quinn has also been noted for her use of a baseball bat as a weapon throughout the films,[8] with some outlets even referring to it as a trademark of the character.[9][10] During the filming of Suicide Squad, Robbie accidentally hit herself in the face with a prop baseball bat,[11] with the actress also keeping one of the bats after filming ended.[12] Quinn also fights with a mallet throughout Suicide Squad.[13][14]

Following the financial success of the film, Warner Bros. announced a female-centered spinoff of the film which would eventually become Birds of Prey, with Robbie reprising her role for that film and serving as a producer.[15] Robbie had pitched the film to Warner Bros. in 2015 as "an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because I was like, 'Harley needs friends.' Harley loves interacting with people, so don't ever make her do a standalone film." Robbie felt it was important for the film to have a female director. While Warner Bros. and DC Films had various other Harley Quinn-oriented films in development, Birds of Prey was the only one with whose development Robbie was directly involved.[16]

Themes and characterization[]

Margot Robbie in 2015

In an analysis of the character by The Perspective, Harley Quinn is seen as both a ruthless villain undeserving of sympathy and a tragic character. While some of her deeds, such as murdering Dick Grayson with Joker and the lawyers that put her boyfriend in prison, torturing Batman, and robbing a store "just for fun" in Suicide Squad, are inexcusable, Harley is also constantly manipulated by Joker, with many of her crimes serving simply to get Joker to "love" her, a hallmark of one-sided, abusive relationships. In addition, Harley is arguably objectified in the film, with many of her outfits being extremely revealing.[17] While being interviewed on her role in Suicide Squad, Robbie described Quinn as one of the Squad's most manipulative members, and her relationship with Joker as "incredibly dysfunctional," adding that Quinn is, "mad about him—like, literally, mad. She's crazy. But she loves him. And it's a really unhealthy, dysfunctional relationship. But an addictive one."[18]

Harley's portrayal in Birds of Prey was designed to further develop her character independently of the Joker's influence, as mentioned by screenwriter Christina Hodson.[19] Hodson called Harley the character she enjoyed developing most due to her unpredictable personality.[20] The film also reveals Harley was abandoned by her alcoholic father, has had malevolent tendencies even before her encounter with Joker, and that she has had her "heart broken by both men and women" in the film's introduction, heavily implying her bisexuality.[21] In all her film appearances, Harley is shown to be a skilled combatant and impervious to fear, also possessing exceptional durability and agility.

Role in the films[]

Suicide Squad[]

Main article: Suicide Squad (film)

Dr. Harleen Quinzel is first introduced through flashbacks in the film. A former prison psychiatrist, Quinzel had worked with the Joker (Jared Leto) during his earlier incarceration. Though she tries to pry into his mind to understand how he thinks, Joker gradually seduces Quinzel and gets her to fall madly in love with him. He later persuades her to release him, subjecting her to shock therapy in retaliation for her using it on him, and making her jump in acid at Ace Chemicals to prove her love for him, just as he had developed his psychotic persona and appearance through his own accident with falling into acid. The incident drives Quinzel, whom Joker dubs "Harley Quinn", just as insane as the Joker and gives her a similar disfigurement as him. The duo terrorize Gotham City as partners in crime and become, as Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) describes, the "Criminal King and Queen" in the city.

Harley and Joker carry out numerous crimes, such as murdering Batman's (Ben Affleck) protégé, Dick Grayson, in cold blood. Soon afterwards, Batman tracks down the couple in Joker's Lamborghini, causing them to crash and he captures Harley while Joker escapes. Now imprisoned in an electrified cage at Belle Reve Penitentiary, Harley is barely given any comforts or clothing, as she regularly endangers the prison guards. Waller recruits Harley and several other incarcerated metahumans and criminals, including Floyd Lawton / Deadshot (Will Smith), George "Digger" Harkness / Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Waylon Jones / Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Chato Santana / El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and Christopher Weiss / Slipknot (Adam Beach), into a task force for extremely dangerous situations after the U.S. government reluctantly gives her permission. The squad is quickly put to use after one of Waller's intended recruits, June Moon / Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), goes rogue, and are put under the command of Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and his bodyguard, Katana (Karen Fukuhara). The squad's members do not get along at first and are reluctant to go along with orders until Slipknot is executed by a bomb planted in his neck for trying to escape.

Joker discovers Harley's predicament and blackmails a prison guard into revealing her location, in addition to forcing an A.R.G.U.S. scientist into disabling her bomb. Meanwhile, Harley bonds with Deadshot and annoys Flag with her antics while fighting Enchantress' minions in Midway City. Upon rescuing a hostage, later revealed to be Waller herself, the squad is angered, though Waller threatens to detonate their bombs. Joker then arrives in a helicopter to rescue Harley and despite initially succeeding, one of Waller's guards shoots down the chopper. Harley jumps out of the aircraft before it crashes, leading to Joker's apparent death. After Waller is captured by Enchantess' minions and Deadshot discovers the true reason for the mission, the squad realizes they must face Enchantress and her brother Incubus alone and head to a bar to drown their sorrows. Flag reveals that June Moon was his girlfriend prior to being possessed by Enchantress and frees the convicts, but they decide to help him after bonding over drinks.

The squad locates Enchantress and Incubus at a partially flooded subway station. Killer Croc and several Navy SEALs plant a bomb underneath Incubus while El Diablo sacrifices himself to detonate it, destroying Incubus. Enchantress defeats the remaining squad members and entices them to join her in exchange for granting them their deepest desires. Harley feigns interest in order to get close enough to cut out Enchantress' heart with Katana's sword, then aids Deadshot and Flag in defeating Enchantress and freeing June. For her actions, Harley is rewarded by Waller with 10 years off her life sentence and an espresso machine in addition to similar rewards for most of the other squad members. Shortly after, Joker, who survived the crash, breaks into Belle Reve with his henchmen and frees Harley.

Birds of Prey[]

Main article: Birds of Prey (2020 film)

Four years after the events of Suicide Squad, Joker breaks up with Harley and leaves her in the streets of Gotham City. After she finds refuge with Doc (Dana Lee), a restaurant owner, she copes by cutting her hair, picking up roller derby, and adopting a spotted hyena which she names after Bruce Wayne. After getting drunk at a bar and encountering Roman Sionis / Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) and Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett), the latter of whom rescues her from abduction, Harley goes to Ace Chemicals to blow up the facility as a way to publicly announce her separation from Joker. GCPD detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) arrives at the scene while investigating mob killings, finding Harley's necklace and noting her vulnerability without Joker's protection. Soon enough, Harley finds herself constantly under attack from people she had wronged in the past.

Upon pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) stealing a diamond embedded with the account numbers to the fortune of the massacred Bertinelli crime family, Sionis kidnaps Harley and forces her to track down Cassandra in exchange for her life. Harley locates Cassandra in GCPD custody and breaks her out using a variety of fireworks, and the two later bond while hiding in Doc's restaurant. However, the apartment is bombed by a criminal resentful of Harley. Doc, who had been contacted by assassin Helena Bertinelli / Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) for information on Cassandra, tells Harley that he had sold her out for a large sum of money, forcing her to flee with Cassandra. Harley renegotiates her deal with Sionis, offering to turn Cassandra and the diamond (which the latter had swallowed) over in exchange for his protection and agreeing to meet at an abandoned amusement park.

After tying Cassandra up and having her ingest greasy food and laxatives to try and extract the diamond painlessly, Harley is confronted by Montoya, who is building a case against Sionis, while Sionis' right-hand man Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina) arrives with Dinah, who had informed Montoya, in tow. Before Zsasz can inflict harm on Dinah and take Cassandra, Helena arrives and kills Zsasz, who was the last of her family's killers. Harley, Montoya, Helena, and Dinah have a standoff before more of Sionis' men arrive. Realizing they all have reasons to begrudge Sionis, the group decides to team up and defend themselves from Sionis' men using the weapons Harley had brought. Sionis captures Cassandra in the resulting melee and Harley gives chase on roller blades with help from Helena. As Harley confronts Sionis at a nearby pier, he prepares to kill Cassandra, who plants a live grenade in his jacket while he is distracted. Harley pushes Sionis off the pier just before the grenade explodes, killing him.

In the aftermath of destroying Sionis' criminal empire, Montoya quits the GCPD. Using the money within the accounts hidden inside the diamond, Helena joins with Dinah and Montoya in establishing a team of vigilantes called the Birds of Prey. Harley and Cassandra escape, selling the diamond itself to a pawn shop and starting their own business.

Zack Snyder's Justice League[]

Main article: Zack Snyder's Justice League

In Zack Snyder's Justice League, Harley Quinn is mentioned as being dead by Batman in a dream sequence set in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by Darkseid. While confronting the Joker, Batman tells him that Quinn died in his arms. Prior to her death, she asked Batman to "slowly kill" the Joker, a promise which he intends on keeping.

The Suicide Squad[]

Main article: The Suicide Squad (film)

Margot Robbie reprised her role as Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad, a standalone sequel to the 2016 film. Robbie was one of four actors from the original film to reprise their roles.[22]

Some time after being re-incarcerated at Belle Reeve for crashing her car into a bank, Harley is sent with other inmates from Belle Reve penitentiary to the South American island nation of Corto Maltese after the government is overthrown by an anti-American regime. Under orders from Amanda Waller, the squad is tasked with destroying Jötunheim, a Nazi-era laboratory that holds a secretive experiment known as "Project Starfish". The team, led once again by Colonel Rick Flag and consisting of Harley, Captain Boomerang, Brian Durlin / Savant (Michael Rooker), Richard "Dick" Hertz / Blackguard (Pete Davidson), Gunter Braun / Javelin (Flula Borg), Cory Pitzner / T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion), Weasel (Sean Gunn) and Mongal (Mayling Ng), is almost entirely wiped out by the Corto Maltese military upon landing, and Harley is taken prisoner by the Corto Maltese government, who are plotting to use Project Starfish against other nations. She is courted by the Corto Maltese dictator, Silvio Luna (Juan Diego Botto), who admires her "resistance to the American regime". Harley spends a romantic day with Luna and agrees to marry him, but after he reveals his intention to use Project Starfish to punish political dissidents, Harley, still haunted by her past dating mistakes and considering his willingness to kill children a "red flag", kills him. She is then put back into custody and tortured.

A second team enters the country undetected and finds Flag, while Harley escapes the Corto Maltese government and reunites with Flag and the team, which includes Robert DuBois / Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Christopher Smith / Peacemaker (John Cena), Cleo Cazo / Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Nanaue / King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), and Abner Krill / Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian). The new squad captures Dr. Gaius Grieves / Thinker (Peter Capaldi) and blackmails him into leading them to Jötunheim, where they encounter the alien creature, Starro the Conquerer. The team demolishes the tower with explosives, albeit prematurely, and Starro breaks out, kills Thinker, and begins to wreak havoc and control the island's population. After the team defies Waller's orders to leave the island and decides to fight the colossal alien, Harley pokes a hole in Starro's eye with a javelin bequeathed to her by Javelin, allowing Ratcatcher 2 to summon the island's rats to chew Starro to death from the inside. The island is saved, and Harley and her surviving teammates - Bloodsport, Ratcatcher 2, and King Shark - are airlifted to safety after Bloodsport blackmails Waller into releasing them.

Reception[]

Cosplayer wearing Harley Quinn's costume in Suicide Squad

After the release of Suicide Squad in 2016, Margot Robbie's performance as Harley Quinn was well received, with many critics considering her performance the film's biggest highlight and eager to see more of the character in future films.[23][24][25][26] Robbie's performance in Birds of Prey similarly received acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes summarized its review of the film: "With a fresh perspective, some new friends, and loads of fast-paced action, Birds of Prey captures the colorfully anarchic spirit of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn."[27] In addition, Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote in his positive review of the film that "Robbie turns in a much richer and funnier and layered performance as Harley this time around, thanks in large part to the stiletto-sharp screenplay by Christina Hodson."[28]

Reaction of creators[]

Suicide Squad[]

After seeing Harley Quinn's design from Suicide Squad for the first time before the release of the film, Bruce Timm said that she "looks actually pretty cute!",[29] while Paul Dini commented "It's a rougher, more street look. I think it works fine."[30] Later after its release, Dini talked about Robbie's portrayal of the character in the movie, saying "I thought Margot did a really terrific job and I loved all the nods to her origin such as the elements of Mad Love that were alluded to in the therapy session with her and The Joker, some of their relationship and of course the brief flash of her in the Bruce Timm costume as interpreted by Alex Ross in the dance sequence they did. I felt she had a really good sense of humour about capturing the character and there are moments where you see her mind is always working. She really captured the kinetic energy of the character. If anything, it proved to me that character has enough to support her own movie."[31]

Birds of Prey[]

On Birds of Prey, Dini stated: "Oh I loved it. I thought it was great. I thought it was a blast. This movie would not have gotten made at all without Margot Robbie’s passion and involvement, and she was campaigning for a Harley movie very strongly, I think before they even started shooting Suicide Squad. She recognized the value in the character and knew audiences were going to enjoy her in Suicide Squad. She and Christina Hodson worked together on it, and they brought in Cathy Yan as the director. This was a passion project for all of them, and I think they really got the essence of the character down, and they made her quite a lot of fun and appealing in so many ways. She’s not totally the animated version, and it’s not totally the Jimmy [Palmiotti] and Amanda [Conner] version, but it kind of borrows from all of them and creates its own reality and its own fun. There are so many moments in that movie that I just think are wonderful. Yes and sharing hair ties! [Laughs.] I have one wish from Birds of Prey: I hope everybody has someone in their life that gets looked at the way that Harley looks at her breakfast sandwich. She stares at it with abject adoration. At the [premiere] party Robbie asked, "Was there anything wrong in the movie?" I said, "It was the breakfast sandwich. It was so good I wanted to leave and have one. And I mourned its death." One other thing I said to her... When I saw her running, laughing hysterically, pushing a shopping cart full of Peeps, I said, "That’s my girl." All those little impish things that she did in the movie -- sitting down eating cereal, watching Tweety Bird cartoons, and just kind of skipping through life cheerfully oblivious of the devastation she’s caused -- that’s Harley."[32]

See also[]

  • Characters of the DC Extended Universe

References[]

  1. ^ Fitch, Adam (August 29, 2017). "Why Is Harley Quinn So Popular? Kevin Conroy Has An Idea". CBR. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Narcisse, Evan (June 12, 2015). "DC Comics: Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy Are Girlfriends "Without Monogamy"". Kotaku. Los Angeles, California: Univision Communications. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  3. ^ Lesnick, Silas (October 15, 2014). "Suicide Squad Targets Ryan Gosling, Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Tom Hardy!". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  4. ^ Margot Robbie's Shock To Find A Rat In A Box Sent By Jared Leto - Xposé Dish (Video). YouTube. August 3, 2016.
  5. ^ Fitz-Gerald, Sean (June 25, 2015). "Jared Leto Gave Margot Robbie a Live Rat As a Present". Vulture. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  6. ^ Margot Robbie's Shock To Find A Rat In A Box Sent By Jared Leto - Xposé Dish (Video). YouTube. August 3, 2016.
  7. ^ Vanity Fair (February 16, 2016). Viola Davis Says Jared Leto Sent the Cast of "Suicide Squad" a Dead Pig (Video). YouTube.
  8. ^ Child, Ben (January 21, 2016). "Suicide Squad's Harley Quinn is the new killer queen bee of superhero movies". The Guardian. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  9. ^ Atkinson, John (January 15, 2020). "Birds of Prey Gives Harley Quinn POWERS - Thanks To Cocaine". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  10. ^ E. Thomas, Shain (February 11, 2020). ""Birds of Prey" Film Review". Medium.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  11. ^ E. Thomas, Shain (July 22, 2016). "Margot Robbie hit herself in the face with a baseball bat". News24.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  12. ^ "Margot Robbie: "I keep the Harley Quinn baseball bat next to my bed"". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  13. ^ Lancaster, Luke (August 2, 2016). "'Suicide Squad' has all the pieces, but it can't fit them together (spoiler-free review)". CNET. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  14. ^ Wilding, Josh (May 18, 2016). "10 things needed to make the perfect Harley Quinn movie". Heyuguys. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  15. ^ Kit, Borys (May 16, 2016). "Harley Quinn Movie in the Works at Warner Bros. With Margot Robbie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 17, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  16. ^ Foutch, Haleigh (May 8, 2018). "The Harley Quinn Spinoff Might Be an "R-Rated Girl Gang Film," Says Margot Robbie". Collider. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  17. ^ Goldring, Kira (October 4, 2019). "Is Harley Quinn a Villain or a Tragic Character?". theperspective.com/. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "Margot Robbie explains why Harley Quinn is the most manipulative member of the 'Suicide Squad'". Los Angeles Times. April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  19. ^ Hough, Q.V. (January 3, 2019). "Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn Won't Be In Anyone's Shadow, Says Writer". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  20. ^ Sippell, Margeaux (January 2, 2019). "'Bumblebee' Screenwriter Hints About 'Birds of Prey,' 'Batgirl' and Why She Writes About Female Superheroes". Variety. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  21. ^ "The DCEU's Harley Quinn Is Bisexual - Is She In The Comics?". ScreenRant. February 22, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  22. ^ Kroll, Justin (April 5, 2019). "'The Suicide Squad': Deadshot Removed from Sequel as Idris Elba Moves to New Character (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  23. ^ Khatchatourian, Maane (August 3, 2016). "'Suicide Squad' Director Responds to Negative Reviews". Variety. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  24. ^ "Review: Harley Quinn's star is born amid sloppy 'Suicide Squad'". WTOP-FM. August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  25. ^ David Betancourt. "Harley Quinn could be 2016's most popular movie character". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  26. ^ "Harley Quinn steps up to plate in 'Suicide Squad'". ClickOnDetroit.com. August 4, 2016. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  27. ^ "Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  28. ^ Roeper, Richard (February 15, 2020). "'Birds of Prey': It's Harley Quinn for the win". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  29. ^ Polo, Susana (May 4, 2015). "Harley Quinn co-creator Bruce Timm thinks Suicide Squad's Harley is pretty cute". Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  30. ^ Guerrero, Agustin (September 8, 2015). "Harley Quinn Co-Creator Paul Dini Shares Thoughts On Suicide Squad". Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  31. ^ Church, Ricky (August 31, 2016). "Paul Dini discusses Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn and the DC Extended Universe". Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  32. ^ McCabe, Joseph (April 3, 2020). "Paul Dini Talks BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE". DC UNIVERSE INFINITE. Retrieved September 19, 2021.

CC-BY-SA icon.svg The plot description and characterization were adapted from Batman, Harley Quinn at the DC Extended Universe Wiki, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license.

External links[]

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