Harleen Quinzel or better known as the clown princess Harley Quinn is a fictional super villain/anti-hero published by DC Comics, and is known as a common adversary for Batman. The character was created for Batman: The Animated Series; she appeared on TV before she appeared in comic books. Quinn is the Joker’s frequent accomplish and lover, whom she met while treating him in Arkham Asylum. Quinn was the Joker’s psychiatrist when she fell crazily in love with him. After a fight between Batman and the Joker, the Joker was returned to the asylum when Harley went insane due to the injuries her lover had received. Harley is described as having dependent personality disorder, and antisocial behavior. She later befriends Poison Ivy who gives her a toxin to become immune to toxins, and increases her agility.
Throughout the years Harley Quinn has been widely praised as a character. I personally think she is the best super villain out there. There is so much more to her character than what meets the eye. Since Harley was in a relationship with the Joker she has endured many battles with him. She is a survivor of beatings, murder attempts, and sadistic mind games. However, she always comes back to the Joker for more. Harley has become somewhat of a feminist icon. Tara Strand said, “Feminism is about showing women as fully fleshed out human beings, and that's what Harley is. She doesn't make choices that are smart or good for a woman, but she gets to make those choices. Men are allowed to be fuck-ups in all kinds of characters, and women aren't. We have to be idealized. She gets to not be. There aren’t a lot of female characters at this time quite like her who were so human and unique and refreshing and weird, and not just sexy. Harley was the one person who can handle what the Joker can dish out. She’s maybe a little masochistic, but the Joker needs somebody who can deal with the Joker, and Harley’s it.” Magazines like Bust “have praised her complexity, smarts and subversive sexuality — even as she revels in her own bouts of sadistic fun.”
Harley has starred in many incarnations of animated series', video games, and now a live-action movie. Harley is most recognizable in the widely acclaimed "Arkham Knight" video game series. These games are extremely dark. As her character became darker throughout the game series and her comic book artist traded in her famous red/black jester costume for corsets, booty shorts, heavier makeup, and an overall different look, fans turned down at what they saw as the hyper-sexualization of a character who was not really about that. Harley is also aware of the gender stereotypes people might label her with and she uses this to her advantage. This is shown in the animated TV series when she tries to distract an officer by saying, “I know, you're thinking, what a shame! A poor, innocent, little thing like her, led astray by bad companions! (She then grabs a knife and tries to stab him.)”
In her most recent portrayal by Margot Robbie in the live-action movie "Suicide Squad," Ms. Robbie was PRAISED for her portrayal of Harley. Dini, Quinn’s creator, has said, “Every clip that I’ve seen of Margot as Harley, she seems to have nailed it perfectly. When she’s introducing herself to Katana, when she’s walking around with the bat behind her shoulders, she just seems to have really channeled the true spirit of the character. Seeing that come alive is just amazing for me. I saw the shot yesterday of her and Joker in the therapy session getting ready to kiss, and I was just like, ‘That’s it, that’s my girl.” Now at this point I’m going to have to kind of disagree with this statement. Although I do think Ms. Robbie did a truly fantastic job in the movie, I do not like how the movie interpreted the character. A lot of negativity toward the character was due to being “too much” and for being “typical of a character.” What people mean by this is that it was a basic love storyline between man and woman, or in this case the Joker and Harley. Harley was in distress and the Joker had to go save the love of his life.
However, for the people complaining it could’ve been so much worse. Harley’s character is based off of a “typical female adversary.” That’s why the character was created. The movie toned it down tremendously, and it could’ve been a lot worse. My complaint is that I did not like how toned down the movie was. My favorite interpretation of the character is in the "Arkham Knight" series due to the fact that the character is so dark. This is where I have to say Ms. Robbie did not succeed. I do not think the part was dark enough for my liking. Now I know I’m not a person to criticize an actress’ take on the character, but I am just saying how I felt I thought the character should’ve been played. I think she could have been even crazier and more insane because that is how I view the character. Robbie played the character more fun, and cheesy in my opinion. However, I will say she was probably the movie's best aspect. She met my expectations of the character. I just wish she gave a little more.
Whether you hate Harley Quinn or if you love her, I think most of us all can agree that she is probably one of the most famous super villains. We all love Harley because she lets out the crazy that we aren’t allowed to let out.
