We all know Harley Quinn is crazy – literally – for the Joker, but over the years the anti-heroine has come to be depicted as bisexual, too. Most famously, her friendship with Poison Ivy – which goes back to her origins on Batman: The Animated Series – has evolved into a romance over time. In the Injustice comics, the pair are even married. Though we’ve yet to see Pamela Isley in the DCEU, Birds of Prey confirms that, like her comic book counterpart, Margot Robbie’s Harley is also bi.
You might have not caught this revelation, though, as it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sort of deal. The movie opens with a quirky animated sequence in which Harley recounts her life up to the events of the film. Essentially, she’s never been lucky. Her father was neglectful, she was sent to a catholic school run by brutal nuns and she’s had a string of unsuccessful relationships. At this point, we get a glimpse of two of Harley’s ex-boyfriends and one ex-girlfriend.
That’s all we find out about that past partner, but this brief moment does set up a potential future girlfriend for the erstwhile Arkham psychiatrist down the line in the DCEU. Obviously, fans will be hoping this will be Ivy, and Robbie is hoping that, too. The actress – and producer on this film – has made clear that she’s fighting to get the villainess in the franchise and while it won’t happen in The Suicide Squad, which is when we’ll next see her as Harley, maybe it will in whatever the next movie for the character is after that.
Of course, Harley’s animated ex isn’t the only bit of LGBT rep in Birds of Prey. Renee Montoya is portrayed as openly gay, as per her comic counterpart, with Gotham’s Assistant District Attorney turning out to be her former girlfriend. Likewise, Black Mask and Victor Zsasz are heavily implied to have a romantic aspect to their crime boss/henchman dynamic. We still haven’t had a gay kiss in the DCEU, mind you, but fingers crossed we get there sooner rather than later.
