10 Things You Need To Know About Harley Quinn

DC’s latest movie, Suicide Squad, has a lot riding on it. Not only does it have to pick up the pieces after Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice received a decidedly mixed reception earlier in the year, but it's also got to deliver on months of terrific marketing and publicity that have plugged it as a fresh take on the comic book movie genre. As well as all that, Suicide Squad features the long-awaited cinematic debut of the Joker’s girlfriend, Harley Quinn, fourteen years after her first appearance in the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series. So popular was the character on that show that she was very quickly integrated into the comics and now has legions of fans as well as being considered a feminist icon. So, before we see Margot Robbie team up with Task Force X in Suicide Squad, let’s have a look at some facts you might not know about Harley Quinn. 10) She's Inspired By A Soap Opera Creators are often asked where they get their ideas from, and sometimes they give a strange answer. Harley’s Quinn’s inspiration is certainly an unlikely one – Paul Dini (who co-created her with Bruce Timm) came up with the character after watching a soap opera. In Days of Our Lives, a dream sequence featured Arleen Sorkin’s character dressed in a court jester outfit. The image struck Dini and directly served as the inspiration for the character. He and Timm also loved Sorkin's distinctive voice and knew it was perfect for Harley. But who could they get to voice the character to do their vision justice? Naturally, they got Arleen Sorkin herself! It was the actress’ very first voice acting role and is now her most famous part to date. 9) She Was Only Meant To Appear Once Originally, there was no plan to give the Joker a significant other, and Harley’s creation came about just by chance. In BTAS episode "Joker’s Favor," Dini and Timm thought they needed a female henchman for the Clown Prince of Crime. In fact, the only reason they needed one was because they wanted someone in female clothing to jump out of a cake for a quick gag. Feeling that cross-dressing wasn’t in the Joker’s bag of tricks, they came up with Harley for that one small scene. If they had stuck to the original plan, she would never have appeared again. Thankfully, the fans immediately took to the character and the potential therein. Naturally, Dini and Timm listened to their viewers and Harley soon became the romantic foil to Mr. J that she is today. 8) Harley Has Superpowers As beloved as she may be, Harley isn’t generally thought of as one of the most powerful DC characters. A talented fighter and a sharp mind, maybe, but it’s not like she actually has any superpowers, right? Well, actually, she does. Given to her by her best gal pal Poison Ivy, Harley ingested a serum which granted her super strength and agility, as well as an immunity to toxins and acid. It’s not exactly Superman’s mega skillset, then, but it must come in handy when tousling with Batman every night. Of course, Harley’s other superpower is her insane level of self-denial about how the Joker feels about her when he repeatedly treats her terribly. 7) She’s Had Other Relationships Despite her overwhelming connection with Gotham’s greatest criminal, Harley Quinn and the Joker have put a hold on their relationship from time to time and seen other people. In Joker’s case that probably means concentrating even more on bringing down the Bat, but Harley has successfully moved on a couple of times. Interestingly, she's hooked up with her Task Force X teammate Deadshot. Seeing as the pair will be working together in Suicide Squad (with the sharpshooter played by Will Smith), we might be about to see this happen on the big screen as well. Harley’s most famous partner apart from Mr. J though is Poison Ivy. Though initially presented as a very close friendship, the comics have increasingly explored Harley’s bisexual identity and the romantic chemistry between her and the flora-obsessed femme fatale. 6) She Has Gone Straight On Multiple Occasions The premise of Suicide Squad is, of course, that it sees a bunch of villains forced to be heroes, but actually, Harley is no stranger to operating on the right side of the law. She has in fact attempted to clean up her act several times. In the Gotham City Sirens comic series, Harley shared a flat with Poison Ivy and Catwoman. Together, the three fearsome females turned over a new leaf (literally in Ivy’s case) and went about fighting crime rather than causing it. On another occasion, Harley helped Batman stop a dangerous criminal she used to know. As thanks, Batman campaigned to Gordon to get her out of Arkham on parole. Often, Harley’s good streak will abruptly come to end when her infatuation with the Joker and psychosis invariably reassert themselves. Still, at least she tries. 5) She Nearly Got An Earlier Movie Debut As stated previously, Suicide Squad will at last bring Harley Quinn to the big screen. However, we could have already seen the character in cinemas a long time ago if all had gone to plan. Before Batman & Robin crashed and burned in 1997, work had begun on a fifth Batman movie. Batman Unchained (also called Batman Triumphant by fans) would have seen George Clooney’s Dark Knight go up against an unholy alliance of Scarecrow (to be played by Nicolas Cage) and Harley Quinn. Here, Harley would have been the Joker’s daughter, out for revenge after her father’s death at the hands of Batman in the 1989 movie. Rumour has it that Madonna and Courtney Love were both considered for the role at one point. Who knows if any of this would have turned out well, but there's no denying that it would have interesting to see such a radically different take on Harley than what we'll be getting in Suicide Squad. 4) She's Starred In A Live-Action TV Show DC’s TV universe couldn’t be doing better right now, with numerous popular shows featuring various heroes currently on the air. At the turn of the millennium, however, things were not doing so well. Though Smallville was a hit, the only other live-action DC show around was decidedly not. In 2002, The WB’s Birds of Prey saw superheroines Oracle, Huntress and Black Canary clear up Gotham in Batman’s absence. As played by Ferris Bueller star Mia Sara, Harley was the show’s big bad – probably the only incarnation of the character to achieve that status. Though the series had a lot of promise, it didn't find the right tone or audience and was subsequently cancelled only thirteen episodes in. Despite this failure, plans are afoot to have Harley square off against the team again in a mooted Birds of Prey movie. 3) She Was Forbidden From Appearing In Arrow Birds of Prey isn’t Harley’s only appearance in live-action TV. If you're an Arrow fan, you might remember an unseen convict who suspiciously sounded like Harley turning up for a cameo in season two episode "Suicide Squad." Physically portrayed by Cassidy Alexa and voiced by long-term Harley voice actress Tara Strong, this was meant to be a tease for a bigger introduction for the character down the line. There was also a deleted scene from "Unthinkable" where we would have seen a bit more of her (watch it above). Sadly, the order came from high up that Harley was off-limits due to her major presence in Suicide Squad. This same mandate meant that other characters who would appear in the film – like Deadshot and Amanda Waller – had to be killed off. Learn to share your toys, DC! 2) She Has Two Different Origins Just like her Mr. J, Harley doesn’t just have one distinct origin story. Depending on your vintage, you may be more familiar with her original backstory from the 1990s instead of her revisionist beginnings as told in more recent DC comics. In the Mad Love comic, written by Harley’s creators Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, it's revealed that Dr. Harleen Quinzel was originally the Joker’s psychiatrist at Arkham. She fell in love with him and donned her villainous alter ego to bust him out of the asylum. The newer origins story is somewhat darker, featuring the Joker manipulating Harley and eventually dropping her into the same vat of chemicals that bleached his skin. This ends up sending Harley just as insane as him. Based on snippets from the trailers, it seems that Suicide Squad is going with this second, arguably more dramatic, backstory. 1) Harley And The Joker Have A Daughter As unlikely as it might sound, the comic book couple least suitable to be parents have indeed heard the pitter patter of tiny bleached white feet. The revelation came about in the Injustice: Gods Among Us comic series (set in the continuity of the hit game) when Harley fights a pregnant Black Canary. Despite being enemies, this makes Harley tear up and reveal the existence of her own child – a girl called Lucy. Her daughter lives with her sister and has inherited her mother’s crazy mind, if her affection for ballerina cars if anything to go by. In a wise move, Harley reveals that she kept Lucy’s existence a secret from the Joker – knowing that he would not be the most natural of dads. We think you probably made the right call there, Harl.