Harley Quinn is a character that I’ve struggled with over the years. She’s annoyed me at different times throughout her history but recently upon further inspection into her character I discovered that I actually enjoyed reading about her a lot more.
For those of you that don’t know, Harley didn’t actually get her start in comics and instead was created for Batman : The Animated Series. She started out as a simple lackey for Joker until she really blossomed into her own character. When she was finally given an origin we discovered that she was a renowned psychiatrist named Harleen Quinzel that wanted to try and cure the Joker but in doing so she fell in love with him and became Harley Quinn.
Harley’s at her best when she’s fighting against him, her story arc involves her constantly going back and forth between her love for him and her attempts to return to normal. Much like some people do when they’re in a bad relationship. I’ve always had the belief that even though Comics are supposed to be fantastical versions of our world with Heroes that are nearly perfect and Villains that are pure evil that when a complex character like Harley sneaks in is when you get some of the most interesting stories. We as readers want her to leave and we want her to stay because we know that she’s crazy but we love her because of that. That’s why Harley worked in the Animated series and has in many of the various comics.
In the latest DC Film : Suicide Squad, Harley is portrayed by Margot Robbie and although I was not a fan of this movie I was very pleased with Robbie’s portrayal of the character…not so much with the character design but hey that’s just me. Robbie brought her to life in a way that exceeded my expectations and I genuinely loved the scene where she’s just so dejected after thinking that Joker has died and then immediately goes back to her “Normal” self when the team returns. It’s a great and very personal scene that the film could’ve used a lot more of.
In conclusion, I’ve changed my thoughts on Harley Quinn in the past few years and I’m happy to add her to my top 50.
