For many of us, whether we were life long Harley Quinn fans, or people just going casually so see the new summer comic book movie, something incredible happened that changed many lives:
We saw Margot Robbie on the big screen playing Harley Quinn.
Suddenly, fans like myself could buy things with our girl on it all over – not just in comic shops and conventions (if we were lucky). We could enter big box stores like Walmart or pop culture haven’s like FYE or Hot Topic, and find a plethora of Harley Quinn. Funko made sure to give us a pop (and mini figure) for every outfit, minus the classic we briefly see in a flashback.
Costumes lined the shelves at Halloween. Accessories were abundant. You could even get hair dye with our favorite girl on it!
I happened to even be so lucky to be in New York just before the movie released and was able to see the huge promotional signs in Times Square – a monumental moment for me as a Harley Quinn fans. My girl was up there for everyone to see. Finally, I could say my favorite character is Harley Quinn and people would have some recognition!
While there was a lot of love, there was also a lot of backlash that spawned from this iteration. Fans that wants a classic jester suit Harley Quinn (only), despite that not making any since as a costume for a Suicide Squad version of Harley. Even then, there was a lot of grumbling about Harley Quinn being “hyper sexualized” in the film: from the dressing scene where she’s in her bra, the booty shorts, and even comments in the film from other characters that treated her more like an object than a person. While I can recognize those complaints, I can also happily remind people – this was a stepping stone to building up this on-screen Harley Quinn.
If you watch Suicide Squad (2016), followed by Birds of Prey (2020), and finally cap it off with The Suicide Squad (2021), you watch a subtle development for Harley Quinn as a character. She goes from “the Joker’s girlfriend” to becoming her own woman, just as we have watched Harley do over the years in various media. Regardless of your opinion of the movie, you cannot deny how much love and passion Margot has put into this character. For the entire rest of Harley Quinn’s history, Margot will arguably hold the crown for many people as their favorite (live action) Harley Quinn – just as Michael Keaton will forever be the live action Batman for many. (Arleen Sorkin and Kevin Conroy have a solid hold as the voices of Harley and Batman, of course.)
The Quinn-tessential Guide to Harley Quinn 