Harley Quinn (DC Extended Universe)

Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, later known as Harley Quinn, is a fictional character in the DC Extended Universe, based on the character of the same name from DC Comics. Portrayed by actress Margot Robbie, she first appears in film in "Suicide Squad", playing a major role, and also stars in "Birds of Prey". She is first depicted as Joker's psychiatrist in prison, then later his lover and partner in crime, before going off on her own misadventures in her DCEU appearances. Her introduction sequence in "Suicide Squad" mentions her as an accomplice and directly responsible for the murder of Batman's sidekick Robin.
Robbie's portrayal of Harley Quinn, the first in film, has received widespread critical acclaim.
Development and portrayal.
Origins, casting and execution.
Harley Quinn was a late addition to the lineup of DC Comics supervillains, making her debut in the 1990s as a love interest to the Joker in "". Nonetheless, she has become one of DC's most popular characters, especially as she has become an additional foil to Joker's character aside from Batman, and she later became a full-fledged character in the comics. Though originating as a supervillainess, Harley, much like Catwoman, has been gradually developed as an antiheroine in later comic storylines. She has appeared in numerous adaptations of DC Comics storylines, being voiced by Arleen Sorkin in the DC Animated Universe and other actresses such as Tara Strong and Kaley Cuoco in the adult animated series based on the character.
Australian actress Margot Robbie was cast to portray Harley Quinn in the DC Extended Universe, beginning with "Suicide Squad", first being offered the role in October 2014. Robbie stated that it took three hours to prepare her hair, makeup and costume for the role and "at least 45 minutes" to take it off. In addition, Joker actor Jared Leto surprised Robbie by giving her a live black rat during filming. Despite her initial shock, Robbie kept the rat as a pet, according to Amanda Waller actress Viola Davis.
Quinn has also been noted for her use of a baseball bat as a weapon throughout the films, with some outlets even referring to it as a trademark of the character. During the filming of "Suicide Squad", Robbie accidentally hit herself in the face with a prop baseball bat, with the actress also keeping one of the bats after filming ended. Quinn also fights with a mallet throughout "Suicide Squad".
Following the financial success of the film, Warner Bros. announced a female-centered spinoff of the film which would eventually become "Birds of Prey", with Robbie reprising her role for that film and serving as a producer. Robbie had pitched the film to Warner Bros. in 2015 as "an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because I was like, 'Harley needs friends.' Harley loves interacting with people, so don't ever make her do a standalone film." Robbie felt it was important for the film to have a female director. While Warner Bros. and DC Films had various other Harley Quinn-oriented films in development, "Birds of Prey" was the only one with whose development Robbie was directly involved.
Themes and characterization.
In an analysis of the character by "The Perspective", Harley Quinn is seen as both a ruthless villain undeserving of sympathy and a tragic character. While some of her deeds, such as murdering Dick Grayson with Joker and the lawyers that put her boyfriend in prison, torturing Batman, and robbing a store "just for fun" in "Suicide Squad", are inexcusable, Harley is also constantly manipulated by Joker, with many of her crimes serving simply to get Joker to "love" her, a hallmark of one-sided, abusive relationships. In addition, Harley is arguably objectified in the film, with many of her outfits being extremely revealing. While being interviewed on her role in "Suicide Squad", Robbie described Quinn as one of the Squad's most manipulative members, and her relationship with Joker as "incredibly dysfunctional," adding that Quinn is, "mad about him—like, literally, mad. She's crazy. But she loves him. And it's a really unhealthy, dysfunctional relationship. But an addictive one."
Harley's portrayal in "Birds of Prey" was designed to further develop her character independently of the Joker's influence, as mentioned by screenwriter Christina Hodson. Hodson called Harley the character she enjoyed developing most due to her unpredictable personality. The film also reveals Harley has had malevolent tendencies even before her encounter with Joker and that she is bisexual, as she mentions she has had her "heart broken by both men and women" in the film's introduction. In both films, Harley is shown to be a skilled combatant and impervious to fear, also possessing exceptional durability and agility.
Role in the films.
"Suicide Squad".
Dr. Harleen Quinzel is first introduced through flashbacks in the film. A former prison psychiatrist, Quinzel had worked with the Joker (Jared Leto) during his earlier incarceration. Though she tries to pry into his mind to understand how he thinks, Joker gradually seduces Quinzel and gets her to fall madly in love with him. He later persuades her to release him, subjecting her to shock therapy in retaliation for her using it on him, and making her jump in acid at Ace Chemicals to prove her love for him, just as he had developed his psychotic persona and appearance through his own accident with falling into acid. The incident drives Quinzel, whom Joker dubs "Harley Quinn", just as insane as the Joker and gives her a similar disfigurement as him. The duo terrorize Gotham City as partners in crime and become, as Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) describes, the "Criminal King and Queen" in the city.
Harley and Joker carry out numerous crimes, such as murdering Batman's (Ben Affleck) protégé, Dick Grayson, in cold blood. Soon afterwards, Batman tracks down the couple in Joker's Lamborghini, causing them to crash and capturing Harley while Joker escapes. Now imprisoned in an electrified cage at Belle Reve Penitentiary, Harley is barely given any comforts or clothing, as she regularly endangers the prison guards. Waller recruits Harley and several other incarcerated metahumans and criminals, including Floyd Lawton / Deadshot (Will Smith), George "Digger" Harkness / Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Waylon Jones / Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Chato Santana / El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and Christopher Weiss / Slipknot (Adam Beach), into a task force for extremely dangerous situations after the U.S. Government reluctantly gives her permission. The squad is quickly put to use after one of Waller's intended recruits, June Moon / Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), goes rogue, and are put under the command of Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and his bodyguard, Katana (Karen Fukuhara). The squad's members do not get along at first and are reluctant to go along with orders until Slipknot is executed by a bomb planted in his neck for trying to escape.
Joker discovers Harley's predicament and blackmails a prison guard into revealing her location, in addition to forcing an A.R.G.U.S. scientist into disabling her bomb. Meanwhile, Harley bonds with Deadshot and annoys Flag with her antics while fighting Enchantress' minions in Midway City. Upon rescuing a hostage, later revealed to be Waller herself, the squad is angered, though Waller threatens to detonate their bombs. Joker then arrives in a helicopter to rescue Harley and despite initially succeeding, one of Waller's guards shoots down the chopper. Harley jumps out of the aircraft before it crashes, leading to Joker's apparent death. After Waller is captured by Enchantess' minions and Deadshot discovers the true reason for the mission, the squad realizes they must face Enchantress and her brother Incubus alone and head to a bar to drown their sorrows. Flag reveals that June Moon was his girlfriend prior to being possessed by Enchantress and frees the convicts, but they decide to help him after bonding over drinks.
The squad locates Enchantress and Incubus at a partially flooded subway station. Killer Croc and several Navy SEALs plant a bomb underneath Incubus while El Diablo sacrifices himself to detonate it, destroying Incubus. Enchantress defeats the remaining squad members and entices them to join her in exchange for granting them their deepest desires. Harley feigns interest in order to get close enough to cut out Enchantress' heart with Katana's sword, then aids Deadshot and Flag in defeating Enchantress and freeing June. For her actions, Harley is rewarded by Waller with 10 years off her life sentence and an espresso machine in addition to similar rewards for most of the other squad members. Shortly after, Joker, who survived the crash, breaks into Belle Reve with his henchmen and frees Harley.
"Birds of Prey".
Four years after the events of "Suicide Squad", Joker breaks up with Harley and leaves her in the streets of Gotham City. After she finds refuge with Doc (Dana Lee), a restaurant owner, she copes by cutting her hair, picking up roller derby, and adopting a spotted hyena which she names after Bruce Wayne. After getting drunk at a bar and encountering Roman Sionis / Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) and Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett), the latter of whom rescues her from abduction, Harley goes to Ace Chemicals to blow up the facility as a way to publicly announce her separation from Joker. GCPD detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) arrives at the scene while investigating mob killings, finding Harley's necklace and noting her vulnerability without Joker's protection. Soon enough, Harley finds herself constantly under attack from people she had wronged in the past.
Upon pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) stealing a diamond embedded with the account numbers to the fortune of the massacred Bertinelli crime family, Sionis kidnaps Harley and forces her to track down Cassandra in exchange for her life. Harley locates Cassandra in GCPD custody and breaks her out using a variety of fireworks, and the two later bond while hiding in Doc's restaurant. However, the apartment is bombed by a criminal resentful of Harley. Doc, who had been contacted by assassin Helena Bertinelli / Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) for information on Cassandra, tells Harley that he had sold her out for a large sum of money, forcing her to flee with Cassandra. Harley renegotiates her deal with Sionis, offering to turn Cassandra and the diamond (which the latter had swallowed) over in exchange for his protection and agreeing to meet at an abandoned amusement park.
After tying Cassandra up and having her ingest greasy food and laxatives to try and extract the diamond painlessly, Harley is confronted by Montoya, who is building a case against Sionis, while Sionis' right-hand man Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina) arrives with Dinah, who had informed Montoya, in tow. Before Zsasz can inflict harm on Dinah and take Cassandra, Helena arrives and kills Zsasz, who was the last of her family's killers. Harley, Montoya, Helena, and Dinah have a standoff before more of Sionis' men arrive. Realizing they all have reasons to begrudge Sionis, the group decides to team up and defend themselves from Sionis' men using the weapons Harley had brought. Sionis captures Cassandra in the resulting melee and Harley gives chase on roller blades with help from Helena. As Harley confronts Sionis at a nearby pier, he prepares to kill Cassandra, who plants a live grenade in his jacket while he is distracted. Harley pushes Sionis off the pier just before the grenade explodes, killing him.
In the aftermath of destroying Sionis's criminal empire, Montoya quits the GCPD. Using the money within the accounts hidden inside the diamond, Helena joins with Dinah and Montoya in establishing a team of vigilantes called the Birds of Prey. Harley and Cassandra escape, selling the diamond itself to a pawn shop and starting their own business.
"Zack Snyder's Justice League".
In "Zack Snyder's Justice League", Harley Quinn is mentioned as being dead by Batman in a dream sequence set in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by Darkseid. While confronting the Joker, Batman tells him that Quinn died in his arms. Prior to her death, she asked Batman to "slowly kill" the Joker, a promise which he intends on keeping.
"The Suicide Squad".
Margot Robbie will reprise her role as Harley Quinn in "The Suicide Squad", a standalone sequel to the 2016 film. Robbie is one of four actors from the original film to reprise their roles.
Reception.
After the release of "Suicide Squad" in 2016, Margot Robbie's performance as Harley Quinn was well received, with many critics considering her performance the film's biggest highlight and eager to see more of the character in future films. Robbie's performance in "Birds of Prey" similarly received acclaim. "Rotten Tomatoes" summarized its review of the film: "With a fresh perspective, some new friends, and loads of fast-paced action, "Birds of Prey" captures the colorfully anarchic spirit of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn." In addition, Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" wrote in his positive review of the film that "Robbie turns in a much richer and funnier and layered performance as Harley this time around, thanks in large part to the stiletto-sharp screenplay by Christina Hodson."
References.
 The plot description and characterization were adapted from Batman, Harley Quinn at the DC Extended Universe Wiki, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license.