Warning: SPOILERS for Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).
Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is different from how she was portrayed in Suicide Squad, and it’s also a huge leap forward that made her character so much better. Director Cathy Yan’s sequel/expansion of Harley’s story sets the irrepressible psychopath on a new life path after she breaks up with the Joker. Joining up with a new crew consisting of Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), Harley’s new girl gang takes the streets of Gotham City back from crime lord Black Mask (Ewan McGregor).
Harley Quinn debuted in the 1990s’ Batman: The Animated Series and she quickly became so popular, the Joker’s cheerfully maniacal girlfriend was officially added to DC Comics’ canon. Moviegoers formally met Harley in director David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, where she was the breakout character who spawned countless cosplays. Despite the bashing it received from critics, Suicide Squad was nonetheless a financial hit for DC Films and the supervillain team-up movie has its share of fans. Yet, despite the charismatic lead performance of Will Smith as Deadshot, it was Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn fans who clamored to see more of. Having fallen in love with Harley and her zany comic book world herself, Robbie took the reins as a producer and ushered in Harley’s emancipation in her own movie, Birds of Prey, which sets her apart from the Joker and surrounds Quinn with some of Gotham City’s best female crimefighters.
A madcap female superhero movie, Birds of Prey boasts a female-led ensemble in front of and behind the camera, with director Yan working from screenwriter Christina Hodson’s (Bumblebee) script. While Birds of Prey is definitely a sequel that acknowledges the events of Suicide Squad, Harley takes center stage and narrates her new adventure so that the film is a carefully-designed course correction that evolves her character beyond the titillating way Ayer utilized Harley in his movie. Even as Birds of Prey places Quinn in increasingly bizarre and over-the-top situations, the film also takes the time to explore Harley’s personality and forces her to ask hard questions about herself, which made her character grow. Here’s how the Harley Quinn that emerges in Birds of Prey is a superior character all-around from how fans met her in Suicide Squad.
As Birds of Prey’s Main Character, Harley Quinn Is More Than Sex Appeal
Straight up, Harley Quinn’s main purpose in Suicide Squad was to provide sex appeal. From the moment she’s introduced hanging seductively in her cage, to the way the male guards at Belle Reve prison drool over her, to Harley getting dressed in her skimpy costume in front of a whole battalion of ARGUS soldiers, to the numerous shots of her rear end in the film, Harley was more memorable for how undeniably sexy she looked than anything she actually did in Suicide Squad - and Robbie gleefully played into it so Harley’s desirability was full-tilt. However, Harley really had no designated purpose in the actual mission to stop the Enchantress (Cara Delevigne); Quinn was just tagging along with the Squad because she was being forced to and she was merely killing time by teasing all of the boys while waiting for the Joker (Jared Leto) to come and bust her loose.
In Birds of Prey, everything that makes Harley a great character shines through. Harley is far more intelligent and resourceful in Birds of Prey, where she delicately balances her schtick of being a Looney Tunes cartoon come to life with jaw-dropping moments of sheer ingenuity as she bails herself out of one jam after another. Crucially, Cathy Yan’s film also remembers that before the Joker made her take a nosedive into a vat of Ace chemicals, Harley was Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a skilled psychiatrist. Harley’s medical training occasionally pops up with bursts of clever insight, like when she counsels Huntress that “vengeance rarely gives the catharsis” one looks for - and then she reverts right back to being nuts. Of course, Harley naturally oozes ample sex appeal and she enjoys flaunting it, like when she seductively dances in Black Mask’s nightclub, but for longtime fans of the character, getting to see all of Harley’s multiple dimensions on display in Birds of Prey is a joy.
Birds of Prey Pays Off What Suicide Squad Only Hinted At About Harley
When Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) summed up Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, the devious mastermind behind Task Force X said, “She’s crazier than [the Joker] is. And more fearless.” In Birds of Prey, Waller’s assessment of Quinn is proven correct. Harley is unleashed in her solo film and fans get to see how she reacts when just about every bad guy in Gotham is coming to string her up by her heels. After Harley’s breakup with the Joker, she no longer benefits from his protection and Quinn learns that it’s open season on her for all of the terrible things she’s done. This forces Harley’s ingenuity to shine through as she cajoles, teases, outwits, and outfights numerous thugs in order to survive. Meanwhile, all she really wants is a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich. But the message ultimately is that Harley doesn’t need “protection” from the Joker or any man and she can take care of herself, albeit in her own unique way.
Harley’s adventure in Birds of Prey is completely nuts but even her home life shows just how crazy she is. To keep herself company in her new apartment, Harley adopts a hyena she names Bruce (“after that hunky Wayne guy”) but even more alarming is her pet stuffed beaver, who she thinks talks to her (and it even offers her a tissue while she’s eating her feelings after her breakup). Throughout the film, Harley gleefully commits utterly deranged acts, like breaking Black Mask’s chauffeur’s legs by jumping on them, charging right into a Gotham police station and taking out a hodgepodge of cops like she’s the Terminator, and then fighting off mercenaries after breathing in cocaine. Birds of Prey exploits its R-rating to the fullest and Harley definitely benefits by getting to be as delightfully screwball insane as she wants to be.
Harley Reinvents Herself As A Complete (& Better) Person In Birds of Prey
Everyone in Gotham only knew Harley as “The Joker’s Girlfriend” and her driving motivation is to shake off that label. In Birds of Prey, Harley’s emancipation leads to her reinventing herself in a positive way. Not only did Harley amusingly decide to go into business for herself as a mercenary/bounty hunter/dog walker but more importantly, her breakup with the Joker and the numerous crises she endured forced Harley to undergo a rigorous self-examination. One of the most enlightening scenes in the movie is when Harley met Black Canary, shared a drink with her, and reassessed that being a “harlequin” means serving a master - and Harley decided that’s not what she wanted to be anymore. Harley discovered and asserted her own agency as a kick-ass female who does whatever she wants, which is a far cry from how she spent all of Suicide Squad waiting for her puddin’ Mr. J to save her.
Harley adopted the teenage pickpocket Cassandra Cain for a little while and when she took the teenage pickpocket under her wing to teach her the ins-and-outs of the criminal life, Harley discovered she likes being a mentor. But after she decided to turn Cassandra in to Black Mask, Harley felt remorse for betraying her and she realized the error of her ways. Quinn came to terms with the fact that she’s “a terrible person” and began to take steps to be more selfless and heroic - at least when it came to saving Cassandra’s life. By the end of the movie, Harley may not be a “hero” (she’s definitely more of an anti-hero) but she actually became a better person.
One of Birds of Prey’s triumphs is in how the film showcased the literal evolution of Harley Quinn; her solo outing didn’t deny any aspect of her sexy Suicide Squad portrayal that made fans go gaga over her but Birds of Prey took the crucial steps to enrich Harley into a much better character. By the end of Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn becomes more than her hair color, her provocative outfits, and her signature baseball bat - she emerges as a truly great character worth rooting for.
Next: Birds of Prey’s Ending Explained: Harley Quinn’s DCEU Future
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