Suicide Squad: Concerning Harley Quinn

[Chancey289]

You know, while I'm actually interested in seeing Suicide Squad, I have a lot of doubts about Harley Quinn in the film. I'm pretty sure I've said it before and it should come to no surprise that Harley is pretty special to me. She's probably my favorite comic book girl. But Suicide Squad doesn't look like it's going to have the Harley most of us fans fell in love with.

The trailers are trying to push Harley as one of the biggest selling points, but she looks like one of the weakest links in the film. And I notice how every scene featuring her in those clips make me all come up with just a better way to write them and ultimately make it more Harley Quinn-ish.

I'm not a big fan of her look because not only is it massively redesigned to just make her look like she's wearing casual clothes (probably only just because they can literally market her entire costume at Hot Topics everywhere as a legitimate fashion line that isn't just something you'd wear at a convention), but it feels like it's going to be very indicative of what they do to her entire character.

I can't shake the feeling that the only reason Margot Robbie was considered among other actresses for the role is because she's one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood at the moment. Like, they were really prioritizing sex appeal among many other factors.

And don't get me wrong, I don't mind Harley being sexy, she's always been, but that's not the entire point of her. She's always been a little silly, and a lot crazy. She's a ton of fun with her hyper eccentric personality, a little spacey, still smart enough to know when to be serious and pretend to be stupid, and isn't above a joke or two.

I get the impression that her character is basically being reduced to that she's crazy, and sexy. The crazy sexy girl. And that's all they pretty much want to do with her. Be honest, just look at the trailers and marketing campaign. I dare you to tell me that isn't the overall vibe they're going with.

Another big fear is that if she does turn out to be this, they will reflect it in the comics. And that would be disappointing considering all the growth she has gone through. She wised up to her relationship with the Joker and realize it was just toxic and abusive. Found a good relationship in Poison Ivy, and even competes in roller derby competitions while going out of her way to adopt tons of abandoned animals. To make her go back to being the Joker's punching bag will just be kinda sad.

Overall, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Harley Quinn is great in the film, we'll have to wait and see. But I just thought I'd voice my concerns. What do you think?

 

[xMobilemux]

I rather like the more recent versions of Harley, and I really like what I've seen from Margot Robbie so far as well as her outfit, her sexiness combined with her personality results in a fun loving girl who is also such a delight to look at is what makes me love her so much.
It's why I don't much care for Ivy or Catwoman, Ivy and Catwomen are both sexy as hell which I appreciate very much, but they just don't have the fun loving nature that Harley does.
When I look at this image:

I see a damn good looking girl who is full of fun and if I didn't know better, the man child inside me would have a blast hanging out with and would be a dream come true to marry.

Though when it comes to the Suicide Squad movie, Harley is the only one that really shows any true personality and character next to the Joker.
From the trailers, each Squad character is only seen briefly(Harley included) and we've come to see that Deadshot is just Will Smith as a Will Smith role, Harley is the star of movie and Joker is the big bad guy.
None of the other characters have stood out much in the trailers, Captain Boomerang has a few moments but over all, it's clearly gonna be Harley and Joker's movie and given the fact that they've already set up another movie with Harley in the leading role with all the other Gotham gals it's pretty clear who they and the fans want leading the female talent of DC.
Also it makes sense, since like I said a few threads back, Harley is the role model of all the girls out there right now instead of feminist icon Wonder Woman, who is also getting her own movie.

But I still love the modern Harley very much as well as the old one and I see this new Harley as another version like the many versions of Batman, the movie makers did say that they may bring back some of Harley's classic outfits in future movies so there's that.
Not to mention they haven't ignored it:

Also after looking through the trailers a bit more, I think the Joker/Harley relationship may not last as long as we think, in the trailers we've seen Harley jump on to a helicopter rope, kiss Joker and then there's a shot of her falling down to the city which I think maybe Joker went full dick mode again and pushed her out or something, I can only hope Harley doesn't let that slide, but we'll see this week.
Cause I also want Harley to break away from the Joker in the DC movie universe cause I liked her relationship with Ivy better.

 

[Chancey289]

I rather like the more recent versions of Harley, and I really like what I've seen from Margot Robbie so far as well as her outfit, her sexiness combined with her personality results in a fun loving girl who is also such a delight to look at is what makes me love her so much.
It's why I don't much care for Ivy or Catwoman, Ivy and Catwomen are both sexy as hell which I appreciate very much, but they just don't have the fun loving nature that Harley does.
When I look at this image:

I see a damn good looking girl who is full of fun and if I didn't know better, the man child inside me would have a blast hanging out with and would be a dream come true to marry.

Though when it comes to the Suicide Squad movie, Harley is the only one that really shows any true personality and character next to the Joker.
From the trailers, each Squad character is only seen briefly(Harley included) and we've come to see that Deadshot is just Will Smith as a Will Smith role, Harley is the star of movie and Joker is the big bad guy.
None of the other characters have stood out much in the trailers, Captain Boomerang has a few moments but over all, it's clearly gonna be Harley and Joker's movie and given the fact that they've already set up another movie with Harley in the leading role with all the other Gotham gals it's pretty clear who they and the fans want leading the female talent of DC.
Also it makes sense, since like I said a few threads back, Harley is the role model of all the girls out there right now instead of feminist icon Wonder Woman, who is also getting her own movie.

But I still love the modern Harley very much as well as the old one and I see this new Harley as another version like the many versions of Batman, the movie makers did say that they may bring back some of Harley's classic outfits in future movies so there's that.
Not to mention they haven't ignored it:

Also after looking through the trailers a bit more, I think the Joker/Harley relationship may not last as long as we think, in the trailers we've seen Harley jump on to a helicopter rope, kiss Joker and then there's a shot of her falling down to the city which I think maybe Joker went full dick mode again and pushed her out or something, I can only hope Harley doesn't let that slide, but we'll see this week.
Cause I also want Harley to break away from the Joker in the DC movie universe cause I liked her relationship with Ivy better.

As much as I love Harley Quinn........she's not, nor was intended to be a role model or something to strive for. One of the ideas behind Harley Quinn was to be an example of what women shouldn't be. To recognize a toxic and abusive relationship, and not let themselves be a part of it.

The only ones who look up to Harley as if she's their hero, especially Margot Robbie's Harley, are basically those emo/scene/edgelord teens who also probably romanticize Joker and Harley's relationship and share pics like this on their facebook.

<-----example

And seriously, to say that women don't look up to Wonder Woman is an extremely ignorant statement.

She's the most popular female superhero in history and has always been an icon for women for a reason.

 

[xMobilemux]

These things just happen, sometimes it can't be explained and no I can say for damn sure that it's not those edgy/emo teens that only love Harley more than WW, it's girls in general.
Harley is human, more relatable and just more fun than Wonder Woman which is why she's so much more popular nowadays, WW is a superhuman and pretty much perfect in all ways, which is considered boring nowadays in superhero standards, exactly why Batman is so popular and Superman is considered boring.
Also I didn't say girls don't look up to Wonder Woman, I said girls look up to Harley more these days than WW.

When I go to conventions and Expos I see much to my personal delight Harley cosplayers EVERYWHERE, all different kinds of her too and maybe only 2 or 3 Wonder Woman cosplayers at best, if any at all.
I swear to god, there were even little 9 to 10 year old girls as Margot Robbie Harley at last years one!

Loads of my female friends love and adore Harley and I love being around them cause their personalities match up with Harleys making for very fun hang outs.

Yup that's me as Deadpool with 2 of my friends as Harley, so many Harleys, so little time!

Thing is, yes Harley wasn't created as something to strive for, but all girls in the real world face problems and trouble like Harley does and she stays strong and pushes through them, girls today relate to that.
For Wonder Woman her troubles mostly end up being fighting massive super villains alongside Superman and winning, that's not something ordinary real life girls can relate to.

 

[Jak]

the thing about harley is that...SHE IS "the crazy sexy girl". that's her whole character. she does have a tragic backstory, with the joker, and her mother being an uptight ass, and her father being a user. but at the end of the day, she's crazy. and she just so happens to be sexy. also, she doesn't have a serious bone in her body. she can't. this woman is completely warped out of her mind. she's actually delusional, and schizophrenic. whenever she TRIES to be serious, she suffers from panic attacks breakdowns.

and while i respect that you love the version of harley from batman tas, the character was radically altered once she was integrated into the actual comics. mainly because the animated series, while still aimed towards a wider demographic, was originally intended for children, and was censored as a result. but the comics are a different animal. so harley had to be reworked to fit the mold of the DC comics universe. and joker in the comics, is a psychotic, mass murdering, rapist. just a TAD bit more extreme than the animated series version.

she also hasn't worn her traditional costume since 2009, thanks to rocksteady studios and harley quinn co-creator paul dini.

and ever since then, she's been altered in the comics, cartoons, and other video games. so, the sexualization of harley quinn is nothing new.

also, the harley quinn book is very loose in continuity, much like most marvel/dc comedy books. all that stuff with her being in a roller derby, and going on crazy adventures with powergirl, and green lantern, and all the other DC characters...it's not a part of the MAIN DC continuity. what IS however, is suicide squad, and new suicide squad. and in those books, she's exactly what i've pointed her out as in my comments above. a delusional schizophrenic with mommy and daddy issues. and right now, is she broken free from the joker's grasp? yeah. so are a lot of other women and men who break free from abusive relationships. and unfortunately, a lot of them go back. so it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that harley will go back to being with the joker.