Behind every great psychopathic, purple-suited, clown-faced supervillain is an even greater psychopathic, clown-faced sidekick. Holding an oversized hammer. Or a baseball bat. Or slowly lowering a masked vigilante into a pool full of piranhas. In the case of Batman’s perennial arch-nemesis, The Joker, that sidekick is none other than Harley Quinn. First created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn quickly grew beyond her role as loony lackey and evolved into one of the most essential characters in the modern DC Comics canon. After years and years of comic book and television appearances, Harley Quinn is poised to make her big screen debut in Warner Bros. forthcoming Suicide Squad film, which hits theaters on August 5.
Played with manic glee by the talented Margot Robbie, Harley Quinn is poised to steal the show—as well as whatever else she can get her kooky little hands on—as part of Amanda Waller’s elite black ops task force. Yet in spite of Harley’s pop cultural ubiquity, many people don’t know about the character’s history. Before she was the spandex-clad centerpiece of Suicide Squad or the landlord of a Coney Island apartment building or even Harley Quinn, she was Dr. Harleen Quinzel. Her journey from idealistic intern to bonkers baseball bat-wielding antihero is absolutely worthy of examination. So on today’s episode of The Dan Cave, I’m going to tell you everything know about Harley Quinn before you see the movie. And her inevitable spin-off movie, which you guys KNOW is destined to happen.
What are your favorite Harley Quinn stories? What do you want to see from her in Suicide Squad? Let us know in the comments below.
Image: Warner Bros./DC Comics
Sources: DC Comics; Wikia; Comic Vine
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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).
