10 Things Everyone Always Gets Wrong About Harley Quinn
She’s not as dumb as you think...
Harley Quinn has been one of the most popular characters in DC’s roster since her debut in the early nineties, and her star turns in the Batman: Arkham games and the Suicide Squad movie have only seen that popularity increase.
Added to that, she’s gone from being a background curiosity, to a leading villain, to an anti-hero with her own successful solo run. However, with so many new fans being introduced to her from various new angles, there’s bound to be some misconceptions taking root - and there are a lot.
Harley Quinn is due back on the silver screen in 2020 with Birds Of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn). Though the majority of moviegoers will refer to it simply as ‘Birds Of Prey’, sticking Harley in the title suggests she’s in for a starring role.
Considering the plaudits Margot Robbie won for her performance the first time around, it’s likely that she’ll bring even more fans into the fold, which is great, but could of course also mean more misconceptions will abound.
Few characters have experienced as meteoric a rise as Harley, but she's still a really misunderstood character, and that's something that has to change soon.
10. She’s Completely Ditzy
Despite her clownish personality, thick accent and penchant for silliness, Harley is far from the ditz her persona sometimes paints her as.
In fact, before her psychotic break, her career as a criminal psychologist was just starting to blossom, with her having excelled academically before the Joker sunk his claws into her. Her often exaggerated personality is symptomatic of the Clown Prince's influence on her, changing a fairly buttoned down psychiatrist into his personal puppet.
She’s such a malleable character, featuring in some of the darkest, most gruesome storylines ever written, like the time she sliced Joker’s face off his corpse and draped it over Deadshot. However, she’s not always evil or even deranged - plus she can be written as a more kid-friendly jester if the script calls for it.
Because of this, the complexity behind her intelligence is often muted or ignored completely. While she’s not a genius in the way superheroes and villains often are, she’s certainly got a much bigger brain between her ears than she usually let's on.