Everybody's getting all in a tizzy about Margot Robbie's version of Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad what's the deal with her costume, is she gonna be anything like she is in the comic, how has it taken this long to see Harley on the big screen yadda yadda yadda but they've forgotten this won't be the first time she's appeared in live action. Not by a long shot. Birds Of Prey is a mostly-forgotten, mostly-forgettable WB series from the early noughties which in a lot of ways pre-figured the current trend for DC superhero shows like Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl. It featured a handful of popular female heroes namely Huntress, Black Canary, and Barbara Gordon teaming up to fight crimes. Along with cameo appearances by The Joker Harley Quinn appeared as a recurring villain in the show, played by Mia Sara (previously Sherilyn Fenn from Twin Peaks in an unaired pilot). Still using her secret identity as professional psychiatrist Dr Harleen Quinzel, she wields her influence as a way to get revenge on the Birds Of Prey for locking up her Mr J. The costume was even less traditional than Robbie's (and she appeared for more than a cameo, as per Arrow), and it was slightly surreal seeing Ferris Bueller's girlfriend playing the iconic DC villain, so all those Suicide Squad naysayers? Just know that it could be far worse...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
