Birds Of Prey: What's The Deal With Harley Quinn's Hyena?

The reason for this major change to Harley's beloved BFF.

Birds of Prey Harley Quinn Hyena
Warner Bros. Pictures

With the brand new trailer having arrived yesterday for Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), one interesting takeaway from this fresh footage is that Harley Quinn’s hyena is called Bruce.

In the world of DC Comics, the Maid of Mischief famously has a pair of hyenas dubbed Bud and Lou – named after Bud Abbott and Lou Costello – who are so often at her side through the various shenanigans she gets up to.

For Birds of Prey, it’s yet to be confirmed whether the movie will feature just the one hyena. Either way, we do know that there’s a hyena in the picture who’s named Bruce. As Margot Robbie’s Harleen herself puts it, her furry BFF is “named after that hunky Wayne guy.”

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Why would Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey film change the name of one of Harley Quinn’s famed hyenas, you ask? The logical answer would seemingly be just as a way to acknowledge Harley’s fondness of Bruce Wayne.

Harley Quinn Bud Lou
DC Comics

Of course, while Harleen Quinzell is so often romantically involved with her puddin’, the Joker, the comic book Harley has often been found to be attracted to Bruce Wayne. And in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), it appears that Quinn’s goo-goo eyes towards Wayne will be present and accounted for – even if it’s merely in a throwaway fashion.

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Right now, however, the Gotham City that Harley Quinn is housed in is sans a Batman. Remember, this incarnation of Quinn exists in a Gotham in which Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight is ominously lurking on the city’s high-rise gargoyles. With Affleck having now hung up the cape ‘n’ cowl, don’t be expecting any sort of Batman appearance in Birds of Prey.

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) will be here before you know it, with the picture set to hit cinemas worldwide from February 7th.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.