So, like many other comic fans, I raced to go and see "Suicide Squad" in theaters this past Friday, and despite the rough critic reviews, I wasn't too disappointed. "Suicide Squad" was a great movie and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the debut of a few favorites, old and new alike. To say that it was complete without fault, however, would be incorrect and there was one thing weighing heavily on me before I even got to the theater. The portrayal of Harley Quinn and The Joker.

Many are familiar with Harley, after her first appearance in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, "Joker's Favor" as a humorous sidekick she quickly became a favorite among many Batman fans, joining the comics and video game franchises. Before meeting The Joker, Dr. Harleen Quinzel was an honor graduate of Gotham University in psychiatry and a gymnast, however, she had interests in criminal psychology and that's what drew her towards Arkham Asylum. Her methodologies were unorthodox in treating her patients and in an attempt to make deeper connections with her patients she disguised herself as one of them, thus meeting The Joker who saw through the facade immediately. He drew her in, confided her and before long she was hooked.Following an altercation with her supervisor she broke him out of his cell and the path of madness officially began, murder, mayhem, love?

Director David Ayer seemed to find that a perfect recipe for the couple in his new movie, "Suicide Squad." There were scenes showing how manipulative and abusive their relationship truly was, however, they were edited out in favor of a more loving and intimate relationship to shine through.Beside there being sloppy edits, (the helicopter scene of Joker pushing Harley out with an angry look on his face and then cutting quickly to one of dismay stuck out distinctly) the idea seemed last minute and half-assed. There were minor attempts at his manipulative nature but they were too subtle and could be easily misinterpreted or passed off as an overzealous progressive nature.

My real issues didn't stem completely from the exclusion of domestic violence, I'm aware of the demographic, I know that people adore the couple. No, my issue with the doting Joker is that it took away from the original character and made him much too humane. Leto himself thought of him as a "misunderstood sweetheart" and any fans that have watched The Joker beat Jason Todd in the head with a crowbar (A Death in The Family), murdered Jim Gordon's wife and left her in a room full of infants( Detective Comics #741) and tricked Superman into killing a pregnant Lois Lane (Injustice: Gods Among Us). "Sweetheart isn't exactly the "s" word we would use to describe him with. When the credits rolled I was left with the thought that this wasn't how the Joker would act at all, he was never adamant about retrieving Harley whenever she left unless she had something that he wanted from her. While talking to Black Canary, Harley confesses that she has a daughter that her puddin' doesn't know about and left to take care of her, though to her dismay upon he returns the Joker informed her that he hadn't noticed her absence (Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Two).

Here' s the thing about The Joker, it's hard to completely gauge how he really feels about Harley though "love" in its traditional sense is not a word that I would use. Most commonly he's portrayed as a murderous sociopath in the guise of a clown, not exactly the guy you bring home to mom. His relationship with Harley is built on her usefulness and loyalty to him, despite his verbal and physical abuse towards her. He's fully aware of her love and willingness to do anything for him. She seeks he "puddins" approval and devotes herself to him although he often punishes her for it. Albeit all these things, I do believe that The Joker does hold some affection towards her, just not in any form that is nurturing or healthy, he doesn't show true interest in her well-being, but all the same, in his own way, he cares for her.

But let's make this loud and clear: No amount of caring excuses the physical and verbal abuse that he puts her under. Harley Quinn is a strong character without Mistah J, which she proves in her solo comic as well as David Ayer's Suicide Squad and their relationship is not idealistic by any means, despite its romanticism in movies or Hot Topic/ Spencer's apparel.