One of the most famous characters coming to the big screen in August is Harley Quinn. Making her first major appearance in Warner Brothers' "Suicide Squad," Margot Robbie promises to offer a very different version of Harley than we have all seen.
If you are unfamiliar with the comic book character, you'll interpret her as a funny, quirky and deadly Batman villain. I repeat: deadly Batman villain. So when sites like MTV label Harley as a hero, comic book fans understandably get a little upset.
Harley Quinn was first introduced in 1992 as both the Joker’s lover and minion. Behind the clown makeup and eccentric costume lies Dr. Harleen Quinzel M: a psychiatrist who worked at Arkham Asylum, which is where she first met the Joker. She quickly fell in love with him and helped him escape, only to be trapped in an abusive and dangerous relationship. The Joker then had some fun with wordplay and created her villain name based on 'harlequin' and an outfit to match. Her madness has resulted in many deaths and helping the Joker pull some of his most dangerous and deadly plots, including the closest he ever came to killing Batman.
As seen in her comic book appearances, Harley's psychotic demeanor is far from heroic. While Harley is clearly not the worst villain Batman or the DC Universe has ever faced (she loves animals, stands up for bullied kids and even refuses to fight a pregnant Black Canary), she does kill people and even does it indiscriminately at times. She does not fight for the greater good. She does not believe that following the rules is always the right thing to do and she definitely does not uphold the traditional conventions involved with being a hero. Like Deadpool, with the right perspective, she could be labeled an anti-hero at best. While this may seem nitpicky, it is a necessary distinction. Throwing Harley into the same category as Superman or Batman is not fair to the character or her fans. Besides, being an anti-hero is definitely more fun and Harley is all about putting the 'fun' in 'dysfunctional.'
Heroes are often tragic and will die for their honor or to save others, but Harley would never do that (unless it was for the Joker, perhaps). Again like Deadpool, Harley uses her humor to disarm her victims and despite disobeying rules and laws, sometimes she does the right thing.
She’s not a hero and that’s okay. Stop calling her one. She may be forced to do "good” along with the rest of the Suicide Squad, but that doesn't make her a hero and it never will.
