Fan Jackets has an impressive collection of the Joker’s coats as well as a complete Harley Quinn costume. In the second hour, the squad battles an army of lumpy humanoids created by Enchantress and strategizes how to destroy her doomsday weapon which they describe as “a swirling ring of trash in the sky”.
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If you want to avoid spoilers, skip the next paragraph. The underlying story is still in the movie, we just don’t learn about it during the movie. She has something to spill about the secret with her voice as Harley. As announced at the Televisions Critics Association (TCA) panel in August, Fox’s Gotham is planning to introduce younger versions of Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, and other Suicide Squad characters in future seasons of the show. Robbie steals every scene she is in, and she turns Quinn from a passive victim into an active member of the team. It’s treated as a moment of triumph, of her finally taking ownership of her own destiny and cutting ties with the memory of her abuser once and for all. Harley is delighted to see him, and he “rescues” her from prison. What’s more, it is even backed by stars of the film.
The DCAU portrays a unusual version of Harley; she’s clearly a tragic character, locked in an abusive relationship by her desperate love for the Clown Prince of Crime.
Are you looking forward to seeing more of Harley Quinn in the DCEU? We also never see how Waller is able to escape from wherever she was trapped after the Enchantress was defeated. This was always bound to happen though, given how many characters populated Suicide Squad. There’s a Japanese warrior named Katana (Karen Fukuhara) who’s so completely pointless to the story, I forgot to mention her until just now. By undercutting that progression, Harley is once again robbed of her agency, and is a weaker character for it. Apparently, even Warner Bros couldn’t figure it out either, and so he was 86’d. One of the more prominent (and divisive) features of this Joker in Suicide Squad is that he’s got a major tattoo fetish. With the exception of Waller herself, there is little to fascinate other than Harley and Diablo who are slow-motion train-wrecks you can’t take your eyes off. Smith, whose talent is playing a tired Everyman carrying the world on his shoulders, has nearly nothing to work with.
The story of Harley Quinn begins in comic book legend. Killing off the Joker following a brief first appearance would have been the boldest decision of all, but it would have been one hell of a risk. Furthermore, Zack Snyder also touched upon the concept of Robin in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”.
“Suicide Squad” is such a mess there’s nearly too much to say about it.
Margot played Harley, The Joker’s love interest. These are genuinely bad people we’re asked to root for, not cartoonish felons with hearts of gold (one character doesn’t have a heart in the fist place), and while that’s an intriguing twist, the movie isn’t terribly interested, or capable, in getting us to root for them, or showing them work together or have them do anything interesting once the plot kicks off. If you’re not a comic book fan, don’t expect too much in order to enjoy it and consider the cast as new heroes instead of trying to rack your brains on where they’re supposed to be in the greater DC landscape.
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Caroline is a freelance writer and podcaster living in London, UK.
