10 Things DC Wants You To Forget About Harley Quinn

Today we are going over ten things DC wants you to forget about Harley Quinn. So, without further ado let's get straight on to the list with number 10.

10. Harley Quinn was originally meant to be a cameo

Harley Quinn has certainly come a long way since her first appearance. Originally she was only intended to be featured as a one-and-done cameo in Batman the Animated Series. However, Harley was such a hit with Batman that she soon became a regular character in the series; from there she quickly transitioned into the pages of the Batman comics and now is filing front and center in a feature film AKA Suicide Squad.

The cameo itself came from a totally innocent gag that the writers of the cartoon series wanted to make; the writers needed a female clown character who popped out of a cake for one of the Joker's evil schemes. They had toyed with the idea of having the Joker dress up and pop out of the cake himself, but ultimately they didn't think the gag was the right fit for the conference of the crime.

In order to protect the integrity of the Joker's character, they instead created a henchwoman to pop out of the cake and the rest is history.

9. Harley Quinn is a relatively new character

Unlike most well-known superheroes and villains in pop culture, Harley Quinn didn't originate from the pages of a comic book during the Golden Age of comics in the 1930s and 40s and 50s like her origin story would have you believe, spitting in the face of conformity as the character so often does.

She originated from a single scene from Batman the Animated Series in September of 1992; starting off as a humble cartoon sidekick to the Joker. Harley Quinn's been a major leap into the pages of comic books and into history as one of every fanboy and fangirls favored super villains.

Originally Harley Quinn's concepts were nothing more than a girlfriend and accomplice to the Joker on the small screen; clearly, that changed over time.

8. Harley Quinn was modeled after actress Arleen Sorkin

An incredibly thinspiration for Harley Quinn came from a dream sequence from the soap opera Days of Our Life. This obscure reference is one of the most beloved supervillains and pop culture, the Harlequin. Creators recall the scene in the soap where actress Arlene Sorkin dresses as a court jester. From there the two created a character meant to look and sound exactly like Sorkin.

They both felt strongly that's Sorkin personality was such a perfect match for Harley Quinn that they wanted to use her for the model of the creation. What's even more amazing is that through a mutual friend they were able to meet her and have her bring the character she inspired to life as a voice of Harley Quinn voice acting role on Batman the Animated Series score. She went on to portray the character various times in the DC Animated Universe for the better part of two decades before retiring in 2011.

7. Courtney Love was consideration to play Harley Quinn on the Silver Screen

In a recent interview Hollywood director Joe Shoemaker said that Courtney Love was once heavily considered for the role of Harley Quinn. And, his cancelled Batman Unchained movie; the film which would have also seen George Clooney's Return of the Caped Crusader was also rumored to have Madonna play the role of Harley Quinn, but it was Courtney Love who apparently met with directors about the character several times in the mid-90s; just prior to the failure of Batman and Robin.

Probably for the best, because before Courtney Love could be cast, Batman Unchained had its plug pulled. If you remember, Joel Shoemaker's Batman films it's probably high time you try to forget them. Although, the film showed much promise and was loaded with endless All-Star Hollywood talents the storylines, costumes, sets, and overall execution were met with scornful disdain from True fans of the bats. They're widely considered as failures both financially and artistically

6. Harley Quinn first live-action show was Birds of Prey

Birds of Prey is a television drama series produced in 2002 and is loosely based on a DC Comics series of the same name. The series takes place in a Gotham City that Batman has abandoned given way a crime war in which rival factions team of to take each other out. The series chose to focus on the ray of female Gothamites and their squabbles with each other despite the series debut garnering ratings of 7.6 million viewers; which at the time was network's largest Premier.

The series was canceled after ratings fell sharply and subsequent weeks; 13 episodes plus a pilot for producing total Birds of Prey was released on DVD on July 15th, 2008.

Mia Sara played Harley Quinn in the series she also did not work costume although, she did wear an outfit that was somewhat reminiscent of her cartoon costume in the series finale and title Devil's Eyes.

5. Harley Quinn was once a folk singer

Unless you're really into obscure spin-offs then you've likely never been graced by the beautiful and quite Loving Story of the folk duet Ivy and Harley. This, of course, is the story of Harley's short-term stint as a full singer with her lesbian lover Poison Ivy as the world is serious of DC that features DC characters and stories that take place outside of the DC Universe.

One of the stories created is a fairly light-hearted tale, that features Lex Luthor as a pop music producer whose past clients include Superman and Batman. Lex danced into getting enough of the musical talents of Ivy and Harley or perhaps it's something else about them that tickled his fancy. The folk duo is also known for being a really cute couple.

4. Harley was once a Mutant Hyena

In the Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover, Shredder has found an ally in Ra's al Ghul the immortal leader of the League of Assassins. The duo manages to get their hands on some mutagen from the turtle's companion Casey Jones. Their evil plot is to transform the inmates of Arkham into a mutant Army that will crash Gotham to dust.

Shredder and Ra's al Ghul use the mutagen on several supervillains including Bane, who's turned into a mutant elephant and Harley who is made into a mutant hyena. She knocked out by Batman in the final battle and Splinter uses her Hammer to take down the rest of the mutant Arkham inmates.

3. Harley Quinn has a daughter

Harley Quinn and the Joker have done a lot of things to many people. They're role models to hordes of criminals. They're ultimately living breathing proof that therapy is sometimes not the best course of action for demented minds and tortured Souls.

Contrary to your dream sequences, the pair spent entirely too much time plotting against Batman to care for a tiny little Jester. In an act that is completely out of character Gods Among Us year 2 Harley Quinn exhibits a rare moment of compassion when she refuses to beat on a pregnant Black Canary, her reasoning stems from her own experience. She remembers the difficulties she faced when she carried a child in the womb as it turns out Harley and Joker created a child and then Justice Universe.

A daughter whose name is Lucy. She lives with the rest of the Quinnzel clan and likes toy cars. Harley makes sure that the Joker is not aware of Lucy's existence. Harley has her mind made up that if the Joker ever found out about the baby it would further enhance his insanity. It proves that while she may be a loose cannon, she is still firmly grounded and maintains her ability to keep a clear mind when dealing with complex situations.

2. Harley Quinn decapitated her grandmother with a chainsaw

The animated miniseries Gods and Monsters went completely out of bounds with this approach to the source material. In the episode titled Twisted, the Caped Crusader is Ashley Kirk Langstrom who reinvents himself into a vampire using an array of dark sciences. Many refer to him as solely as the ManBat, the horror doesn't truly take off until an investigation into an abandoned warehouse hits Batman on an encounter with a deranged Harley Quinn.

Harley Quinn is found in the basement with collected human body parts. She's a straight-up, unforgiving, psyco killing murderer. She collects all these trophies to construct your own family of sorts. As you can imagine things that quite hectic and during the ensuing battle Harley mistakenly decapitates her grandmother and sliced herself open with a chainsaw. Langstrom puts an end to the conflict by killing Harley and draining her blood. After all, Bruce Wayne is the one that doesn't kill. Kirk doesn't follow any rules.

1. Harley Quinn took part in a very real world controversy

In 2013, much to the delight of dedicated fans DC Comics announced a new standalone Harley Quinn comic book series. Immediately that excitement was met with outrage from fans and the world at large when DC announced a contest for amateur artists to draw a page for the upcoming series.

It wasn't in the concept itself that adjured anger, rather it was the subject matter chosen be drawn. Out of the hundreds of images that could have been chosen, it was a scene depicting Harley Quinn alone and naked in a bathtub with electrical appliances dangling overhead and an apparent suicide attempt. Making matters worse the contest was announced around the same time on the calendar as National Suicide Prevention Week. DC had to scramble into damage control mode and issued a formal apology.

And, that's it! I hope you enjoyed my Top 10 Things DC Wants You To FORGET About Harley Quinn. Thank you for reading and have a great day.