Harley Quinn: 8 Things You Didn't Know About The Clown Princess

Even though Suicide Squad is several months away, we will all probably agree that we have a pretty good sense of the characters to come. One that's set to steal the show, and rightfully so, is Harley Quinn, portrayed by Margot Robbie.

Harley is probably one of DC's most recognizable characters, next only to the primary heroes of the DCU (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Aquaman). Her popularity has grown over the years as she's become one of the best-selling characters, even though her first appearance wasn't in the comics, but in the '90s animated Batman series. Her TV popularity signaled that DC needed to add her character to the comics, and thus Harley Quinn was introduced to the Batman story as well as her own solo comic book series. If you didn't know that little tidbit, then you probably don't know these eight other things about our beloved Harley.

1. She's Appeared In Live Action Already

Sorry, Margot Robbie, you're not the first actress to portray the insane and insanely popular character. In 2002, Warner Bros. brought us the DC series Birds of Prey. Widely regarded as one of the worst ventures for DC — and most easily forgotten — Harley was brought in as a recurring villain. Portrayed by Mia Sara (Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Harley went by her secret identity Dr. Harleen Quinzel to wield her influence in hopes of exacting revenge on the Birds of Prey for locking up her beloved Mr. J. There was also an Easter Egg in the Arrow episode entitled "Suicide Squad," where we saw her very familiar outline in an A.R.G.U.S. holding cell, this time portrayed by Cassidy Alexa.

2. Harley Has A Daughter

In a shocking turn of events, as revealed in the series Injustice: Gods Among Us — based on the best-selling game of the same name — Harley admits that she has a child. During a battle with Black Canary, the hero is battling Harley as well as her own morning sickness. Harley notices her symptoms and stops fighting to sit down and share a tear-jerking moment. Harley admits that she had a daughter, Lucy, with the Clown Prince himself. Lucy is four and lives with Harley's sister. She admits the Joker doesn't know that he has a child because his work is too important and he barely even noticed that Harley was gone for nearly a year.

3. She Tried To Make A Mini Joker

If you've played Batman: Arkham Knight then you probably remember the scene where Harley is obsessed with the Titan formula victims as they have taken on the Joker's appearance and mannerisms. Her overwhelming passion for the Joker has taken several creepy turns, as in the feature-length animation Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Set after Batman: The Animated Series, this movie has a scene in which Harley nabs Tim Drake with the intention of making him into a mini Joker. Tim was disfigured and pumped with a crazy cocktail of drugs so that he had no choice but to go along with what was happening to him.

4. She Once Went Really, REALLY Dark

One of my favorite spins on Harley was as a part of Bruce Timm's reimagining of the Justice League in the movie Justice League: Gods and Monsters. Within Timm's new universe there is a short called Twisted that displays Harley in an incredibly dark and definitely twisted appearance. The voice is sweet and familiar, yet a much more contorted character is on display. Harley's face paint makes her look crazed and her outfit is alarming, to say the least, as she's wearing little more than a corset, tights and white panties (a far cry from her standard Harlequin outfit). If the appearance changes aren't enough in Gods and Monsters, we see that she has chopped-up bodies in a freezer, decapitated corpses as Jack-in-the-boxes, and a family with their mouths stitched into creepy smiles placed around a television set. During her scuffle with Batman she attacks with a sledgehammer and then a chainsaw, before slicing herself open.

5. She Was A Folk Singer

Now, this may be something that you missed. At one point, Harley was a folk singer along with Poison Ivy. This partnership was a part of the non-canon masterpieces of Elseworlds, a company that existed solely to create storylines outside of the main DC canon. The series that Elseworlds produced came up with a smattering of recreations of several classic characters, including Harley as a folk singer. In Elseworlds' 80-Page Giant, one particular story called "Rockumentary" takes a lighthearted look at Lex Luthor as a pop music producer whose clients included Superman and Batman (yeah, I know. But Batman has sung before in Justice League, so I guess it's not too crazy). Lex signs the duo of Ivy and Quinn and the rest is history.

6. After She Dies, She Tries To Get Help — Finally

Death isn't a permanent concept in comic books, as Batman has "died" and come back several times. And just look at the long-running story of Jean Grey of Marvel's X-Men as she goes through a continuous death and resurrection. A character's death tends to just be an option to shake things up in a comic book franchise, so it's no surprise that our beloved Clown Princess has suffered the same fate. Indeed, she died in Metropolis and shuffled off this mortal coil under mysterious circumstances, but was returned to Gotham City, where she actually gave herself up to authorities. After being incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, she actually sought to reform herself — but then Mistah J shows up and it's all for naught.

7. She Was An Amazon For A While

In the series entitled Countdown, Harley earns her parole and attempts to start her life anew. She joins the Secret Six (similar to the Suicide Squad), but later decides this new life direction is too much for her. Instead, she secludes herself on an island filled with Amazonian women. During her time with the Amazons, she becomes one of their skilled warriors. She befriends Holly Robinson, gets superpowers and meets Mary Marvel, all before realizing that the world she's living in is just a ruse brought forth by the New Gods, so she decides to also ditch that life.

8. She's Immune To Poison And Toxins

Although it was far from confirmed by DC (until mid-June, 2015), Harley Quinn has shared a more-than-platonic relationship with the plant queen of Gotham, Poison Ivy. Ivy possesses the power of pheromones and plant toxins, which makes sense considering that she can talk to and control plant life. However, she's not the only DC lady who is immune to toxins and acid, as Ivy gave Harley a serum that prevents her from any sort of negative reaction to poison. The relationship between Harley and Ivy is good for both as they balance each other out, Harley being the wild one and Ivy the grounding voice — a voice that Harley definitely needs after years with the Joker.

For more on Harley's similarities to another saucy antihero, check out Is Harley Quinn DC's Deadpool?

[SOURCES : The Richest : Cinema Blend : What Culture]