It's time once again to delve into the world of Baddies That Need Movie Love and this go round, I introduce the first female baddy of the bunch. Harley Quinn, in her short history in the Batman stories, has quickly moved to the top of many lists as a crazy, yet vicious foe to the Dark Knight.
Now, we know that Christopher Nolan won't be bringing the Joker back to the big screen and he has been quite vocal about that, so the chances of Harley gracing the screen are pretty much nil. Not to mention,
The Dark Knight Rises will be Nolan's last venture in the franchise. So it seems likely that the only way Harley will hit the screen is if the Batman franchise gets a reboot...again- which may or may not happen.
Harley Quinn, also known as Dr. Harlene Quinzel, first made her appearance in 1992, in the
Batman: The Animated Series and eventually made her way into the Batman comic publications. She can most often be seen along side The Joker, as his accomplice and girlfriend. Here's a bit of history on how Paul Dini came up with the idea for the character:
Arleen Sorkin, a former star of the soap opera Days of our Lives, appeared in a dream sequence on that series in which she wore a jester costume; Dini used this scene as an inspiration for Quinn.[3] Having been friends with Sorkin since college, he incorporated aspects of her personality into the character.
In 1994, in the graphic novel "Mad Love," Quinn's origins were played out. Having started out as a psychologist at Arkham Asylum, she eventually fell for the Clown Prince, becoming his accomplice and lover. The story was highly praised and won several awards. Quinn has formed alliances with many different characters including Catwoman and Poison Ivy, but her one true love will always be Joker.
I think that most of us would agree that the late (and great) Brittany Murphy was born to play the role of Harley Quinn and would have owned the role like no other. But since she has passed on, we have all been throwing names out there and I'm doing the same. We have seen names like Zooey Deschanel Kristin Bell Fairuza Balk and Christina Ricci among others. My choice has already starred in two comic book movies and was the show stealer in both of them. In
Blade: Trinity she played Danica Talos, the vampire who was responsible for bringing Dracula into modern times. In
Superman Returns she took on the role of Kitty Kowalski, the faithful, yet compassionate partner to Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor.
Parker Posey has been acting for nearly 20 years now and has proven herself to be very capable of handling different types of roles. Take for instance her part in Christopher Guest's
Best in Show and then moving on to films like
Blade: Trinity. She can delve into the world of crazy and psychotic without a problem and despite her now being in her 40's, she looks much younger than that.
Having said all that, I'd be quite surprised to see this character show up in a film, but there is no denying that seeing the Joker and Harley on screen together would be a sight to behold. So here's to hoping that someday, we'll get to see this bad-ass beotch on the big screen!
Be sure to check out the other installments of
Baddies That Need Movie Love
Omega Red
Brainiac
The Shade