A classic Harley Quinn cosplayer named Kev has shared an incredible photo of herself as Harley that looks like it was taken straight from an episode of Batman: The Animated Series.
Kev posted the image on her personal Twitter account with the caption "Run rabbit RUN!!" The Chinese cosplayer sported Harley Quinn's classic jester costume, which was introduced alongside the character in Batman: The Animated Series' twenty-second episode, "Joker's Favor," in 1992. While most DC fans and casual audiences still associate the character with her jester getup, the character has rarely been drawn with it since DC Comics' The New 52 relaunch in 2011.
Harley Quinn was initially meant to appear in only one episode of Batman: The Animated Series. However, the character's surprising popularity with fans allowed the creative team the opportunity to make her a recurring character in the DC Animated Universe series. Later episodes also fleshed out her backstory, revealing that she was a former psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who fell in love with her patient, the Joker, leading to her becoming his accomplice and lover. After her continued success in DC television, the character was written into comic book canon in October 1999 and has since gone on to headline multiple solo series as well as feature prominently in Suicide Squad comics as a member of the titular team.
Harley Quinn's Future Looks Bright
Harley Quinn has continued to grow in popularity since her Batman: The Animated Series debut, with the character now the star of her own self-titled adult animated series. Harley Quinn follows the misadventures of Harley Quinn and her best friend and lover, Poison Ivy, after leaving her boyfriend, the Joker. The first two seasons premiered on DC Universe before moving to HBO Max for its third season. A fourth season was recently confirmed, which will see series writer Sarah Peters take over as showrunner from Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker.
The character will also return to the big screen in 2024's Joker: Folie à Deux, where she will be played by superstar Lady Gaga. The upcoming DC film serves as a sequel to 2019's Joker and will primarily focus on Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck's time in Arkham Asylum. Harley Quinn will also be a playable character in the 2023 video game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which is set in the same universe as the Batman: Arkham series.
An iteration of Harley Quinn whose future remains unknown at this time is the one portrayed by Margot Robbie, who debuted as the character in 2016's Suicide Squad, a film which is largely responsible for the character's current mainstream popularity among non-comic book fans. While Robbie has reprised the role twice since Suicide Squad, in 2020's Birds of Prey and 2021's The Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. has no current DC Extended Universe projects in the works featuring the character, meaning fans will have to wait to see when Robbie's Harley Quinn will appear next in the cinematic shared universe.
The season 3 finale of Harley Quinn releases on HBO Max on Sept. 15 while Joker: Folie à Deux opens in theaters on Oct. 4, 2024.
Source: Twitter