From her broad New York accent to her sycophantic simpering towards “Mr J” aka “Puddin'”, Harley Quinn is one of those DC characters you either love or hate.
Harley’s a recently developed character, in the scheme of things. Her first appearance was in Batman: The Animated Series in what began as a simple walk-on part. Writer Paul Dini was writing a female character to jump out of a cake when he stumbled across a fantasy scene in daily soap Days of Our Lives, starring his friend Arlene Sorkin.
Taking inspiration from the sequence, as well as using Sorkin to voice her, Dini fleshed out an entire character, and Harley was born. After the huge success of The Animated Series, Harley was added into the comic canon.
Soon she’ll be hitting our screens in Suicide Squad, played by Australian actress Margot Robbie – and you’ll be able to impress your mates with the story of how Harley’s roots are found in a daytime soap.
