So when and how did Harley become the "Cosplay Darling" of the DC Pantheon again?

[MatthewP]

iirc it happened to take place around the 2010's with either the new 52 and/or the suicide squad movie but i'm not sure on how everyone decided to start dressing up as her

 

[BigFatHairyDeal]

I'm sure having a bombshell* like Margot Robbie playing the character didn't hurt.

*No pun intended. I forgot she was in a movie of that title.

 

[MatthewP]

ye true

i alos feel like a bodysuit wasn’t as affordable as a edgy t-shirt and some hot topic gear

 

[b.t.]

Anecdotally, I noticed the explosion of Harley cosplayers way before the first SUICIDE SQUAD movie. I’d been vaguely aware that the number of ladies dressing up as Harley at cons was on the rise, but it was around 2008 or so when I was at a show in Calgary that I realized just how popular she had become. THERE WERE SO MANY HARLEYS. In all shapes and sizes. Mostly in her ’classic’ red/black outfit, but there were also a few in her ARKHAM ASYLUM video game outfit and even one in a spot-on ‘Dr. Quinzel’ outfit from MAD LOVE. I remember both Darwyn Cooke and Steve Niles amusedly remarking on the phenomenon.

Amanda Conner’s punk/roller derby design was a popular variation for awhile and for sure Margot Robbie’s SUICIDE SQUAD look inspired a huge wave of Harley cosplayers. But Harley had already been gaining traction as a favorite cosplay character for years.

 

[MatthewP]

i’ll be

thanks for the anecdote bruce timm (co-developer of batman: caped crusader and creator of batman: the animated series)

(pic related)

in all honesty tho, i kinda thought the bodysuit’d be too cumbersome to put on, so it’s surprising hearing that people were willing to put up with it to be the joker’s henchwench (emphasis on hench)

 

[the_joker]

Wild guess, but I wonder if having an attractive woman who is something of a "female version" of Batman's archnemesis helped her appeal (and she had a fun personality and became her own character over the course of the show), so when the female viewers of Batman: TAS got older, they would have wanted to dress up like her.

 

[Neo Ultra Mike]

You have to remember that Harley Quinn was insanely popular as a character literally in her debut all the way back in 1992. Granted it'd not like she was this huge cosplay icon right out of the gate (then again con cosplay wasn't nearly as much a thing in the early 90's as it obviously has become in the last 20 years) but she instantly clicked with fans thus why she got a lot of promotion as the show was going, and after the BTAS related mad love comic that delved into her origin , TNBA and her fully going into the regular DC comic universe that exploded even more. Like I remember when this board first started back in the early 2000's and how much Harley fan art there was at that point.

I think though it was the Arkham Aslyum redesign even before the new 52 that really cemented her as a full on cosplay darling you started seeing everywhere. Like the original look was and still is beloved but I get a feeling a lot more fans into cosplay were able to click more with the more grungy and hardcore look then the jester costume. Like yeah that's the point behind the get up and certainly some cosplayers have no issue with it but once you show "oh adults of all kind can get behind dressing as this character" it fully exploded and became such a beloved look that now everyone knows it and has become easily one of the top DC characters to dress as in any form. Probably also helped Harley started getting her own full comics and lore that gave more things to pull from plus pushed her into sort of the Deadpool role for DC, and yeah Deadpool is also one of those big comic con cosplay dress ups you always see around as well.

 

[Fone Bone]

You have to remember that Harley Quinn was insanely popular as a character literally in her debut all the way back in 1992. Granted it'd not like she was this huge cosplay icon right out of the gate (then again con cosplay wasn't nearly as much a thing in the early 90's as it obviously has become in the last 20 years) but she instantly clicked with fans thus why she got a lot of promotion as the show was going, and after the BTAS related mad love comic that delved into her origin ,

Is this true? That's not how I remembered it. Paul Dini loved the character and kept shoving her down the producers' (and the fans) throats, and they came up with Mad Love to justify his obsession. Which it did. Big time. After that Harley was beloved. Before that I personally found her annoying. Mad Love made me understand her and I Got What They Were Going For.

Just as long as we're keeping score on Paul Dini obsessions, I don't think STAS ever fully justified his obsession with Mr. Mxyzsptlk (although Gilbert Gottfried helped out a LOT there) and NOTHING ever really justified his obsession with Zatanna. But Harley was his biggest success regarding stuff he personally dug and advocated for. Helps that he co-created her.

 

[MatthewP]

I think though it was the Arkham Aslyum redesign even before the new 52 that really cemented her as a full on cosplay darling you started seeing everywhere. Like the original look was and still is beloved but I get a feeling a lot more fans into cosplay were able to click more with the more grungy and hardcore look then the jester costume. Like yeah that's the point behind the get up and certainly some cosplayers have no issue with it but once you show "oh adults of all kind can get behind dressing as this character" it fully exploded and became such a beloved look that now everyone knows it and has become easily one of the top DC characters to dress as in any form. Probably also helped Harley started getting her own full comics and lore that gave more things to pull from plus pushed her into sort of the Deadpool role for DC, and yeah Deadpool is also one of those big comic con cosplay dress ups you always see around as well.

ye an' again, there's also a more practical element there

like, a bodysuit isn't as easy to put on as a corset and some fake medical gear

 

[Fone Bone]

ye an' again, there's also a more practical element there

like, a bodysuit isn't as easy to put on as a corset and some fake medical gear

Also more expensive. Dressing like a hooker doesn't cost as much.

 

[-batmat-]

Just as long as we're keeping score on Paul Dini obsessions, I don't think STAS ever fully justified his obsession with Mr. Mxyzsptlk (although Gilbert Gottfried helped out a LOT there) and NOTHING ever really justified his obsession with Zatanna.

What makes you say that? Mxy was only in 2 episodes and Zatanna was in 1 BTAS episode and 1 JLU episode IIRC. That doesn't seem like an obsession to me!

 

[CyberCubed]

The thing is in the 90's there was barely any internet so it was hard to tell how fans were receiving the characters back then. Also remember most of us were also kids back then as well, so we just...were watching cartoons and not thinking much of it.

 

[Fone Bone]

What makes you say that? Mxy was only in 2 episodes and Zatanna was in 1 BTAS episode and 1 JLU episode IIRC. That doesn't seem like an obsession to me!

Articles and commentaries and the like. Dini LOVED those characters.

 

[The Overlord]

I feel like Harley Quinn cosplaying became a thing after the first two Arkham video games, where Harley goes from wearing a supervillain costume to wearing something from Hot Topic.

 

[John Pannozzi]

Just as long as we're keeping score on Paul Dini obsessions, I don't think STAS ever fully justified his obsession with Mr. Mxyzsptlk (although Gilbert Gottfried helped out a LOT there) and NOTHING ever really justified his obsession with Zatanna. But Harley was his biggest success regarding stuff he personally dug and advocated for. Helps that he co-created her.

I'd argue Dini's run of Zatanna comics justified his obssession with character (plus, he ended up marrying a real-life analog to Zatanna, Misty Lee).

 

[Fone Bone]

I'd argue Dini's run of Zatanna comics justified his obssession with character (plus, he ended up marrying a real-life analog to Zatanna, Misty Lee).

Fair enough. Of course, I don't read the mainstream comics so perhaps my ignorance there is understandable (if not forgivable).

 

[CyberCubed]

I feel like Harley Quinn cosplaying became a thing after the first two Arkham video games, where Harley goes from wearing a supervillain costume to wearing something from Hot Topic.

The first Arkham game came out in 2009, I feel that there was definitely a huge Harley fandom before that in the early 2000's, even in cosplay. The Arkham games were basically a 2010-decade thing, so the early 2000's had something.

 

[Ed Nygma]

Is this true? That's not how I remembered it. Paul Dini loved the character and kept shoving her down the producers' (and the fans) throats, and they came up with Mad Love to justify his obsession. Which it did. Big time. After that Harley was beloved. Before that I personally found her annoying. Mad Love made me understand her and I Got What They Were Going For.

Just as long as we're keeping score on Paul Dini obsessions, I don't think STAS ever fully justified his obsession with Mr. Mxyzsptlk (although Gilbert Gottfried helped out a LOT there) and NOTHING ever really justified his obsession with Zatanna. But Harley was his biggest success regarding stuff he personally dug and advocated for. Helps that he co-created her.

I fully agree with this assessment, and was perhaps afraid to say it because it's 'taboo' to suggest the Harley-fest is anything other than organic. I respect that some people love her character, and I like the DCAU version myself to an extent. But it's completely not true that she kept appearing because the fans loved her so much; Dini forced her until she became a thing. Remember that most of the original 65 Bat-episodes were written before a single one aired, and how would they get feedback that Harley was so beloved in the first place? Legions of fans writing letters the second after Joker's Favor ended?

She works within the context of BTAS but I don't find that she works so well divorced from that setting and *that* Joker. Personally I could've done without either Harlequinade or Harley's Holiday- combine them into one- and her overexposure in TNBA soiled my investment in the show a bit as she took screen time from other villains. There was no need for her to be in Joker's Millions or Beware the Creeper or Girls Night Out, and the Mad Love episode pales in comparison to the superior comic book. That it was the very last episode aired after Beyond had started left a bad taste in my mouth, but it seems they did this solely because they would've been running it consecutively with Creeper.

Dini is my favorite Bat-writer overall due to how he 'gets' the character and the world, but it's disingenuous how he plays dumb sometimes about his pet characters. It's kind of like when Hugh Jackman likes to brag that he works out 'for the fans'; just say you're vain and want to look swole on screen, no one would argue with it lol. If Dini is writing something, I already know I'll have to stomach Zatanna appearing multiple times. I like her alright, but come on...

 

[Neo Ultra Mike]

Is this true? That's not how I remembered it. Paul Dini loved the character and kept shoving her down the producers' (and the fans) throats, and they came up with Mad Love to justify his obsession. Which it did. Big time. After that Harley was beloved. Before that I personally found her annoying. Mad Love made me understand her and I Got What They Were Going For.

Admittedly I know even early on there were a fair amount of detractors for Harley who felt she was annoying and yeah I can certainly see Dini's love for the character having him push a bit at first but i do feel if there wasn't that click right away we wouldn't have seen her explode into the pop culture icon she is now and even became again by the early 2000's. Like even before Mad Love it's clear she still attracted a certain kind of fan... you can question that may not be the best thing and I will say this; this is also a character who until they were fine with more fully divorcing from the Joker is not someone who SHOULD have been getting a super amount of solo focus and there's a lot of questionable thought going behind her, but still did click fairly right away. It can't really just be the Dini effect since like wouldn't that mean so much else he adored would also get a big boost? Again Zatanna's not anywhere near the level of popularity HQ is.

ye an' again, there's also a more practical element there

like, a bodysuit isn't as easy to put on as a corset and some fake medical gear

Not to mention that so long as you have the white make up look and a twinge of the voice you and incorporate quite a lot of variety into many differing variations of a Harley Quinn cosplay that allowed it to so more easily explode everywhere. With like male costumes cosplayers you usually need one really solid design to sell people on but with females I think the ones that get the most click are the ones that can run through a lot of different fashion choices.

 

[Christopher Glennon]

Wild guess, but I wonder if having an attractive woman who is something of a "female version" of Batman's archnemesis helped her appeal (and she had a fun personality and became her own character over the course of the show), so when the female viewers of Batman: TAS got older, they would have wanted to dress up like her.

That raises the question of when Harley became the top female Bat-character. It was definitely Catwoman for a while. Batman Returns brought Catwoman back in a big way in the early 90's, and I'd guess Catwoman had the most cosplay of any DC female character around that time, even more than Wonder Woman. I would get not wanting to dress as Batgirl since she's the female version of Batman, so why Harley over Catwoman or Poison Ivy? Is it the Joker connection?

She works within the context of BTAS but I don't find that she works so well divorced from that setting and *that* Joker. Personally I could've done without either Harlequinade or Harley's Holiday- combine them into one- and her overexposure in TNBA soiled my investment in the show a bit as she took screen time from other villains. There was no need for her to be in Joker's Millions or Beware the Creeper or Girls Night Out, and the Mad Love episode pales in comparison to the superior comic book. That it was the very last episode aired after Beyond had started left a bad taste in my mouth, but it seems they did this solely because they would've been running it consecutively with Creeper.

I loved her in "Joker's Millions" simply because I loved Fake Harley. How did you feel about Harley showing up on Justice League?