MatthewP
Active Member
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
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.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 ,
ye an' again, there's also a more practical element thereI 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.
Also more expensive. Dressing like a hooker doesn't cost as much.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
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!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.
Articles and commentaries and the like. Dini LOVED those characters.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!
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).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.
Fair enough. Of course, I don't read the mainstream comics so perhaps my ignorance there is understandable (if not forgivable).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).
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.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.
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?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.
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.
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
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.
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.