My problems with Harley Quinn and the way DC is treating her right now [Opinion piece for discussion]

Spoilers:

• Upto season 2 episode 9 of the Harley Quinn animated show
• The entirety of the Gotham TV show

A few years ago (2015/2016) I loved Harley Quinn. She was great in the Arkham games, Margot Robbie was a perfect choice for her in Suicide Squad and in the comics I was reading (mainly new 52 Suicide Squad) she was a stand out whether in SS, on her own or her relationship with Poison Ivy . I would argue she was my favourite comic character for a while surpassing Batman who means so much to me and is the reason I got into comics.

But over time my love for Harley faded to the point now where she is one of the characters who I feel most negatively about in the realm of comics. Initially I thought this was oversaturation (which I believe is defiantly a large factor) but after hearing and seeing bits of her ongoing animated show (which I'll get into later) I can't help but think that this character has been completely ruined.

I could go on for ages about how good the Mad Love story is but I feel like I'd be wasting time on the obvious. It was a genuinely tragic tale which showed how manipulative and evil the Joker could truly be and was a constant reminder to Batman of how he failed Harleen Quinzel, a kind and caring psychiatrist who only wanted to help those in need making Harley a tragic character who you couldn't hate entirely for the same reason as Mr. Freeze, they do what they do for love and acceptance, which is something everyone can relate to.

But after thinking about this for a few days I truly believe having Harley separate from the Joker and remain in the state she is in diminishes Joker as a character (sort of) but also ruins the tragedy and complexity of Harley as a character. Having Harley separate from the Joker but remain as Harley and not Harleen is still a victory for the Joker. Every bad deed she does is (whether she likes it or) she's doing because of him, his impact is being felt that would not have been had he not seduced her. That would be fine but DC is determined to treat Harley being separate from Joker yet remaining as she is as a positive . I don't want to get too politic and social commentary because I'm defiantly not qualified for it but given that the Joker/Harley relationship is a relatively prominent allegory for domestic abuse relationships the message being sent is to leave your abuser yet carry the emotional damage done by them and inflict it onto others. This is completely from memory so could be wrong but if I remember correctly Margot Robbie talked about how she wanted Harley Quinn to be a role model for young girls in BoP, which given what I've said above I feel is a really bad move.

I'm not a writer or anything close but I believe a much more satisfying arc for Harley would be to have her realise what she did and suffer and attempt to cope with the consequences of that. Not only would it keep Harleys original appeal of being a tragic character intact but also show the mental pain the Joker can cause to a level we've never seen reaffirming him as one of the most dangerous villains in comics and could also allow new conflicts of should Harleen be held accountable for her actions and to what extent?

Also I've been thinking a lot about the Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy romance which I initially loved and wanted to see more of but ever since seeing bits of the Harley Quinn animated show ( I haven't watched the show so these opinions are based on out of context clips so could be completely wrong that I'm happy to be given context for and corrected on) I've thought about and have come to not agree with. Why would Ivy even be interested in Harley?. Ivy's appeal and motivation comes for plant life and leads to the irony of her seductress character of being able to have any man/woman she wants yet does not care for humans and hates them for what they have done plant life over the years. I don't believe Ivy would make an exception for the explosive and ammunition obsessed Harley who lives a very commercialised and urban lifestyle.

All of this was began by me seeing a clip from the Harley Quinn animated TV show in which Harley and Ivy get drunk and have sex which fuels their feelings for each other. One thing that bothered me however was that emotional side of this was entirely based on Harley and Ivy, not Kiteman. From what I can gather the show is placing Ivy in the position of choosing Kiteman as he is a 'safe' opinion whereas Harley is unpredictable which Ivy doesn't feel confident in. This is fine, great even as character work but the problem is throughout the episode after they have sex, Kiteman is never considered by Harley or Ivy, not even whether they should tell him. Ivy appears to have zero guilt over cheating on her fiancé (multiple times from what I can gather). If neither Harley or Ivy consider Kiteman in this then (for me) that just makes them unlikeable which would be fine as they're meant to be villians but given the episode ends with Harley crying over her unreturned love, the episode clearly wants me to feel for Harley (and Ivy) which I can't do given they are shown to have little-to-no consideration or others. This ties back into my point of DC trying to portray Harley in a way I think she shouldn't be. She should be tragic, but through her obliviousness of her actions which she believes she is doing for good reasons.

(Also quick side rant what the fuck is that showing doing to the Freeze storyline. Killing Freeze to have Nora deal with the emotional baggage of that is an interesting idea. You do not sacrifice one of the ( to me) greatest villains and storylines in all of comics for a 'haha sex with a male stripper in the back of car joke' under any circumstance, even self aware parody that the show is going for. Even if it is a part of a grieving process for Nora (who why would she accept the invite in the first place) don't make a joke out of it as it will ultimately diminish the seriousness of her (hopefully) realisation of her actions)

I feel like a lot of my grievances with Harley Quinn in the state she's in comes from overexposure. She's arguably DCs biggest character across all platforms right now and some characters aren't made to be a leading character in a franchise. I will always love Harley Quinn for the same reason I love characters like Mr. Freeze, you don't hate them, you feel sorry for them, and I feel sadness and sympathy leave a far better long term impact that hatred or flat out entertainment. I feel like the closest Harley has come to this in recent memory is her brief stint on Gotham as Echo. It wasn't perfect, but it showed the tragedy of a woman obsessed with the Joker who will never have that love returned. And her death was bittersweet and set up the actual Harley later in the show perfectly whilst establishing Jokers natural charisma and seductive nature (although ironically I feel they messed up the Freeze storyline in that show pretty bad, you know things aren't to good when Batman and Robin understands the appeal and meaning of the Mr. Freeze story better). I know this is a losing battle and don't expect to be agreed with, Harley is as popular as she's ever been but I cant help but feel that the much larger audience brought in by the DCEU movies and animated show have made DC forget why Harley was such a popular character in the first place. She didn't want to rule the earth, she didn't want to sit on a criminal empire. she didn't even want to kill Batman for personal reasons, she wanted her puddin to love her back.

Hope that didn't go on for too long and bore you! Would love to know what people think, if you agree or if you've got any counterpoints which I'd be happy to chat about!