RANKING Every Onscreen Harley Quinn / Margot Robbie Harley Quinn SPEED-ART
Hey guys! I'm back, and with me another speed-art. This one is of the ever-changing Harleen Quinzel, who I covered in an evolution video on my main channel, Tell It Animated. I wanted to rank up all the different versions of Harley Quinn from worst to best, so without much jibber-jabber, let's jump into it!
16. DC Super Hero Girls V1 (2015) - Tara Strong
And in dead-last is going to be her initial DC Super Hero Girls version. Now her outfit here is hardly a costume, and she's way too much of a good guy in this series. While I appreciate that this show exists for younger female viewers, I'm not really the target audience and I don't wanna stomp all over this too much, so I'll keep moving.
15. Birds of Prey (2002) - Mia Sara
Coming in at number 15 is another show that was too afraid to actually give her a real costume, Birds of Prey(2002). For the most part, Harley doesn't wear any sort of suit for the bulk of the series, and when she finally does, it's pretty lame. While I appreciate the diamonds in her chest window as a nod to her former suit, this mostly just looks like bad cosplay. Even though she is played rather competently by Mia Sara, the show just kinda collapsed under its own weight.
14. Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019) - Tara Strong
Sliding in at 14 is her look in Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now her main look is mostly based on her 1992 Animated Series costume, but once she turns into a Hyena, I just lose interest in her role. While It's cool seeing her transform, for the most part, it just feels like an else-world version of her rather than an actual interesting take on the character.
13. Batman: The Brave And The Bold (2008) - Meghan Strange
At number 13, and I hate to do this because I really like this show for its throwback nature, but it's gonna be Batman: The Brave And The Bold's Harley Quinn. This version of Harley really misses the mark. Basically, if you haven't watched this series, it's sort of a throwback to the campier Batman days, like the Adam West show, but because Harley Quinn didn't exist back then, they just sort of made her a 50's Flapper girl rather than a jester-like character that she usually is. And while I like that they tried something new, it just doesn't really work for me.
12. Batman: Assault On Arkham (2014) - Hynden Walch
Number 12 is gonna have to go to her appearance in Batman: Assault on Arkham, and while I like the dark tone of this movie and I'm glad DC isn't afraid to release animations intended for adults, I think this Harley looks a little too strange in her outfit. Her hat especially looks off to me. Maybe it's too large or floppy, but there's something not right here.
11. (DCAMU) Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay (2018) / Batman: Hush (2019) / Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020) - Tara Strong / Hynden Walch
And coming in at number 11 is her DC Animated Movie Universe look, which is a pretty big improvement over the latter, but seems like it's trying to please both fans of the 2016 movie and of her original look, yet misses the mark with both, although I do like the animation style much better in these films.
10. DC Super Hero Girls V2 (2019) - Tara Strong
Coming in at 10th place is her look in the second version of DC Super Hero Girls. Now, this is mostly a throwback to her 1992 outfit, but I do like the more stylized illustrative look, and she actually is able to be a full-on villain in this follow-up series.
9. The Batman (2004 to 2008) - Hynden Walch
Slotting in at number 9 is gonna be The Batman (2004) TV series look. It's mostly a more exaggerated take on her 1992 look, and I think it works for the most part. This show is much more EXTREME than the original series, so this costuming works for the tone, although I'm not a huge fan of her back-story in this series.
8. Gotham (Ecco) (2018 to 2019) - Francesca Root-Dodson
Coming in 8th place, and I really don't know if I should include it here, but it's gonna be Gotham's Ecco. She's basically that show’s Harley Quinn and, for the most part, does a pretty good job at filling that void. Her final outfit for the show works pretty well, while paying homage to the character as we know her and also making her different from Harley, as she is definitely more deranged, but I think Francesca Root-Dodson plays the role pretty well.
7. Batman Ninja (2018) - Tara Strong
Slurping up 7th place is gonna be Batman Ninja's Harley, and as far as the characters who got a steampunk redesigns for this film, I think Harley made out pretty well. The added ruffles work for her jester-like look and I think the red and purple colour scheme is quite good, so this one is a pretty interesting take on the character.
6. Suicide Squad (2016) - Margot Robbie
Coming in 6th place is her first live-action movie appearance, portrayed by Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad. While I like the costume here, it really feels like it was a costume designed by someone just wanting to see a skimpy suit. Margot Robbie plays into that role pretty, utilizing her sexuality to her advantage, but it just doesn't make that much sense for her to dress up this way and go into battle against a demon army. I mean, put on some armour or something! But this is ranked somewhat higher because I really like Margot's portrayal here.
5. Justice League: Gods And Monsters (2015) - Tara Strong
In 5th place is gonna be her Gods And Monsters appearance. This is another version that was most odds designed by a male, but I do like that her face is tattooed white, and the red and black hair and lingerie look works pretty well for how deranged this Harley Quinn is. I'm pretty sure it's implied she is a murderer in this short, which is a really dark take on the character, and I like that they were willing to change things up here.
4. Birds Of Prey (2019) - Margot Robbie
Coming in 4th place is gonna be Margot Robbie's second take on the character for Birds of Prey. She gets to be the lead here, and I think having her dress more flamboyantly works pretty well for this version of Harley. While she shows off skin, it definitely isn't nearly as male-gazy as her first appearance, but instead helps work with her rather than something to gawk at.
3. Harley Quinn Animated Series (2019) - Kaley Couco
And coming in at number 3 is going to be her version in Harley Quinn, the animated series. This take on the character also works to allow her to dress in a promiscuous way, but it doesn't feel like they overdo it. The outfit feels justified for the character and, this is her own show, so we really get to see what makes her tick and develop as the show goes on.
2. The Suicide Squad (2021) - Margot Robbie
The runner-up for this ranking is gonna be Harley Quinn's portrayal in The Suicide Squad movie from 2021. We get two main looks for her, both a combat suit and a red dress look, which make sense inside this movie. I really think we get some of the best scenes with Harley here, and you can really tell that Margot Robbie is getting comfortable with the character, both with how the action scenes look and how she plays the character with heart and comedy.
1. Batman: The Animated Series (1992 to 1995) - Arleen Sorkin
But coming in first place has to be her portrayal in 1992’s Batman: The Animated Series. This is really the version that started it all. She was just supposed to be a one-off sidekick to the Joker, but this portrayal and design resonated with so many people that she came back for more episodes and spin-offs and got a comic debut, and has grown into the character we all know today. It's really outstanding how far she has come, and for that reason, this is placed at number one.
So that's my ranking of all the onscreen Harley Quinns, and if you haven't seen the animation I did on the main channel, check that out on Tell It Animated. I can tell from the comments on that animation that a lot of you guys appreciated that I included so many of the animated versions. The response has paved the way for me to cover Venom and so many other characters coming up that I've been wanting to cover but just didn't have enough live-action appearances to warrant a full video. So thank you all for your support, and until next time, I've been Aaron, and I'll tell you something... later!