BIRTH.VIDEO.DEATH: Harley Quinn’s Delightfully Deranged History

Birds of Prey is coming to a theater near you next weekend, but if you aren't in the vicinity of an Alamo Drafthouse, you'll miss out on this video essay exploring the wild and wonderful history of Batman's most bonkers – and relatable – villain. While Harley Quinn was most definitely the breakout star of Suicide Squad, many moviegoers may be unfamiliar with origins of Margot Robbie's awesome anti-hero, who made her debut in the ’90s on Batman: The Animated Series. As with Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn was also a breakout character then, becoming an instant fan-favorite and warranting her very own series of comics. 

As BMD's foremost Harley Quinn expert (my cat is named after he because I am a goob), I was asked to put together this handy guide to the life and times of HQ. It's a little bit of a history lesson, but also a brief primer for those of you seeing Birds of Prey next weekend (which is, I assume, pretty much all of you). If you find yourself at an Alamo, you'll get to enjoy my resting bitch voice (as my mom so lovingly calls it) as it guides you through Harley's origins on the big screen. Otherwise, you can check it out below: 

Directed by Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey stars Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Rosie Perez as Detective Renee Montoya, newcomer Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, and Ewan McGregor and Chris Messina as Batman baddies Black Mask and Victor Zsasz, respectively. This girl-powered DC anti-hero ensemble arrives in theaters on February 7.