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The Evolution of Harley Quinn

The Evolution of Harley Quinn is an animated breakdown by Tell It Animated that traces every design of Harley Quinn in order — from the very first appearance through each redesign to the present day.

Every version of Harley Quinn, redrawn and lined up era by era — what changed, when, and why. Capes, cowls, and cosmic rays.

The full breakdown

Psychiatrist Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn, is the Joker's best gal, but just how has she evolved since her debut? Let's go through her most notable appearances to find out...animated!

First appearing in Batman: The Animated Series, Harley wears her signature red and black jester outfit with added diamond pattern, and a white-collar and cuffs. She also sports face paint, a black eye mask, and pom-pommed hood. When elderly, she is also seen having two psychotic grandchildren that take after their Nana.

In the live-action series, Birds of Prey, Harley eventually sports a red turtle neck with a chest-window, black capri-pants, and an added skirt over top. Plus, for some reason, she has the power of hypnosis – but because of low viewership, this series was dropped.

In the 2004 animated Batman series, Harley is a former TV psychologist, she wears her jester outfit, but it lacks the diamond pattern and cuffs, her collar is pointier, her headdress larger and her pupils are no longer visible when wearing her mask, making her creepy looking enough to match this series, monstrous Joker!

In Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Harley Quinn is desaturated grey and wears a black dress ensemble with a feathered headdress. Although, in the follow-up, she wears prison attire and is re-colorized to face off against Scoob and Shaggy!

Batman: Assault on Arkham's Harley maintains her traditional look, but ditches the white accents, opens up her midriff, shortens her sleeves, and adds a loose hanging belt and black boots.

A lingerie-wearing Harley is featured in Gods And Monsters, with a shoulder tattoo, a belly-button ring, a fully painted head that appears sewn on, and red and black dyed hair. This Harley is appropriately deranged but is no match for a vampiric Batman.

In the children's cartoon, DC Super Hero Girls, teenage Harley sports a checkered top, jean shorts, and her hair has blue and red highlights. Although, later iterations of the series completely change her design and have her wear her traditional jester garb.

In the live-action Suicide Squad, to prove her devotion to The Joker, Harley dunks herself in a vat of chemicals, which makes her paler. Her main look consists of hot pants, a ripped shirt, a splattering of tattoos, fishnet stockings, heeled sneaker boots, a red and blue jacket, as well as blue and pink dyed hair with matching makeup. She also notably wears a checkered date-night dress, various prison attire, and her original jester costume. In this film, she's forced into joining some kinda Suicide Squad to help take down a powerful sorceress.

In the DC Animated Movie Universe, starting with Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay, Harley wears jean shorts, a tight corset, and a totally punk choker collar. Batman: Hush adds in elements from her Jester attire, but Apokolips War reverts back to her Hell to Pay outfit, although keeping her jester hood.

Gotham features Echo, whose most noteworthy outfits consist of a checkered jacket with a white mask, a striped hooded dress with unkempt makeup, and an eclectic jester ensemble. But much like this shows Joker, she isn't really Harley Quinn so let's keep going.

Batman Ninja features a steam-punk-inspired Harley with ruffled collar and cuffs, a short tied robe, and red and purple hair, along with an armoured look with awesome old-school weaponry!

In the TMNT crossover, Harley comes into contact with ooze, turning her into a hyena-human hybrid!

In her own animated series, Harley wears hot-pants and a belly top, with knee-high socks, and hair and make-up inspired by her live-action movie look.

In her live-action Suicide Squad spin-off, Birds of Prey, Harley has shorter hair and wears suspended shorts and a pink sports bra, paired with either a frilly jacket or golden jumpsuit. She also notably wears a pink pajama onesie, roller derby attire, a sparkly long shirt ensemble, a Marilyn Monroe-inspired pantsuit, a femme fatale trench coat, and finally a busy blue jacket with pin-striped pants. This time around, after the Joker breaks up with her, Harley teams up with her gal pals to take down a notorious gangsta.

In the Suicide Squad sequel-reboot, Harley dons a combat-ready suit, complete with a leather jacket and springy choker collar while her hair is longer and matches her new outfit. She also wears a red dress with black boots. Together with the new Suicide Squad, she helps take on a giant alien starfish.

But there's still plenty of Harley Quinn's out there, so if you'd like an animation outlining her Evolution in Video Games, let us know in the comments on the YouTube video!

Written by the Tell It Animated team. Prefer to watch? The full animated version is on YouTube.

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Frequently asked

Who made the Evolution of Harley Quinn video?

It was created by Aaron Lecours, the writer and animator behind the YouTube channel Tell It Animated, based in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada.

What does the Evolution of Harley Quinn cover?

It covers every major version of Harley Quinn in chronological order, showing how the design changed across each era and adaptation.

Where can I watch the Evolution of Harley Quinn?

You can watch the full animated video on this page or on the Tell It Animated YouTube channel.

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