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Over the years, she's been portrayed in many different ways - she's been a straight up villain that could demonstrate cruelty that rivals even the Joker; She's been an anti-hero where she maintains her insanity and unpredictability, but also does the right thing when the chips are down; She's been a straight up hero at times, aiding Batman and the like on several occasions with her insanity pushed aside... As a character, she's shown to be multifaceted, which contributes to the longevity of her legacy.
In recent times, she's been more or less portrayed as an "Anti-Hero" - her various incarnations ranging from the two Suicide Squad movies, Birds of Prey, the DC Animated movies, the Injustice games, the Harley Quinn animated show etc. certainly contribute to this factor.
However, there's a pervasive problem that's starting to really plague the character's impact: She's very.... "Unlikable." Her behavior hinges on her insanity and, when taken to a certain level, it makes it hard to root for her when she has no real sentimental moments of redemption, guilt, and empathy. Even other anti-heroes like Deadpool manage to display these qualities to balance out their grotesque behavior.
What recently brought me to think of this was the INJUSTICE Animated film that dropped.(SPOILERS) Harley Quinn contributes to the Joker's abduction and murder of Lois Lane and her unborn child. She contributes to the destruction of Metropolis and the loss of 11 million innocent people... Her actions resulted in Superman losing control of himself and plunging the world into chaos.
This is expected as she did the same thing in the comic and the games... But the difference between the two is that there is NEVER a moment of reflection or introspection as to the gravity of her crimes. She shows no signs of regret or remorse for what she did - she mourns the loss of the Joker - the biggest mass murderer in history - and then becomes a "hero" by siding with Batman "just cause" she feels like it. Yet her actions nearly warrant a fate as grisly as the Joker's himself.
This makes her EXTREMELY unlikable and impossible to root for in the slightest. A character that has no qualms over what she's done when her actions were so depraved warrants no sympathy or relation with an audience unless we're supposed to be disgusted with what she's done. Nobody forgives someone of a crime unless they're sorry for it - and Harley isn't.
It would be one thing if this particular aspect was isolated to just one movie, but it's not. It's pervasive across the media in which she appears in.
The First Suicide Squad movie set the pace for how the character was treated. It wasn't helped that there was no real setup with the Joker and her relationship being portrayed as anything but toxic and something she desperately needed to escape from thanks to the cut material of Joker's more depraved forms of abuse, which in turn ended up hurting the subsequent follow-up Birds of Prey.
Harley never got a moment where she showcased how truly messed up the Joker made her life - she never got a moment where she ever regretted the horrific actions she displayed in his name. Her "breakup" with him was never shown - her "sadness" over the breakup was handled comedically and without introspection over why it was necessary or how she came to understand how their relationship was toxic in the first place.
In continuity (until said otherwise), Harley aided the Joker in murdering Robin - which sets up a really disturbing implication, especially when her ultimate "good deed" in Birds of Prey was helping Cassandra in getting away from the depraved Black Mask. Yet there's no reason to side with Harley at all when she's really no less of a nasty character than Black Mask because she did the same thing he's trying to do now.
Without any real moments of introspection/reflection as to how she feels about her past life and the crimes she's committed, she comes off as extremely unlikable and irredeemable. This is only further cemented by the James Gunn follow up The Suicide Squad where her past is brushed over with a few lines and she's now just invested in being a member of the squad now.
Again, it'd be one thing if this problem was just isolated to the DCEU films, but it's not and it hurts the perception of the character.
In Batman: The Animated Series, the place of origin for the character, Harley was never portrayed as being as cruel as the Joker. A great many times, she was strung along for the ride, blinded by her "love" for her "pudding", but ultimately a victim of his cruelty. Any time she took charge and became her own person, she would display many traits that showcased she was not a "bad person". She had her limits and she would put her foot down when things went too far. She was "likable" despite being "insane".
Now she's being stripped of her likability qualities in favor of just letting her be random and insane because it's "cool" to see her act badass. And it IS cool to see her kick ass and take names... But not at the expense of her character. It's like if the Joker or Hannibal Lecter or any number of nasty villains decided to be "heroic" without ever making up for their past crimes or feeling the slightest bit of empathy - there's little chance an audience would accept or buy into it.
This is just speculation, but it's also why I think WB/DC has overestimated the character's popularity and why she doesn't resonate with audiences very well. Try as it did, Birds of Prey did not land well with general audiences. It was not the success it was set up to be - and a lot of that probably had to do with Harley's characterization.
While Comic Book fans are more accepting of the character's behavior and portrayal due to the fact that she's been this way for a while, general audiences were likely alienated by her personality and behavior. She's disturbing, violent, lacking in empathy or guilt, and generally an all around awful human being that warrants neither relatability or likability.
People like the Joker because he's a threatening villain. Nobody would like him if he tried to be a hero because he'd never apologize or feel any remorse for the suffering he's caused. Neither does Harley.
GET IT?
