Harley Quinn is not renowned for having powers, much like most cast members of the Bat-Family and the Gotham Rogues Gallery. Her gymnastics background and superlative intellect, not to mention her mental state, make her limber and give her an advantage in battle, but she can’t be called enhanced under normal circumstances.
Conversely, the abnormal circumstances in The Suicide Squad impelled James Gunn and the film’s producers to stretch Harley’s potential in a new way. A new power is bestowed upon her in the DCEU picture that producer Peter Safran and production designer Beth Mickle called “Harley Vision.”
“So it’s an idea that we’re going to explore, and we’ll see how it’s executed,” said Mickle during a set visit that included people from Screen Rant.
She added the non-traditional power will tap into how Harley sees the world while offering an opportunity for some extra animated effects. “But the idea is that there is a ‘Harley Vision,’ like how she sees the world and how she sees things, and it’s possibly with animated flowers and tweety birds,” Mickle said.
This idea started in the concept stage of pre-production and was based on Harley’s debatable, and downright dubious, level of happiness, says Mickle. “She’s very happy, so we explored some concept art to see what…that could look like, and how we would render it in the film,” Mickle stated further. “Just used sparingly, but I think effectively.”
“Just the juxtaposition of that look, with an incredibly violent action scene that is occurring at the same time as part of her escape,” added Peter Safran, indicating Harley’s ability will be seen when Task Force X stages a rescue of Harley without knowing she broke herself out of captivity.
We already know from the trailers, the cast, and James Gunn that The Suicide Squad will be full of crazy action scenes and FX work. If Harley Vision is striking enough and, in the aftermath of the film’s release, catches on to the point it gets canonized a “power” for Harley in the DCEU, at least, it remains to be seen.
Other than a few occasions, Harley’s never had long-lasting powers most could point to, but DC is trying to break from trends and give the regular folks who put on costumes abilities to add to their repertoire. Case in point, Huntress has a new psychic power in a story within an issue of Batman: Secret Files out later this month.
The Suicide Squad is out in theaters and on HBO Max, in “Harley Vision” partially, August 6th.
Does this make you want to see the soft reboot/sequel more? Tell us in the comments.