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Harley Quinn’s Suicide Squad Accessories Had Margot Robbie In Very Real Pain
Warner Bros.

Playing a comic book character like Harley Quinn has its ups and downs, like dealing with intense fandoms and getting to pretend to do some seriously wild things. For actor Margot Robbie, one of the hardest parts of playing the Joker’s gal wasn’t trying to perform any stunts or memorize unusual dialogue, but instead was just a matter of wearing one of her costumes.

In the 2016 film “Suicide Squad,” Robbie played her first live-action incarnation of the character before reprising the role in the 2020 film “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” and the 2021 film “The Suicide Squad.” She had plenty of outrageous outfits in each film, but her main costume from the first film was a major pain. Not only did she have to wear ridiculous short shorts that would have caused a constant wedgie, but she also had some janky jewelry that caused her some painful problems. In an older interview with the Washington Post, Robbie revealed that the worst part of filming wasn’t the shorts or even working with Jared Leto, but some wristwear that seemed to be out for blood.

Dangerous bangles

Harley Quinn has taken quite the journey from sidekick to survivor over the years, and soon Robbie will be passing the live-action torch to Lady Gaga for the upcoming “Joker: Folie à Deux.” Once upon a time, however, she was just a young woman in a lot of white face paint and some rather questionable costume choices. When asked what it was like trying to film in full makeup during the rain scenes in “Suicide Squad,” Robbie recalled:

“Yeah. Not just the makeup, but the wig, the costume. It’s obviously not the most comfortable getup. And we’re doing a lot of fight scenes and stuff. Actually, the worst thing were the gold bangles. They had spikes on them, and I’d always stab myself. I hated them.”

Every goth or former goth who has ever worn spiked bracelets knows her pain, and the ones she wears in “Suicide Squad” are exceptionally pointy. Just wearing those things can be hazardous, let alone swinging a bat or doing various acrobatics with them on. Thankfully, that isn’t the only costume Robbie has worn as Harley Quinn, which gives fans some less dangerous and more comfortable cosplay options.

The comfier side of Harley

While Robbie was dressed in the uncomfortable and spiky costume for quite a bit of “Suicide Squad,” she also had her ultra-comfy prison look, complete with fuzzy pink slippers. When it came time for Robbie to play the character again in director Cathy Yan’s “Birds of Prey,” the film’s creatives decided to evolve Harley’s style a bit into something that’s still sexy and fun while providing more comfort (and coverage). Harley also got a couple of different looks for “The Suicide Squad,” including an incredible formal gown for her date with a dictator (in which she ends up doing a full psychedelic fight scene). They’re all fantastic and seem much more comfortable and less likely to cause injury than the “Suicide Squad” outfit with its ridiculously short shorts and spiked bracelets, as cute as that costume might have been.

It will be interesting to see what kinds of costumes Gaga wears in Todd Phillip’s upcoming “Joker” sequel, which is definitely less cartoony than the DC Extended Universe version Robbie played. Whether she’s in the classic red and black, wearing Daisy Dukes and spiked bangles, or something entirely different, one thing’s for certain: Harley’s going to look absolutely killer.