COLUMNIST (AND OCCASIONAL COSPLAYER) EMILY ZANOTTI: Feminists Bemoan a ‘Sexualized’ Harley Quinn, but They Don’t Understand Her Character.

Harley has never been the “toy” of more powerful characters. She’s a villain in her own right—murdering, maiming and destroying with the best of what the Batman comics have to offer. Her position in the “Suicide Squad” is earned not by her association with the Joker, but because she’s a hell of a bad guy (or gal).

She’s also always been a character with more complex terms. Starting with her origin story—as a doctor treating the Joker in his prison cell at Arkham Asylum—she ultimately chooses her path of destruction; she’s psychotic but struggles with moments of clarity that interrupt her ability to fully integrate into a criminal persona.

Harley’s creator, Paul Dini, may have put it best. Harley is a feminist: “I think Harley’s entire character is based on the concept of choice,” he told CNN this week. “As long as she has that element of choice to either be like the Joker or to get away from him, that defines her life. She’s not a victim who just goes where she’s told to.”

There’s absolutely nothing real-world feminists can’t suck the fun out of.