Margot Robbie and James Gunn – The Suicide Squad ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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When The Suicide Squad hit theaters on August 5, fans noticed something was off, and for once, it wasn’t Harley Quinn’s chaotic behavior. Margot Robbie’s Harley showed up without her infamous “Rotten” tattoo scrawled across her jawline. And no, it wasn’t a makeup mishap. It was a choice—a loud and clear one.
Director James Gunn and Robbie both agreed: the ink had to go. While answering fan questions on Instagram, Gunn spilled the tea (via Screenrant), saying, “Margot didn’t like it and found out I also didn’t like it, so we just decided to remove it. No, it’s not addressed.” Clean and simple. And honestly, long overdue.
Harley’s tattoos had always screamed “Joker’s girl” – from “Property of Joker” on her shoulder to “Puddin” tributes inked all over. That “Rotten” jaw tat? The final straw. It might’ve worked for Suicide Squad in 2016, when Harley was still wrapped in her twisted romance with Jared Leto’s Joker. But by the time Birds of Prey rolled around, Harley had said goodbye to the Clown Prince of Crime and was charting her own chaotic course.
In Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), the breakup was loud, glittery, and beautifully messy. That film kicked off Harley’s independence arc. She swapped “Property of Joker” for “Property of No One.” And when The Suicide Squad rolled in, Gunn doubled down on that evolution – with new ink, threads, and vibe.
Speaking with IGN, Gunn explained how Harley’s wardrobe got a revamp, too. “Of course, one of the many things that people asked me the most about The Suicide Squad, before I was hired, was ‘What is Margot going to wear? What is Harley going to look like? Are you bringing her red and black wardrobe into the movies?’ And so my answer to that, yes.”
That red and black look? Straight from the Arkham video games. Gunn said he had mapped out Harley’s different designs across comics and media before settling on the video game version for inspiration. “The truth is I had a huge map of different books of Harley Quinn throughout the years in various media, and one of them I liked the best was the Arkham games look of Harley Quinn,” he told IGN. “Her first look in the movie is based on that.”
The costume tweaks and tattoo edits weren’t just cosmetic. They matched Harley’s inner shift. Gone was the Joker’s girl. In her place? A firecracker of freedom, dripping with edge, wit, and zero apologies.
The Suicide Squad might’ve been full of chaos, blood, and explosive action, but Harley’s subtle makeover told a quieter story – one of identity, growth, and finally ditching what didn’t serve her anymore. That jawline used to scream “Rotten.” Now, it just screams Harley Quinn, unfiltered and finally free.
