DCEU will continue exploring the stories of characters like Wonder Woman and Aquaman, and will fully retcon others, such as Batman.
First in line was Birds of Prey, marking the return of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn after her introduction in David Ayer’s Roman Sionis a.k.a. Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). Birds of Prey is set some time after the events of Suicide Squad, meaning that Harley Quinn was already out of jail and back with the Joker.
But given all the trouble Harley and company went through in Suicide Squad with ARGUS and Amanda Waller, it seems odd that she was able to run wild and free in Birds of Prey, with her only concerns being where to live, protect Cassandra Cain, and take Sionis down. So, why didn’t ARGUS attempt to get her back?
Birds of Prey: ARGUS and Amanda Waller Didn’t Have a Place in the Story
In Suicide Squad, ARGUS director Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) convinces Washington D.C. officials to allow her to assemble a team of dangerous criminals from Belle Reve special Security Barracks to send them in dangerous black ops missions. The team, called Task Force X, is formed by Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, El Diablo, Killer Croc, and Slipknot, and they agree to take part in the mission in exchange for reduced sentences. By the end of the film, the surviving were back at Belle Reve with ten years off their sentences and a couple of perks (Harley, for example, had a coffeemaker in her cell). As Harley was enjoying her coffee, the Joker and company broke into the penitentiary and rescued her.
Birds of Prey explained that shortly after that, Harley and the Joker broke up, and he threw her out on the streets of Gotham. Harley kept this a secret as being the Joker’s partner granted her protection in the criminal world, but once word was out, The Suicide Squad, as Birds of Prey didn’t offer an in-universe explanation. Though it’s not bad that ARGUS didn’t go after her, it certainly makes some fans wonder why they let Harley Quinn run free like that.
