Warning: this article contains descriptions of violence and abuse.
Ever since Harley Quinn broke free of the Joker’s manipulative control she has become one of the most popular DC Comics characters in her own right, across comics, television, and DCEU movies. However, her break away from the Joker was not a clean one, and oftentimes he would weasel his way back into her life and repeat the cycle of abuse. In one such instance, the Joker pulls an absolutely sinister joke on Harley Quinn when she was at her most vulnerable, one that is far too horrific for the DCEU.
Dr. Harleen Quinzel became Harley Quinn after she fell into a sort of twisted love/obsession with the Joker while treating him at Arkham Asylum. Dr. Quinzel was a psychiatrist before she gave up her career to pursue a life of crime with the Joker. While Harley thought of the two of them as partners, the Joker saw Harley only as a plaything that could use however he wished, so, after years of abuse, she left him, never to return to his side again.
In The Joker: Death of the Family story “Tease” by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Jock, the Joker kidnaps Harley and takes her to a dark location where he told her that she is nothing without him, that he created her, and that he wasn’t done with her even though she made it clear that she was done with him. The Joker told Harley that he needed to cut off her face so that she could better reflect his twisted image. Harley is reluctant, but falling back into the old pattern of abuse, asks if it will hurt as if she is considering his sinister proposal. The Joker says that it will, and that the worst part will be how dry her eyes get after he cuts off the lids. As if to bring up a bright side to the mutilation, the Joker tells Harley that during the process, so much blood will be spilling into her eyes that they won’t experience dryness, and her world will be engulfed in a red tint. Harley, being completely freaked out at this point, vehemently rejects what the Joker wants to do, but Joker simply laughs and knocks her unconscious. When she wakes up, she feels no pain, but she sees nothing but red, indicating that the Joker went through with the procedure. However, he reassures Harley that he didn’t cut her face off, The Joker just put his famous red hood over her head and made her believe he had mutilated her, laughing maniacally throughout the explanation.
While there was no actual gore during this scene, the Joker's "joke is still way too dark to appear in any DCEU movie for a number of reasons. The fear the Joker created while telling Harley Quinn all about how he was going to cut her face off, how it would feel and what she would experience, is hard to stomach and is truly disturbing especially given how vulnerable Harley Quinn is throughout, both physically and mentally. Plus, the tone of Harley Quinn that is portrayed in the DCEU is nothing like what this comic depicts. DCEU’s Harley is a fun and bright anti-hero whose insanity only adds to her charm, and this scene is way too dark and twisted for that version of the character to experience.
While two out of the three DCEU movies Harley Quinn has appeared in have been rated R, they are more geared towards adults because of the films’ explicit language and excessive comedic violence. This disturbing joke pulled by the Joker is on a whole other level of fear, manipulation, and abuse, and doesn’t fit the tone set by the movie version of Harley Quinn in the slightest as it is far too horrific for the DCEU.