An authority on the subject has come out in support of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn portrayal in Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn): DC Comics writer Jimmy Palmiotti. Birds of Prey, which was just released this past weekend, features the return of popular Suicide Squad character Harley Quinn. However, this time around she’s joined by an all-female team of superheroes, including Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez). In the movie, they work together to protect the young pickpocket Cassandra Cain.

Though reviews for Birds of Prey have been good, the Harley Quinn-led film has struggled at the box office. In fact, it landed the unfortunate distinction of having the worst opening weekend of any DCEU movie so far. This prompted WB to request a Harley Quinn-centric title change for movie theater websites and ticket-buying apps. Theaters now have the film listed as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, ensuring that audiences know it is a Harley Quinn film. Whether this switch will help at the box office this coming weekend remains to be seen.

Birds of Prey’s box office performance has caused some to attack one aspect of the film: Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn. However, Harley Quinn comic co-writer Jimmy Palmiotti isn’t having it. Earlier today on Twitter, Palmiotti spoke out in favor of Robbie’s performance, saying in part, it’s “exactly as we have been writing the character since 2013.” Palmiotti has a long history in comics writing and was responsible for relaunching DC’s Harley Quinn series with Amanda Conner in 2013. The two are credited with helping the character rise in popularity, allowing for her entry into the DCEU. Take a look at Palmiotti’s tweet praising Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey below:

Margot Robbie isn’t slowing down as Harley Quinn anytime soon; she’s already filming her next appearance as the character, in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Billed as both a reboot and sequel to the original film, Robbie is one of the few performers returning. She’ll be joined by a host of new characters, played by Nathan Fillion, Pete Davidson, John Cena, and several others. That film will be released next year, with Gunn then moving onto the long-awaited Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie over at Marvel.

Though many fans love Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn, it’s nice to see her receive support from someone who knows the character so well. There are many factors that went into Birds of Prey’s box office performance, and it seems reductive to assume Robbie was the deciding factor. Many of those who had a positive reaction to the film are likely fans of the character and thus familiar with how she’s portrayed in the comics. Now that Palmiotti has weighed in, it will be hard to suggest going forward that Robbie’s performance isn’t comic-accurate, which may convince those who haven’t seen Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) to give it a shot.

More: Why Jared Leto Doesn’t Play Joker In Birds of Prey

Source: Jimmy Palmiotti

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