Bruce (2024)

"Oh sh*t, Is that a hyena in a bathtub?"
"I named him Bruce after that hunky Wayne guy."

―Cassandra Cain and Harley Quinn^[src]

Bruce is Harley Quinn's pet spotted hyena that she bought after her break-up with the Joker.

Biography[]

Harley Quinn's Pet[]

Adopted[]

"Hi. Hello, nice baby."

―Harley Quinn to Bruce^[src]

The hyena was brought by Dave Murray to his pet store, Murray's Exotic Animals. In 2020, Harley Quinn went to the store to seek companionship after her breakup with the Joker, becoming fond of the hyena, and agreed to adopt him while they both laughed.

Murray tried to convince Quinn to have sex as payment, angering the hyena, who freed himself attacked Murray to death, being appreciated by Quinn, who him to Doc's Place and food him with Murray's leg. The hyena was given the name Bruce after Bruce Wayne, as Quinn considered him a "hunky guy".^[1]

Attack at Doc's Place[]

"Bruce? Come here, boy. Bruce? Bruce? Bruce?"

―Harley Quinn^[src]

At Doc's Place, Bruce was in a bathtub waiting for Harley Quinn, welcoming her with a laugh as she brought Cassandra Cain into her flat and Harley introduced him, explaining his name. Cassandra was a bit stunned at first by him being a hyena, but quickly grown used to the idea. Harley pet him and shared licorice with him. When the flat was attacked following Doc selling Harley Quinn out, a mercenary threw a bomb at the apartment, and Bruce ran into the bomb, crashing into the explosion, much to Quinn's disappointment as she believed he was killed by the explosion.^[1]

Harley Quinn and Associates[]

"Oh! And I found Bruce. He was wandering around Chinatown. I guess it proves the theory that hyenas really do have nine lives."

―Harley Quinn^[src]

Bruce survived the explosion, having spent a night wandering the neighborhood until found by Harley Quinn, who was delighted to find him alive once her problems were resolved, leading her to think that hyenas had nine lives. After Quinn found Harley Quinn and Associates along with Cassandra Cain, Bruce left with the duo in Dinah Lance's stolen car.^[1]

Capture of Harley Quinn[]

When Harley Quinn was recaptured^[3], an A.R.G.U.S. file about Harley Quinn included, among the other crimes at the time of her capture, the crime of unpermitted ownership of a restricted exotic animal.^[2]

Personality[]

Despite being a spotted hyena, Bruce has somehow managed to be domesticated. Harley Quinn treats him essentially like a friendly dog. He is quite loving towards her and she shares licorice with him, him eating one end her the other. He is alright around other people as well, sharing the room with Cassandra Cain without bothering her and spending a night on the streets of Gotham City without apparently harming anyone. When Quinn tells Cain that she named him Bruce after Bruce Wayne, he gives a hearty chuckle in response.

Relationships[]

Allies[]

• Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn - owner
• Cassandra Cain

Enemies[]

• Dave Murray † - former owner and seller turned victim

Appearances[]

Trivia[]

• Harley Quinn named him after Bruce Wayne.
• After learning he survived at the end of the movie, Harley remarks that he must truly have nine lives (like a cat). Hyenas are indeed more closely related to cats than dogs, albeit a distant outlying member of the Feliformia family. Their body shape became more like Canids due to convergent evolution.
• Bruce is likely a reference to Bud and Lou, the pet hyenas the Joker and Harley Quinn kept as pets in the animated series.

Behind the scenes[]

• According to Margot Robbie, a real hyena was considered for the role of Bruce. However, the hyena they wanted to use proved to be to difficult, so they used a large dog as a base, and CGI was then added in post-production to make the dog look more like a hyena.^[4]

References[]

External Links[]

• Bud and Lou on DC Database
• Bud and Lou on Wikipedia