- Poison Ivy
- Eco-Defender.
This page lists Poison Ivy's appearances in the
comics, and sometimes comments on them or elaborates
on their circumstances. Expect spoilers (of varying
degree) all over the comments/summary column.
Canon comics
pre-Crisis | |||
| Batman | 181 | Jun 1966 | A Touch of Poison Ivy, Part #01 Ivy is introduced. Her attraction to the Batman is established. She wall-climbs like, well, vines. |
| Batman | 183 | Aug 1966 | A Touch of Poison Ivy, Part #02 Poison Ivy's hair produces chemicals that allow her to feign illness and chemicals that cause her strands of hair to explode on impact. |
| Batman | 208 | Feb 1969 | The Women in Batman's life |
| Batman | 291 | Sep 1977 | Where Were You On The Night Batman Was Killed? |
| Batman | 293 | Nov 1977 | The Testimony of Luthor cameo |
| Batman | 339 | Sep 1981 | A Sweet Kiss of Poison Ivy gets board of Wayne Foundation to reassign its assets to her. |
| Batman | 344 | Feb 1982 | Monster, My Sweet! concludes story started in Batman 339. |
| Batman | 367 | ??? | (referenced in DC534, investigate) |
| Detective Comics | 534 | Jan 1984 | Brambles Ivy once again influences the board of the Wayne Foundation, trying to have them transfer its funds to a numbered Swiss account. She also abducts the members of the board and transfers their memories to her "plant men" (non-hybrid precursors to Ferak) to have more intelligent "body-guards" while exacting her revenge on the board for foiling her plans the first time around. Unfortunately, this alerts the Batman to her, who stops her before she can set her main plan into motion, namely to have sub-terranean plants attack sewage systems and the foundations of buildings. Batman, to Jason "Robin II" Todd: I think Ivy's finally gone bad — truly bad — capable of enough authentic evil to make an ordinary criminal cringe. This is a good example of a plan that by itself would be pretty much foolproof, and that is ruined by Poison's carelessness/vanity, arguably a trait the writers had to introduce so the vigilantes actually have a chance to foil her plans. Appearance of the thorny bramble garotte :-) and a blowpipe shooting poisoned thorns. It may also be worth noting that in these early comics, Ivy goes to jail rather than to Arkham. |
post-Crisis | |||
| Batman | 400 | Oct 1986 | Resurrection Night all-star issue, Arkham break-out |
| Detective Comics | 589 | Aug 1988 | Night People Part #03 For the Love of Ivy Seeing Ivy's doctor, Batman learnt that she was dying — her immune-system was breaking down. He convinces PI, she is treated, happily ever after... |
| Black Orchid | 1-3 | ??? 1991 | Ivy can create at least small hybrids without a lab. |
| Batman / Green Arrow | 1992 | The Poison Tomorrow Power-hungry businessman Mr. Fenn infects baby food with a designer disease created by Ivy, planning to charge outrageous amounts for the cure, which his drug company just happens to have. Of course, this cure does not really exist; as unbeknownst to him, Ivy plans for the disease to wipe out most of the world's population, so she and others resistant to toxins and disease can repopulate it. | |
| Legends of the... | 42 | Feb 1993 | Hot House Part #01 After 1st rehab. as Pamela at Gotham University. "Her touch could catalyze violent mood alterations", an "electric jolt, overwhelming stupor, loss of focus". Batman is preoccupied with her. Ian Spencer, ostensibly Pamela's benefactor, forces her to produce the drug EdenSpring, which is then distributed by Dominique Alioso ("Fine Arts", Gotham, New York, London). |
| Legends of the... | 43 | Mar 1993 | Hot House Part #02 Hybridization - Complex plant-animal forms by Pamela Elizabeth Isley and Philip Daniel Sylvian. Her parents are dead. She is described as "a smart woman drawn to abusive men." by Sylvian, Jason Woodrue as "cruel, cold, and condescending." Pam remained in hospital for 6 months after the experiment that made her Poison Ivy. She came back emotionally volatile — one moment sweet, the next destructive —, but also irresistable. She quit school soon after, after her boyfriend totalled his car after a fight. A cold shower is revealed to break Poison's spell — to a degree. Eventually, Batman destroys the drug-ring — and frees himself from Poison's hold. Poison tries to escape, and he saves her from falling to her death, which, when going back to a hospital after all the stress, leads her to conclude that Batman loves her. Batman, narrating: "I can feel her essence from across the room, electric, pulsating..." "Her kiss is like grabbing a live wire in the rain... like a fever dream in the jungle..." Poison, to Batman: "In the hospital I had a vision — realized who I truly am — Titania — Queen of the May... ...and you are my winged fairy king." Batman, narrating: There's a no man's land between love and hate, between passion and obsession, where it's easy to lose all sense of reality — and in doing so, lose yourself. Somewhere in that emotional minefield, Pamela Isley wanders … |
| Batman | 495 | Aug 1993 | Knightfall Part #07 Strange Deadfellows The story follows the "classic pattern." Ivy enthralls some millionaires for her own ends (with a special nightshade she has placed at a gala dinner), Bruce Wayne amongst them. |
| Showcase '94 | 3 | Mar 1994 | Showcase '94: Arkham Madmen Across the Water, Part #01 not PI per se |
| Showcase '94 | 4 | Apr 1994 | Showcase '94: Arkham Madmen Across the Water, Part #02 not PI per se |
| Shadow of the Bat | 3 | ??? 1995 | Poison Ivy: Year One collected in Batman: Four of a Kind In their (retold after Crisis°) first encounter, a mutual attraction between Poison Ivy and the Batman is obvious right from the start. The plot is the classic blackmail-the-rich scheme, reminiscent of that in [Bat495] |
| Batman: Ghosts (1995) | Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special Ivy as Ghost | ||
| Detective Comics | 693 | Jan 1996 | Systemic Shock #1: Systemic Shocks Ivy asserts she hears the screams of the lawn being mowed, empathizes with plants suffering. Maxwell "Weedwhacker" Veezy begins his rampage against all plant life because of his severe allergies to plants. |
| Detective Comics | 694 | Feb 1996 | Systemic Shock #2: Violent Reactions Ivy breaks out of Arkham, taking two of her doctors hostage in doing so, and goes to "bring justice" to the weed-whacker, operating for the benefit of the plants rather than her own. |
| Batman | 529 | Apr 1996 | Part #06 Tears of Blood collected in Contagion In the face of the massive Contagion, Batman goes to Arkham to "borrow" Ivy so she can take an antidote to the infected, the rationale being her immunity to "basically anything." She agrees to go along with it, for the price of a kiss — then auctions off the Batman's serum to the infected millionaires … |
| Shadow of the Bat | 49 | Apr 1996 | Angel of Death collected in Contagion Contagion continued. ("when all of Gotham is dead, the plants will reclaim it") |
| Detective Comics | 696 | Apr 1996 | Babylon Falls collected in Contagion Contagion continued. Batman takes Ivy back to Arkham, wrapping her in a special foil after knocking her out that will allow her to breathe, but not poison anyone. |
| Shadow of the Bat | 51 | Jun 1996 | Nightmare Man Part #02 cameo |
| Shadow of the Bat | 56 | Nov 1996 | Leaves of Grass, Part 1 - Twin Peaks "I can produce toxins from my blood. Fast-acting. Deadly!" Ivy is broken out of Arkham by an unknown benefactor, while Gotham is flooded with an enhanced hashish. |
| Shadow of the Bat | 57 | Dec 1996 | Leaves of Grass, Part 2 - Reefer Madness Floronic Man, who is revealed to be the producer of the drugs, offers Ivy $10 mio for a blood sample so that he can create offspring between the two of them. |
| Shadow of the Bat | 58 | Jan 1997 | Leaves of Grass, Part 3 - Comedown "I just love it when men fight over me". Ivy makes her escape — with the money. |
| Shadow of the Bat | 5 | Jan 1997 | Annual 1997 Young Romance — I was the Love Slave of a Plant Based Killer Ivy creates instant plant-based zombies using "the emerald skull of Valejo." This is very pulpy / noir, with a hard-boiled detective who falls for Ivy the protagonist. |
| Batman: Chronicles | 9 | May 1997 | Passion's Fruit Ivy sits in "Arkham castle", "waiting for her dark knight to come home". And of course, he never shows. So she makes him. This is not only a beautiful and heart-breaking story on several levels, it is also an example of Ivy executing a plan not for money, power, or even ecological benefits, but simply so it will bring the Batman to her … |
| Batman: Poison Ivy | - | ??? 1997 | Ivy gives up, withdrawing to a remote island that she makes into a paradise, where she can live in peace as a hermit, apart from society. When her island is used as a test area for a new brand of napalm, Ivy decides that she can not run from the Good Fight and takes it home to Gotham to those responsible … This story anticipates the care for children later seen with the orphans in Robinson Park in a heart-breaking moment, as well as the idea of Ivy as a hermit, withdrawing from people, with them taking the fight to her, and her only defending herself. We also see various animal/plant hybrids, birds and mammals both. They are described as fragile and short-lived, "Sylvian was more lucky with his orchids." |
| Catwoman Vol. 1 | 57 | May 1998 | Part #15 Reap What You Sow Ivy sees the chaos after the earthquake (Cataclysm) as her chance to turn all of Gotham into a park, using a super fertilizer she tricked Wayne Industries into producing. As she tries to spread the fertilizer, an absurdly lucky Catwoman tries to stop her, and in the ensuing fight, the chemical falls on Ivy, incapacitating her. This is often argued to be the cause for the verdant skin she'll have in subsequent issues. |
| Secret Files | 1 | Oct 1998 | Secret Files & Origins: Villains |
| Batman | 2 | Oct 1999 | Batman: 80 Page Giant |
| Batman | 562 | Feb 1999 | Mister Wayne Goes to Washington Part #03: The Devil His Due cameo |
| Shadow of the Bat | 82 | Feb 1999 | Waxman and the Clown Part #03 cameo, Ivy is released from Arkham with everybody else |
| Shadow of the Bat | 88 | Aug 1999 | Fruit of the Earth Part #01 After being released from Arkham, Ivy has set up headquarters in Robinson Park, keeping it in bloom even in Winter. She has accepted children orphaned by the earthquake into the park, clothing and feeding them, as long as they respect the green. Upon this paradise amidst the rubble, Clayface introduces, enslaving Ivy and her children so they'll grow and harvest fruit for him to sell to the starving masses of the No Man's Land. Batman and Robin enter the park in search of certain discs stored in the local BatCave. This mirrors the theme of Ivy being a hermit and caretaker of the green shown in Batman: Poison Ivy[B:PI], and elaborates on her soft spot for children hinted at in that issue. |
| Batman | 568 | Aug 1999 | Fruit of the Earth Part #02 Batman finds Ivy and the children trapped in the local BatCave, tries to free Poison while Robin guides the children outside and they explain to him how Ivy has taken care of them. Meanwhile Ivy explains to Batman how Clayface abused them. And then, Clayface returns … |
| Detective Comics | 735 | Aug 1999 | Fruit of the Earth Part #03 Batman fights Clayface. Robin blows up the BatCave, letting water, which restores Poison's strength. Poison fights Clayface, beating him and using his body as fertilizer. Batman agrees to leave the children in Ivy's care and respect her borders as long as they continue to grow produce for the starving, for free this time. |
| Batman: Harley Quinn | 1999 | Harley and Ivy meet as Joker shoots off the former in a rocket which crash-lands in Robinson Park. Not fond of Arkham doctors, Ivy intends to kill Harley, but then relents as she hears her story and decides she is a kindred spirit, abused by the man she loved. Poison makes Harley drink a concoction that lends the latter immunity to the poisons of the former and also boots the strength and agility of the former gymnast. This way, Ivy figures, she will be able to stand up to the Batman — after all while Ivy may be bound to the truce she has with him, Harley is not … We also meet Marigold, the hybrid horse. | |
| Detective Comics | 751 | Dec 2000 | A Walk in the Park, Part #01 After the No Man's Land[SB88] and all the good she did feeding the hungry and saving the children, the Powers that be try to evict Ivy from Robinson Park. — using police or even the powerful RC60 defoliant if need be. |
| Detective Comics | 752 | Jan 2001 | A Walk in the Park, Part #02 As Ivy refuses to leave, Batman goes in to negotiate. Ivy decides to go down with the park if need be, unwilling to give up all the work she invested. She does however agree to send out the children to save them. When the orphans refuse to abandon her and Rose accidentally gets poisoned, Ivy gives herself up in order to save them … |
| Gotham Knights | 15 | May 2001 | Far From The Tree When some millionaires throw a "Save the world" gala even as their companies exploit gaia, Poison breaks out of Arkham to show the hypocrites … While this is an interesting issue for establishing a dynamic between Tim "Robin III" Drake and Poison — Robin will be instrumental in negotiating a compromise in a hostage situation where Batman could not — it also indicates that while Poison can be selfless, she can also be very angry, and while she cares about the orphans, she also cares about the world, and justice for Gaia, being able to pass judgement on adults just like she can save the children. |
post cut-off (for Gotham Knights MUSH) | |||
| Batman | 608 | Dec 2002 | Hush Chapter #01: The Ransom collected in Hush (1/2) |
| Batman | 609 | Jan 2003 | Hush Chapter #02: The Friend collected in Hush (1/2) |
| Batman | 610 | Feb 2003 | Hush Chapter #03: The Beast collected in Hush (1/2) |
| Batman | 611 | Mar 2003 | Hush Chapter #04: The City collected in Hush (1/2) |
| Batman | 612 | Apr 2003 | Hush Chapter #05: The Battle collected in Hush (1/2) |
| Batman / Poison Ivy | 2004 | Cast Shadows When the construction of a record-breaking skyscraper starts to cast an eternal shadow on Ivy's cell in Arkham, people wind up dead … Cast Shadows is a beautiful metaphorical story that elaborates on the relationship of Ivy and Batman — both with each other and themselves. The story has a beautiful Romeo and Juliet moment when — assuming Batman dead — Poison Ivy tries to kill herself, once more insinuating that it is more than just lust she feels for him. | |
| Batgirl | 51 | Jun 2004 | The City is a Garden Installation artist Chris Colson is commissioned to transform two quake-damaged city blocks near Crime Alley into a piece of environmental art, essentially once large garden, sponsored by the Wayne Foundation. No need to work, or worry. There is no poverty here. No inquality or greed. Food grows on the trees, the water is clean and fresh. |
| Batgirl | 52 | Jul 2004 | The City is a Jungle The garden/installation starts to grow beyond the two blocks it was assigned, and Ivy is revealed as the artist's "muse." Unfortunately, the garden does not just grow (from a single tree which in turn grew from a single seed), it also releases agents that make people happy and care-free in the day-time, but implement "the law of the jungle" at night. This is a rather weak story inasmuch it has a number of "failsafes" built in, like the central tree (basically one big "off" button), or the fact that the garden makes people aggressive at night (to establish that yes, it is "evil"), so the heros have a chance they normally wouldn't have (cf. Bramble[DC534]), and don't look like total asses for destroying the garden. It would have been much more interesting (and morally ambiguous) to just have a garden that just goes on growing (and not from a central source, either!). We are also treated to the somewhat unpleasant line of, Yes, my faithful pets … you may have [Batgirl] if you wish … a small reward for your loyalty … which could insinuate pretty much anything, with most interpretations not really very much in character for someone who is considered a feminist icon by some. The City is a Jungle is story the potential of which was ruined in an attempt to give easy answers and a black & white morality. If nothing else, we get a two panel sequence out of it that perfectly sums up years of the Batman/Poison-"relationship", but it does not manage to take away the bitter taste that the story leaves behind. |
| Gotham Knights | 55 | Sep 2004 | Pushback Book #06 FaceOff Cameo |
| Detective Comics | 797 | Oct 2004 | War Games - Act #01 Part #01: Flashpoint Low 1/3: Riddler seeks refuge in Robinson Park, feeling he has nowhere else left to go. Will Ivy show him that he has nowhere to go, period? |
| Detective Comics | 798 | Nov 2004 | War Games - Act #02 Part #01: Undertow Low 2/3 |
| Detective Comics | 799 | Dec 2004 | War Games - Act #03 Part #01: Good Intentions Low 3/3 |
| Gotham Knights | 61 | Mar 2005 | Human Nature #01 Someone — or something — is killing the orphans of Robinson Park. Ivy goes to investigate. |
| Gotham Knights | 62 | Apr 2005 | Human Nature #02 |
| Gotham Knights | 63 | May 2005 | Human Nature #03 |
| Gotham Knights | 64 | Jun 2005 | Human Nature #04 Hush tells Ivy that Bruce Wayne is Batman. Convinced that she is responsible for the eath of the orphans, Ivy has Bruce turn her back into Pamela Isley, so she will never again be a danger to anyone. This is maternal, selfless Ivy. It is also interesting to note that in this story, Poison is prepared to give up her link to the Green, and her powers that let her defend plants and the planet, both for benefit of others (the children) and herself (to end the divide between her and others that keeps her forever lonely). |
| Gotham Knights | 65 | Jul 2005 | Human Nature #05 Ivy dies! Not giving away too much here, but it is the final conclusion of Ivy's transformation — from selfish and hurt to selfless, self-sacrificing, and loving. This in some ways makes it look like the writers felt that the reformed, redeemed Ivy had no more potential as an antagonist, and that having her die was not only a suitable end to the storyline, but also final proof of her new-found selfless ness — and a way to write her out of a story she could no longer contribute conflict to … |
| Gotham Central | 32 | Aug 2005 | Nature When one of her orphans is accidentally killed by corrupt cops, Ivy takes offense — and matters into her own hands … This further establishes Ivy as a caretaker and maternal figure — from lust to motherly love. Some fans feel that it makes most sense for the events of this issue having taken place before those of Human Nature[GK61]. |
One Year Later | |||
| Detective Comics | 817 | May 2006 | Face the face #01 Batman returns to Gotham after one year of absence, and is called in via BatSignal to handle a "situation" involving Poison Ivy. Ivy is not revealed in this issue, but named as Pamela Isley, so unless Jim Gordon is mistaken, we are indeed dealing with the same Ivy as before, if an even more powerful one, hers now on par with those of the Swamp Thing or the Floronic Man. It is also worthy of note that Jim Gordon sympathizes with Ivy's motives, if not her methods. (And appreciates her looks.) |
| Batman | 651 | May 2006 | Face the face #02 a) It's good to be back!! And to still look great! b) "I've changed, Batman! Everything's the same!" c) The moment I return to Gotham, He returns! How sweet!! d) My plans still suck. I wish I'd realize I'm not an undefeatable goddess. No, seriously. e) "I'm all about a better world." Like, duh. I coulda told you that two years ago!! f) What's up with all the "kneeling before him" D/s imagery? I wouldn't really mind, with her on-going control theme, it does in fact make sense, but in the context of the preceding and following panels, it seems somewhat arbitrary here, and that is what I object to. For extra credit, re-caption the page with non-dirty dialogue. (No points for stuff about losing her contact lenses, that would be too easy.) g) My plans still suck. h) The return of the tie-me-up vine! :) i) "Ivy takes some bosses hostage"? That's the best scene they could come up with?? Sheesh. j) She's still seeking his approval in the "future." I'm not sure whether to be elated because that's another bit I had spot-on in my portrayal, or be embarrassed because it's so fucking embarrassing. And insecure. And immature. And embarrassing. And needy. k) Still it's worthwhile noting that he needed to bring Robin to win. Way to establish his "superiority." ; ) |
| Detective Comics | 823 | Sep 2006 | Stalked blurb° Poison's experiments in hybridisation finally come to their inevitable(?) conclusion — the merging of human and plant. Some may say that after how painful that same violation was to her, it's the one line she'll never pass; others might argue that it's the natural conclusion of her studies, and after what was done to her orphans in Human Nature[GK61], she needs to understand what happened to her — now more than ever. Beautiful, beautiful pictures, but I'm not not I find the portrayal all that convinced; before OYL, we've seen Ivy get more and more selfless, about the green of course, but also about the orphans; and all of a sudden, she is a cross between a supermodel and Dr Mengele. What's up with that? |
ToDo:
Arkham Asylum: Living Hell Living Hell (3/6: A stitch in time) [Ivy makes for a crap hooker] Black & White: Vol 2. Collected Legends of the Dark Knight Chapter 3 Harley Quinn comics Haunted Knight Nosferatu Ultimate Guide (hardcover) non-canon (animated continuity) Batman Adventures etc.?
Poison Ivy created by Robert Kanigher, ©1966 by DC Comics. This is a fan-site and not affiliated with DC.
Sub-page last changed on 2011/09/20
Sub-page last changed on 2011/09/20