Ivy can seem complex and ambivalent, or the simplest creature in the world, depending on one's frame of reference. By human standards, she is a ruthless killer ("of the second order," she might add, "I kill only killers"), a worldly-wise seductress, and a painfully naive child, all at the same time. This may also be the reason why she stopped thinking of herself in human terms — they just don't seem to form a coherent frame of reference... after her personal vendetta of seducing and ultimately betraying and hurting men just as she was seduced and hurt, Ivy finally moved on to deeper meaning. By denying all that is human inside her, she was able to negate the part of her she perceives as weak, as vulnerable, naive. The part of her that was betrayed, hurt, and abused. The new part that had risen from the ashes of her former self like the phoenix of yore was something else. Beautiful, enticing and lethal, it was predator rather than prey, the shape of revenge — revenge for her former, weaker self as well as her more stationary brethren.

Ivy sees herself in the tradition of vigilantes like Batman who choose a clod and protect its inhabitants, but like the newly-reformed Catwoman, she feels most compelled to protect those who are afforded the least protection by the law. The main difference between Ivy and the other vigilantes is that she is not a faunal chauvinist; to her, "first blood" also includes sap — and woe to those who spill it!

She is somewhat disgruntled that the Dark Knight refuses to acknowledge the similarity of their missions and colours her misguided so he can seem more sane.

As she found meaning in protecting those she cared for and safety in her powers, she eventually managed to open up to humans as well, reluctantly accepting children into her park at first, and finally an almost-equal in the shape of Harley Quinn, a kindred spirit who had also been betrayed and abused by the man she loved.