#and like its literally harley's First comic appearance and it being with pamela just

[poisonousquinzel]

protective wifey

[wearepoisonivyleague]

The importance of Poison Ivy in Birds of Prey.

“To discuss Poison Ivy is to discuss environmentalism. To discuss patriarchy. To discuss collective archetypes, and evolving narratives. To discuss Golden Age femmes fatale and black widows. To discuss thrill killers and team ups. To discuss redemption, and defiance, and friendship. To discuss narrative polemics, women in the sciences, the rush of urbanisation, and the male gaze. In short to discuss Ivy is to discuss multitudes.” (1)

Since August it appears that poison Ivy will be a member (official or unofficial) of “Batgirl and the Birds of Prey”. This is a huge step forward for the character. The reason? For the first time in her 50+ year history as a comic book character, she appears to have an actual, coherent timeline and character progression tied to DC’s canon continuity. It has been attempted before with Greg Rucka during and after No Mans Land in which she gets trapped by Clayface (2), Batman comes to rescue her (3) and she fights with Clayface, beating him and promising to not only keep Gotham’s orphans safe but also feed the starving city (4). The story continues with Poison ivy avenging the brutal murder of one of her children by corrupt cops (5), her and her children violent eviction from Robinson Park (6)(7), as well as a story in “Gotham Knights” where we learn the future of the children which took under her protection. Greg Rucka portrayed her as a symbol of ecofeminism, pushing her as a heroic, activist character. Some writers drew inspiration from this mini arc but DC pushed Ivy back as a stereotypical villain. The problem with her post Rucka appearances was that she appeared to not have a coherent timeline, depiction or character progression. She was literally thrown into books as villain that existed outside of continuity. But with New 52 Things started to change. She was introduced by Duane Swierczynski as a member of Birds of Prey (8). This version of Poison Ivy appears to be reformed and heroic. Unfortunately she appears to betray the team and gets kicked out. Unfortunately mr Swierczynski planned to explain her actions and show her real motive behind this but he was replaced in the book. But this is the point where things get interesting. John Layman uses her as a hero in his run of Detective Comics, especially in Gothtopia (9) continuing the theme of a modern Activist. This is another huge step in Poison Ivy’s evolution. John Layman makes it cannon that Poison Ivy is not a threat to Gotham and its citizens and that she doesn’t belong in Arkham. The romantic tension between Ivy and Batman is strong. He respects her. Batman finally understands that instead of constantly beating her up, having her as an ally is a better choice. Perhaps she is “misguided” (10) but she wants to save the city and cares for the citizens. But the important part here is that Poison Ivy is not considered a threat by Batman and he lets her go after helping him save the city. A timeline begins to develop. Her time in Birds of prey is often mentioned and Poison Ivy evolves further from an antihero, to a hero. During New52 two also important things happen. During Scott Snyders Swamp Thing run, her connection with the Green is established, hinting that she is destined to become the next Champion of the Green after Alec (11) and Gail Simone writes what is probably the most important moment in New52 Poison Ivy with Batgirl Annual 2. Gail Simone’s Batgirl Annual 2 tries to explain the reasons behind the betrayal of the Birds of Prey. She was blackmailed by the owner of an evil corporation in an emotionally stressful period of her life. Simone not only gives huge depth into her character but also named her mental disorder for the first time in 50 years. Until now she was simply “crazy”. Simone explains that her violent outbursts are a result of “seasonal affective disorder” which in combination of her deep connection to the Green can trigger her depression. This book is important to me on a personal level for another reason. Not only Batgirl agrees that Poison Ivy could be the one that saves the world but Ivy also confessed her love for Batgirl in an very emotional moment. Poison Ivy says that she needs more friends and not just Harley Quinn but also that “perhaps in another world” she and Batgirl could be together again (12). She is sent in Arkham

And then Rebirth happens. Another world. Before that she made an appearance in JLU and a few other books but we will look at these in detail in another article. I consider Amy Chu’s Poison Ivy, Cycle of Life and Death 6 issue mini to be the bridge between New52 and Rebirth. Ivy has a job as a scientist (it is implied that the Bat family had something to do with cleaning up her records). She is cleaning up Gotham, and working on important scientific research. Ivy finally has her own cast of characters, has three daughters and her connection to the Green’s mythology is once more established and strengthened. Amy Chu in six issues reminds us Poison Ivy’s rich backstory and reintroduces her to new audiences (13). This Poison Ivy appears to be reformed and she mentions that this is going to be a new start for her. Francis Manapuls Trinity (14) expands elements introduced in Amy Chu’s mini and further establishes the fact that the trinity doesn’t see her as an enemy or a villain, letting her free after the arc ends. Her motives are human and has some deeply emotional moments. Manapul had planned to evolve Ivy by making her know the identities of the Trinity and deciding to keep them secret to protect the heroes but editorial opposed to this idea (15).

But, Poison Ivy does learn the identity of Batgirl in Hope Larson’s Batgirl run where she teams up with Barbara to save an airplane and it's passengers from a plant that's growing uncontrollably in the cargo bay. Here it is revealed that she knows Batgirl's true identiy and decides to keep it a secret (16). In Scott Snyders All Star Batman, Batman is asking for Poison Ivy's help as a scientist so he can stop a deadly virus that's threatening to destroy the planet. After helping him and manufacturing a cure, Batman makes a promise to clear her name saying that he was wrong on many things about her and that he has misjudged her, her motives and actions in the past. Once more she saves the planet and humanity. Not because she’s forced to, not because she is threatened but because she wants to (17). Which leads to Batgirl and the Birds of Prey. Here Julie and Shawna Benson present a heroic Poison Ivy who not only knows the identities of the Birds of Prey but Barbara Gordon trusts her so much that buys a whole company for her and puts Pamela in charge (18). And according to future solicits it appears that Poison Ivy will stick with the team. Before I make a recap I’d like to point that it appears that Batgirl is the driving force behind Poison Ivy turning a new leaf. And it makes sense. Since New52 Poison Ivy is described as a misguided person. Gail Simone believes that "Poison Ivy is the ultimate in rebellion, the last honest person in some ways". Batgirl believes in her. And if rebirth is about hope, then the perfect way to prove this is to give her a chance.

What we have here is a slow but steady character progression. Poison ivy tries to be a hero in BoP but things turn bad, she tries again and again, she helps batman, saves people, saves Gotham, saves the Planet. She asks Batgirls help. She asks her to trust her, to believe in her. She makes a genuine, heartfelt effort to become a better person. Batman trusts her, even makes a fund for young scientists to honor her. She tries to clean Gotham from pollution, creates patents, technology. Batgirl trusts her, Dinah trusts her, Helena trusts her. Not just as an ally but as a friend. She knows their identities. She spends her free time with them. So far she has saved both Gotham and the planet more times than a lot of other heroes. She is trying to become a better person. This is a huge chance for the Birds of Prey team to write history. This is a chance for the DC writers to prove that Rebirth is about hope. I think, I hope that Shawna and Julie Benson will keep Poison Ivy in the team. The problem with Poison Ivy is that a lot of writers force her to be a sidekick/friend/girlfriend to Harley Quinn. She’s not allowed to grow independently or interact with other characters. I understand that DC is putting a huge effort to push Harley but Ivy deserves some time on her own, meeting and interacting with other people, having her own stories. Selina is currently appearing in almost every issue of Batman as well as in other books, Harley has 6-10 books every month. Ivy… Well unless she’s with Harley, she rarely appears on her own or with other characters. I contacted mr DiDio through his facebook profile and told me that there are no present or future plans for Ivy and that fans should look at Harley for more appearances or the Batman family.

For the first time in her history she has a canon story that makes sense. Her journey towards heroism makes sense and is more deeply rooted (pun intended) than ie. Clayface or Killer Frost, Lobo or Lex Luthor who are currently being pushed as heroes. Unfortunately some editors and writers are negative towards Poison Ivy’s evolution and force “gatekeeping stories” that try to force her to go back into a villain. Stories that make little to no sense in the timeline I presented. 

So, in conclusion, dear Benson sisters we love you, we trust you. Please keep Ivy in Birds of Prey. Dear DC writers please respect the work of your colleagues and don’t try to forcibly distort the positive work they are doing with Poison Ivy. Poison Ivy is a woman in STEM, an activist, a feminist, an environmentalist. She is everything you say you want to see in comics. This is your chance to prove that these are not just words, tweets, posts. She is a character that represents the ideas that we need to see grow in these dark times. In Cast Shadows, Ann Nocenti writes Poison Ivy as a woman of science, a person determined to abolish hunger and poverty, stop wars, and bring world peace. To bring light and hope. Let her shine.

Sources: 1. POISON IVY – A CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH, Mackenzie and Walter www.nerdspan.com/poison-ivy-a-cycle-of-life-and-death/ 2. Batman: Shadow of the Bat Vol 1 88 3. Batman Vol 1 568 4. Detective Comics Vol 1 735 5. Gotham Central #32 6. Detective Comics Vol 1 751 7. Detective Comics Vol 1 752 8. Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind 9. Batman: Detective Comics, Volume 5: Gothtopia 10. Detective Comics Vol 2 14 11. Swamp Thing Vol. 3: Rotworld: The Green Kingdom 12. Batgirl Annual Vol 4 2 "When Pamela Gets Blue" 13. Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death Vol 1 14. Trinity, Volume 1: Better Together 15. https://twitter.com/FrancisManapul/status/836676127611568128 16. Batgirl, Volume 1: Beyond Burnside 17. All Star Batman #7 18. Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #13