By [ad_1]
The CW’s Batwoman has cast Bridget Regan as Poison Ivy, Gotham City’s resident misanthropic ecofeminist. Previously known as Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, Poison Ivy made her debut in June 1996 in Batman #181 and is often depicted as a full-time villain and part-time anti-hero, often doing the wrong things for the right reasons.
Regardless of her motives, however, she swiftly became an enduring nemesis of Batman, whom she forms a hatred for based on his blatant ignorance towards the environment and inability to do what — in her eyes — needs to be done. And with her set to head to the Arrowverse’s Gotham to terrorize Ryan Wilder and her friends, let’s look at a few interesting facts about the iconic villain.
Poison Ivy Was Inspired By Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Rappaccini’s Daughter”
While Poison Ivy’s origin may seem unique, it was actually inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Rappaccini’s Daughter (1844), which is about Giacomo Rappaccini, a medical researcher in Padua who grows a garden of poisonous plants. He even teaches his daughter to tend the plants, but she develops a natural resistance to the poisons and becomes poisonous to others in the process.
The traditional story of a poisonous maiden has been traced back to India and served as the basis for Poison Ivy’s existence. In addition, Robert Kanigher, Ivy’s creator, modeled the character after the popular pin-up model Bettie Page.
Poison Ivy Was a Skilled Botanist
Poison Ivy’s civilian name is Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, Ph.D., and she worked as a promising botany student in Seattle, studying botanic biochemistry under her professor, Jason Woodrue. As a shy, easily manipulated girl, Ivy is seduced by Woodrue, who convinces her to actively test some poisons and toxins as a practical experiment, thus resulting in her transformation.
After she flees Seattle and arrives at Gotham City, her criminal career begins when she threatens to unleash suffocating spores upon the city unless her demands are met. But she soon encounters Batman, who thwarts her scheme and tosses her in Arkham Asylum. From that point on, she develops an obsession with Batman, since he is the only person able to overcome her mind-controlling toxins.
Poison Ivy Controls Plants, Humans and More
Woodrue’s dangerous experiments permanently injected poisons and toxins in Ivy’s blood, which granted her plant-based superpowers over a course of months following the incident. She possesses a natural immunity to all toxins, poisons, fungi, and any other harmful chemical bacteria, and some comics even depict her as more plant than human, breathing CO2 and requiring sunlight to survive.
Using what she refers to as “pheromones,” Poison Ivy can seduce men and women alike. When someone falls victim to these pheromones, they essentially become mindless zombies at Ivy’s disposal. She can also produce the most potently powerful toxins, which she merges with lipstick to administer a deadly kiss to those that fall prey to her indisposing pheromones.
In some comics, she has an empathetic and psychic connection to plants in which she can communicate with them and control them with her mind. She can also manipulate and animate plants to assist her in all manners of villainy, but she mainly uses them to defend herself or to subdue intruders that disturb her tranquility and threaten to harm the Gotham City native flora. In recent years, she has even been able to create plant avatars that will do her bidding.
Poison Ivy Has Some Weaknesses
Poison Ivy shares her attributes with plant life, resembling them in appearance, ability and needs. Therefore, her biggest weakness is sunlight, or lack thereof, considering that plants need photosynthesis to operate and without it, they wither and die. An area lacking in sunlight would not only weaken Ivy’s powers but potentially be enough to kill her if she were left exposed to darkness for long enough.
Another prominent weakness for Poison Ivy is her few meaningful interracial relationships. She does not consider herself human, and she refers to any and all humans as “meat sacks” — with few exceptions. One of those exceptions is Harley Quinn, who struck up a relationship with Ivy in the comics in 2013 and more recently in the animated Harley Quinn series. Ivy is overprotective of Harley, whom she deeply cares for, enough to grant her immunity from Ivy’s intoxication and overlook her irresponsible actions, such as forgetting to water the plants. Should Harley be in danger, Ivy would surely prioritize her safety over her malicious environmental cause.
Poison Ivy Joined Several Teams
For the most part, Poison Ivy is a solo act, but there have been some instances in which Ivy has teamed up with others, whether it be for her own selfish needs or simply for strength in numbers. In order to wreak havoc on Gotham City, Poison Ivy was joined by Catwoman and Harley Quinn to form the trio known as the Gotham City Sirens. In addition, she joined the Suicide Squad (of which Harley Quinn was also a member) in 1989 for the first of many life-threatening missions under Amanda Waller’s command and entertained assisting the Birds of Prey for a short while.
To see Poison Ivy in action, new episodes of Batwoman air Sundays on The CW.
About The Author
[ad_2]
