Poison Ivy

J.T. Krul (writer)

The thing I love most about Poison Ivy is walking than line between bastion of Mother Nature and psycho
eco-terrorist. She sees herself as the hand of Mother Nature. If Mother Nature were a "god," then she would be
her "Jesus." She defends the defenseless nature in the world and truly believes in her cause. Maiming, mauling,
and mutilating are extreme measures, but it's nothing compared to what humanity's done to the world of nature. 
Ivy always sees the greater good as she punishes those who deserve it

First Appearance

Origin: Pre- Crisis on Infinite Earths

Origin: Post- Crisis on Infinite Earths

 
Poison Ivy’s origins were rewritten after the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Pamela Isley was now the beautiful daughter of wealthy parents from Seattle; however she was emotionally quite distant from them. In college she studied advanced botanical biochemistry, and proved to be a brilliant and devoted student with an unusual affinity for the world of plants. Unfortunately, Isley became seduced by her college professor, Dr. Jason Woodrue (who later became the villainous Floronic Man). As part of a twisted experiment, Woodrue injected Isley with a deadly plant-based poison, which caused her physiology to dramatically transform. 
 
Isley nearly died twice from the poisoning, and it also resulted in her never being able to bear children. A further side effect of the poisoning was that it drove her insane. Woodrue abandoned Isley and fled from the authorities while she was hospitalized. After Isley was released from the hospital, she developed pronounced mood swings due to what the professor had done to her. Her mental state deteriorated further when her boyfriend died in a car accident, so she decided she needed to live elsewhere and moved to Gotham City. There she took up the identity of Poison Ivy and adopted a revealing green one-piece costume much like the pre-Crisis version of the character. Her first criminal act as Poison Ivy was to hold the city hostage with deadly plant spores of her own creation until the city's leadership gave her a massive sum of money.

"You are plant food"

Ivy later revealed that she only became a criminal so she could fund a location where she could live with her plants in peace and away from humanity. Ivy eventually achieved this by escaping from Arkham and fleeing to an island near the Caribbean. When she arrived there it was a wasteland, but Ivy used her powers and botanical expertise to transform it into a beautiful paradise. Ivy was able to live there happily until an American corporation tested their weapons on what they thought was an abandoned island. Ivy survived and returned to Gotham to get her revenge on those responsible. She once again was stopped by Batman and ended up back in Arkham.

Poison Ivy In prison

During her second imprisonment in Arkham, Ivy received a message in some flowers that she was going to be broken out by someone that night. Two strange but formidable women named Holly and Eva successfully broke Ivy out of Arkham and brought her to their boss, the former Dr. Woodrue, who had since been transformed into the plant-like Floronic Man. This was the first time that Ivy had seen Woodrue since he had injected her with poison, and Ivy was not happy at all.

The Floronic Man made a deal with Ivy: If she gave him a sample of her DNA, he would give her a massive amount of money. He wanted to use Ivy’s DNA to create a child and flood the streets with high-powered marijuana so the child could control the world’s economy on hemp. Batman interrupted the plan but was ambushed and captured by Holly and Eva. At this point Ivy decided to turn on the Floronic Man, freeing Batman and allowing him to go after the villain. While Batman defeated the Floronic Man, Ivy successfully escaped with all the money.

Ivy during the earthquake of Gotham

Ivy later began showing more human emotion during the earthquake of Gotham. She created a paradise in a park and raised orphans there as if they were her children. Clayface approached Ivy during the winter to try and strike a deal with her, which involved her producing fruits and vegetables. The orphans would harvest them, and he would then sell them to the highest bidder. Ivy declined and instead tries to kill him with her kiss, but Clayface was able to imprison her and the children for six months. Batman arrived and freed her, and they both fought and defeated Clayface.

Harley and Ivy

Batman allowed Ivy to take care of the children until the disaster caused by the earthquake was over. Ivy later found Harley Quinn nearly murdered by the Joker, so she nursed Harley back to health and they became best friends. Once the city returned to normal the city council wanted Ivy out of the park because of her criminal history. They threatened to spray her garden with RC-60 which would kill Ivy and all of her plants, as well as harm to the children. Ivy initially refused, but after accidentally poisoning one of the children, Ivy gave herself up.

Ivy believed that her powers were causing her to kill the orphans she looked after, so she went to Batman and asked him to help her reverse her powers so she could be human again. The procedure was successful and Isley once again was human; however, this proved to be short lived. The villain Hush approached Isley and presented her with a serum that would restore her powers. Isley, unable to resist the urge to become part of her beloved plant world again, took the serum and seemingly died because of it.

But shortly afterward, Poison Ivy was seen in Robinson Park, killing two corrupt cops who killed one of her orphans. Since returning from "death," her power and control over flora has increased considerably, and she resumed her crusade against the corporate enemies of the environment.

Ivy handling business

After returning to Gotham from a year-long absence, Batman discovered that Ivy has been feeding people to a giant plant which would digest the victims slowly and painfully. In an unprecedented event, her victims' souls merge with the plant, creating a botanical monster called Harvest, who sought revenge upon Ivy. With the intervention of Batman, however, she was saved. However she was left in critical condition, and the whereabouts of Harvest were unknown.

In Countdown 37, the Pied Piper and the Trickster were hiding out in a greenhouse, picking fruits and vegetables from the plants. They run into Ivy, who was talking to her plants (being told that Piper and Trickster hurt them), so she reacted by tying them up in vines with the intention of killing them.

She was then shown to have joined the Injustice Gang and was one of the villains featured in Salvation Run.

Gotham City Sirens

Personal Data

 Pre-Crisis Ivy

Pre- Crisis on Infinite Earths

• Height: 5' 2"
• Weight: 100 lbs.
• Eyes: Green
• Hair: Auburn

 Post-Crisis Ivy

Post- Crisis on Infinite Earths

• Height: 5' 9"
• Weight: 133 lbs.
• Eyes: Green
• Hair: Red
• Unusual Features: As a side effect of the exotic plant toxins injected into her by the Floronic Man, Ivy's skin tone became a pale green, though it can vary from green to nearly pure white, and her lips are a somewhat darker shade of green.
  

Status

• Citizenship: American  
• Place of Birth: Seattle, Washington
• Marital Status: Single
• Education: College Graduate, Ph.D. in Botany
• Occupations: Criminal, Eco-terrorist, Botanist
• Known Relatives: None
  

Powers and Abilities

 At one with the trees

Poison Ivy is immune to all kinds of toxins and poisons, and she often employs them as weapons. The very touch of her skin can poison a normal human if she so chooses. She has also developed several toxins which serve different purposes, including a truth serum and a love potion. She is also able to completely mesmerize and manipulate people, particularly men, using her special pheromones. Poison Ivy has complete mental control over all forms of plant life, allowing her to animate them to attack and ensnare her opponents, and even to create powerful new plant hybrids for specialized purposes.

She has a special relationship with plants. She treats them as if they were her children and they respond to her will and command. Her expertise as a biochemist has allowed her to develop mutant plants and to create and bring to life plants that were long thought to be extinct. Ivy's connection with "the green world" is said to be on par with supernatural beings such as Swamp Thing. Ivy can also hear plants when they are in agony and this drives her crazy.
 
Since her death and rebirth, Ivy's control over plants has increased to the point where she is now even able to hear through them (this was shown in Gotham City Sirens #4, when she tracked her friend Harley Quinn - who had been kidnapped - through plants). 

Clobbering Catwoman

The exotic plant toxins injected into her by the Floronic Man also altered Ivy's physiology in more subtle ways. She has far greater durability and resistance to injury than a normal human and is unusually agile, being able to effortlessly climb walls and vines much like her ivy namesake. She is also unusually strong (though not superhumanly so), possessing three times the strength of a peak-level female athlete of her same height, weight, and build. Ivy has learned a limited style of martial arts combat and, combined with her other abilities, can handle herself quite well in a fight.  
 
Though mentally unstable, Ivy possesses a genius-level intellect, particularly regarding anything related to plants, and may be the world's foremost botanical expert.