New Batwoman Season 3 images reveal the first look at the Arrowverse's Poison Ivy. Batwoman stars Javicia Leslie as the titular hero and is in the midst of its third season on CW. Nicole Kang plays Dr. Mary Hamilton on the show, a member of the Bat-Team who has been with the series since the beginning.
Poison Ivy aka Pam Isley is a botanist and biochemist who has the ability to control plantlife, as well as infect her enemies with a poisonous touch. She has been a staple Batman villain since her inception in 1966, created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff. Poison Ivy's villainous goals have traditionally been "saving the environment", but almost always by forsaking humanity, making her a kind of eco-terrorist and thorn in Gotham City's side.
In the November 24 midseason finale, titled “Double Trouble," Batwoman revealed that Kang will become the new Poison Ivy in the series, squaring off against her former teammates as a new iteration of the character. Per Deadline, the first look at Kang's transformation into "Poison Ivy Mary" has been revealed, as well as some details about her villainous transition. Batwoman executive producer Caroline Dries says that Mary felt like Kang's Mary was "the ideal character to go through a major ‘photosynthesis,’" in the show, following the continued reinvention of classic Batman villains who pick up the various rogues gallery items stolen by Kate/Circe from the Batcave in season 2. Dries elaborates on the choice, saying:
“The fun part of making each villain’s powers transferable is that we get to do our own spin on the character — this one through the lens of what Mary would create: something heightened, playful, fashion-forward, and sexy. It was so exciting to work alongside Nicole as we picked hair color, eye color and, of course, the clothing itself. But it wasn’t until Nicole showed up on set and absolutely killed her performance that the character of Poison Ivy Mary was complete.”
Poison Ivy has been seen in multiple variations throughout a variety of media over the years. Her most prominent live-action appearance was Uma Thurman's portrayal in Batman & Robin. Actress Peyton List portrayed Poison Ivy in Gotham, as well as voicing her in the DC animation adaptation of Batman: Hush. Poison Ivy has appeared in multiple animated series and video games, most recently in HBO Max's Harley Quinn, voiced by Lake Bell, where she has an intimate relationship with the lead character.
Poison Ivy has been an intriguing Batman villain for a long time and seeing her take on a new incarnation with a different character is a fun twist. Shifting established characters from a series into a villain role, particularly a well-known one, makes for a satisfying change, keeping viewers on their toes and creating some new mystery to an established character. Batwoman has cleverly played with this idea since the season 2 finale and it continues to pay off as each "new" villain is populated from the classic rogues gallery.
Source: Deadline