This article contains SPOILERS for Poison Ivy #4
DC's Poison Ivy's latest transformation makes her the beautiful monster she was always meant to be. Poison Ivy has always been known as a villain banking on her good looks and sexual appeal, but her new solo series is finally upending some of these long-outdated character traits. Ivy knows, of course, that no matter how monstrous she makes herself on the outside, it will never compare to the monstrosity of human beings.
Created in 1966 by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, the villainous Poison Ivy debuted in Batman #181 as a plant-loving seductress with a poisonous touch. In the now-iconic cover for #181, Ivy stands tall in a one-piece corset between the feuding heads of Batman and Robin—she literally stands between them, her beauty, sexual appeal, and power of pheromones causing trouble between the allies. But Pamela Isley's character has changed drastically over the years, and as fans have become increasingly sympathetic towards her ecological causes and her position as a queer woman in a world of powerful men, Poison Ivy is now more typically viewed as an anti-heroine. That doesn't mean she hasn't lost her nefarious ways. In her latest solo series, Poison Ivy's ultimate goal is to destroy humanity at any cost—including her own life—in order to save the planet. Her plans keep hitting snags as she meets people—especially people who remind her of her beloved Harley Quinn—whom she wants to save, not kill.
Isley meets one such person in the pages of Poison Ivy #4 by G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara, Arif Prianto, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Isley gets a job at an Amazon-like packing plant in order to spread her poisonous fungus as far and wide as possible. While there, she gets to know a few of the workers, including a young woman who is continually sexually harassed by their uncaring boss. Poison Ivy comes to the woman's defense and takes matters into her own hands. She confronts the boss, demanding he confess to the harassment just before she transforms into a looming and fluorescent plant-monster and kills him.
This is Poison Ivy's most terrifying form yet and her outside finally fits her attitude towards the world. Even though Ivy was created many decades ago as a seductress supervillain, her character has transformed—just like she does in this issue—into someone far more interested in getting her hands dirty herself. This attitude is all in service, for better or for worse, of the world around her. Poison Ivy is one of the few DC villains who isn't destructive for selfish (or even chaotic) reasons. Ivy sees herself as a defender of the planet, especially from those who actively seek to destroy it. At this moment, she isn't even the most monstrous person on the page: that title is reserved for the patriarchal boss who actively harms his employee.
Well known for her powers of persuasion—both through her good looks and her pheromone powers—Ivy's more direct (and vile) attitude toward the world is reflected in her design. While this gruesome Poison Ivy form is only shown for one page, it demonstrates that Ivy herself is ready to move on from her past characterization and towards a more self-possessed—possibly murderous—version of herself. Fans can only hope that Poison Ivy's monstrous form will reappear, especially as she continues to defend the downtrodden, no matter the end result.
Poison Ivy #4, is available now from DC Comics!