Comic fans are often caught up in the next debate. DC fans could benefit from a few unpopular Poison Ivy opinions to bring up should any arguments begin about the classic character. There's no better place to go for arguments than Reddit, where clashing opinions are not in short order.
Poison Ivy is a villain, but she's become an anti-hero in recent years, and some Redditors argue that she's a better character as a hero. Others debate her relevance in comics today. And some also have a lot to say about her relationship with Harley Quinn, and oddly enough, even Batman. The various comic book subreddits will reveal more about these unpopular opinions.
Ivy's Brief Moment As "Poison Ice" Wasn't Good
Gail Simone had a wonderful stint on Batgirl, which was a part of the New 52 era of DC Comics. In Batgirl Annual #2 from 2014, Poison Ivy teamed up with Batgirl. In "Comic Books," MisterMere says, "I was on board with that Batgirl annual until the 'Poison Ice' thing. Other than that, it was a great issue."
The user is referring to a moment late in the issue where Batgirl and Poison Ivy confront a murderer in an icy area. The murder offers to help Ivy "become normal" if she'll kill Batgirl for him. Batgirl cautiously utters Ivy's name, to which Ivy responds that Batgirl should call her "Poison Ice." Ivy then uses vines encased in ice to attack the murderer. It's odd for the user to complain about such a small part, but it was also pretty awesome. It's already apparent that Ivy is extremely powerful, but this scene shows that freezing cold temperatures don't hinder her powers. Ice can hurt plants, but not when Ivy is involved.
Ivy Is Just An Accessory To Harley
In the "DC Comics," Robot_Was_BMO says, "Ivy feels too motherly and bland with Harley in [Conner and Palmiotti's] comics, and she almost seems like nothing more than an accessory for Harley to use whenever she feels like it." The user prefers the plant-obsessed version of Poison Ivy.
All comic characters have different versions, but the modern version of Poison Ivy being in a relationship with Harley Quinn has been massively popular. While originating in the comics, it's also been adapted into the Harley Quinn animated series. But more importantly, Ivy has decades of history as one of Batman's deadliest villains, which was also portrayed well in Batman: The Animated Series. She also had her own solo comic series, Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death, which shows her being her own character without Harley or Batman factoring into the main story.
Ivy Needs To Stay A Villain
Ausernameiguessso says in "DC Comics" that they "think Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy should remain villains." This references the way the characters have trended more to the good side in recent years. Harley has separated from the Joker permanently and recently settled in Coney Island as a likable antihero while Ivy has helped more than hindered Batman in his quest for justice.
While Poison Ivy is often considered as one of Batman's coolest villains, many fans have now accepted her as a hero, largely because she's an environmentalist. In the modern-day era, that doesn't scream "villain" anymore. Rather than give Ivy a new angle, writers have wisely begun to portray her as a morally "good" character who is now preoccupied with saving the world instead of trying to take it over.
Ivy Needs A Villain Replacement To Be A Hero
One Redditor thinks Ivy needs a replacement before she can become a hero. In "DC Comics," Thedairybandit says, "Of course, if they replace her with another villain who fits the trope, then Ivy would be a good candidate to go anti-hero with."
While such a villain already exists with Floronic Man, there really shouldn't need to be a Poison Ivy knock-off to fill the "villain who uses plants" void. Ivy can go ahead and be a hero without anyone else applying for the villain job. Fans like her just fine either way, whether it be in the comics or the Harley Quinn animated show, where Poison Ivy is the most likable character.
Ivy Wants Humans To Go Extinct
In "DC Comics," TheBigBadBat626 says "She wants the human race to go extinct. She’s too extreme." While the previous unpopular opinion suggested that Ivy has become too much of a hero, this one says she can't possibly be a hero.
This opinion seems to ignore the way Ivy has been written the past ten years, as multiple users point out. The classic story No Man's Land even showed Ivy taking care of kids. The "too extreme" villain isn't who Ivy is anymore, and she's even gone out of her way to save people in the modern comics.
Ivy Should've Stayed Dead
In the miniseries Heroes in Crisis, Wally West accidentally kills many other characters with a deadly burst of energy. One of those characters was Poison Ivy. Ivy came back at the end of the series by regrowing from a seed she had left behind. But JSpec776 in "DC Comics" says that DC "should have just left her dead in Heroes in Crisis and come up with a new Ivy."
As most fans know, no one in comics stays dead. In addition, it wouldn't make sense to kill off a character who's at the height of her popularity. Ivy had just had a successful miniseries, Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death, and she has a high-profile role in the Harley Quinn animated series. Finally, after all the horror that Wally experiences in Heroes in Crisis, it was nice to have Ivy show up as one less victim at the end.
Batman And Ivy Should Be A Couple
Here's a fan clamoring for a couple that no one else seems to be asking for, that being Ivy and the Dark Knight himself. In "Batman," Jkerving30 says, "What I love about Poison Ivy from the silver age to the 90s is that she was created to be a love interest to Batman. And I love how the comics and the writers played with that. What I would love to see is a reinvention [of] Bruce Wayne and Poison Ivy's romantic relationship, and how both of them change and evolve and play with both of their [dualities]."
As one of Batman's most redeemable villains, Poison Ivy shares some of Batman's honor in protecting the things she loves. Yet any romantic pairing between the two would require the destruction of not one, but two of DC's most popular couplings. Batman has Catwoman, and Ivy has Harley. It wouldn't be wise for DC to end both relationships so they can make a new one that almost no one wants.
Ivy Needs To Leave Harley
In "DC Comics," an anonymous user says, "The Harley/Ivy relationship needs to be let go for now so Ivy can have her own stories." While the user may be rooting for more Ivy solo stories, they're suggesting a very unpopular means of doing that."
Again, Harley and Ivy's relationship is very popular. It's elevated the popularity of the characters in such a way that they're at their best when they're together. The two of them breaking up would be too devastating to fans. In addition to this, the Injustice canon recently had the characters marry, which suggests the storyline has been successful.
Ivy And Harley's Relationship Is Forced
Building off of the previous unpopular opinion, RetMaestro says in "DC Comics" that "Poison Ivy and Harley's romance feels rather forced, quite frankly it would be refreshing to see two women just be friends and nothing more really." Besides the previously mentioned popularity of the relationship, this opinion doesn't make sense.
There are countless examples of women just being friends in DC Comics. Just a few of those are Barbara Gordon and Dinah Lance, Dinah Lance and Helena Bertinelli, Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain, and Starfire and Donna Troy. In addition, there aren't many female same-sex couples in DC media, with certain characters like Batwoman not getting paired off because of certain ideas about there being "no happiness for the Bat-Family." So the representation of Harley and Ivy is that much more important.