Despite being a relatively modern creation, Poison Ivy has become one of the most prominent Batman adversaries. First appearing in 1966, Pamela Isley was a simple femme fatale who made use of special lipsticks in her crimes. In the 1970s, Wonder Woman fought a different villain named Lillian Rose who possessed an immunity to all toxins. Neil Gaiman combined both characters in 1988, tying the new Pamela Isley to both Swamp Thing and the Floronic Man, Jason Woodrue. Now, a new history reveals how she became the villain she is now.
Poison Ivy #19 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara recalls Pamela’s time as a college undergraduate. Wilson builds on Gaiman’s history, revealing how Jason Woodrue manipulated the naive young botanist. However, a greater emphasis is placed on Woodrue’s parasitic nature and how he intentionally groomed Pamela while promising her true romance and success as his protégé.
Despite his apparent success as a research scientist, Woodrue still had trouble acquiring the resources he needed for his experiments. Even after he embezzled enough from his employers to create a secret lab, he still needed more. This led to his further manipulating Pamela Isley and setting her on the road to becoming Poison Ivy.
Pamela Isley’s Theft Created Poison Ivy
At Woodrue’s urging, Pamela burglarized the university’s biology lab. This hastened the experiments that would eventually give them both plant-control powers. However, it was this crime, rather than her powers, which truly transformed Pamela into Poison Ivy.
Looking back, Pamela believes the rush of breaking the rules for a seemingly noble cause was what changed her from an honor student to a criminal. “Not later, when I got my powers. Not after I met Batman,” she claims. It was “the first time I decided that laws don’t apply to me” that changed Pamela Isley into Poison Ivy.
Poison Ivy #19 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
