A nightmare realm has fallen onto the heroes and villains of DC Comics in Knight Terrors, and Poison Ivy is one of them. With the second issue of tie-ins coming out this week, we get to see some resolution. The nightmare realm for Poison Ivy is a plastic and incredibly fake “happy ending” for Ivy, who lives with Harley Quinn in suburban bliss. In the second issue, can Poison Ivy break free from this nightmare, and can she figure out it’s a nightmare at all?
Writer G. Willow Wilson opens this issue with artist Atagun Ilhan at dinner between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. It’s as fake as it comes, and while she tells Harley she’s having a good meal, Poison Ivy asserts in this dream house, they know how to love each other. Through the captions, we get the sense Poison Ivy knows something’s up while reaffirming the positive vibes of this nightmare realm.
Things go from bad to worse when Harley asks Poison Ivy to kill the one living weed in their yard. The yard is devoid of life, with an evil grinning sun peering behind the neighbor’s houses, indicating a trial for Poison Ivy to endure. Through Harley’s ask, we see an emotional horror story taking place here too. Poison Ivy wants to give Harley everything she needs, but how far will she go to give it to her?
Throughout this issue, we see Poison Ivy come to realizations about her relationship, and while the nightmare does end, we get the sense that she’s learned something about herself through the process.
Meanwhile, Janet is digging a hole in the wall in the basement to escape. Wilson cleverly utilizes Janet to pull Poison Ivy back into a confident place after giving up. It’s a reminder that this series is about Poison Ivy taking chances, helping those she once thought enemies, and finding solace in new relationships. One can see the greater meaning of relationships and Poison Ivy growing as a person because of it, which is pretty darn cool.
Everything is fine!
Credit: DC Comics
One issue I did have with the comic was how quickly we get to the end with little conflict. Once Poison Ivy realizes what’s going on, the main threat that’s been building is thwarted fairly easily. I understand the power of the nightmare largely comes from not knowing it’s a nightmare, but some kind of direct conflict with the Batman, Harley, and other characters could have been interesting.
Ilhan’s art is great, with an interesting sheen on the faces of characters by color artist Arif Prianto to help convey the plastic fakeness of it all. Mark Morales’ inks add to the unreality of this nightmare. When the nightmare gets worse, so does the environment dripping as if they truly are plastic being melted.
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou continues to impress with thoughtful lettering. That goes for the text itself, but also the word balloons. A “not so fast” that trails down to the bottom of the page creates a sense of dread as the characters look past us. We know the danger will be on the very next page. And that’s just one example!
Knight Terrors: Poison Ivy #2 achieves what the series has set out to do: to continue to develop and grow Poison Ivy as a person.
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