In what appears to be a two-part story, Poison Ivy is up against a new kind of threat who has trapped her in a fun-house nightmare. Nightmares are par for the course for Ivy, but with the ability to weaponize flora, what happens when a synthetic flora attacks her back? It’s a compelling question as G. Willow Wilson weaves a story within a story with Poison Ivy #15.
This issue opens with Poison Ivy coming to the realization the man with a flower for a head is Peter Undine. He’s trapped Poison Ivy in a funhouse of sorts with no exits and topsy-turvy insides. Quickly the issue dives into Peter’s origin and how he got his powers. His abilities, we learn, come from steel that can heal itself, not unlike the Green. After the compelling backstory, we learn he sees himself not unlike Poison Ivy, who is of course disgusted with the connection.
It’s easy to forget Killer Croc is part of this story and sort of why Poison Ivy is trapped at all. Wilson and artist Marcio Takara cut to him, who is a bit worried for Poison Ivy who hasn’t shown up yet. Soon he’s coming to her aid, more or less stumbling into it, and it’s interesting to see how he’s written. He’s a bit of a lumbering yet caring fool. He means well, but he’s also willing to smash a thing if it stings.
How badass is she?
Credit: DC Comics
I will say Croc feels a bit convenient as a solution to the plot. It’s also sort of strange he can find her so easily. One can imagine this confrontation is just the first, but our villain comes out a bit half-baked in his supervillain form. As an origin, it’s good, though!
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou delights with his lettering. Poison Ivy’s word balloons are particularly pretty with a nice red and green hue through them. There’s a nice subtle goopiness to Undine’s blue word balloons and Croc riffs off them well with clean, white balloons. The real monsters aren’t Croc at all, who usually is depicted as one.
Meanwhile, Wilson continues to evolve Poison Ivy from her supervillain ways. We see that with a shock she feels getting the villain exposition dealt at her. We also see it when she self-sacrifices to win the day. As this series shows, Poison Ivy is incredibly strong, but in order to help others around her she usually must resort to hurting herself to vanquish an enemy. That’s an intriguing angle on the villain turned-hero that continues to evolve as she herself comments on her actions.
Takara continues to show they’re perfect for this series, crafting some truly unhinged looks for Poison Ivy. It’s fun to see Croc comment on it since it’s a new look. Peter and his goopy blue goo adds a nice juxtaposition to the green growth Poison Ivy uses. Peter’s backstory is told over three pages and reads in an efficient way. The murders are cleverly set up panel by panel.
Poison Ivy #15 offers an intriguing new villain with a horrifying backstory. Throw in a fun use of Killer Croc and Ivy self-sacrificing to save the day, and this series continues to sing.
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