Character Profiles - Villains - Poison Ivy
Real Name: Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley
Occupation: Criminal
Marital Status: Single
Base of Operations: Gotham
Height: 5ft 6in
Weight: 133 lbs
Eyes: Green
Hair: Chestnut
First Appearance: Batman #181 (June 1966)
Created By: Robert Kanigher, Sheldon Moldoff
Pre-Crisis
Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, a promising botanist from Seattle, is seduced by Marc LeGrande into assisting him with the theft of an Egyptian artifact containing ancient herbs. Fearing she would implicate him in the theft, he attempts to poison her with the herbs, which are deadly and untraceable. She survives this murder attempt and discovers she had acquired an immunity to all natural toxins and diseases.
Post-Crisis:
Pamela Isley grew up isolated. Her wealthy parents were inattentive at best, and her only real companions were not even pets, but plants. She had a green thumb, and so she cultivated many plants, everything from vegetables to beautiful flowers. Her isolation and vanity over her good looks made Pamela not fond of people in general, and men in particular
When she left her family for college, she went for a degree in botany. She studied with Alec Holland (who would someday become the human component of the plant elemental Swamp Thing), is wife to be Linda, and Philip Sylvian (who would create the plant heroine Black Orchid). There professor was Jason Woodrue, who had already begun the experiments that would one day turn him into the Floronic Man. Woodrue took Pamela, and used her as a guinea pig, merging genetic material from plants with hers, making her a hybrid of sorts and granting her powers.
Pamela Isely saw on the news something about this new mysterious Batman in Gotham City. Entranced, she went to Gotham, finally thinking she had met a man who would be her equal. She created the guise of Poison Ivy, and committed crimes using her new powers. Batman met her, and spurned her affections. Angered, Ivy swore revenge on Batman.
Ivy was hired by Carmine “The Roman” Falcone to seduce Bruce Wayne and make him susceptible to the Roman’s using a bank Wayne sat on the board of as a front to launder money. Wayne was caught, and saved only by the timely intervention of Catwoman. Ivy then joined Two-Face’s coalition of costumed villains to bring down organized crime in Gotham.
Ivy continued to be a thorn in Batman’s side for some years, until she was offered a pardon if she served with Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad. She did for some time, but her baser nature took over again, and she returned to her criminal ways in Gotham. Also, during this time her focus switched. No longer simply the seductress, her body was becoming more and more plant-like, and with that more of an interest in plants and the environment. Ivy became an eco-terrorist, attacking all companies and men who she believed were harming the environment.
When Gotham was declared a No Man’s Land, Ivy took over Gotham’s large Robinson Park. She turned it into a virtual Eden, allowing only children to populate it. Basil Karlo, the first Clayface, invaded the park, imprisoned Ivy, and used her children as slave labor to harvest and sell produce throughout the starving NML. With the aid of Batman and Robin, Ivy broke free and cast Karlo from her Eden. As a reward, Ivy let Batman and Robin leave alive.
During the NML, Ivy also made a friend. Harley Quinn had nearly been killed by the Joker, and Ivy had found her and saved her life. Harley thanked her and left Robinson Park. After the NML was lifted, the city fathers of Gotham decided to get Ivy out of the Park. They threatened to use defoliant if necessary, which would kill Ivy, the plants, and her children. She turned herself in to save the plants and the children.
Ivt and Harley escaped Arkham and fled together to Metropolis, where the spent time before running afoul of Superman. Ivy returned to Gotham, and was contacted by Hush. He has her use Catwoman to lead Batman into a trap. Then she fled back to Metropolis to escape both Batman and Catwoman, and this time took over Superman’s mind using her powers. Batman freed Superman, and the two of them brought Ivy to Arkham. Since then, she has escaped, and is currently aiding the Riddler in his hiding from Hush.
Poison Ivy is currently more plant then person. Her blood and all of her bodily solutions are a mix of toxins that she can shift at will. Her kiss can control, kill, or cure. She also has a degree of control over plant life, allowing it to grow and almost develop a certain degree of independence to protect her.
One Year Later
Ivy is alive and active. Her control over flora has increased, referred to as being on a par with Swamp Thing or Floronic Man. She also appears to have resumed her crusade against the corporate enemies of the environment with increased fanatical vigor, regarding Batman no longer as a main opponent, but as a 'hindrance'.
Ivy has been feeding people including "tiresome lovers", "incompetent henchmen", and those who "returned her smile" to a giant plant which would digest the victims slowly and painfully. She refers to it as a "guilty pleasure". In an unprecedented event, her victims' souls merge with the plant, creating a botanical monster called Harvest, who seeks revenge upon Ivy. With the intervention of Batman, however, she is saved. Ivy is left in critical condition, and the whereabouts of Harvest are unknown.
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