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Poison Ivy
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Real name Pamela Lillian Isley
Poison Ivy (Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, Ph.D.) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. Created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff, the character made her first appearance in Batman #181 (June 1966). Poison Ivy is one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.
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Poison Ivy is depicted as one of the world's most notorious eco-terrorists. She is obsessed with plants, botany, and environmentalism. She uses toxins from plants and mind controlling pheromones for her criminal activities, which are usually aimed at protecting the natural environment. Fellow villain Harley Quinn became her recurring partner-in-crime and her girlfriend. She has proven to be one of Batman's more powerful foes, as she is one of the few members of the Dark Knight's Rogues Gallery to display anything close to superpowers. The character has been portrayed as a love interest for Batman in some comics. In one comic, she was robbing a charity gala Bruce Wayne and Barry Allen were attending. Her first kiss was poison, the second its antidote. When they first meet, her toxic lips planted a seed of toxic rapture in Bruce. But when she later kissed a dying Dark Knight, she unknowingly cured her intended victim and established a budding romantic tension between them.
Creator Robert Kanigher modeled Poison Ivy after Bettie Page, giving her the same haircut and Southern drawl as Page. In her first appearances in 1966, no origin was developed; she was merely a temptress. When she first arrived in Gotham City, her costume was a one-piece, strapless green bathing suit, covered with leaves. Leaves also formed her bracelets, necklace, and crown. She wore green high heels and yellow-green nylon stockings with leaves painted on them. These particulars changed somewhat when she re-appeared.
Poison Ivy was promoted after the rise of feminism pointed out the need for a greater number of more independent female villains in the series. She was also used to replace the increasingly sympathetic Catwoman as a clearly antagonistic female supervillain foil for Batman, and then made further appearances in the Batman comic book series and in Suicide Squad. The second, retconned origin story provided for her by Neil Gaiman in the late 1980s linked her to Swamp Thing and his original Black Orchid as a human-plant hybrid. She has since appeared in starring roles in Gotham City Sirens and Birds of Prey.
The character was portrayed by Uma Thurman in Batman & Robin, and was voiced by Diane Pershing in Batman: The Animated Series. A significantly teenaged version was voiced by Piera Coppola on The Batman, and a completely revamped incarnation has been voiced by Tasia Valenza in the Batman: Arkham video game franchise, each nevertheless proving to be one of the most powerful criminals.
IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Poison Ivy as #64. She was ranked 21st in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.
Biography
Pre-CrisisDr. Lillian Rose, Ph.D., 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 has acquired an immunity to all natural toxins and diseases.
Post-Crisis: Life in Seattle and Gotham
Following the events of the DC maxi-series comic Crisis on Infinite Earths, which massively retconned DC Universe history and continuity, Poison Ivy's origins were revised in Secret Origins #36, 1988, written by Neil Gaiman. Pamela Lillian Isley grows up wealthy with emotionally distant parents. She later studies advanced botanical biochemistry at a university with Alec Holland under Dr. Jason Woodrue. Isley, a timid shy girl, is easily seduced by her professor. Woodrue injects Isley with poisons and toxins as an experiment, causing her transformation. She nearly dies twice as a result of these poisonings, driving her insane. Later, Woodrue flees from the authorities leaving Isley in the hospital for six months. Enraged at the betrayal, she suffers from violent mood swings, being sweet one moment and evil the next. When her boyfriend has a car accident after mysteriously suffering from a massive fungal overgrowth, Isley drops out of school and leaves Seattle, eventually settling in Gotham City.
She begins her criminal career by threatening to release her suffocating spores into the air unless the city meets her demands. Batman, who appears in Gotham that very same year, thwarts her scheme, and she is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum. From this point on, she has a kind of obsession with Batman, he being the only person she could not control. Over the years, she develops plant-like superpowers, the most noticeable being a lethal toxin in her lips; she is able to literally kill with a kiss.
In subsequent issues, she states that she only started a life of crime to attain sufficient funds to find a location to be alone with her plants, undisturbed by humanity. A few years later, she attempts to leave Gotham forever, escaping Arkham to settle on a desert island in the Caribbean. She transforms the barren wasteland into a second Eden, and is, for the first time in her life, happy. It is soon firebombed, however, when an American-owned corporation tests their weapons systems out on what they think is an abandoned island. Ivy returns to Gotham with a vengeance, punishing those responsible. After being willingly apprehended by Batman, she resolves that she can never leave Gotham, at least not until the world was safe for plants. From then on, she dedicates herself to the impossible mission of "purifying" Gotham.
At one point, Batman travels to Seattle to ascertain information on Pamela Isley's life before she became Poison Ivy. Here, Batman states that both of Pamela's parents are dead. When and why they died has been left undetermined.
While in Arkham, Poison Ivy receives a message through flowers that someone is to help her escape. That night, two women, Holly and Eva, successfully break Ivy out and bring her back to their employer. She is less than happy to discover that it is the Floronic Man, formerly known as Dr. Jason Woodrue, her former college professor that conducted the experiments on her. The only human portion of him remaining is his head, while the rest of his body is plant-based.
After striking a deal with him in the underground tunnels of Gotham, Ivy receives a trunk full of money in return for samples of her DNA. Woodrue intends to combine their DNA to create a "child", all while flooding the streets of Gotham with high-powered marijuana. The purpose of this is to create a world economy run on hemp and to have their offspring control it. Batman intervenes, but is overcome by Woodrue's henchwomen, Holly and Eva. However, Ivy turns on Floronic Man and lets Batman go to fight the intoxicated maniac. In the end, Batman decapitates the Floronic Man, and Ivy escapes with her money.
At times, Ivy demonstrates positive, even maternal traits. When Gotham City is destroyed in an earthquake, rather than fight over territory like most of Batman's enemies, she holds dominion over Robinson Park and turns it into a tropical paradise. Sixteen children who are orphaned during the quake come to live with her as she sympathizes with them having suffered a traumatic childhood herself. She cares for them like sons and daughters, despite her usual misanthropy.
That winter, Clayface (Basil Karlo) pays Ivy a visit, hoping to form a bargain with her. This would entail her growing fruits and vegetables, having the orphans harvest them, and him selling the produce to the highest bidder. She wants nothing to do with the plan, and she attempts to kill him with a kiss. Clayface overpowers her, however, and imprisons Ivy and the orphans for six months in a chamber under the park's lake. He feeds her salt and keeps her from the sun to weaken her. Eventually, Batman comes and discovers the imprisoned orphans and Ivy. The two agree to work together to take Karlo down. Batman battles Clayface and instructs Robin to blow up the lake bed above, allowing the rushing water to break apart the mud, effectively freeing Ivy. She fights Karlo, ensnaring him in the branches of a tree and fatally kissing him. She then proceeds to sink him down into the ground, where he becomes fertilizer for Ivy's plants. Batman, originally intending to take the orphans away from Ivy, recognizes that staying with her is what is best for them, and they remain in her care until the city is restored. Also, as part of a bargain to keep her freedom, Batman arranges it so that Ivy provides fresh produce to the starving hordes of earthquake survivors.
Soon after, Ivy finds Harley Quinn, who had almost been murdered by the Joker, among the debris of the earthquake and nurses her back to health. The two have been best friends and partners-in-crime ever since.
After Gotham City is reopened to the public, the city council wants to evict her from the park and send her back to Arkham Asylum, as they are uncomfortable with the thought of a "psychotic eco-terrorist controlling the equivalent of 30-odd square blocks." They also mistakenly believe that the orphans in Ivy's care are hostages. The Gotham City Police Department threaten to spray the park with R.C. Sixty, a powerful herbicide that most certainly would have killed every living plant in the park, including Ivy, and more than likely do harm to the children. Ivy refuses to leave the park to the city and let them destroy the paradise she had created, so she chooses martyrdom. It is only after Rose, one of the orphans, is accidentally poisoned by Ivy that the hardened eco-terrorist surrenders herself to the authorities in order to save the girl's life. Batman says that, as much as she would hate to admit it, Ivy is still more human than plant.
Later on, she and other Gotham characters are manipulated by the Riddler and Hush. Her task is to hypnotize both Superman and Catwoman, using Catwoman to steal ransom money from Killer Croc after the original plan is interrupted by Batman while Superman serves as a 'bodyguard' when she hides in Metropolis. However, she abandons Catwoman to be killed by Killer Croc, and Batman is able to keep Superman busy in a fight (aided by the Kryptonite ring he was given long ago) long enough for the Man of Steel to break out of the spell. Soon afterwards, the Riddler, who is being chased and attacked by Hush, approaches Ivy and seeks her protection. Ivy, who is angered by the manipulation, battles the Riddler physically and psychologically. She comes to physically dominate her opponent, humiliating Riddler and temporarily breaking his spirit.
Poison Ivy comes to believe that her powers are killing the children she had looked after, so she seeks Bruce Wayne's help to reverse her powers and make her a normal human being once more. Soon after, she is convinced by Hush to take another serum to restore her powers and apparently dies in the process. However, when her grave is visited shortly thereafter, it is covered with ivy, creating the impression her death would be short-lived.
Shortly after, Poison Ivy appears briefly in Robinson Park, killing two corrupt cops who killed one of her orphans (although whether this takes place before or after the aforementioned storyline is unknown).
"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 a new fanaticism, regarding Batman no longer as a main opponent, but as a "hindrance". After arriving back from a year-long absence, Batman discovers that 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 these murders 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 Poison Ivy. With the intervention of Batman however, she is saved. Poison Ivy is left in critical condition, and the whereabouts of Harvest are unknown.
In Countdown #37, the Piper and the Trickster are hiding out in a greenhouse, picking fruits and vegetables from the plants. They run into Ivy, who is talking to her plants (presumably being told that Piper and Trickster hurt them), to which she reacts by tying them up in vines with the intention of killing them. She is then shown to have joined the Injustice League Unlimited and is one of the villains featured in Salvation Run.
In the "Battle for the Cowl" storyline, she is coerced by a new Black Mask into joining his group of villains that aims to take over Gotham. She and Killer Croc unsuccessfully attempt to murder Damian Wayne.
Shortly after, she escapes from Black Mask's control and forms an alliance with Catwoman and Harley Quinn, leading into the ongoing series Gotham City Sirens.
During Hush's ploy to hurt Batman through hurting his loved ones, Hush kidnaps Catwoman and surgically removes her heart. After being saved by Batman, she is operated on by some of the most gifted surgeons in the world, including Doctor Mid-Nite and Mr. Terrific. Zatanna also gives her a magic antidote to help heal her wounds. In order to get even with Hush, Selina enlists the help of Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Oracle, Holly Robinson, and Slam Bradley to track down all of Hush's accounts, pilfer them, and leave him penniless. Selina pays Holly, Harley, and Ivy over $30 million each, hoping that they would use the funds to leave Gotham to start fresh somewhere else.
However, Harley uses her money to go on a shopping spree, while Ivy gives her money away to organizations in Madagascar and Costa Rica for reforestation.
After rescuing Catwoman from Boneblaster, a new villain trying to make a name for himself, Poison Ivy takes Catwoman back to Edward Nigma's townhouse. When there, Catwoman sees that Ivy has been keeping the Riddler under mind control so that she and Harley could use his townhouse as a hideout. Here, Catwoman decides that with Gotham City more dangerous than ever with all the gang wars and a new Batman, a partnership with the other two women would be advantageous. However, Ivy fears that Catwoman has lost her edge and prowess, and consults with Zatanna on the nature of Catwoman's injuries. Zatanna responds that Catwoman has psychological wounds that would need healing. Ivy resolves that she and Harley would provide Catwoman with "positive female reinforcement". The three then agree to become a team. However, Harley and Ivy have one condition: they demand that Catwoman reveal to them the true identity of Batman.
Eventually, Ivy and the other Sirens ambush the Riddler at his office (with Ivy using her plants to truss and gag his secretary), telling him that they've been framed for the murder of a young nurse. He agrees to help clear their names, and during the discussion Ivy reveals that she has recently taken up a job at the Gotham division of S.T.A.R. Labs under an assumed name (Dr. Paula Irving). She is eventually kidnapped and placed in a specialized containment unit by a researcher named Alisa Adams, but escapes and turns the table on her captor by binding her with vines. Ivy initially informs Adams that she plans to kill her, but instead decides to let her live after seeing a photograph of Alisa's young daughter. Ivy then threatens Alisa into keeping her mouth shut about her true identity, telling her that she will change her mind and kill her if she reveals her secret to anyone.
When Harley Quinn betrays her friends and breaks into Arkham Asylum with the goal of killing the Joker, she ultimately chooses instead to release Joker from his cell, and together the two orchestrate a violent takeover of the facility. Poison Ivy arrives and tries to convince Harley Quinn that the Joker is evil, but Harley Quinn refuses to believe her and knocks Poison Ivy unconscious. After they are defeated by Catwoman and Batman, Catwoman then tells Poison Ivy that they are no longer friends, after Ivy had drugged Catwoman in an attempt to discover Batman's identity. Poison Ivy is taken in Arkham Asylum. Ivy soon escapes and ambushes Harley in her cell, binding and gagging her former friend before she can defend herself. Ivy struggles with the decision to execute Harley for her betrayal, but ultimately releases her after realizing that she is still her friend. Together, the two set off to find Catwoman and make her pay for leaving them behind. The two of them found Catwoman and fought her on the streets. While they were fighting, Catwoman confessed that she saw good in the both of them and only wanted to help them. When she told them that she only kept tabs on them because Batman wanted to keep them under control, Ivy lashed out onto the city by using giant vines to destroy buildings, cursing at Batman for manipulating her. Batman was about to arrest them, but Catwoman helped the two of them escape.
The New 52
In The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), Poison Ivy is recruited into the covert-ops group known as the Birds of Prey. Though she is specifically hand-picked by the team's leader Black Canary, the other members of the group protest Ivy's inclusion, citing her violent past and connections to various murders. These suspicions are proven correct when Ivy poisons the team and forces them to attack corrupt companies she wants to destroy until Katana apparently kills her.
Ivy survives the injuries and returns to Gotham, breaking out Clayface/Basil Karlo in order to manipulate him into becoming her husband. Batman intervenes to help her, mainly because the locations she attacked were the Penguin's properties. Poison Ivy ends up captured by Penguin's men. She is buried alive by them, but survives long enough to be rescued by Penguin's right-hand man Emperor Penguin who has taken his boss' businesses after the Joker's return. He proposes an alliance with her. However, Karlo, who Batman had set free from Ivy's control, tracks down and attacks Poison Ivy.
Origins
These origins, in this new DC universe, were presented in a special issue of Detective Comics (#23.1), during the "Villains Month" event in September 2013.
In this timeline of The New 52, Pamela Isley was born with a skin condition that prevented her from leaving her home, the garden was the place where she spent most of her limited time in the outside. Her father constantly beat her mother until he finally murdered her and buried her in the garden. While in college, Pamela sold pheromone pills to other students to study its effects until she was caught by police. She used a powerful version of the pills to mind-control the Dean so he would drop the charges and let her graduate from college with honors. While visiting her father in prison, she kissed him with a poison that was secreted from her lips that killed him.
Later she landed an internship in Wayne Enterprises in its Bio-Chemistry division developing pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. She was fired after proposing Bruce Wayne to develop chemicals that could brainwash people by triggering social or behavioral responses from them. As she was escorted out by security, she accidentally spilled the chemicals she was working with on herself, giving her powers to control plant life and immunity to all poisons and viruses.
Best films
(2017)
(1997)Played by the actors
Filmography of Poison Ivy (6 films)
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, 1h15Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Action, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Films about magic and magicians, Films about dogs, Batman films, Superhero films, Comedy horror films, Super-héros inspiré de comics, Mise en scène d'un mammifère
Actors Frank Welker, Matthew Lillard, Grey DeLisle, Kate Micucci, Jeff Bennett, Diedrich Bader
Rating65%
Scooby Doo et la sympathique équipe de Mystère et C trouvent en Batman un allié de poids pour lutter contre de malfaisants personnages masqués.
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
, 1h44Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Animation
Themes Jeu, Batman films, Superhero films, Films about toys, Dystopian films, Super-héros inspiré de comics
Actors Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Jenny Slate
Rating72%
Parvenant toujours à sauver Gotham City des attaques des super-vilains, Batman est devenu arrogant pour mieux cacher sa profonde solitude. Vexé, le Joker se laisse enfermer à l’asile d'Arkham. Mais Batman comme Barbara Gordon, la nouvelle commissaire de la ville, soupçonnent un plan caché. Le Joker cherche à rejoindre la zone fantôme pour s'allier avec les pires méchants. Batman en cherchant bien faire qui l'y envoie avec l'aide de Robin. Le Joker parvient à s'échapper de la zone fantôme à la tête d'une armée des pires méchants. Batman devra travailler en équipe pour sauver Gotham.
, 1h12Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action, Adventure, Animation
Themes Jeu, Batman films, Superman films, Superhero films, Films about toys, Super-héros inspiré de comics, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Troy Baker, Eric Bauza, Greg Cipes, John DiMaggio, Will Friedle, Amy Hill
Rating61%
Batman doit faire face au plus grand défi de sa vie : les vacances ! Le chevalier noir accepte à contre-coeur de laisser Batgirl et Nightwing l'emmener pour un repos longtemps repoussé loin de la lutte contre le crime, laissant Gotham City sous la protection de Superman et de la Ligue des Justiciers. Rien ne se déroule comme prévu lorsque les vacances de Batman sont écourtées par des dangers provenant de son passé et des envahisseurs du centre de la Terre. Superman et les autres membres de la Ligue des Justiciers réalisent très vite la quantité de travail qu'a Batman dans sa lutte quotidienne contre le crime à Gotham.
, 1h11Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about children, Jeu, Batman films, Superman films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Superhero films, Films about toys, Super-héros inspiré de comics, Films based on video games, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Clancy Brown, Troy Baker, Christopher Corey Smith, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Kari Wahlgren
Rating64%
Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor are both nominated for the Man of the Year award, and Wayne wins. As he is making his speech, the Joker breaks in with the Riddler, Harley Quinn, the Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Bane, Catwoman, and steals the award, as well as money and gems. Batman arrives and stops everyone except the Joker, who escapes on his boat, but Robin's helicopter picks up Batman. When the rope holding Batman is broken, he calls in the Batwing and defeats the Joker. Meanwhile, Luthor is running for president, but his poll figures are terrible. He learns that the Joker knows how to produce more Kryptonite, and can make a gas that makes people love him, which will help Luthor win the election and defeat Superman. He breaks the Joker out of Arkham Asylum and promises him the use of Luthor's De-Constructor weapon to defeat Batman by dismantling all his gadgets and vehicles.
, 1h40Directed by Michel Viotte
Origin France
Genres Documentary
Themes Films about animals, Films about spiders, Batman films, Hulk (comics) films, Spider-Man films, Superman films, Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Stan Lee, Tim Burton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder
Rating68%
Ce documentaire est consacré à l'histoire des super-héros américains depuis leur apparition dans les années 1930. Il présente de nombreux dessins issus des comics originaux, des extraits de leurs adaptations en films et dessins animés, ainsi que des entretiens avec des auteurs importants du genre.
Batman & Robin (1997)
, 2h5Directed by Joel Schumacher
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Fantastic, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Crime
Themes Films about children, Medical-themed films, Batman films, Superhero films, Films about psychiatry, Super-héros inspiré de comics, Films set in psychiatric hospitals, Eco-terrorism in fiction
Actors Michael Paul Chan, John Glover, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vivica A. Fox, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell
Rating38%
Batman and Robin fail to stop Mr. Freeze from stealing a cache of diamonds. They learn that Freeze was once a scientist named Victor Fries, who became dependent on a diamond-powered subzero suit following an accident in a cryogenics lab while working to save his wife, Nora, from a terminal illness called MacGregor's Syndrome.