Procession of The Flower Girl
Poison Ivy's not normally among my favorite Batman villains, this cover was among the more generic Villains Month covers, and while I don't have any grudge against the creative team, it wasn't one that really stood out for me. So I wasn't really expecting much from Poison Ivy's villain issue, but man, this one was excellent. Definitely more unique than her generic Joker's Asylum issue.
One thing that stood out for sure was the minimal focus on two frequent go-to themes when it comes to Poison Ivy. It barely touched upon her time right before and after her transformation, which is generally the part of her life we see. We see her as a plant scientist, and as a plant-woman seductress. While there's touches of her seductions, it's not an overwhelming theme in the issue in terms of overstating her sensuality. What we get in the flashbacks of this issue is a rare look into Poison Ivy's childhood. What's particularly fascinating to me about it was that unlike some of the usual villains with childhood trauma, it wasn't a particular incident that completely defined her, but a general slow shaping of her personality to come. It never felt like there was 'that one thing' that changed her life, but rather she was always destined to become the woman she is based on the way she was brought up. Her defining traits are rooted in her childhood, but most villains with childhood trauma have the core in their youth, defined as they are today exactly from the moment of their trauma, Ivy has the foundation of her today self as a child, but it grew and refined as she did, like a plant.
Javier Pina's artwork is gorgeous here, so smooth and elegant, it suits this calmer and less overtly sexual Poison Ivy. But what really impressed me was the way he varies his style for the flashbacks. It might be the colors, but it really looks like a whole different style in the flashbacks in a great way. Pamela was such an adorable little girl, you really feel for her.
The other half of this issue, the framing device for the flashbacks, has a lot to offer as well. I'm glad to see that many of these villains month issues are rooted in Forever Evil as opposed to being completely detached origin tales. This one can definitely be read as a Poison Ivy backstory issue solo, but you get a lot more out of it knowing that this is the time frame after the CSA has apparently killed the Justice League. Gotham City is Batmanless, and as expected it's complete and utter chaos. Gotham has perhaps the highest concentration of the most insane supervillains, and any one of them could be making a huge play for power. I never really would've thought of Poison Ivy as a major contender in this area, but this issue demonstrates that she might be THE one to conquer Gotham in the absence of The Batman, building her own Green Kingdom with a subtle nod to Rotworld.
In Conclusion: 5/5
This is a beautiful demonstration of the much more elegant and subtle Poison Ivy, and I definitely have an admiration for this version of the character. She seems to have more to offer in terms of deeper psychological exploration. I couldn't really find any flaws with this issue, it explored some untread territory in Poison Ivy's past, and it was essentially a perfect Villains Month issue. It was a perfect balance of character motivation backstory and forward movement on Forever Evil. And with great fitting art to boot.
