A big criticism of the modern comic book industry is that nothing seems to really change. Or when they tease change, it never truly sticks. But there have been a number of times where companies and creatives have really tried to do something new. Most of the time, these changes occur with the lesser known characters from their roster. One curious and interesting case of a comic book company trying to change the perception of a character is Poison Ivy. While originally created and presented as a supervillain for Batman, DC has recently been trying to push her as an anti-hero. Personally, I think that’s the right idea and is something worth pursuing. One of the biggest results of this push is the character’s own mini-series named “Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death” released in 2016.

Published towards the very end of the New 52/ right at the beginning of Rebirth, this story was meant to have the character reconnect with her human side. The character is often portrayed as an ecoterrorist that values plant life over humans, gaining her powers after years of abuse and as the result of scientific experimentation. But there have been times where she finds herself at odds with what she feels she must do for the natural world vs what she wants for herself. This 6 issue story does explore that to a certain extent. She relocates to Gotham with a new identity and at a research facility. But her main goal while there is to experiment and create plant-human offsprings as surrogate children.

While she is successful at that, there isn’t conflict. The head of the research facility is murdered and she is in danger of being discovered by authorities. But the person believed to be dead turns out evil and now wants to use the cells used to create Ivy’s offspring to unlock immortality. Also, Ivy herself does struggle trying to determine the best way to provide and raise her surrogate daughters. The story ends with the bad guy being defeated with her offspring leaving Gotham to try being on their own. Even Swamp Thing – my favorite character of all time – shows up to try and give Ivy direction for what she should do now. And yes, I have a lot of idea of what DC should do with a Swamp Thing & Poison Ivy collaboration, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Overall, this is a solid story. Nothing truly memorable. But a fine read if you are a bit curious about it. I think the biggest problem with this story is that it tries to be something of a superhero story. Mainly when it comes to utilizing some of the story tropes of the genre to tell Ivy’s story. Like mentioned earlier, I love the idea of exploring her as an anti-hero. Someone with a more complex ethical code that’s connected to two very different worlds. DC hasn’t always shown the full strength of what she can do. But when they do, she is truly a formidable force. She could very well take over the world and wipe out humanity if she truly cuts off herself from her human side. But because she chooses to remain connected – mainly through her romantic relationship with Harley Quinn – that does set-up the potential for a lot of interesting character exploration. But telling it using superhero tropes isn’t really the best way to do that.

I like the idea of Ivy creating offspring that also share the same duality as hers. But since this is only a 6 issue story, they don’t have the chance to fully delve into anything meaningful. The offspring themselves are flat as a result. And when they leave Gotham to be on their own…I have no choice but to assume they are dead since they haven’t shown up since. Which based on what had been established about their biology, is the most likely scenario for them. If this series ran for a little longer, maybe they could have really tapped into something. But instead, it just sort of simmers. And underwhelming conclusion with a vague tease that will never be paid off.

At the end of the day, I don’t regret reading this. I feel like in the long run this might actually help convince DC to do more stories focused on her. Hell, maybe even an ongoing series. Because this story does start off on the right track and does present a couple of interesting ideas. But the stories will have to ditch the superhero clothing so to speak. That’s not to say there can’t be fights and villains, but it will need to be more experimental and creative with how the story is told. But I still stand by the fact that Poison Ivy has a lot of potential to truly be a powerhouse if given the chance.