In this review of Poison Ivy #27, Poison Ivy investigates an eco-terrorist group called “The Order of the Green Knight” while Janet and Killer Croc get closer in the sewers.
Poison Ivy #27 main cover by Jessica Fong
Poison Ivy #27
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Marcio Takara
Colors: Arif Prianto
Main Cover: Jessica Fong
Variant Cover Artists: Jenny Frison, Noobovich, and Puppeteer Lee
Release Date: November 6, 2024
This comic book review contains spoilers
The Story
Poison Ivy #27 begins as “Wanted” posters for Poison Ivy have been posted up on storefronts and telephone poles all over the city following the terrorist attacks last issue. This catches the attention of Batman who confronts Ivy in an alleyway, but once Ivy is able to pitch her case as to why she’s not involved, he lets her off scot free. Ivy then scoops up Janet and flees to the abandoned ghost town that cropped up in the middle of Slaughter Swamp.
Back in Gotham, Ivy returns to the scene of one of the attacks when she bumps into a member of “The Order of the Green Knight.” He tells her that she appeared to their first disciple in a dream and that the world will be reborn through her. Ivy rejects this role of cult leader explaining that this scorched earth mentality will do nothing but hurt the earth further. The cult member says he’s convinced but she’ll still have to convince everyone else. Ivy turns to see an audience of cult members have congregated behind her, all wide-eyed and slack jawed at her prophesied appearance.
Meanwhile, Janet is afraid that the Swamp’s ghost down is haunted so she calls up Killer Croc to keep her company. They go down into the town’s sewers and find graffiti all over the walls with the words: “we tried.” Janet abruptly turns and passionately kisses Croc on the lips.
Analysis
Poison Ivy #27 really leans into exploring Ivy’s psyche and her evolving views on the sanctity of human life. She opens by rattling off a list of people she has killed but later when viewing the ruins of a recent Green Knight attack, she says “once, when confronted with so much death, I might have felt nothing. Now I feel a twinge of regret.” If it can be said that this run has had any lasting impact on Poison Ivy, I’d say it is giving her a more empathetic view of humanity. Previously, depending on who was writing her, she has been characterized by greed or an unyielding desire to cleanse the world from environmental threats, namely humans. G. Willow Wilson has broadened Ivy’s perspective with characters like Janet and Harley, while still having her feel cohesive with the countless iterations we’ve seen before.
I love the idea in Poison Ivy #27 of Ivy appearing to these people in the form of a dream, picking up a thread from issue #17 where she accidentally infected a factory worker with a labia strain, giving him vivid hallucinogenic dreams. That was one of the most interesting ideas touched upon earlier in the run so it’s great to finally see it get paid off. Ivy has inadvertently become the very cult of personality that she so fervently rejected a few issues prior (remember Woodrue). It will be interesting to see how her reaction to being viewed as a cult leader will differ from his.
Poison Ivy #27 isn’t all dream telepathy and cult-y shenanigans, however. The bizarre Batman appearance seems to hold no purpose at all, as he has no impact on the story. They don’t even exploit it on the cover, so why is he here? Every time Batman has appeared in this run it has felt ham-fisted and superfluous. I don’t know if it’s a DC mandate that he has to appear in every handful of issues, but Wilson has yet to justify his inclusion. Ivy and Janet moving in together in swamp town has some fun sleepover vibes, and I don’t even mind Croc showing up, but the ending is completely baffling. Is Janet supposed to be possessed? The kiss comes out of absolutely nowhere, and possessed or not, we’re rapidly running out of characters for Janet to try and hook up with.
Like usual, I can’t say enough good things about Marcio Takara and Arif Prianto. Takara’s character work is as top of the line as ever. Just look at his characters’ eyes. Their poses. Look at the way Ivy confidently puts her body weight on her right leg and hand on her hip in the middle of page 10 when they arrive at Slaughter Swamp. Compare that to Janet’s feeble pose with one arm wrapped around her torso and the other supporting her chin. A look of both fear and disappointment. This is what makes Takara so good. Every panel conveys character. And with a character as complexly layered as Ivy, panels can convey different modalities of character. Like her cheesy self-effacing “realtor” pose at the top of page 11 when showing Janet the town, or her elegant but incognito sun hat and dress combo in a Priantian shade of yellow.
The classic costume is getting more play now and it looks alive and ever-growing in a way it rarely has in the past. We get a great look at it in the terrific full page splash where Ivy is confronted with the mob of her misguided followers. And I might be crazy but her walking as vines grow up the side of a building at the bottom of page 8 looks like a nod to Jim Lee’s Ivy walking with the stolen briefcase in Batman #609.
Final Thoughts
The central narrative of Poison Ivy #27 with “The Order of the Green Knight” is interesting enough and the art is strong enough to carry the issue.
If you would like to buy a copy of this title, and help support The Batman Universe at the same time, consider purchasing this book at Amazon or Things From Another World.
