In this review of Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1, the final battle between Batman, Poison Ivy and Vandal Savage is waged for the future of Gotham City, and it looks like there might be a few local government positions to fill after all is said and done.
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1 main cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli (DC Comics)
BATMAN: BAD SEEDS–SUNRISE #1
Written by MATT FRACTION and G. WILLOW WILSON
Art and Main Cover: GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI and CLIFF RATHBURN
Variant Covers: DAN MORA, MARCIO TAKARA, STJEPAN ŠEJIĆ, MATTEO SCALERA
Page Count: 48 Pages
Release Date: 10/28/26
This review contains spoilers
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1 begins in the aftermath of Poison Ivy #49, as winter finally comes to Gotham, which inadvertently saves Ivy from Vandal Savage’s herbicide attack, but leaves her vulnerable to his legendary wrath. As the minutes ticked down to sunrise which would trigger the bloom and sound humanity’s death knell, Victor Fries’ winter engine saved the day, engulfing the city.
As the injured Ivy awakens to the snowy hellscape, she is confronted by avatars of The Parliament of Trees who have trapped her in a frozen moment of time (heh). The avatars rebuke Ivy and explain why Lady Jane removed Ivy’s powers. Back in Throatcutter Hill, Ivy is back in the present moment as Savage attacks. Ivy gets the upper hand, threatening to kill Savage with her non-existent powers.
Savage snaps off an icicle and almost stabs Ivy before a Batarang shatters it. Batman pulls Ivy to safety inside an iced over building, but Ivy resists. Outside, Savage repurposes the incapacitated herbicide tanks (with his henchmen still attached) as bombs that unleash the poison when ruptured. Batman and Ivy succumb to the gas as Savage bursts in.
Winter is coming early to Gotham City… (DC Comics)
In a fit of megalomania, Savage monologues even as he suffers from the effects of the herbicide. Ivy attacks him while Batman shatters several windows to disperse the lethal cloud. Outside, a crowd of onlookers confront the GCPD and TUCOS. Jim Gordon and his partner Espinoza arrive to help calm the crowd before a wounded Vandal Savage exits the building and addresses the crowd, declaring that Batman and Poison Ivy are dead and guilty as sin.
As Batman tries to save Ivy despite her protests, Savage lies to the crowd, pinning his herbicide attack on them, but his monologue is interrupted by Batman and Ivy’s unexpected arrival. Despite her feeble threats, Batman rushes Ivy to a waiting ambulance. Nearby, Savage fumes at being upstaged before he is attacked by an enraged Killer Croc (Waylon Jones) who tears off Savage’s head and leaves his body in the sewer.
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1 ends by touching on most of the supporting characters featured in the crossover while a voiceover from the new Gotham Balladeer newspaper speaks to the enduring power of Gothamites.
Analysis
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1 concludes the epic “Bad Seeds” crossover with a mix of sadness, hope and a few cheer worthy moments. Co-writers G. Willow Wilson and Matt Fraction guide the story in for a successful landing, wrapping up many of the numerous plot threads that unfolded throughout the event, while also setting up future storylines and upcoming series. From Poison Ivy’s reckoning from The Parliament comes a new outlook and new status quo, with Wilson pushing Ivy into a new unexplored frontier, without her powers, or her friends.
The Ivy and Savage fight was brutally epic, with the two combatants’ no holds barred beat down akin to a clash between forces of nature. Batman was more of a utility player in Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1, but he still has his contractually obligated hero moment. Despite her recent losses, or more likely because of them, Ivy’s perseverance in the face of a powerful nemesis, Ivy’s resilience was surprising and satisfying.
Meanwhile, the MVP of Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1 is Waylon Jones’ Killer Croc. Between his rescuing Ivy in Poison Ivy #49 to his shocking but applause-worthy beheading of Savage (it’ll grow back), Croc deservedly receives the anti-hero redemption story that Poison Ivy isn’t capable of right now. Croc was a regular fixture in Ivy’s series and always had a likable demeanor despite his violent moniker.
Vandal Savage seemed to pop up everywhere throughout Bad Seeds, not just butting heads with Batman, but Ivy as well. And, while he couldn’t actually be everywhere, his presence was felt throughout the crossover. Savage’s attack on Batman and Ivy as the Ivycide illustrated his megalomania as his suffering effects from the gas cloud was the price of admission to wreak havoc on his enemies. Afterwards, his narcissistic attempts to make himself presentable before the crowd despite visible injuries is almost laughable.
Cowriters Matt Fraction and G. Willow Wilson divvy up the scripting chores and deliver an enjoyable, if overlong finale that was high on emotion, stakes and character, with a few shockingly violent scenes thrown in for good measure. The writers juggled the various characters and plot lines to mostly great effect, although most characters received only a brief glimpse to set up future storylines.
As a finale, Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1 surprises with unexpected twists, leaving the fates of characters up in the air for now.
The science behind the impact of Victor Fries’ “Winter Engine” seems plausible, but also likely to be as lethal to the citizens of Gotham as it was to the giant plants. That said, the cold engine resolution provides enough of an all-purpose McGuffin that it should smake sense to most readers without raising a fuss about the impossible physics.
Giuseppe Camuncoli returns to help wrap up the series with some gorgeous visuals as Gotham heads into an unknown future. From tightly wound emotional scenes to a montage of citizens, heroes and villains in the aftermath, Camuncoli delivers.
Final Thoughts
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1 raises some unanswered questions, but for the most part the extra-sized finale provides some thrills and emotion combined with gorgeous art. The issue works as a solid stand-alone story, and provides more of a payoff for those who have read some, most or all of the Bad Seeds crossover.
Batman: Bad Seeds - Sunrise #1
DC Comics Reviewed by Adam KoppelFinal Thoughts
Batman: Bad Seeds - Sunrise #1 raises some unanswered questions, but for the most part the extra-sized finale provides some thrills and emotion combined with gorgeous art. The issue works as a solid stand-alone story, and provides more of a payoff for those who have read some, most or all of the Bad Seeds crossover.
