'Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death' has its flaws, but damn did it make me feel warm and good after reading. I've read so many disappointing books recently that I've been in kind of a slump - not the best way to end the year, for sure - but maybe something fun was what I needed. And Poison Ivy's first solo comic miniseries is anything but poisonous. It's a light refreshment, or like a break to have a girls' night out, complete with a makeover and dancing. No alcohol required.
I had never really cared for Batman's plant-controlling femme fatale adversary in the past - far too many of her incarnations are scantily-clad and exploitative. She's a misogynist's wet dream, with her sexual allure portrayed in a negative light (female villains can be sexy, of course, but it shouldn't be the reason why she's a villain to begin with), and her deadly kisses and lack of a real personality outside of sultry Eco-terrorist who cares more for plant life than human life. A grown woman who knows what she wants, sure, but Poison Ivy to me always represented the most stereotypical negative traits associated with being female; right down to using the power she has - her intelligence and sexuality - to seduce, control and kill men. And she's as boring as moss growing on a plank of wood. Clearly Ivy's male writers and artists were "preoccupied" with her body rather than her as a person.
However, her friendship with the jovial Harley Quinn may have saved her character, in my opinion. The partnership is so complex and entertaining in how they interact and bounce off of one another. Harley and Ivy are even canonically a romantic pair now, which, after many years of seeing how their game-changing and irresistible coupling has progressed, makes perfect sense.
'Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death', written by Amy Chu, sees Dr. Pamela Isley, aka Poison Ivy, as: A brilliant scientist; a thawing ice queen towards humanity; a lover of all plants and trees and their intricacies (she can talk to them through "the green"); a mystery solver (one character remarks that it feels like they're in a Scooby Doo episode, very funny); a mother hen caring for female human/vegetable/flower hybrids; and an all-around semi-reformed villainess taking control of her life after leaving the Gotham City Sirens behind.
There are cameos from Harley (there's a little like a lovers' spat between the two, if in a queer-baiting subtext, and it's resolved nicely in the end), and Catwoman. No Batman or any other famous villains here. Hurrah! Plus Ivy is given a new friend, Darshan Bapna, who is a POC and an interesting, funny character in his own right. Ivy doesn't form any romantic attachments to anyone in her comic; except Harley, but that could've benefited from being a lot clearer.
Poison Ivy without a male love interest? Hallelujah! Praise Gotham for its unlivable hellhole and swine!
Also, huge bonus for the commentary on how sexist men think women in STEM fields are "a distraction", and showing that touching a woman without her consent is definitely wrong.
Despite the miniseries's good characterizations, richness and good humour, I am well aware it has problems. Pam is still drawn to wear little clothing even when it's impractical, and is subjected to T&A shots - where it looks like she had breast implants in between chapters and panels. It is so ridiculous.
Like the cover of the book itself.
The creative team apparently decided that the best way to introduce a fresh, new Poison Ivy to new and old fans alike is to have her pose sexually, porn-style. Of course. Not like it's 2016 and we should know better when portraying women by now, or anything. The cover alone almost made me want to skip reading the book, not giving me anything I haven't seen hundreds of times before. Fanservice = sexist, objectifying, degrading, pointless (we've had the internet for twenty years - why do comics still do it!?), exhausting, and boring.
Then there's Pam's morality curve and scale, or lack of. I guess her murdering two men - one a stalkerish, sexist pig and the other a dog abuser - is meant to show her struggle in changing her villainous, human-hating (or, specifically, man-hating) ways. That she can't help herself sometimes, for old habits die hard. But she is absolutely remorseless throughout, and there is no internal conflict in that regard. It's cathartic, maybe, especially in an anti-heroine, but iffy.
It doesn't occur to the reforming femme fatale that if she could get a second chance, why can't other bad people? Ivy hasn't earned a redemption arc. She uses her flower power and human and plant stem cell research to create life in this story, to become an overprotective mother. But she isn't the least bit fazed with abruptly ending the lives of those she doesn't like at the drop of a hat.
By the way, both times Pam kills, it is right under the nose of the decent and caring Darshan. He never finds out, and it doesn't become the slightest issue in their growing friendship. Even more baffling is Pam doesn't face any consequences for killing - the two murders are barely a footnote in the plot - and did I mention she is already a murder suspect of her lab partner and boss at that point? Not very smart, Pamela, she with the mysterious wiped-out history and low profile (how can nobody recognize her as Poison Ivy, anyway? It is seriously the glasses?).
And yet, I think I love 'Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death'. It is simple, adoring, with educational aspects on ecology. Fairly well-structured, plotted and paced for a mystery, the characters are fun (go Rose, Hazel and Thorn - Ivy's own Cabbage Patch Kids!), the artwork is nice despite the questionable anatomy on female bodies, the action gritty and drawn solidly with exciting haste, and the ending is surprising yet satisfying. It really follows through with its title, 'Cycle of Life and Death': this theme is played out in different ways in terms of story and character development.
Amy Chu gave Poison Ivy and her solo comic outing heart. It blossoms into something imperfect, but beautiful.
It's good to be green.
Final Score: 3.5/5
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