Poison Ivy #48: Human After All

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” That quote is a better descriptor of Poison Ivy #48 than any synopsis could be. At first glance, Poison Ivy #48 seems to be a fairly standard villain point of view story. Ivy’s internal monologue starts off with a lot of justification for why she’s doing what she’s doing in Bad Seeds. The issue quickly goes in a different direction, though, building on a theme seen in Poison Ivy #47 of Ivy paying for her hubris.

A significant part of Ivy’s character dating back to the beginning of the series is Ivy’s belief that she is somehow different than the rest of humanity–still human, perhaps, but more in tune with the needs of the Earth, more noble for choosing its needs over those of humans, and somehow immune to the deadly penalties she exacts from everyone else. The deal she makes with the Parliament of Trees in Poison Ivy #47 and Batman Bad Seeds Sunset #1 is based on this very idea. As a result, Ivy is set up as the chief antagonist–the villain who needs to be stopped in order to save the day. Wilson upends this completely in Poison Ivy #48, transforming the issue from an “Ivy justifies her actions” story to a more engaging “Ivy finds out how wrong she is” story.

The Parliament of Trees’ involvement in Bad Seeds prior to this issue hasn’t been especially compelling. The threat that they present to Ivy gives her added motivation, but as independent villains they are harder to connect with, especially for readers who haven’t been following Poison Ivy longterm. They serve a very good function here, though, as a force to humble and ground down Ivy.

Wilson strips Ivy of everything in Poison Ivy #48, most especially her sense of superiority. By the end of the issue, a very human Ivy, faced with the possibility of her own death as a result of her actions, has a very human desire for what may be her final hours. Told through Ivy’s internal monologue, this sudden self-awareness makes for a very strong story.

Poison Ivy #48’s art depicts this emotional journey by way of Ivy’s changing expression. Takara is relatively conservative with linework and details on character faces. The shape of Ivy’s eyes does most of the visual communicating when it comes to her emotions. In closeups this is very effective. In slightly further views on the character, mouth shape, sometimes slightly exaggerated, adds emphasis. Ivy starts off looking especially haughty, and her expressions eventually run a gamut of emotions until she ends in the low point of resignation in the issue’s final pages.

The confrontation between Ivy and the Parliament of Trees eventually leads to her being menaced by wood elementals. Takara’s depiction of them is rugged and uneven. The wood elementals stand out so much from the rest of the book that it is as if Takara lifted them from a horror story. In an issue that is largely concerned with Ivy’s journey from a place of strength to weakness, the wood elementals look unlike anything else in nature that Ivy is able to control.

Dark greens and hints of dark blue are a natural choice for a night time setting. Prianto uses these colors throughout the issue. Ivy’s hair remains a bright red though–regardless of the surrounding light level or even if she is in shadow. The red hair provides exceptional contrast to the surroundings at all times and makes sure that the issue’s main character always stands out on the page.

Ivy’s humbling at one point leads her to a point of despair that almost reaches self pity. Otsmane-Elhaou does a good job supporting these emotions visually with Ivy’s dialogue bubbles and caption boxes. The usually curved but still rectangular caption boxes instead have squiggly corners pointing downward, as though they were draining away. Ivy’s dialogue bubbles likewise become irregular. The style choices Otsmane-Elhaou makes in this brief section are unique to it, and they highlight what Ivy is going through.