Poison Ivy #32 – G. Willow Wilson, Writer; Brian Level, Artist; Arif Prianto, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This series has successfully taken Ivy from a Batman villain to essentially the bridge between Gotham’s human and monstrous world, and it all comes down to giving her a tense but intriguing relationship with the Green. Unlike Swamp Thing, she’s not chosen by the Green, but has essentially forced herself into that world – and the Green isn’t necessarily happy. As this issue starts, she’s going to war with the twisted remnants of Ed Cooper, the last survivor of Marshview. Now a shambling beast with many heads, Cooper is lashing out in rage – and neither Ivy or Undine are able to contain him fully. When Janet interferes to try to protect Ivy, Cooper gets his hands on her and fatally wounds her. That’s enough to send Ivy into a rage and successfully contain the monster – but now the clock is ticking and Ivy only has one choice to save someone she’s gotten surprisingly attached to.
That, of course, means cutting a deal with Bog Venus, the mercurial avatar of the Green who has never liked Ivy playing a role in their world. But Ivy has one thing Bog Venus needs – information. She’s met with Xylem, the mysterious leader of the Grey, and has details on what it wants with the Green. So Bog Venus agrees to heal Janet – but of course, we know this is more complicated than it appears. Bog Venus has met with Janet before, and may have managed to turn her into her mole against Ivy. Ivy’s narration indicates that this will come back to haunt her in a tragic way down the road – which may have been inevitable, given how closely enmeshed Harley and Ivy are now. But the tragedy here is that Ivy may have genuinely changed, and is trying to avert war between the Green and the Grey – but Bog Venus wants nothing of that. All she knows is war, and the ending makes clear that war might be inevitable.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
