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Pamela Isley was formerly a botanist trying to help the plants of the world protect themselves. After a failure murder attempt by her former boss, she became "Poison Ivy", a prominent enemy of Batman and Robin. Her most deadly weapon was her venom-filled lips, which she used to kill with a poison kiss.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Dr. Pamela Isley was originally a botanist with an intense love for nature and the plants of the world. Specializing in several types of flowers in a lab in South Africa with her work sponsored and funded by Wayne Enterprises, Isley hated how the plants of the world were mistreated and destroyed by humans and performed several experiments to help the plants fight back against the "the thoughtless ravages of man", including using the venom of South American rattlesnakes and other venomous fluids in her experiments, all of which failed to show any results. Her employer and co-worker, Dr. Jason Woodrue, was constantly taking her Venom samples back to his area of the lab for unknown reasons to her. Wanting to find out what he was up to, Isley sneaked into his lab and became horrified upon witnessing Dr. Woodrue use her Venom samples to create a hulking monstrous solider, "Bane". Woodrue spotted Isley spying on him and quickly captured her, dragging her back to her lab. Woodrue explained to Isley that Wayne Enterprises had cut their funding, but if it hadn't been for her research, he would have never successfully created Bane. Woodrue asked her to join him, so they could rule the world together with an army of soldiers like Bane at their command, but Isley refused, disgusted by what he had used her research for. Isley threatened to ruin Woodrue by reporting everything she had learned to the authorities, ending the phsychotic scientist's career. Woodure paused at this, and calmly told Isley that he respected her opinion but unfortunately, he wasn't good at rejection, and told her she had to die. With a sudden feral scream he shoved Isley into a table of her various toxins, and then threw another table filled with various chemicals on top of her, including the same venom that was used to create Bane. Woodrue left Isley to her fate, allowing the chemicals to burn a grave for her into the very Earth that she loved so much. However, he was unaware that the chemicals had not killed Isley, but had instead created the most dangerous and seductive villainous that mankind would ever know.

Transformation[]

Sometime after this event, Woodrue entered Isley's portion of the lab, it now being dormant of any life, and finished a conversation with the winning bidder for Bane over his cell phone. Suddenly, the lab begin to shake, and pink smoke emerged from Isley's "grave". The supposed-dead-scientist suddenly emerged from the ground in front of Woodrue. Instead of her previous appearance however, Isley was now a figure of absolute beauty. Her hair, turned bright red, though disheveled, was now long and flowing to her shoulders. Her clothes were torn and ravished, but still emphasized her figure. She was also noticeably taller, now being around 6 feet tall with Jason only reaching her nostrils in height. Isley had become a goddess of beauty and set her sights on her former employer.

Woodrue, smitten with Isley's beauty, fell to his knees upon recognizing the figure in front of him. Isley greeted Woodrue, shrugging off their last encounter and her apparent death at his hands. Isley spoke to Woodrue that she had a "change of heart" and explained that this was quite literal. The toxins had a "unique effect" on her. As she explained to Woodrue, "They replaced my blood with aloe, my skin with chlorophyll, and filled my lips....", pausing, she slowly held Woodrue by his cheeks and chin, and pulled him towards her, with him offering no resistance against her. Isley kissed Woodrue passionately on the lips, with him immediately kissing her back. She eventually pulled away from him, and finished speaking to him "with venom". As Woodrue began to choke, Isley mockingly stated that she was "poison" and tapped Woodrue on his forehead, making him fall over dead.

With her revenge complete, Isley began to destroy her old lab, smashing chemicals and containers, and setting the whole place on fire. Proclaiming herself "Mother Nature" she decided to use her new powers for floral world domination. Catching a quick sight of the Wayne Enterprise logo, her former sponsor, as it burned, she decided on where to start her new crusade. With Bane in tow, she left her old lab to burn to the ground and began her journey to Gotham City.

Gotham City[]

One week later, Isley arrived at Gotham Airport. She almost immediately put 10 security guards in the hospital by having Bane attack them, killed a rich businessman with her kiss, and stole his limo. With Bane as her chaperone, Isley heard a radio announcement of Bruce Wayne unveiling the new telescope at the Gotham Observatory. Isley quickly disguised herself with some quick makeup and a brown wig to hide her new hair, and made her way to the Observatory.

After sneaking past security, Isley barged in on Wayne, rudely interrupting his press conference. Despite this interruption, she used her pheromone pollen to charm Wayne, and he agreed to listen to what she had to say to him. Isley introduced herself to Bruce and told him that she had already worked for him in South America. Bruce explained that he cut her funding because of Woodrue's military activities. Isley handed him her proposal that stated how Wayne Enterprises could stop all actions that polluted the environment. Bruce told Isley he admired her intentions, but stated that if they went through with her proposed actions it would cause millions of people to die of cold and hunger alone. He firmly stated that people came first and handed her back her proposal.

Isley became enraged and shouted that they were all "mammals", and threatened them, saying that plants would reclaim the planet and there would be no one to protect them. This only made everyone laugh at her and one of the journalists mockingly shouted back that Batman and Robin protected them "even from plants and flowers". Bruce tried to soften the blow to Isley by giving her an invitation to a Save The Rainforest themed Charity Ball at Gotham Plaza, with Batman and Robin as special guests. He invited her to attend the Ball and meet the duo for herself if she wanted. After giving a final rueful goodbye to Bruce, Isley left the room bitterly. She began to plot on how to get Batman and Robin out of the way so that Gotham would be hers for the greening.

Party Crashers[]

Isley did indeed come to the party to make her presence known to Batman and Robin, but not as just any attendant. In a literal show-stopping performance, the original music died and was replaced with a new one as Isley appeared on the tribal "mouth" piece that overlooked the audience. Isley wore a magenta gorilla costume, and put on a seductive dance that had all eyes on her. She slowly stripped herself out of the gorilla suit, revealing her true self to the audience, the same red-haired seductive goddess of nature that had killed Dr. Woodrue. Isley's red hair spread down to her waist, now decorated with red flowers and green leaves, an "ivy mask" on her eyebrows that concealed her identity, and her lips shining with red lipstick. Stepping forward, she doused the entire audience with her concentrated pheromones, nicknamed her "Love Dust", capturing their undivided attention, including Batman and Robin.

Poison Ivy reveal

Ivy's first costume.

Isley finished stripping out of her costume, revealing a skintight green ivy leaf swimming suit with green tights and high heels. With one final wink to the audience, Isley fell back, allowing the audience to catch her, and she slowly made her way over to the Dynamic Duo. Speaking into a microphone, Isley introduced herself as "Poison Ivy". Ivy then turned to Batman and Robin, giving them both an extra dose of her Love Dust, and whispering seductions to both of them, offering them both various sexual pleasures while silently insulting the other behind their back. Ivy turned and took the Eye of Isis, a necklace that had been donated to the charity, and offered herself as a prize to all audience members, promising the winner a night of "pleasure", giving the lucky man "everything they see and everything they don't". Multiple members of the crowd shouted their bids for Poison Ivy, but were soon silenced by bids from Batman and Robin. The two tried to outbid each other while arguing over their bids. Seeing that her plan to tear apart the Dynamic Duo was already working, Ivy chuckled and asked if they were going to start a fight over her.

The bidding was cut short though, as Mr. Freeze and his henchmen suddenly crashed the party. Everything was thrown into chaos as Freeze began to freeze everyone in sight, causing Ivy to look on in admiration to the terror she witnessed. As Batman and Robin dealt with the henchmen, Freeze approached Ivy and demanded she give him her necklace. Ivy blew her Love Dust in his face, but was shocked to discover Freeze was completely unaffected. Powerless against him, Ivy reluctantly gave him the necklace like he demanded. Freeze thanked Ivy for her cooperation, and began his getaway. Batman noticed Freeze escaping and began to chase after him, but Ivy noticed his sidekick Robin stayed behind, staring at her awestruck. Ivy smirked at the young hero and blew him a kiss, planting the seed of love in his heart and keeping her fresh in his mind, which she would eventually capitalize on. After Batman dragged Robin away, Ivy slowly made her own exit from the Ball, taking a snow globe with her as a memento of her meeting with Freeze, believing she could use him for her master plan.

Creating A Lair And Alliance[]

As she and Bane made their way through the street of Gotham, Ivy mused how Batman and Robin were able to resist her Love Dust, but decided it didn't matter since next time she confronted them she would just use a stronger dose. She and Bane came across an old rundown Turkish Bath House, being used by a group of gangsters as a hideout. Ivy decided she liked the place, even if it needed some fixing up, and decided to commandeer it from the gangsteers. Bane quickly defeated them all and they ran for their lives in fear. Ivy and Bane quickly redecorated, removing all plastic and breaking open a water pipe to allow water in. Ivy then planted some seeds into the soil which immediately grew into many giant and exotic plants that filled the entire place. Ivy sat on one plant as a makeshift throne, overlooking her work.

Ivy soon learned that Batman and Robin had captured Mr. Freeze and had transported him to Arkham Asylum. She made her way to Arkham, and asked to see Freeze, under the alias of his sister. After being let into Freeze's cell, she immediately seduced the two guards keeping watch over them. Ivy used her Love Dust on both of the guards and flirted with them for a bit, basking in their affection towards her as Freeze watched on. After remarking how she "really was to die for", grabbed one of the guards by the cheeks and forced a deep kiss on him, with him offering no resistance. She soon removed her lips from his and he began to choke, falling to the floor. Before the other guard could react to what had just happened, Ivy grabbed him and forced a kiss on him too. Both guards collapsed and died from the toxins shortly, and Freeze expressed admiration in Ivy's abilities.

Bane soon arrived with Freeze's suit and allowed Freeze to get dressed in it. Freeze realized that his suit was low on power and he needed to retrieve the diamonds that power his suit from his hideout. Freeze used the last of his power to freeze a hole in the wall of his cell, allowing him and his new friends to escape, and instructs Ivy and Bane to follow him to his lair to retrive his diamonds and his wife. Ivy becomes enraged upon hearing Freeze was married, but before anything else could be said the three of them dove into the water below Arkham.

Breaking Up the Duo[]

Upon arriving at Freeze's hideout, the trio discovered that Batman, Robin, and the police were already there, having learned of Freeze's escape and Ivy's aid in it. The trio snuck through the hideout, arriving just under the room where Freeze kept his wife Nora frozen in stasis until he could find a cure for her disease. The trio decided to split up, Mr. Freeze saying he would go after his diamonds and telling Ivy and Bane to distract Batman and Robin and get him his wife. Ivy lured the duo out of the room and into the basement with her Love Dust, the two of them recognizing the scent and following it right to her.

Upon arriving in the basement, they were immediately attacked by Bane. Bane easily flung Robin off the railwalk and down a set of stairs, where he crashed into some props. Ivy quickly ambushed Robin from behind the props, greeting him flirtingly. Robin tried to place her under arrest, telling her to give herself up and surrender, but Ivy was unintimmidated by The Boy Wonder and simply silenced him by blowing more Love Dust in his face. With Robin silenced, Ivy offered him a kiss and leaned in before letting him answer. Robin slowly leaned in as well, instantly seduced by Ivy, but they were interrupted before their lips could meet by Bane tossing Batman down at them. Momently distracted, Robin shook off his seductions and rushed to face Bane again, ignoring Ivy. Ivy turned her attention to Batman, blowing her Love Dust in his face and pinning him. After flirting with Batman for a moment she leaned in for a kiss, but Batman, being more strong-willed than Robin, pushed her off him and grabbed her by the arm, telling her she was going to jail. Ivy, however, was saved by Bane, who had defeated Robin and grabbed Batman from behind, putting him into a headlock. Ivy quickly hugged Batman's chest and darkly asked him not to make a mess when he died.

Ivy realized that Robin was the most vulnerable member of the duo and decided to focus all her seductions on him.

Robin In Love

Ivy leans in for a kiss with a love-struck Robin.

She quickly cornered him on the railwalk before he could help Batman and blew Love Dust in his face again. As Robin stared at her silently, Ivy slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. Ivy played on Robin's ego, telling him to stop living in Batman's shadow and become his own man, be the real hero. She spoke to Robin about having his own "Robin Signal" in the sky, saying that she had fallen in love with him, promising to switch sides so they can be together, and promising to guide him on this new path together. Robin offered no resistance toward Ivy's advancements, now completely in love with her and believing everything she said. With Robin's defenses completely gone, Ivy leaned in towards him, whispering to let her kiss him. The two leaned in slowly until their lips were only a breath apart, but were once again interrupted by Batman, who had defeated Bane, shouting for Robin not to kiss Ivy.

Batman rushed up to them and explained to Robin his theory about why Ivy was trying to kiss them. He had correctly guessed that Ivy was trying to poison them via a kiss, remembering her previous victim from the airport. Realizing that Batman was on to her, Ivy slowly backed away from him, getting ready to make a run for it. But Robin, blinded by his love for Ivy, simply thought Batman was jealous of the two of them and got between them to protect Ivy. His rage soon coming to a boil, Robin shoved Batman away and attacked him, but was quickly overpowered by his mentor. As the duo fought among themselves, Ivy climbed the ladder to the above floor, making her escape and laughing at the duo. Batman tried to make amends with Robin, but Robin shrugged him off and said he was going solo like Ivy said he should, with the Dynamic Duo officially breaking up. Before making her own escape, Ivy went to the room Freeze's wife was in, and swiftly kicked the plug that was powering her life support out of the system. Looking on at her work, she commented "I've never been good with competition, who needs a frigid wife anyway?"

Robin Signal[]

Ivy soon returned to her lair, which was now blooming with various plant life and met with Freeze. Freeze had already made himself at home, freezing one room solid for himself. Upon noticing Ivy return empty handed, he demanded to know where his wife was, and Ivy lied to him that Batman had killed her. Freeze immediately accuses her of lying, but Ivy shows him her "proof", the necklace Nora was wearing. She handed Freeze the necklace and pretended to show sympathy for his loss. Freeze swore revenge on Batman and Robin, and Ivy encouraged him to take it further by taking revenge on the whole planet. She offered him her plan, he freeze the world solid and only the two of them and Ivy's hybrid-plants would remain, allowing them both revenge on the world for wronging them. Freeze agreed and told Ivy to distract the duo while he freezes Gotham solid.

Ivy returned to the Observatory one more time, under her former identity of Pamela Isley once again. She singled out Commissioner Gordon in the crowd and approached him, asking him about the Bat Signal. She quickly seduced him with her Love Dust and he told her about its whereabouts on the roof of the Police Headquarters and gave her the keys to it. Ivy took the keys from the smitten Commissioner and he asked her for her name. Silently, Ivy grasped him by the tie and slowly pulled him towards her for a kiss, but decided he was too old for him and dropped him before walking off, leaving the man heartbroken. Ivy soon arrived at the Bat Signal and had Bane tear it off the roof and transport it back to her lair. Once there she replaced the Bat symbol with a Bird symbol and told Bane to leave and go meet with Freeze. Once he was gone, Ivy activated the signal, shining a "Robin Signal" in the sky just as she spoke to Robin about. Smirking at her work, Ivy prepared herself for her final confrontation with The Boy Wonder.

A Kiss For Luck[]

Robin, after seeing the signal in the sky and believing it to be a sign of Ivy's love for him, arrived at her lair, just as Ivy knew he would. Ivy waited in the center of the lair, luring Robin to her. Robin slowly made his way into the lair, with the path behind him slowly being blocked by plants and vines the further he went. He eventually reached the center of the lair, where a ginat lily pond was in the center of the room with a giant rose bud at the end, and flower petals rained from the ceiling. Soon the bud of the plant opened and a light shined down to reval Poison Ivy to Robin, who layed seductively on the plant as a throne. Ivy looked more beautiful then ever before, having taken the time to spruce herself up just for Robin. She now wore an elegant red shirt, black leather pants with matching black boots, changed her hairstyle to resemble a blooming flower, and had removed her mask of ivy leaves, replacing it with heavy eyeshadow makeup to emphasize her beautiful face to Robin. While Robin was stunned silent by Ivy's entrance and her enhanced beauty. The exit behind him was blocked once more by Ivy's plants, leaving the two alone at last in the romantic setting Ivy had prepared for them. Seeing The Boy Wonder awestruck, Ivy smirked at him, her lipstick shining as she did so, and greeted him with a seductive "Hi there". As Ivy beckoned Robin to come closer to her, Robin slowly made his way over to her, walking across the lily pads on the pond until he reached her, laying beside her. With Robin now by her side, the two "lovers" cuddled each other and began to flirt once again, the romantic mood between the two steadily growing.

Robin told Ivy he loved her, and wanted for them to be together, but needed to make sure she was serious when she promised to "turn over a new leaf" and asked for a sign. He ignored her attempts to seduce him with flirting, and specifically clarified he meant a sign of trust, and told her to tell him her plan. Placing a hand on Robin's back, Ivy leaned forward and said she would tell him if he kissed her first. Robin, however, looked Ivy in the eye and promised to kiss her only if she told him first. Realizing that flirting wouldn't work on Robin this time, Ivy gave in to his demands and told him what she and Freeze were planning, believing it didn't matter since he wouldn't live to make use of it. Robin quickly turned away from Ivy and attempted to leave, shouting he had to stop Freeze, but Ivy quickly grabbed his shoulders and turned him back to face her. Ivy gently pleaded to Robin "One kiss, my love...for luck." Giving a seductive smirk as she finished her request, Ivy waited for Robin's answer. Robin stared silently at Ivy's gleaming red lips, breathing steadily as he did, before lifting his gaze to Ivy's eyes. Unable to resist Ivy any longer, he could only give a small nod, accepting Ivy's request, and Ivy wordlessly placed a hand gently on his cheek. The two of them closed their eyes and slowly leaned in toward each other, with Ivy peaking her eyes open to glance at Robin and giving a sly smirk to herself. Finally, as their lips finally met and Ivy planted her poison kiss on Robin's lips, she closed her eyes once again and kept her smile as she embraced Robin.

Ivy Kisses Robin

Ivy finally shares a kiss with Robin.

Defeat[]

Ivy gave Robin the most passionate, romantic kiss she had ever given anyone, and he kissed her back with equal loving force. The two moaned into their lip lock, both enjoying the quiet moment together. Soon though, after what seemed like forever for the two of them, Ivy pulled away from Robin, breaking their kiss. She faced Robin, rubbing her nose against his and stroking his chin lovingly with a finger before smugly telling him in mock sadness "Bad luck I'm afraid. Time to die little Robin." With that, Ivy leaned back, smirking a victorious smile at Robin. However, Robin also spoke in mock sadness, saying "I hate to disappoint you but-" and peeled off rubber from one of his lips before finishing "rubber lips are immune to your charms." Ivy stared in shock at the rubber lip Robin held in his hand. It had protected him by counteracting her poison so it wouldn't enter his body, making her signature kiss useless. Ivy realized Robin had played her for a fool from the moment he arrived. He had only pretended to be blindingly in love with her to get her to let her guard down, the same way she pretended to love him, and tricked her into telling him her plan. Robin hadn't kissed her because she had seduced him, but as a test to see if Ivy's love for him was real, a test she had just failed.

Ivy's shock slowly turned to anger at this realization. Furious, Ivy slowly lifted her gaze from the rubber lip and glared at Robin, the romantic mood between the two of them completely gone. Humiliated that the Boy Wonder had not only outsmarted her, but had successfully stolen a kiss from her, Ivy leaped forward with a feral snarl, catching Robin off-guard and shoved him from the throne they had been sharing. Robin lost his balance and tumbled backwards, splashing into Ivy's lily pond, where her plants immediately reacted to her anger, and attempted to drown Robin for his trickery. As Robin struggled for air, Ivy watched with a smug smirk before walking away. Ivy turned to her "lover" one last time and ended their "relationship" by mockingly waving him goodbye and shouting "see ya!" before leaving him to his fate, officially "breaking up" with Robin. Before she could leave though, Batman ambushed her in his own trap. Ivy however, used her vines to grab Batman and carry him to the ceiling where they began to crush him. With one last laugh, Ivy left the defeated Dynamic Duo, preparing to meet Freeze.

Suddenly a caped figure crashed through the skylight and landed right in front of her. The figure was Batgirl, the Dynamic Duo's new partner. A fierce battle ensued with Ivy being struck down with the heroine's Judo style of fighting. Batgirl stood over Ivy and reprimanded her for using her charms and looks to get her way, telling her that style ended a long time ago and that she gave women a bad name. Ivy quick got back up and attempted to whip her with vines, telling her: "As I told Lady Fries when I pulled her plug, this is a one woman show." only for Batgirl to easily yank the vines from out of her hands. Finally having enough of the newcomer, Ivy pulled out a knife, attempting to stab her and stopping at one point to straighten her hair after seeing it in the knife's reflection. However, Batgirl knocks the knife out of her hands and kicks her into the giant rose throne, which began to close on her. Realizing what was about to happen, Ivy let out one final scream, but was unable to escape and was trapped by her own mutated creation. The plant crushed Ivy, with her only being able to scream in panic and pain, as her beauty was ruined. Meanwhile, Robin and Batman managed to escape from their traps and join Batgirl.

The Terrific Trio left Poison Ivy trapped in her own lair for the police and went to Gotham Observatory to stop Freeze and Bane. Following the defeat of Bane and a fierce battle with Freeze, Batman showed him a recorded confession of Poison Ivy attempting to kill his wife, but tells him he had restored her systems and she was still alive. Ivy was later shown at Arkham Asylum, looking miserable and disheveled from being inside the plant. She played "Loves me not" with one of her plants, believing she could still find a way to be with Freeze. Freeze, who had finally surrendered to the authorities after giving Batman a cure to help save "a dying friend" (Alfred Pennyworth) and being assured that his wife would be moved to Arkham Labs where he would be able to continue his research to save her, suddenly appeared in her cell and told the terrified villainess that he is her new cell mate and will make her life a living hell for what she did to his wife, much to Ivy's horror.

Persoanlty[]

This incarnation of Poison Ivy is a much more sexually provocative seductress while her connection and control of plants, while still present, is given limited screen time, showing her once able to control plant growth and issue them orders with ease. She frequently uses her irresistible looks and seduction to get what she wants, becoming the epitome of a vamp. She has no qualms when it comes to murder either, even displaying some personal enjoyment from it.

Poison Ivy displays a very vain side to her also, taking great pleasure and care in her own appearance and the attention it brings her. Though this is likely due to how much of a boon it is to her, her unrivaled beauty often being enough to seduce the average male in order to lower his defenses in his desire of her (which she's not only quite aware of, but also eager to exploit).

At first Poison Ivy was used to using her beauty to seduce her way into getting what she wanted. She lured her victims in with flirts before delivering them a fateful kiss. However, she showed a side that she wasn't good with the few times she was rejected. When Batman resisted her, she simply tried to have Bane kill him and focused all her attention on seducing Robin. Later, after discovering that Robin had tricked her into revealing her plan after their kiss, after she believed that he was completely in love with her, she angrily shoved him from the throne they were sharing and into the pond to drown him instead of trying to force a second kiss on him, then tauntingly told him bye as if to break up with him.

In the end, everything Ivy does is to further her own ends, even going as far as to attempt to murder her partner-in-crime, Mr. Freeze's wife (the very partner she broke out of prison nevertheless) in order to make him pliable to her own desires. Poison by name. Poison by her very nature. While she seemingly has a tragic backstory regarding her creation, it's an incredibly weak one as it is never brought up when discussing her plans for transforming the Earth in her image, and she never sought any love or redemption for her evil.

Behind the Scenes[]

To be added

Trivia[]

  • Even though Batman & Robin was critically panned, Uma Thurman's portrayal of Poison Ivy received critical acclaim, although it was only seen as an excise in camp.
  • Her character arc bears a very similar resemblance to that of Selina Kyle/Catwoman from Batman Returns. Both are glasses-clad women who get involved in an argument with their various bosses and an attempt is made to kill them, but instead they somehow survive and kill their bosses and have even more diabolical schemes of their own. Batman also remarks to Ivy after his experience with Catwoman and now seeing Ivy as just as insane; "Why are all the gorgeous ones homicidal maniacs?"

References[]

External Links[]

To be added

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