#SavePoisonIvy
So here’s the thing… Researching Poison Ivy has proved to be much more complex than I originally thought. Although my corpus is limited, through the differing representations of this singular character, I have started to construct a more complete idea of who she is. Although each interpretation is different, there seem to be key concepts that are present in all the issues. Mainly that she really was mistreated and despite any rage she displays, she’s hiding pain and vulnerability.
There is one example where I feel like her confidence is created to be purposefully one dimensional, like in Batman #181 from 1966. This was Ivy’s first appearance in the DC Universe. I’m not sure if the reason her confidence feels artificial is due to when it was written — when I seriously doubt male writers were trying to accurately and respectfully depict women. Or if I’m just very sensitive to when characters lack depth.
Either way, the thing that stood out most about her initial appearance in Batman, is how much her looks either caused her to be underestimated by others, or they were over-valued to the point where it felt like random characters constantly had to mention how beautiful she is. It got to the point where I had to add another section to my spreadsheet that I’m keeping on my corpus about when others either underestimate her because of her appearance/gender or over value her looks above the rest of the action. Since I’m researching whether or not Poison Ivy has feminist values, I thought this would be a beneficial thing to keep track of. In this issue, I felt there was very little to Poison Ivy, but she’s grown tremendously from this point.
In the public conversation, people vouch for Ivy being a feminist icon and I was surprised how much people are concerned about her treatment in the DC Universe. Now, when I first took to the internet to find out what people were saying about her, I thought I would come up with very little, but quickly discovered #SavePoisonIvy on Twitter. Thus I fell down the rabbit hole.
It was odd for me, having been looking at her from a very academic and critical standpoint, to see her being defended so fiercely. For weeks on end I’ve been seeing my lovely Ivy in demeaning and eye-roll worthy positions like these:
However, a recent cover for a new DC Comic was leaked graphically displaying Ivy’s death. Fans were livid. And the arguments they made on her behalf, were valid. Not only is the position she’s in, anatomically… confusing, but it’s also overly violent. There is no dignity in this depicted death, and while some may argue that villains don’t always “deserve” a dignified death, others would say that denying them that is inhumane. They are still people. This cover was revoked, especially after the outrage it sparked, but the fans were mad on principle and the damage was done. The hashtag was born and there was absolutely no going back.
After reading through many Tweets similar to these, I feel like there is a solid case for Ivy possessing feminist qualities. She stands for recovering after assault. And she is a fiery beacon of power in her own right. And I think there’s also an argument to be made for her being representative of women taking control of their bodies and sexuality. She’s a power house! She isn’t artificial anymore, her looks are not all she brings to the table, she’s a complete person. Poison Ivy is complicated and vulnerable and it’s obvious that fans see great value in what she stands for.
