Poison Ivy stood for equality and the environment long before it was cool. Heck, she’s not just a woman and bisexual, but most versions of Poison Ivy these days have green skin instead of fair skin.
These are different days, and still, like 80 years later kids still look up to superheroes, even tough they’re fictional characters. Is it because of their powers? Is that a bad thing? I think not. A superhero’s powers or gadgets naturally tend to be an extension of the character’s personality, and in a way, making characters be able to do things that aren’t realistic somehow makes them more relatable.
But just imagine that when kids see the Justice League, they don’t just see Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman. Imagine if they looked up to someone who can quite literally empathize with the environment, when everyone else ignores it. And I honestly wouldn’t worry about the name “Poison Ivy”, either. In her old backstory, Ivy became poisonous as a result of the abuses she endured under Jason Woodrue, and I think it’s a great parallel of how our world can become perilous if we choose to abuse it.
I know this might seem like a bad time to post this, given the Heroes in Crisis thing, but then again, it could present as a good opportunity to recreate the character.
Though… while I do think I could eventually get with it, I definitely prefer her as a villain.
I think everything that you’ve outlined is what makes her such a great (and unique!) villain!
Maybe in an episode of hers she pricks her finger on a poisonous plant or eats a magic shroom and is sent on a psychedelic trip where we get to explore a world where Poison Ivy is a heroine, rather than a villain.
Then afterwards, remnants of that part of her could be played with throughout the rest of her story.
However nice an eco-friendly heroine sounds, I’m not ready to part with my Poison Ivy.
I prefer her as a villain too. Especially since you can see some truth in her perspective. There are alot of female DC heroes who could use some attention as it is, no need to switch one of the more properly motivated villains to the hero side. Fire and Ice come to mind
Yeah, I get what you mean, KittyKrawler. Like in Detective Comics 752, Batman asks the question “…once you’ve found something worth fighting for… where does it end?” I guess that pretty much sums up why Poison Ivy exists as a character. Still, I think there’s a missed opportunity there, somewhere, for DC to have a popular hero that really hammers it home.