This page is about the incarnation of Poison Ivy from the Joel Schumacher's movie. The mainstream version can be found here: Poison Ivy.
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| “ | The animal-plant toxins had a rather unique effect on me. They replaced my blood with aloe, my skin with chlorophyll, and filled my lips... With venom. Oh, and Jason, one other thing. I probably should've mentioned this earlier. I'm... poison. | „ |
| ~ Poison Ivy kissing Jason Woodrue |
Poison Ivy is one of the two main antagonists of the 1997 superhero film Batman & Robin, the other being Mr. Freeze. She is an exceptionally seductive and nefarious villainess, whose kiss is fatally poisonous because of her venom-filled lips.
She was portrayed by Uma Thurman.
Biography
Life, Death, rebirth, and revenge served with a kiss
Ivy before her transformation
Ivy began her career as Dr. Pamela Isley working in the jungles of South America in an "Arboreal Preservation Project" funded by Wayne Enterprises. Like her villainous persona she aspired to give plants and flowers the means to fight back from the "thoughtless ravages of men" but lacked the means to do so. After stumbling across her partner Dr. Jason Woodrue's plans for world domination using her research materials to do so.
Poison Ivy is born
He tries to get her to join him in his conquest. Disgusted she rejects him (by telling him he “won’t be able to get a job teaching high school chemistry”) and calls him a psycho, and he kills her in response by pushing her into venom samples, the chemicals cooking the ground and burying her into the soil.
Later, Woodrue talks on the phone in Isley's old work area and disturbs her natural grave, now growing ivy over it. Suddenly, the ground rumbles and boils with supernatural force, glowing with eerie pink light. Upon inspecting it the ground erupts expelling Isley who had was in hibernation rather than dead. A far cry from her previous appearance Isley now bloomed with irresistible beauty and beguiling charm. Easily seducing the smitten Woodrue, Isley seduced him into sharing a long, passionate kiss with her. Upon finishing she revealed the now-toxic nature of her lips and within moments he died, choking to death on the natural venom corroding his organs. With a henchman of Woodrue's creation, Bane, in tow Isley declared the world belonged to the plants and herself, deeming herself "Mother Nature" thanks to the new form her former persona's death had given her. She burned her lab to the ground and left for Gotham City.
Ivy in Gotham City
Ivy disguised as Dr. Isley
Leaving the lab and her former life burning in her wake, Ivy moves to Gotham City to seek support — legitimate or otherwise — for her war against mankind. At the airport, Bane hospitalized ten security guards; Ivy killed a business man with her kiss and stole his limousine (offscreen). Under the guise of her former persona Dr. Pamela Isley she ambushes her former boss Bruce Wayne, Wayne Enterprise's CEO, at a press event to have him help her in her plans by having him stop all projects that poison the environment. After brief consideration he rejects the proposal, reasoning the cost of human life would be too great to allow for it. Angered Isley proclaims that the plants will reclaim the planet and that there would no-one to protect them. Her mad proclamations are laughed off by the press and she is explained to that in Gotham City Batman & Robin are protecting them — even from plants and flowers. Attempting to soften the blow, Wayne gives Isley an invitation to an upcoming event (a "Save the Rainforest" themed ball) where the duo would appear if she wished to meet them. Leaving quietly, Isley decided to take him up on the invitation, declaring to rid herself of the pests and leaving Gotham hers for the greening.
"Poison Ivy"
Poison Ivy crashes the party
True to her intentions Isley makes her presence known to Batman & Robin at the ball, gate-crashing the party with a literally show-stopping performance before a captive audience. On top of a tribal-themed "mouth" overlooking the crowd, adorned in a fluffy magenta gorilla costume, she performed a seductive strip-tease, revealing herself as the red-haired leafy poison-lipped goddess that killed Jason Woodrue. Dousing the crowd - and the Dynamic Duo, her intended targets - with concentrated pheromones (which she referred to as "love-dust"), Isley had the room thoroughly enraptured by her. Making her way down to the stage where Batman & Robin waited Isley introduced herself to her adoring masses as "Poison Ivy".
Pleasantries over, Poison Ivy turned her attentions to Batman & Robin. She seduced them both in turn with her love-dust and her seductively poisonous charms, offering them sexual pleasures. She then takes the Heart of Isis necklace and then offers a evening of her company for the winner, saying that whoever won would be able to see her how she was at the moment, and also be naked for the winner. This causes the Dynamic Duo inciting them to fight one another for her affections. Before she can take matters further, however, her designs are thwarted with the untimely arrival of Mr. Freeze causing the pair to combat him rather themselves. Watching Freeze, Ivy took note of his ruthless strength, intent on possibly using him to help further her own devices. With Batman & Robin in pursuit of an escaping Freeze, Ivy took her leave as well, but not before blowing a kiss to an enamored Robin, keeping her in his thoughts and planting a seed of desire for her, which she would capitalize on later.
Creating her own Garden of Eden, A Proposal
Ivy and Bane made their way to the abandoned Turkish Baths, where they confronted by the Gollum Gang, Ivy challenges them to get her. Bane made them flee for their live after making them fly off a wooden plank they were all standing on. Redecorating the place, Ivy plants seeds then plants started to instantly grow. Ivy then planned to break Freeze out of Arkham Asylum. Ivy infiltrated Arkham Asylum in an effort to break out Freeze who had recently been incarcerated there. While Bane recovered his equipment, Ivy lied her way into the prison, claiming to be his 'sister'. Gaining her entry into Freeze's cell under the pretense of visit Ivy went to work. Immediately upon seeing Ivy the stationed guards in his cell were smitten with her. Sheepishly, one of them told Ivy to not mind them and converse freely with Freeze.
Poison Ivy with Bane & Mr. Freeze
Repulsed by him Poison Ivy responded with a dose of her love-dust further enamoring him. Flirting as she dosed the second Ivy claimed she "didn't mind him at all". Both guards under her spell she remarked Freeze the absurdity of them as she led them away from the door deeper into the cell like lovesick puppies to Freeze's curiosity. Stopping under a light Ivy playfully basks in their deep affection for her for a brief moment as she seduces them both before turning her focus on one. Seductively remarking how she's "to die for" Ivy leans lips pursed to kiss one of the guards. Eagerly he offers no resistance as Ivy plants her lips on his and steals his life away with a brief poison kiss. Immediately upon removing her lips from his he begins to choke, succumbing to the poison rushing through his body. Before the other guard can even comprehend what happened Ivy grabs him by the face and forces a rough kiss on him causing him to struggle as he feels the toxin permeate his body in her ferocity. The deed done, Poison Ivy ends the kiss and the hapless guard slumps down dead. Freeze expresses his admiration of her abilities. Ivy proposes a pairing between them, offering to set him free as an incentive. Cautiously he asks what she wants from him in return but she turns the conversation to other things. With little choice he accepts her offer and with their combined forces they break out his cell and escape into the Gotham River.
Breaking the Duo
The trio made for Freeze's hideout to pick up some things of Freeze's, along with his terminally-ill wife whom he had frozen in stasis until he can find a cure for her disease. Unfortunately Freeze's escape had reached the Dynamic Duo and they were there along with the police. Both parties split-up with Poison Ivy and Bane distracting Batman & Robin and rescuing his wife while Freeze recovered his much-needed power diamonds from the police. Luring them to the basement with the scent of her love-dust, Ivy seduced one of the pair starting with Robin while Bane held off Batman. Now knowing of her evil nature, Robin tried to stop her but Ivy was unfazed, seducing him with her love-dust, silencing him into a love-struck stupor. Reinforcing her influence over the young hero Ivy offered to kiss him, Robin offering no resistance to her. Before they could get far, Bane knocked Batman to the floor nearby snapping them out of their moment. Robin, momentarily breaking of Ivy's spell faced off against Bane in his mentor's stead with Ivy turned attentions to Batman, blowing her dust in his face and attempting to kiss him.
Unfortunately Batman was a much more stronger-willed opponent than Robin and despite being pinned down by her he was wily to her charms and stopped her from trying to kiss him. Before Batman could arrest Ivy however Bane saved her by attacking him from behind. As Bane held Batman, Ivy gave Batman a quick hug and asked him to not make a mess when he died.
"Let me kiss you..."
While they resumed their battle Ivy sought out Robin, whom Bane had momentarily defeated. Waiting till he was on his feet she resumed her seduction of him blowing yet another dose of her lovedust in his face and backed him against a nearby railing. Preying on his heroic ego and her past seductive efforts, Poison Ivy made him fall completely in love with her, disregarding her villainous identity and over-powering his better judgement. She spoke to him of moving out of Batman's shadow and being his own man with his own "Robin-signal". She convinced him that he no longer needed Batman, and she could help show him the way. At her mercy, Ivy held Robin in her arms and moved in to kiss him with his defenses all but deteriorated.
Unfortunately for her Batman stopped them, moments before their lips could meet. Knowing that Batman was onto her Ivy made moves to escape as Batman tried to explain why she was so dangerous but thanks to her charms the spell on Robin was indefinite and he fought Batman over her "honour" to Ivy's amusement—not believing his claims of her "poison kiss". Because of this, Ivy and Bane escaped unchallenged with the distracted crime-fighters too busy with one another to pursue them. In his misplaced anger Robin cuts his ties with Batman due to the villainess's manipulations of his now-fragile emotions truly believing Poison Ivy loved him as he did her.. Before she left however Ivy pulled the plug on Freeze's wife leaving her to die so that Freeze would be easily manipulated by her with no "competition" as she put it.
Ivy shows one of her plant hybrids
Returning to her now-blooming garden lair Ivy told the waiting of his wife's death- claiming that Batman deactivated her. Freeze angrily accused her of lying until Ivy gave him proof- a necklace she scavenged from the woman's corpse. As expected by her manipulation Freeze flew into a rage proclaiming to kill Batman & Robin in revenge. Using his grief and anger, Ivy twisted him into turning his wrath to the entire world, in turn giving her free reign to rule the world with her mutated plants, a natural by-product of her own creation, leaving them the only two humans left in the world. Brimming with vengeance and evil Freeze agreed. With a plan already concocted Freeze ordered Ivy to distract the Bat and Bird while he prepared to freeze Gotham City. Eager to help, Ivy set out with a plan of her own.
Guiding Light
Ivy as Isley hypnotizes Gordon
Under the guise of Pamela Isley one last time, she attended the unveiling of a new telescope Bruce Wayne had donated to the Gotham Observatory. Hidden amongst the crowd she singled out Commissioner Gordon. Inquiring about the whereabouts of the Bat-signal she seduced him with love-dust disguised in a ivy-leaf shaped compact make-up case. Effective on the older gentleman she pressed him regarding access to it. Falling for the bait, the smitten police officer produced the keys to it, offering to show it her. Languidly blowing more dust into his face she took the keys from him and left him reeling, briefly toying with the idea to kiss him but deciding against it (claiming him to be too old for her). With that she left the observatory and made for the Bat-signal's location. At her command Bane ripped the light from it's point of origin and has it taken to her lair and changes the signal from a bat to a bird. To lure Robin to her lair, in a final effort to seduce and murder him.
A Kiss For Luck
Robin responds to the call as she knew he would having alluded sending a Robin-signal for him in her last seduction of him. She waited deep inside her lair and as he drew to the heart she revealed herself; a great bud opened where she lay voluptuously for him within a massive flower at the end of a lily-pad strewn pond; the mistress of all she surveyed, she looked more beautiful then ever, wearing a new red dress just for Robin. Beckoning him to her Robin made his way across the pond. Laying down beside her Ivy began to seduce the sidekick once more.
Ivy talks to Robin before kissing him.
Robin tries to pry information about Freeze from her in an effort to find out whether she can be trusted and Ivy asks for him to kiss her and she'll tell him. Telling her he'll kiss her if she tells him, Ivy tells him Freeze's plan with belief that he won't live to make use of the knowledge. After she divulges the info Robin tries to take leave, hurriedly reasoning that he has to stop him. But before he can escape Ivy quickly grabs him and pulls him back to her and innocently strokes his chin with a finger, tenderly cooing "One kiss, my love. For luck..." curling a devilish, seductive smile on her lips. Alone and unable to resist her, Robin silently submits to her charms. At her mercy at last, Poison Ivy lays a hand on the hero's face and languidly leans in for a kiss, Robin following suit and closes his eyes. Ivy smirks evilly to herself as their lips finally meet and drops morbidly as they share a passionate kiss.
Ivy Wilted
Ivy battles Batgirl
After a brief moment Ivy pulls away from their kiss and reveals with mock-"sadness" her true, deadly nature to him, while rubbing noses with him and gently stroking his chin, and gleefully condemns him to his quickly-coming death. Unfortunately for her, Robin had been playing along with her from the very moment he stepped into her lair and was prepared for her. Wearing a protective film on his own lips rendered him immune from the deadly effects of her poison, allowing him to survive a kiss from her. Momentarily stunned by the revelation, Ivy angrily shoved Robin from her throne and into the lily pond leaving him to the underwater vines to drown him. Ivy leapt from her throne and mockingly waved goodbye to the drowning hero and taunted him "See ya!", ending their would-be relationship. Trying to escape Ivy is stopped in her tracks by Batman, whom had apparently came with Robin, but Ivy quickly incapacitated him the help of her plants.
Ivy thrown on her flower pod defeated
After briefly taunting him she made moves to leave once before a third figure, an unknown Bat-costumed woman, Batgirl, broke through a skylight and confronted her. Ivy tried to defeat her but was unable to match her opponent's fighting prowess. She pulled a switch-blade on her but she was quickly disarmed and incapacitated herself, becoming trapped within her own flower-bed that she and Robin had flirted on. Ivy was left in this condition thereafter for the police until her eventual incarceration.
Ivy imprisoned in Arkham Asylum
We last see Poison Ivy in a disheveled and maddened state plucking the petals of a flower sadly playing the old "loves me, loves me not" game. She's interrupted by the surprise emergence of Mr. Freeze within her cell. Originally pleased to see her "partner-in-crime" she quickly learns that he knows that it was her who had tried to kill his wife. With that he declares that he has come to make her life a living hell, to her stunned horror, what Freeze then did to her is unknown but as anyone can imagine, it couldn't have been pleasant. One possibility is that he's torturing her.
Personality
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. A fact she's quite aware of and eager to exploit.
Poison Ivy was use 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. She however 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 seducting 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.
Powers and Abilities
With her death and rebirth Poison Ivy's body was changed to the point where she was technically not even human anymore and gave her plant-themed traits as a result and a dynamic change in personality strengthening her capabilities by a significant margin.
Powers
Poisonous Lips/Toxikinesis: The most prominent and deadly feature of Ivy's "rejuvenated" body was the change to her lips. In addition to a luscious and bold upgrade in appearance they were capable of secreting a potent and deadly poison which like all poison was potentially to deadly when swallowed orally. This trait made Ivy's lips into a murderous weapon that made her kisses fatal to anyone whom shared one with her. As this was the only real way for Ivy to effective harm someone it became her most favoured weapon next to her seductive prowess serving as the main tool she attempted to use to destroy Batman & Robin. Thus making her kiss her weapon of choice.
Chlorokinesis: Unlike her other version this incarnation of Poison Ivy seldom used her talent to control plant-life save for a few moments in the film but displayed enough control to hinder Batman & Robin in her final moments as a villain. The plant-life she bred seemed to have a loving and loyal connection to her as a child is to a mother and appeared to be protective of her as such. Her plants seemed to follow her emotions and will. When Robin arrived at Ivy's lair they helped set the romantic mood as Ivy tried to seduce Robin, but after Robin revealed that he had tricked Ivy she angrily shoved him and her plants immediately tried to drown him.
Abilities
Botany: Carried over from her life as Pamela Isley, Poison Ivy used her skill as a doctor of botany to further her plans, specifically to dominate the world for all plant-life.
Pheromone Control: As a further extension of her skill in botany Ivy was able to extract plant pheromones and utilize them as a weapon; namely her trademark "Love-dust". This skill proved to be as welcome to her arsenal as her poisonous lips were often going hand in hand with one another. The love-dust had a crippling effect on the male victim make the subject fall in love with Ivy to the point where they become vegetative in their desire for her and susceptible to her charms. This proved most dangerous for Batman & Robin as not even they were immune to it at first, with Robin being especially lucky to survive his first encounters with her as he did not possess Batman's strength of will.
Seduction: With a new body and a sensual new personality Ivy was a keen and natural flirt. As Poison Ivy she had a wealth of shameless confidence Isley could only dream of, eagerly and playfully commanding a room as the center of attention with a few words and a smile. Combined with her stunning appearance Ivy was a deadly force to be reckoned with even without her love-dust. For example; When she was reborn, Jason Woodrue was smitten with her newfound beauty and even feel to his knees. Using her beauty to her advantage, she seduced Woodrue into kissing her. Ivy seemed to become very reliant on her ability to seduce men and didn't think it was possible for anyone to see through her charms once she had seduced them, which left her vulnerable to Robin, who tricked her into telling him her plan when she believed he was still in love with her, and Batgirl who she couldn't seduce.
Beauty: With her gorgeous facial features and shapely figure, Poison Ivy was an otherworldly yet natural beauty who turned heads and left onlookers stunned even before she reached for her love-dust. Coupled with her arrogance-bordering confidence and playful tendency to flirt, she was the epitome of a siren to the male sex. Hence, in some cases, Ivy did not even need her love-dust to entice a victim. With her irresistible beauty, Ivy is a force to be reckoned with. While seducing Batman & Robin, she offered sexual pleasures. If naked, men would be completely under her spell. (She wasn't naked in the film)
Trivia
- Even though Batman & Robin was harshly received, Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy had unanimous praise.
- So far, Uma Thurman is the first actress to portray Poison Ivy. For Gotham City Sirens set in the D.C. Extended Universe, there are rumors of Megan Fox possibly portraying Poison Ivy.
- In the Lego Movie continuity, Poison Ivy later joins Joker's team called "The Rogues".
- Her character arc bears a striking resemblance to that of Catwoman's from Batman Returns. Both ladies are implicated in a plot where their boss practices an illegal activity and are then killed to silence them, but instead they rise from the dead 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?"
