The first thing I noticed when I started reading this issue is that, yes, the Knight Terrors event was a totally pointless interruption to this book. Here we pick up exactly where issue 13 left off: there has been a mysterious murder committed that someone seems to want to pin on Ivy. Meanwhile, there’s the Ivy/Janet/Harley love triangle going on, and that’s about to get worse. Way worse.
Poison Ivy in a Standard Superhero Book
Let’s start with the positives of this book. It’s pretty much your standard way to set up a mystery and start a new arc. We have a new mystery villain who’s attempts at framing Ivy couldn’t have come at a worse time as she’s trying to re-establish herself in a city where no one trusts her. Ivy instantly calls Janet and recruits her to help her with the new mystery. It’s interesting that Ivy calls Janet first and chooses to entrust her with everything as her new sidekick, essentially. With Ivy’s continued flirtations with Janet, and Ivy’s absence from Harley’s life, it’s easy to see the story setting up Janet to be Ivy’s new sidekick/love interest. But once again, we will get back to this.
What we have here is a decent story set-up with a main conflict and also a subplot with conflict. My only problem concerning this is it might be a little too standard. It’s clear that Ivy, as she becomes more defined as an anti-hero for her own series, is starting to fit the regular formula for superhero books. She’s got her own sidekicks, love interests, villains, and cliched plot points of “we need to interrogate this guy from this company because he might be connected to this.” It’s not bad, just very generic.
However, fantastic artwork from the regular team really carried the issue a bit more for me. It’s very nice to read a book that makes use of a wide and varying palate of bright colors. The panel layouts are simple and easy to follow as well. It’s, overall, a pretty accessible book to read. However…
Janet is a Bizarre Character
…what really brings this issue (and potentially the series) down is Janet. She’s such an odd character. It’s like she has an unspoken mental illness or disability that causes her to act in very strange ways. She acts like a girl in a constant trance, and it’s weird. Janet’s subplot in this comic involves her continued insecurity around Harley. She doesn’t want Harley to know about the complicated affair she’s having with Ivy.
Later, Janet has a run in with Batman (who is written quite out of character) who tries to dissuade her from working with Ivy. Janet foolishly tries to hit Batman with her purse, but Harley pulls her away. In a later conversation, Harley starts to talk about the dynamics of switching sides in Gotham, which… turns Janet on for some reason? The scene ends where Janet and Harley now kiss.
What the heck?! I mean, I think that’s the reaction the writer wanted people to have, but I have no idea where this comic is going in regards to a now three-way love triangle between Ivy and Harley Vs. Harley and Janet. It feels gratuitous. My only explanation for the way it’s happening is that, apparently, this book has a certain level of popularity among LGBT readers, and Wilson probably wants to lean into that. All three characters are starting to come off as unlikable, horny morons, however. It’s a shame, too, because G. Willow Wilson actually writes Harley with a more traditional voice as opposed to the Deadpool/Gwenpool sounding stuff. It’s wasted on bad material, though.
Recommend if…
- You don’t mind a Poison Ivy book with a more standard structure.
- Melodramatic subplots about love affairs and cheating are your thing.
Overall
The rollercoaster of quality in this book continues. Issue 14 is more middle of the road. Ivy’s been proving she can hold up a solo book pretty well, but bad side characters and subplots are bringing this book down.
Score: 5.5/10
Disclaimer: DC Comics provided Batman News a copy of this comic for the purposes of this review.
