Movies News Talk
Though their first meeting exposes a darker side to their relationship, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are among the most cherished couples in comics. When Poison Ivy first met Harley, she had no intention of supporting her, so exposing a startling reality about their developing relationship.
Following a confrontation with the Joker, Harley is hurt and left for dead in Batman: Harley Quinn #1. First ignoring Harley's calls for help, Poison Ivy is running from the explosion's scene. "No leaves off my bush if she lives or dies," Poison Ivy says when asked whether she should assist Harley.
This apparently cold comment exposes a lot about Poison Ivy's personality at the time. She isn't a sympathetic person. She is not opposed to letting people die since she really sees them as a hazard to the surroundings. This is not at all in line with Poison Ivy's later in-relationship caring and protective side. This icy reaction portends the challenges their relationship will encounter as they grow to overcome their individual darkness and welcome a shared future together.
From their first meeting, this terrifying line from Poison Ivy shows how precarious Harley's life was. Poison Ivy had little desire in saving others at this point in her life; she was more concerned in her own cause, the destruction of mankind and the preservation of environment. She helped Harley only out of her own boredess.
Poison Ivy would have readily left Harley to die if she had been preoccupied with other issues; but, her intervention came from boredom rather than empathy. This exposes an intriguing conundrum on the beginnings of their love. Though they had a passionate love, their shared boredom drew them together. Their gripping story is built on this unusual and apparently contradictory element, which begs readers to question whether their love story is really based on shared empathy or just a shared sense of bored-throughness.
Many retelling of Harley's beginnings mirror the first meeting between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. One such instance is the DC Black Label origin tale Harleen #2, where Harley first meets Ivy at Arkham Asylum while employed as a psychiatrist. This meeting exposes the same boredness and curiosity that defined their first meeting in Batman: Harley Quinn #1.
Ivy is personally always drawn to the excitement of the unexpected. Her curiosity drove her first interest in Harley, before they developed love. Harley's eccentric demeanor and erratic character drew her in. Their passion clearly sprang from a shared need for excitement. The basis for Harley's and Ivy's relationship is their mutual love of anarchy; this is the component that distinguishes and prolongs their romance. Though initially based in anarchy, their relationship changes with time as they come to embrace a closer emotional connection.
Powerful metahuman with control over plant life, Poison Ivy is a multifarious and interesting character. Often portrayed as an antihero, she is fighting for environmental protection even at great sacrifice for human life. Her reasons change with time though, as she develops a relationship with Harley Quinn. Their relationship helps her to discover a more sympathetic side of herself and challenges her misanthropic inclinations.
The path Poison Ivy travels toward self-acceptance and empathy is evidence of the force of love. Her relationship with Harley motivates her to go past her past and imparts insightful life lessons. Poison Ivy develops from a misanthropic eco-terrorist to a sophisticated person able of loving and being loved in return in this changing relationship with Harley.