Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

The Joker's Asylum: Poison Ivy

By Koppy McFad
July 19, 2008 - 01:14

Poison Ivy, the mistress of plants, goes on a killing spree and the Batman is helpless to stop her. Her targets are three real estate developers who built houses over a forest she once liked walking through.  The clues to the crimes are looking Batman right in his face but the world's greatest detective is apparently on another world since it takes him the whole issue to find the links between the killings.

Of course, Batman is not the hero of this story. Poison Ivy is the hero. No, not just the protagonist. She is the HERO, the good guy. The story makes it clear that her victims are evil because they are fat, middle-aged white males who engage in wicked activities like golf, heterosexual sex, real estate development and sub-prime lending (do the DC writers even understand what sub-prime lending is?) Ivy on the other hand is a virtuous protector of the environment and even Batman admits that her victims aren't worth saving. He just doesn't want her innocence to be sullied by murder.

Aside from this morally-primitive storyline, this issue fails to create any horror or suspense. You can practically see everything coming a mile away which only serves to make Batman look even dumber. Well, maybe people were getting tired of the all-mighty uber-Bat but this is really a poor showing for any heroic character.

The art is also rather uninspired. The only time it perks up is when it comes to showing cheesecake shots of Poison Ivy-- which just cements the fact that this book is intended to make her look good.

Strangely, this is suppose to be part of a series of stories narrated by the Joker about his fellow Bat-villains. But there doesn't seem to be anything linking this tale to the rest of the stories. It already fails to convey the horror of Poison Ivy's actions and does not make her a tragic figure. It just seems to be thrown together as a showcase of her beauty and her environmental agenda. Of course, this isn't the first time that writers have been overcome by the character's sex appeal that they failed to craft a good story about her.  Apparently, her powers extend from beyond the printed page.

 

 

Rating: 2 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12