It’s official; Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy have officially broken up. The relationship between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy is one of the most iconic in comics, but it’s long been rather on-again-off-again. Now, sadly, it looks to be taking a very dark twist indeed – as DC prepare for the next major Batman event, one that will put Gotham in crisis.
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In the aftermath of DC K.O., Poison Ivy #42 (by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara) picks up with a massive change in Ivy’s status quo. The last issue saw Ivy decide she wanted to campaign to become mayor, and this issue kicks off some time later with the reveal she’s been successful. It’s not the first time a supervillain has become mayor in comics, but Poison Ivy is sure to be very different, given her commitment to the environment. Unfortunately, this has cost her dearly – specifically, it has cost her relationship with Harley.
Why Has Poison Ivy & Harley Broken Up?
Poison Ivy #42 deliberately skips forward in time, hiding the reason for the breakup. That’s a deliberate decision, with the comic hinting that she may well have struck a deal with supernatural entities to become mayor. It’s reasonable to assume this is the reason Harley and Ivy are no longer together; magic typically has a price, and it would take a great sacrifice to earn such a position of power.
It’s all setup for a major upcoming event called “Bad Seeds,” in which Gotham City is left in turmoil because of Ivy’s ascension to mayor. Here’s the official DC Comics synopsis for “Bad Seeds”:
“Gotham City police commissioner Vandal Savage has declared war on the Bat-Family and flooded the streets with his private, para-militarized police army. Gotham’s new mayor, Pamela Isley, deserted by her allies both political and arcane, is about to make a last-ditch power play that will leave all of Gotham decimated by daylight. These events converge in “BAD SEEDS”, spanning a long, dark night in Gotham that threatens to turn the entire city into a primeval world of hostile plant life unlike anything on Earth for millennia, at a time when its greatest heroes are hunted and in hiding.”
The key point here is that, for Gotham to descend into the “Bad Seeds” event, we first have to see Ivy isolated and alone. The beginning of this is clearly separating Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, leaving Ivy heartbroken by the loss. It’s all going to turn into outright war between Poison Ivy and Vandal Savage, with Gotham City caught in the crossfire. Worse still, the entire Bat-Family are still outlaws, which will make it very hard indeed for them to make peace.
This isn’t the first time Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy have broken up. But the decision to separate them will no doubt be deeply controversial with the fanbase, given the popularity of the relationship. It remains to be seen whether the payoff will be enough to win readers over.
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