SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Batman #43 by Tom King, Mikel Janin and Hugo Petrus, on sale now.


Whenever a super-villain takes over the world, they always say they mean well, right? In the finale to "Everyone Loves Ivy," though, the villain in question might really mean it. Poison Ivy has taken control of the world's population via humanity's consumption of vegetation, but her comparatively benign actions show that she's far from the typical power-hungry megalomaniac.

Written by Tom King and drawn by Mikel Janin with an assist from Hugo Petrus, Batman #43 explores Ivy's mindset, which is revealed to go beyond her self-professed altruistic motives for the worldwide takeover. Ivy, in fact, demonstrates that she might not even be a true super-villain at all, but rather a lost soul who simply needs help.

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Everyone Loves Ivy... Except Ivy

Previously, Ivy cited her world-changing orchestration as one that demonstrated her total control. Not of the world, but rather herself, after being manipulated by The Riddler years earlier in "The War of Jokes and Riddles." The experience played a large part in shaping Ivy's view that the world is hurt and broken, with her previous role playing a part in it, leaving her very, very hurt.

Collectively, Bruce and Selina try to convince Ivy that she needs help to deal with her pain. Like many who suffer emotional trauma, though, Ivy is clearly in denial of her own, defending her actions and deflecting any attempts at intervention. Ivy also tries to deny her other emotions – most notably her largely unaddressed feelings for her frequent collaborator, Harley Quinn who, in fact, ends up playing a key role in freeing the world from Ivy's control.

Ivy shows a kind of self-loathing that's rooted in her younger days as The Riddler's pawn. Clearly in need of psychological intervention, Ivy finds herself tag teamed by Bruce and Selina, who attempt to make her understand her own mindset. Neither Bruce nor Selina have a PhD in psychology, but Harley does, and the pair have a plan to enlist Harley's aid.

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The Doctor Is In

First, though, Harley herself needs to be freed, and a surprise attack on Ivy by Selina enables this to happen. With her free will restored, Harley confronts Ivy, who continues to mask her pain behind her continuous pretext that she's saving the world from itself. As Bruce had noted earlier, he conceded her noble intent, but added that her methods were driven by her emotional pain. Harley is able to bring this point home, but Batman punctuates it with a surprising revelation. That revelation? That the murders Ivy holds herself responsible for during "The War of Jokes and Riddles" were committed by The Riddler himself, not Ivy.

Yes, The Riddler not only murdered five people, but convinced the young and impressionable Ivy that she had done it. As Batman himself states, that's one common trait among villains – they lie. Batman further consoles Ivy by adding, "Maybe you didn't understand this, not because you were weak or young, but because you're not a villain."

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If there's one thing King and Janina's story makes clear, it's that Ivy's far-reaching actions might have been misguided, but they certainly weren't deliberately villainous. It can be argued, of course, that many super-villains' deeds historically haven't been motivated by villainy for villainy's sake, but that doesn't mean they aren't bad guys.

Upon freeing the world's population from Ivy's influence, there's no real evidence of any lasting harm having been done except, ironically, to Batman himself. And if Batman can deny that Ivy has any kind of real villainous nature, even after suffering a seriously life-threatening injury at her hand, perhaps no one else is really in a comparable position to debate it.

Poison Ivy No More?

In the storyline's epilog, it's revealed that Ivy has safely arrived at Sanctuary. This is, of course, is the still moderately-vague concept described by King as a sort of metahuman crisis intervention center. With this epilog, Sanctuary's standing as a physical place is confirmed, as is its purpose as a place where heroes, and apparently pseudo-villains, can go for psychological help.

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While teased as a facility that can help superheroes cope with their lives, it apparels may also be one that helps villains reform. Ivy – who's never actually referred to as Poison Ivy in King's script – is put in a sympathetic light once her motivations are known. Once treated, does Ivy stand to leave the ranks of Batman's rogues gallery to one day fight alongside him?

There is certainly notable, and recent, precedent for such a drastic move, as seen with Clayface over in James Tynion IV's Detective Comics. Similarly, King's usage of Ivy as an antagonist was handled with a decidedly kinder approach when compared to his handling of past villains like The Riddler or Bane. During King's run, in fact, it's been very clear that the bad guys are bad indeed, at least until now, further hinting that a more heroic role is in in the plans for Ivy.

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Sanctuary – A Much Simpler Fix?

In the DC Comics Universe, S.T.A.R. Labs is the go-to site for scientific research. Lexcorp is the pervasive corporate entity with its hands in virtually every business endeavor. Perhaps Sanctuary is poised to be the place to fix the DCU's broken characters, providing a plausible reason for a revamp when another company reboot seems out of the question. There are more personal kinds of crises, after all, and a rebirth doesn't have to come with the baggage of a continuity flip.

Sanctuary's upcoming place in the DC Universe – whether as an entity, event, or title – remains largely unknown, as does Ivy's involvement. Batman, however, forges ahead with a clear path – one that includes the nuptials for Bruce and Selina. Those plans begin to be laid out in Batman #44, on sale April 4.