Warning: The following contains spoilers for Batman #107, by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Batman has one of the largest and most colorful rogues' galleries in superhero comics. Some of these villains have a fairly unhealthy obsession with The Dark Knight. Gotham's latest villain, however, has a keen eye on Harley Quinn. Batman's newest foe makes a brief appearance in Batman #107, by James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez, right after Harley Quinn tries her hand at crime-fighting. This attempt is a bit of a mess, since Ghost-Maker has to help Harley escape from the police by the end of it all. In the aftermath, Gotham's latest villain, the Gardener, observes the scene of the chaos.
Clutching a rose in her hand, the Gardener notes that "she" is back in Gotham after all, referring to Harley. With Harley back in town, Gardener remarks that there is still hope, although it's unclear what this means. Outside of her appearance, not much else is gleaned about the Gardener from this introduction. The Gardener wears some pretty formal attire, consisting of a red suit and a small cape. It's generally clear that the Gardener is quite an enigmatic new foe.
From the little that is known about the Gardener, however, one of the more peculiar things is her interest in Harley. Gardener believes that Harley heralds hope for some unknown purpose. At this point, it doesn't seem as if Harley is a massive game-changer in Gotham's crime-fighting scene. Harley is just doing her best to turn over a new life and fight crime, something with which she's struggling. Yet, with the Gardener's ominous words, it seems that there may be some strange plan for Harley in the future. Other than the Gardener's plans for Harley, the only other clues behind the villain's identity are based in her appearance.
Specifically, the Gardener is surrounded by goats, who seem to be composed of plant-based material. With these goats in the picture, and a rose up to her nose, it's clear that the Gardener has some connection to Poison Ivy. While the Gardener doesn't appear to be Ivy herself, it's too big of a coincidence that two plant-based villains would appear in the same city. Ivy, now going by "Queen Ivy," has been acting fairly mysteriously of late. During "Ashes of Eden," part of Batman: Joker Warzone, by Sam Johns and Laura Braga, Poison Ivy declared war on humanity after her underground garden, Eden, was destroyed.
Even so, Queen Ivy has demonstrated some heroic behavior. In Batman #104, by James Tynion IV and Ryan Benjamin, Ivy seemingly helped Spoiler and Orphan locate Batman and Harley Quinn, spelling out their location with her vines. Based on Ivy's contradictory behaviors and her mysterious absence, she could be involved in the Gardener's origins somehow. Another possible sign that the Gardener is connected to Ivy is her fascination with Harley. Considering the strong bond between Harley and Ivy, the Gardener's interest in Quinn is unlikely to be a mere coincidence. In Batman #103, by James Tynion IV and Carlo Pagulayan, Harley spoke to a poison ivy plant as if she were speaking to Ivy, saying how much she missed her old friend.
If the Gardener is connected to Ivy somehow, perhaps Ivy heard Harley and wanted to reconnect with her, sending the Gardener to watch after Harley. As of right now, it's unclear who the Gardener is, so she may be completely unrelated to Poison Ivy. Either way, it's only a matter of time before more is revealed about the Gardener. In the future, as the Gardener faces Harley and maybe even Batman, she will likely reveal more about her origins.