Batman artist Jorge Jiménez has given fans their first look at Queen Ivy in this year's Fear State event.
The artist shared the look on social media, showing Poison Ivy's new regal attire and demeanor first glimpsed in Batman #109. The page is absent of any words or speech bubbles, but shows Ivy interacting with one of Jiménez's co-creations with writer James Tynion IV, Miracle Molly. The new look for Ivy marks another instance of Jiménez redesigning a character for this year's main Batman title, as he also redesigned Scarecrow by incorporating aspects of the villain's best looks over the years.
Ivy's transformation into Queen Ivy was first teased nearly a year ago during the events of Batman: Joker War. In the one-shot issue, Batman: The Joker War Zone #1, there were numerous short stories focused on members of the Bat-Family and villains like Bane, the short story "Ashes of Eden" focusing on Ivy. In the story, she takes a more brutal approach with some Joker followers by incinerating them, leaving the final follower ensnared in vines only because she reminded Ivy of Harley Quinn. She then began to grow a kingdom of green for herself under Gotham City, claiming that the citizens of Gotham "won't know what hit them" in 2021.
The events of Batman titles and Harley Quinn have been building to a reunion between Harley and Ivy. They last interacted during the Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy miniseries, where Harley attempted to help a struggling Ivy remember and work back to who she was following her rebirth in Heroes in Crisis. The miniseries saw Ivy split into two people, one who loved Harley and the other who resented her, with the final issue recombining the two as Harley ran away, unsure of how the new Ivy felt towards her.
In Batman #109, another new character creation by Tynion and Jiménez, the Gardener, warned Harley and Ghost-Maker about how Ivy has been growing her kingdom further and further into Gotham's foundations and if anyone goes to attack or move against Ivy, she will collapse the city. The Gardener told Harley in the issue that Ivy needed her, though Harley has been hesitant to interact with Ivy. Her solo series has explored her making amends for her crimes and hurtful actions in the past, though she explained to Batman in the series' first issue that she was not ready to face Ivy yet. The end of Catwoman #35 showed Harley reunited with the Gardener, the issue teasing more of what Poison Ivy has been up to.
Readers will be able to see Queen Ivy in Batman #114, written by Tynion with art by Jiménez. The issue goes on sale Oct. 5 from DC Comics.
Source: Twitter