Batman Unburied, the Winston Duke-led audio drama adapting the Dark Knight for podcast audiences, recently concluded its first 10-episode storyline. While much of the plot was driven by the machinations of Hugo Strange and the actions of the mysterious Harvester, a late-game reveal brought Poison Ivy into the plot as the architect of a potentially massive plan. Playing Ivy is Emmy Raver-Lampman, who had to juggle Ivy's villainous side and her well-intentioned if twisted plan. The show dedicated large swaths of its eight-episode run to showcasing Raver-Lampman's surprisingly deep exploration of the character.

During an exclusive interview with CBR following the conclusion of Batman Unburied's inaugural 10-episode season, Emmy Raver-Lampman recalled how much it meant to her to take on Poison Ivy. She also dove into what aspects of the anti-villain really stood out to her as a performer and what she grew to admire about one of Batman's most enduring villains.

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CBR: This is such a great unique cast for a Batman production -- what was your reaction when you were first approached about the project?

Emmy Raver-Lampman: First of all, I was extremely honored to even be considered to take on such an iconic role. I did not take that lightly. I was originally like, "Wait, do I have the right number? Are they sure they want me?" I think that once the initial shock of the opportunity kind of subsided and they were like, "Winston Duke's going to be Batman, and Gina Rodriguez is going to be Barbara Gordon," I very quickly started to catch on that they were casting this very differently and very diversely.

To be a part of something like that -- and not only that, but a scripted podcast is a new form of podcasting. It's uncharted territory, but then on top of that, you're taking these characters and roles that have been traditionally played by... white people and casting a really diverse cast. I just was so excited to be a part of that. I've been a fan of Winston's for so long, and I just think he would be the perfect Batman, so yeah, I jumped at the opportunity.

Poison Ivy is a character who performers usually imbue a lot of body language into, whether it's to make her more alluring or threatening or manipulative. How did you approach the character knowing that, as an audio series, you wouldn't have any of those tools at your disposal?

I think that was something [that], the first day that I recorded some of my tracks, we had probably like a 45 minute to an hour-long conversation just about where I was going to be vocally placing Kell but then also Ivy so that there was a very distinct difference between the two. Also, [it was important] not to be pushing anything, not trying to make up for the fact that there is no... The listeners are responsible for the visual aspect of this podcast, which I think is so cool because just to sit and think about the millions of people that are listening to this podcast, each has a completely different visual idea of what is going on than the person sitting next to him on the train listening to the same thing.

I think that it's so cool that this journey is so unique for everyone. All they have is the voices of myself and the other actors involved. I think a big point of the conversation was to not overcompensate for that and just lean into the dialogue and lean into the story and lean into the emotion and keep it as grounded as possible -- not to get too caught up in the superhero genre and wanting to put on a voice it to make up for the fact that I'm not running around the city in spandex.

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You got a lot of room to explore Ivy and her origins for the series in the show's eighth episode. What surprised you the most about Ivy as a character?

At the end of the day, you still want to feel a connection to these characters. I think Poison Ivy is such an amazing villain because she is, unfortunately, the result of extreme abuse from her childhood and from her upbringing, which you get to learn about -- almost the whole eighth episode is kind of her backstory. I think when you get to learn both sides of your heroes and your villains, I think that that is what leads to a much more compelling story... This podcast was so brilliantly written that you get the really cool backstory that grounds these characters, and whether the decisions that they're making are correct or not, they are grounded very much in their own truths and have reasoning behind it -- not just you know, villainous and malicious intentions... You're not sympathizing with them but understanding the decision-making, the reasoning behind the decision-making in their minds.

I just didn't expect such a deep dive, and so I just really, really loved that opportunity to kind of go all the way back to the beginning and tell Ivy's story... This is a Batman story, obviously. He is the hero, but to have the opportunity to also learn the villain's origin story within the bigger picture, I think is really, really cool, how she tried to rise above her trauma and use it for good, and she's continuously wronged by the men around in her life. She's a victim of that unfortunate belief that when someone tells you something so many times, you just start to believe it and take it as truth. I think she just was like, "Well, if people are going to keep doing this to me and keep wanting things from me and thinking that they can take things from me, then I'm going to give them their worst nightmare." I just really loved that opportunity to go all the way back with her and kind of learn about her as opposed to just having her, like, show up.

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What do you actually admire about Ivy?

I think she's extremely loyal. I think that that is something that has gotten her in trouble. I think if you go all the way back even to her relationship with her father, she was so loyal and so trusting of him. It seriously affected her and wounded her. Then I also think her relationship with Alex is kind of the reason her whole plot kind of crumbles at the end because she's still so very much in love with Alex, and what they were initially trying to do and what they were going to school learning about and their plan of the greater good and using Ivy's abilities -- that were brought on in such a horrific way -- and spinning it and using it for good... So I think her loyalty is something that I was really impressed by because a lot of villains are really loyal to their cause. I think Poison Ivy is, and that includes getting really attached and very loyal to the people that she loves -- sometimes to a fault.

If you could see your take on Ivy interact or crossover with another DC character or concept, what would you want to encounter?

I think I have two ideas. I feel like, given that Poison Ivy is very of the earth and of the dirt and of the soil and of the Green, I feel like there's something really cool with the elements. So if there's like an Aquaman and Ivy crossover, I feel like that can be really fun. Then I'm also here for like Wonder Woman and Poison Ivy going up against each other as well. That or joining forces, who knows -- it doesn't always have to be a villain. There is a softer side to Poison Ivy.

Catch all of the Batman: Unburied podcast, streaming now.