WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #6, by Jody Houser, Adriana Melo, Mark Morales, Hi-Fi and Gabriela Downie, on sale now.
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy have almost always been an item. Ever since the Batman: The Animated Series episode “Harley and Ivy” paired them off, these two villains and occasional heroes have flirted, kissed and even got married in various corners of the DC multiverse.
However, DC seemingly just confirmed that they were not a romantic couple -- and may never be -- in the finale of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy mini-series.
Over the course of the series, Ivy has, after being given some special fertilizer by Lex Luthor that she's used to clone herself several times over. Only two Ivy clones survived. While one has been traveling with Harley, the other, more villainous Ivy has chased them cross-country. While it's not clear if the two Ivys are clones or different aspects of her given form, the Ivys have a climactic final battle as a teary-eyed Harley looks on.
Before she jumps into the fray, the "good" Ivy leans in to kiss Harley. Instead of a romantic embrace, she simply kisses Harley chastely on the forehead.
Despite everything they've been through, Ivy -- knowing that she may not walk away from the fight she's running into -- gives Harley a peck on the forehead, even after Harley professed her love earlier in the issue.
With this scene, DC steers away from what could've been a seminal moment that would've cemented Harley and Ivy's relationship within the core DC Universe.
However, DC teased a romance between Harley and Ivy for the past several years. In 2015, DC's Twitter even went as far as confirming that Harley and Ivy were a polyamorous couple.
And in the years before and after that, DC dropped numerous hints about their romance across its comic book multiverse.
Shortly after that initial episode of Batman: The Animated Series, Harley and Ivy’s relationship grew in the pages of the DC animated Universe comic books. The first time their closeness is questioned as more than “just friends” comes in Paul Dini and Rick Burchett's Batgirl Adventures #1. After teaming up with Harley to save Ivy, Batgirl asks if she and Ivy are “friends,” to which Harley asks Batgirl if she and Supergirl are “friends" before that line of thought is dropped.
Shortly after Harley was introduced in the main DC Universe, she and Ivy were paired up in Gotham City Sirens, Harley even asks Ivy, half-serious half-teasing, if she loved her.
It wasn’t until Harley Quinn began starring in her own series that their relationship really blossomed. The two shared showers, traded innuendos, talked about living together and even vacationed together. However, none of these moments every really crossed the line from platonic flirtation to true romance.
Across the DC Multiverse, two other versions of Harley and Ivy were finally confirmed as couples in 2017. In Marguerite Bennett and Mirka Andolfo's DC Bombshells #79, the two kissed. One month later, they also kissed in Christopher Sebela and Marco Santucci's Injustice: Ground Zero #21, and the two were later married in that video-game-based universe.
Later that year, their first truly meaningful kiss in the main DC Universe occurred in Amanda Conner, Kimmy Palmiorri and Chad Hardin's Harley Quinn #25. In that anniversary issue, Ivy lays a kiss on Harley at Harley’s surprise birthday party, suggestively adding that she'll give Harley her present later.
Despite the overt implications of that moment, DC seems to have been pulling away from the idea lately. In the DC Universe Harley Quinn animated series, the two have been portrayed as close platonic friends. While the show could still build up to them being a couple, Ivy is presently dating Kite Man, one of Batman's less noteworthy foes.
While this issue's non-kiss between Harley and Ivy is a major letdown. there's not much that can keep these two apart. Their romance has become as entrenched and important to DC as Lois and Clark or Batman and Catwoman. Harley and Ivy will find each other again; it’s just a matter of time until they do.
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