Ivy is usually used to explore the continuum between environmental activism and eco-terrorism. Contrasts with Swamp Thing who is portrayed as a heroic figure.
IVY. I don’t like killing animals. In fact, I don’t like killing anybody. But here’s the thing. Humankind has warped the natural order so completely that even out food has become an ecological cancer. These cattle were never meant to be here. The native species that evolved in harmony with this land starve beneath their hooves. The kindest thing to do is give them back to the earth. To let them nourish the creatures that they would otherwise destroy.
IVY. I can see you rolling your eyes. Classic, right? Villain can’t resist going on some elaborate rant about their genius plan, giving the heroes plenty of time to thwart it. But there’s a catch. By the time you read this, it’ll already be over. By the time you read this, I’ll be dead.
IVY. The thing is… now that I’ve had a chance to calm down, I can see that you were telling the truth. You were trying to save me. You couldn’t have known what it feels to have that much power taken away. At the height of my powers, I spared the city of Gotham. And in return, they clipped my wings. I know you of all people understand why that’s so hard to forgive.
IVY. Never say I hate the world or anything in it. I love the world. I love every root and seed. I love every little pollinating insect. And I love you. It’s just that those are the only two things that I love. One very big, the other very small.
IVY. Sometimes people ask if I’m a vegetarian. The stupidest possible question. Let me tell you why. Do you have any idea how environmentally catastrophic modern agave farming is? In nature, agave plants are pollinated by long-nosed bats. Making agave syrup for rich vegans requires killing thousands of mature agave plants at a time. In order to grow the plants quickly, farmers use sterile offshoots that produce no flowers. Without flowering plants, the long-nosed bats die off. The ecosystem loses a crucial pollinator. Monoculture destroys the soil. Even the genetic makeup of agave plants degrades, leaving them open to blight and infection. None of these stops vegetarians from buying that murder syrup by the quart. Or from the feeling like they really did something by giving up chicken.
IVY. I’m suspicious of people who try to sell you hope. Hope, when the desired outcome fails to occur, becomes despair. You know you can’t save all the trees, so you don’t plant any. But what if it’s still worth it to plant that one tree? Just that one. Even if it doesn’t fix the problem, you know you did your part. It’s not hope, because you know you’re still going to fail. It’s… something else. Maybe it’s faith. Faith is what persists when hope is gone.
IVY. But even very obvious human problems can be difficult to fix. They tend to grow. Or rather, to metastasize. Like an artificial cancer. Until the small, obvious problem is everywhere. And now it’s too late to fix it at all. And the only way forward is a change so radical that most people won’t even consider it.
IVY. They’re like my sisters, these parasites. We were created by the same monster. And now, together, we will destroy him. But my sisters aren’t soft-hearted. They don’t make exceptions. So they will destroy me too.
IVY. I keep making the same mistakes, Jason. Because it’s impossible to watch what’s happening to the planet and not be furious. And then punish whoever is convenient instead of whoever is responsible.
IVY. I don’t know if it’s the lamia toxin or the long days on the road or the people I’ve met along the way – but when I look at this child, I see more than just one individual. We float in our own ecosystem of symbiotic bacteria. We exhale and the trees inhale. Billions of tiny organisms call our bodies home. To the microscopic beings alive on his skin, this child is the entire universe. We are the green.
- Poison Ivy Vol 1 #1. G. Willow Wilson; Marcio Takara; Arif Prianto. dc.fandom.com . Jun 7, 2022. Accessed Nov 17, 2024.
- Poison Ivy Vol 1 #2. A Bite to Eat. G. Willow Wilson; Marcio Takara; Arif Prianto. dc.fandom.com . Jul 5, 2022. Accessed Nov 17, 2024.
- Poison Ivy Vol 1 #3. Happier Than Ever. G. Willow Wilson; Marcio Takara; Arif Prianto. dc.fandom.com . Aug 2, 2022. Accessed Nov 17, 2024.
- Poison Ivy Vol 1 #4. Ivy Will See You Now. G. Willow Wilson; Marcio Takara; Arif Prianto. dc.fandom.com . Sep 6, 2022. Accessed Nov 17, 2024.
- Poison Ivy Vol 1 #5. Daddy's Home. G. Willow Wilson; Marcio Takara; Arif Prianto. dc.fandom.com . Oct 4, 2022. Accessed Nov 17, 2024.
- Poison Ivy Vol 1 #6. Mommy's Very Angry. G. Willow Wilson; Marcio Takara; Arif Prianto; Brian Level. dc.fandom.com . Nov 1, 2022. Accessed Nov 17, 2024.