Fandom Friday: My Thoughts on Poison Ivy's First Episode of Batman: The Animated Series

With the upcoming release of the Blu-ray edition of Batman: The Animated Series, it made me think about not only how clear the newly remastered series is going to look but also about how Dr. Pamela Isley a.k.a. Poison Ivy was first introduced on the show. Her first episode was "Pretty Poison" (season 1 episode 5) where she was seeking revenge against District Attorney Harvey Dent for his involvement in getting Stonegate Penitentiary built on the land where rare wild roses grew.

This scientist had a diabolical plan which included pretending to date Harvey and on the night Bruce Wayne was meeting the couple for dinner at a restaurant, she put her plan into motion. She left the restaurant early but not before giving Harvey a passionate kiss. It wasn't long after she left that Harvey passed out into his dessert of Chocolate Mousse. He had to be taken to the hospital where Bruce found out that his friend had been poisoned. The problem grew from there because there was no antidote.

At first, Bruce didn't suspect Pamela but things started to add up leaving Batman to investigate where he found out her motive. And during his investigation, he found out that the only cure for the fast acting poison had to be derived from the rare wild roses that unfortunately were destroyed. He also found out the she also intends to go after Bruce Wayne because his Wayne Foundation help fund the prison but she didn't get to take her revenge until the episode "Eternal Youth".

This episode clearly showed how much Poison Ivy values plants over people. She was willing to kill Harvey Dent for his part in the extinction of rare flowers. She has taken her love and interest in plants to a whole new level because she considers murdering people for their crimes against nature. At the end of the episode, she was placed in Stonegate prison which I thought was a mistake she should have been in Arkham Asylum because she has mental health problems that would not be helped in prison. Following this episode, she would eventually end up in Arkham after each crime she committed.

I think Batman: The Animated Series is one of the best adaptations of the Batman universe and introduced a lot of new fans to many of these characters such as Poison Ivy who is one of my favorite characters that's been around as of now for 52 years.