Poison Ivy's New Era Just Turned Her into DC's Most Interesting Character, Bar None

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Poison Ivy #43!

Poison Ivy is hands down DC Comics' most exciting character right now. Ivy has officially been sworn in as the Mayor of Gotham, meaning the fan-favorite character has an entirely new type of power to wield: political power. It's an unexpected sharp curve in her road to redemption, and it's already testing the boundaries of Poison Ivy's idea of heroism.

Poison Ivy #43 is written by G. Willow Wilson, with art by Jaime Infante. The issue inaugurates the Mayor Ivy era, which is off to a bit of a rocky start.

Ivy still has a lot to learn about running a city, and she starts by taking characteristically drastic, and deadly, measures to eliminate corruption in Gotham.

Poison Ivy Is Off To A Tumultuous Start As Gotham's New Mayor

Poison Ivy #43, Written By G. Willow Wilson; Art By Jaime Infante; Available Now From DC Comics

Though she's best known as a Batman villain, over the years Poison Ivy has steadily been shifted into a more anti-heroic role. In the process, she's turned into one of DC's most complex and compelling characters. That's because she possesses a unique heroic POV, and very different moral code compared to Gotham's Caped Crusader.

Poison Ivy #43 encapsulates all of that in a single issue. Ivy is still acclimating to her role as Gotham's Mayor, made clear by the fact that she can't get through her first official appointment without killing a corrupt business executive. The city is better off without him, by Ivy's view, but her extralegal methods are naturally cause for concern.

Repeatedly throughout Poison Ivy #43, Ivy's staff try to explain to her that she now has power that can be used in, let's say, more nuanced, less blunt ways. It's not that Ivy doesn't understand this; she doesn't care. That's the "anti" part of anti-hero still leaking through. And it's going to be a source of tension for her as the Mayor Ivy era moves forward.

Poison Ivy Wants To Fix Gotham, But She Insists On Doing It Her Way

Ivy Has Political Power Now, But She Isn't A Politician...Yet

"All the other mayors looked the other way," the doomed businessman cries out as he's constricted by vines and consumed by foliage, "and now suddenly you want to change everything?" It's a perfectly hyperbolic superhero version of a political trope: the progressive politician that wants to disrupt the system, rather than perpetuate it.

Most stories of this kind wind up with that politician learning to compromise, which usually means compromising their values and vision for a better world. Is that what's in store for Poison Ivy? And how long will she be able to stay in office if she doesn't learn to play the game of Gotham politics?

These are the questions that are taking shape in DC's Poison Ivy ongoing series. These are the plot threads that make Ivy DC Comics' most exciting character right now. Few other comic characters, at either DC or Marvel, have had such an organic, ongoing character over the past decade or more.

Poison Ivy Continues Her Run As DC Comics' Most Complex Protagonist

The Mayor Ivy Era Is A Perfect Jumping On Point For New Fans

There have been stumbling blocks and backslides during Poison Ivy's modern redemption arc, but it's fair to argue that DC has figured out what makes Ivy such a compelling figure. Anti-heroes are often portrayed as good people who do bad things for a good cause. Ivy is a bad person willing to do terrible things for a good cause.

Ivy is personally amoral, yet holds deep-seated convictions about right and wrong. This makes her dangerous as a villain, and messy as a hero. Which makes her an extremely fun character. Poison Ivy's new Mayor Ivy arc adds another exciting wrinkle to that; DC is doubling down on its investment in Ivy as one of its most distinct protagonists. Now, she has to learn how to be herself, and get what she wants, using political power, rather than metahuman power.

Poison Ivy #43 is available now from DC Comics.

Tell us what you think, DC readers! How do you feel about Mayor Ivy? Who is DC's most interesting character right now, if not her?