‘Batwoman’ Gets Its First Taste Of The Real Poison Ivy
by Frank Martin
In three seasons, Batwoman has yet to see the return of an “original” Batman villain. There have been incarnations of various Batman bad guys such as Professor Pyg, Hush, and Black Mask, but these were all first time appearances within the Arrowverse. We’ve also seen the return of various Batman “lite” villains through the use of Batman’s trophies, such as the Mad Hatter’s hat and Killer Croc’s tooth. That all changes with Poison Ivy (Bridget Regan).
Fans were introduced to Pam last episode, but that was mainly in flashbacks. Now that she’s been revived, Poison Ivy seeks to regain her full strength and we get to see her powers in action. Of course, there were instances of Ivy’s powers in use after Mary Hamilton (Nicole Kang) became infected by her, but Mary isn’t a full blow villain. At least not yet. She’s largely used her powers to rebel against her friends and have a good time alongside Alice (Rachel Skarsten). This week’s episode shows just what Batwoman (Javicia Leslie) is going to be up against later in the season, and this isn’t even Ivy at full power. At the end of the episode, Ivy reunited with Mary and revived herself fully. Now, Batwoman is really going to have her hands full.
The show also moved along some other plot lines — not just in Batwoman but across the Arrowverse. John Diggle (David Ramsey) made a surprise appearance to help Jada Jett (Robin Givens) look for a cure for her son, Marquis (Nick Creegan). It seems almost inevitable that Marquis will come back as a crueler Joker to challenge not just Batwoman, but Ivy as well. Also, in a scene fans have been waiting for, Diggle talks with Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson) about a mysterious alien box. This is no doubt the same box with the green light Diggle opened during Arrow’s series finale. Fans have been speculating that Diggle will eventually become the Green Lantern, and this scene takes us one step closer to making that happen.
Batwoman airs Wednesday nights on The CW.