Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 10 - Toxic

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 

Plot

Batwoman's hands are full as she juggles Jada Jet's demands, Poison Mary's ever-increasing power and a new romantic entanglement. Loyalties are tested and motives come into question as Batwoman races against the clock to once again save Gotham City from a newly awakened Poison Ivy.


Influences

Various classic Batman comics with a villain trying to destroy a dam.


Performances

Bridget Regan is far better as Poison Ivy than this show deserves.


Artistry

The special effects work for Poison Ivy's plants is solid.

The sequence in which Ryan jumps onto a moving ambulance is fantastic.


Bat Trivia

This was the highest rated episode of Batwoman ever on IMDB, with a 7.8.


Technobabble

Gotham Dam provides power to half the industry in Gotham City and is responsible for the death of one species of fish.

Sporeling transference is the process by which Ivy was able to rejuvenate herself through Mary. Despite seemingly being a parasitic transfer of life energy, Montoya insists that Ivy really does care for Mary. This suggests a symbiotic bond, like when basil plants and tomato plants thrive together.

Renee Montoya developed a pheromone blocker that negated Poison Ivy's ability to control her. Giving this formula to Mary enables her to weaken Poison Ivy when she tries to tap Mary's energy.


Dialogue Triumphs

Ivy: That was epic. Did you rehearse that?
Mary: Ohh. I've been dealing with the horrors of the Gotham healthcare system for a while now, but I think that you just unlocked something.
Ivy: You found your calling, Doc.
Mary: I get it now. Justice, using this gift to level the playing field.
Ivy: Now the press is gonna label you a villain, they're gonna call you unhinged, use way too many puns, but if you just do what feels right, they can't stop you.
Mary: Yeah. Pam... Your nose. It's happening again.

Alice: (To Montoya) Let's cut to the chase. You are going to tell us what Pam did with Mary. Or this psycho killer is going to show you what she can do with a lemon zester.
(Alice smiles as she brandishes the tool.)
Alice: Trust me. I've done worse with less.

Batwoman: (over radio) I'm getting Mary back, but I'm gonna need help.
Sophie: Batwoman, I'm here. What do you need?
Batwoman: Tell Alice to stop drinking.
(Alice belches.)

(Alice and Ryan overhear Montoya telling Sophie it's obvious she has a crush on Ryan.)
Alice: She has a good point.
Ryan: Whatever.
Alice:"Whatever"? That's a big deal. Sophie likes you back.
Ryan: "Back"? Who said I liked Sophie?
Alice: Uh... all the girls on the playground. Come on. It's obvious. You're avoiding your feelings for Sophie, which is why you asked me to be your wheel woman and not her. You and I are the same, Batty. We pretend like we don't care, but it's only because when we get something good, we know we're gonna screw it up. 

Alice: You're a portable battery, Mary, and you're all out of charge, so listen to a Kelly Clarkson song and move on.
Mary: What are you doing here?
Ryan: Who do you think told us about Pam?
(Alice actually looks ashamed about this.)
Mary: Wow. You know... Guess you were right. Guess I am the crazy one. Says the Arkham inmate still pretending she's stuck in a children's fairy tale and a grown woman dressed like a flying rodent.
Luke: Okay. You made your point.
Mary: (gesturing at Luke and Sophie) You know what? Don't even get me started on daddy's little Robocop or the Queen of Unemployment.
Sophie: (defensive) I didn't say anything.
Mary: Yeah, but you're here, aren't you? Part of this friend-tervention or whatever this is? But if you were all actually my friends, then you'd respect my wish when I said to leave me alone! 

(Montoya has opened the cargo bay doors of the private plane she and Ivy are on.)
Ivy: What the hell am I supposed to do, jump?
Montoya: Why is that crazier than anything you've done before?
Ivy:  I'll 100% die.
Montoya: Then stay! I didn't sell you out, Pam. I negotiated a deal for your freedom. No running, no rules, but it means doing things my way for once. So what's it gonna be? 
Ivy: Close the damn door.
(Montoya does so.)
Ivy: Where are we going?
Montoya: Sophie Moore told me about an off-the-grid island where plants are worshipped and industry doesn't exist.
Ivy: Sounds like a fantasy.
Montoya: Close. It's called Coryana.

Continuity

As the episode opens, Ivy is training Mary in the use of her powers.

The man Ivy and Mary have taken captive is Harold Marlowe, CEO of Gotham United Healthcare.

Mary kills Harold, because his company denied the insurance claims of thousands of people to line his own pockets.

Ivy's nose begins dripping blood. Mary notes that it is doing it "again," suggesting this has happened at least once before. 

Ivy is able to heal herself by drawing off of Mary - a process that is painful to her but does not seem to be hurting her yet.

Alice tracks down the Bat-Team at the Hold Up and informs them that Ivy was able to reach out to Mary all the way in Metropolis.

Alice says their best chance of dealing with Ivy is to go after Renee Montoya.

Ryan asks why Alice came back to Gotham to tell them all this, since her immunity deal with Montoya is null and void, which makes her a wanted fugitive in Gotham City.

Ivy sympathizes with Mary's desire to go after the people who are ruining the health care system, revealing that her younger brother had severe asthma growing up and that he died when he was 12. Her interest in plants was fueled by her mother's search for herbal remedies since they didn't have the money to get him medicine.

Later, Ivy learned that her brother's asthma was caused by tainted water from the factory up the hill from their home.

Ryan catches Montoya as she's trying to skip town on an airplane.

Luke calls Sophie in to help. Ryan says this is fine, but she's clearly still upset at Sophie.

Luke reports that the Bat-Signal is lit.

Ryan investigates the signal and finds Jada Jet is there. 

Jada reveals that she has Joker's joy buzzer and demands that Batwoman hand over Marquis immediately.

Batwoman asks to get take the joy buzzer and get it repaired first. Jada agrees, but says she wants Marquis back by midnight or there will hell to pay.

Ivy asks Mary to help her with her plan to destroy Gotham Dam.

Mary says she would like to help and thinks she owes Ivy, but that she doesn't need the heat that comes with having destroyed half the city.

Ivy says she respects Mary's wishes and can go it alone without her... after draining her strength one more time.

Mary is found unconscious by some of the dam workers.

Sophie realizes that Ryan didn't tell Luke about her kissing her in 309.

Gotham Dam is revealed to be 18 miles east of the city.

Route 99 runs west to east from Gotham Dam to Gotham City.

Ryan takes Alice with her in the Batmobile instead of Sophie to help her stop the ambulance carrying Mary.

Ryan and Alice overhear Montoya and Sophie talking about their one night stand from 307.

Montoya says that it's clear that Sophie only slept with her because her first choice wasn't available and it's pretty clear Sophie has a crush on Ryan because Sophie spent most of their night together talking about Ryan.

Alice tells Ryan that it's clear she also has a thing for Sophie, because there's no other reason Ryan would ask Alice to come with her on a mission instead of Sophie unless there was something going on with Sophie she was trying to avoid dealing with right now.

Ryan jumps onto the ambulance to get them to stop.

Alice tells Ryan about the hunter that Mary killed in 309.

Montoya recognizes the symptoms Mary is undergoing, which include blood in her nose and ears.

Montoya tells the team that Ivy is going to destroy the Gotham Dam, which was her plan 10 years ago before Batman and Montoya stopped her.

Montoya says they will need Mary's cooperation to stop Ivy at this point.

Mary is told that she killed an innocent hunter, but she doesn't believe Ryan.

Mary still agrees to help stop Ivy because she doesn't want innocent people to get hurt.

Montoya comes up with a plan to use Mary as a Trojan Horse to weaken Poison Ivy. This will also likely break Ivy's control of Mary, assuming it doesn't kill her first.

Luke goes to the damn and uses the Batwing suit to take control of the dam's systems that Poison Ivy hacked. 

Ryan is able to beat Poison Ivy in a fight after Mary weakens her.

Mary is said to have brown eyes once Poison Ivy's control is broken.

Everyone on Team Bat apologizes for taking Mary for granted.

Mary feels guilty because she killed someone, but everyone insists that it was Poison Ivy who did it, not her.

Ryan tells Alice that she figured out that she came back to Gotham because she honestly cares about Mary.

Alice says she still isn't going to help Alice cut a deal for her freedom.

Alice reminds Ryan that she was so busy dealing with Poiosn Ivy that she missed Jada Jet's deadline.

Montoya negotiated a deal for Poison Ivy's freedom and takes her to the island of Coryana. 

Luke is said to be working on repairing the joy buzzer but Jada isn't answering her phone.

Ryan says that Sophie kissing her did not get her out of her head. It's just making her think about them kissing more.

Jada Jet is revealed to be on TV, calling a press conference revealing the existence of the Bat-Trophies to the public and blaming Batwoman for their release.

It is revealed that while Luke was able to stop the dam from breaking, there was still some mass flooding throughout the city, including the area where Mary's clinic was located.

The last shot of the episode shows water leaking into Mary's lab and dripping onto Marquis' body.


Location

A cargo plane somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.


The Killing Jokes

It should be noted that, once again, all the heroic action in the episode is facilitated by Alice and Montoya with Team Bat being stuck in a supporting role in what is nominally their show.

It should also be noted that Team Bat, after promising to take Mary more seriously, continue to treat her with kid gloves and insist that she's this pure-hearted innocent even as she tries to cope with the revelation that she killed at least one man. (Probably two if you include the insurance company CEO.)


The Bottom Line

One of the best episode's of the series to date, with some great effects and stunt sequences. Had this been the season finale and ended five minutes sooner, it would be perfect. Unfortunately, we have to get that twist about Jada Jet being the real big bad and Marquis escaping for more new Joker shenanigans. . 

Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 9 - Meet Your Maker

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 

Plot

With multiple signs pointing to the original Poison Ivy having awoken, Ryan, Luke and Sophie begin trying to track her down, while Montoya attempts to reach whatever remains of the woman she loved. Meanwhile, Mary's behavior begins to unnerve Alice, as Jada Jet seeks out an old friend's help in saving Marquis.


Influences

Every horror movie where the idiot protagonists are trapped in a cabin in the woods and A Quiet Place (trying to avoid triggering killer plants tracking sounds).


Performances

Again, Nicole Kang and Rachel Skarsten steal the show.


Artistry

The special effects for the killer plants are interesting.


Bat Trivia

The lake where Poison Ivy kills two fishermen is called Loeb Lake. This is likely in honor of legendary Batman writer Jeph Loeb, who wrote Hush and The Long Halloween.


Technobabble

Luke creates special darts for fighting Poison Ivy that combine a paralytic drug and a herbicide. He's certain this will slow her down without killing her until they can recreate Batman's desiccation formula.

All the psychologists Jada Jet consulted with believe a second jolt of the Joker's joy buzzer will reawaken Marquis' sense of empathy.

Natural networking is where plants communicate through acoustics in the ground.

Poison Ivy describes the cutting of her vine that Batman kept as a sporeling, which she created to recharge her, like a battery without a plug. She says that meeting Mary will restore her.

Luke describes Diggle's box as a transmatter cube and guesses it isn't from Earth. Diggle confirms this, but asks him to keep that quiet.


Dialogue Triumphs

Poison Ivy: What were you thinking would happen when you freed me?
Montoya: I wasn't. I got wrapped up in the moment, seeing you, the white tulip, the memories, the guilt.
Poison Ivy: Ah. I'm so sorry that you had to feel guilt, Renee, while I rotted for a decade with no water, no sunlight, no soul mate. Must have been really awful for you.
Montoya: I am sorry, Pam.
Poison Ivy: How am I supposed to believe that? I needed you... more than anything, and you're the one that put me there. 

(Mary is trying to go off on her own because of Ivy's efforts to reach her.)
Alice: Stop! I am supposed to be the crazy one!
Mary: You're not the one with a bitch of a migraine that only seems to stop bitching when I go... this way!
Alice: If you go that way, you'll probably die! The O.G.'s back? She's trying to draw you to her. Why?
Mary: Uh, do I look like the president of the Poison Ivy fan club?
Alice: I don't know, but I do know that a world with two of a kind never ends well. Why don't you ask poor, boring Beth Kane? Oh, that's right. You can't because she's dead! 
Mary: Okay. Then that's why I've been feeling this way? Clearly... w-w-we have some sort of bond, and she's calling out to me. Give me the keys.
Alice: Were you not listening to anything I said?
Mary: I'm going, Alice. This is the woman who unlocked my prowess and the reason why I'm finally happy. The least I can do is go and see what she wants. Please.
Alice: Fine. Let's go meet your maker. 

Mary: Why do we work, Alice? You killed my mom, I replaced you in our family, but... here we are on this crazy adventure together. Hmm? Why?
Alice: Probably because you made me drive out to "deliverance" country.
Mary: It's because despite all of our baggage, we both found the sister we always wanted. I see the girl who... just craves her freedom, and I love that you support me to do what I want... And this is what I want.
Alice: (sighs) Okay. 

Dialogue Disasters

(Sophie watches Luke working out, shirtless, in the middle of their new lair.)
Sophie: Pretty sure in the real world this would be an HR violation of appropriate workplace behavior. Luke: Good thing it's not the real world.


Continuity

In the opening scene, Poison Ivy attacks several fishermen at Loeb Lake, to Montoya's disappointment.

Poison Ivy declares that submerging herself in water is not restoring her strength, like she thought it would.

Ryan visits her adoptive mother's grave, which notes she died in 2015.

Cora Lewis worked three jobs and volunteered at her church while raising Ryan.

Sophie spars with Luke, who seems more determined than ever to get in shape and become a good fighter. She guesses this has something to do with his being man-handled by Marquis Jet in 308.

John Diggle appears for the first time since S612, though it is believed his last chronological appearance in the Arrowverse was in F716. In either case, he has started growing a beard since his last appearance.

John Diggle oversaw Jada Jet's personal security detail at some point when her husband was still alive and they remained friends after.

John Diggle is also implied to be an old flame of Jada Jet, as he tells her he got back together with his wife and had kids and she seems disappointed.

Sunlight is also not restoring Poison Ivy's strength.

Ryan is still angry at Sophie for sleeping with Montoya and refuses to talk to her directly.

Team Bat presume Poison Ivy is active again based on reports of the two dead fishermen at Loeb Lake, an unnatural hornet attack at a pesticide factory and an oil rig being tipped over. All of these attacks were within a two mile radius of a national park outside Gotham City.

Jada offers Diggle a job as head of her security detail. He turns it down, saying that he only agreed to meet with her because he just happened to be in Gotham City attending to other business. 

Diggle agrees to help Jada find Joker's joy buzzer, which she believes might be able to cure Marquis. He suggests, given all the other Batman villain weapons on the street, that all of them were part of a collection, which means the joy buzzer might be out on the street as well.

Diggle says his sources at ARGUS thought Renee Montoya, who works for the Mayor's Offices' Rogue Unit, would be worth consulting about the possibility of a Bat-villain weapons cache.

Poison Ivy reaches out through the plants to send a message to Mary, bringing them together.

Alice tries to talk Mary into leaving Gotham with her to go to Santorini.

Mary describes the sensation of being summoned by Ivy as feeling like brain-freeze when you eat something cold too quickly.

Ryan, Sophie and Luke's van is attacked by vines shortly after they get to the national park.

A random hunter dies after trying to warn Ryan, Sophie and Luke away. They hide in a cabin.

Luke blames himself for the team's current predicament and says it's clear his father didn't give him the Batwing suit because he isn't meant to be a hero.

Ryan says that real heroes screw up all the time and keep going, pointing out that Sophie allowed Alice and Poison Ivy to escape on her watch. Sophie sarcastically agrees, pointing out that for all of Ryan's alleged detective skills, she didn't realize Mary was possessed by Poison Ivy until it was too late.

Poison Ivy confronts Montoya on how Batwoman and her allies seemed to know how to find her. Montoya admits to working with them, but says Ryan is different from Batman. Ivy refuses to believe her and goes off to kill Batwoman.

Jada Jet knows how to pick locks and apparently learned the skill while living on the street in her youth.

Diggle and Jada find Montoya's list of the missing Bat Villain weapons.

Alice makes reference to the Beth Kane doppelganger from 112.

Alice agrees to help Mary find Poison Ivy, but Mary knocks her out so she can go on her own.

Sophie and Ryan continue to argue, but Ryan does thank Sophie for grabbing the Batsuit out of their van before it was destroyed.

Sophie asks Ryan why she's always held a grudge against her and says it goes beyond her treating Ryan badly when she was a convict.

Luke is able to kill the vines that come into the cabin with a mixture of salt and vinegar.

Ryan puts on her Batsuit and makes for a truck they saw earlier that had a bag of salt in the bed.

Diggle and Jada steal he booze out of Montoya's mini-fridge.

Jada has no idea how Ryan tracked her down.

Jada finds Joker's joy buzzer in Montoya's desk.

Montoya tries to kill Mary.

Luke saves a boy, whose father was the hunter killed by Ivy earlier in the episode.

Luke visits his father's grave. He also died in 2015.

Luke tells his father that he thinks he is ready to be a hero now.

John Diggle meets Luke as his father's grave and says he is sure his dad is proud of him.

Luke returns a box to Diggle and says he couldn't get it open. This is the box Diggle found in a smoking crater in A810.

Diggle says ARGUS couldn't get the box open either, but it opened for him once before.

Luke guesses that whatever makes the box open isn't based on science.

Diggle asks Luke for one more favor - passing on a message to Batwoman from Jada Jet, that she found her fix.

Alice finds Mary's phone and a man's corpse impaled on a tree.

Montoya built up an immunity to Poison Ivy's pheromones by poisoning herself a little each day.

Mary finds Ivy. The two hug and Ivy is rejuvenated.

Sophie kisses Ryan.


Location

A national park outside Gotham City.


The Killing Jokes

Granting that they're somewhat desperate, Team Bat going into a national park hunting a villain who manipulates nature with an untested weapon seems incredibly stupid, even for these heroes.


The Bottom Line

Painfully bad. The "heroes" continue to be as unsympathetic as they are idiotic and the only thing marking the villains as villains is random, unmotivated murders. Not even John Diggle and the promise of his Green Lantern storyline being resolved can make this episode worth watching more than once.

Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 8 - Trust Destiny

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 

Plot

As Alice and Mary go on the lamb and begin to bond, Ryan, Sophie and Luke become more desperate to catch them. Unfortunately, their resources are limited having been locked out of the Batcave. Thankfully, Renee Montoya has an idea that may help end the threat of Poison Ivy and her control over Mary once and for all. Unfortunately, it requires they infiltrate a party Marquis Jett is throwing in Wayne Tower to celebrate his ascension. 


Influences

The Batman comics of Grant Morrison


Goofs

The writers seem to forget that Alice and Mary are established as being in Metropolis in their first scene, given how easily Mary gets back to Gotham and how quickly Sophie finds the hotel Alice is staying in. While Gotham and Metropolis are fairly close together in the comics universe, Gotham City in the Arrowverse was previously established as being closer to Chicago than New York City. (Then again, this point has been inconsistent, depending on the show, and Superman and Lois has Metropolis being in the same football league as Smallville, Kansas.)


Performances

Once again, the interaction between Nicole Kang and Rachel Skarsten is the high-point of the episode.

Bridget Regan gives a powerful performance as Poison Ivy.


Artistry

The card-themed background for Marquis' party is memorably eye-catching.

Bat Trivia

The original title of this episode was True Destiny.

As Poison Ivy notes, in the language of flowers, white tulips are given as an apology as they symbolize forgieness.

The acrobats at Marquis' party wear Harlequin masks. Coupled with the black and red card decorations, this seems to be a nod to Harley Quinn.

Marquis questions Luke as to whether or not his costume has a portal access point. In the comics, the Batwing suit does have such a function. 


Technobabble

Montoya explains that Batman created a desiccation serum that mimicked the process a plant undergoes when it is denied water and sunlight to disable Poison Ivy. He also created a special device to inject the serum, which is coded to it in such a way that it can also be used to extract the serum.

After Marquis Jet upgrades Wayne Tower's security, the executive elevators in Wayne Tower require a thumb scan to operate. Accessing the CEO's office in Wayne Tower requires a retina scan.

Luke outfits Ryan's mask for the party with ocular mesh scanners from the Batsuit.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Mary has just discovered her credit cards don't work.)
Mary: Did the Bat bitches cut me off?
Alice: All your fancy degrees, and you didn't see that coming?
Mary: I thought we were past this. I mean, one would think that nearly vine-squeezing the life out of your bestie and then crushing the only cure for you in existence was a pretty good indicator that it was time to move on from the friendship. Anyone else find it ironic that when I beg Ryan and Luke for their attention they're too busy with their own drama, but then when I finally step away for some much-needed me time, Mary Hamilton is the coveted Batmission of the week?
Alice: If this is a lecture on being Batwoman's most wanted, trust me, I already took the exam.

Ivy: Are you coming with me or not?
Montoya: Not if you go where I can't follow you. Stay here. Stay the... Quirky, brilliant scientist who loves reading and baseball that I fell in love with a decade ago.
Ivy: She's gone. She's blossomed into someone who can stand up for herself and, more importantly, for those things that can't. 

(Mary downs a flute of champenge. Alice emerges from the bedroom of their suite.)
Alice: I've been in the bedroom trying to finagle my way out of Sophie's handcuffs, and you've been in here drinking all the Dom?
Mary: (distant) Ryan had me beat. She was about to inject me with something, and then she hesitated. Whatever she was about to do to me scared her.
Alice: Don't tell you're getting the conscience tingles.
Mary: Before I even knew what was happening, she used the syringe on Marquis. I don't know if it was to save Luke or protect her secret. But all I know is in that moment, I was the least of her problems.
Alice: She still underestimates you.
Mary: I know it's silly, but a part of me just wanted her to see me as powerful.
Alice: Do you know all those looney tune delusions I've been having? Postcards from Dad, imaginary friends, walking in on Sophie in the shower?
Mary: That last one happened.
Alice: (blinks) Oh. Anyway, since your whole Poison Mary metamorphosis, I have yet to have a single delusional thought, which means baby-sitting you, my dear, has made me less of a crazy person, and if that's not powerful, I don't know what is.
(The two hug.)


Continuity

In 2011, Renee Montya was still a GCPD beat cop, whose partner was killed by Poison Ivy because she couldn't bring herself to shoot her.

Alice and Mary rack up an $8000 bill at a Metropolis hotel and are unable to pay for it, thanks to Luke cutting off Mary's credit cards. Thankfully, Mary's "Ivy" powers allow her to pacify the hotel manager.

Montoya recalls meeting with Pamela Isley and begging her to give up being Poison Ivy after her partner died. She refused, saying she was no longer the quirky scientist who liked reading and baseball that she fell for 10 years earlier.

Ryan identifies the rancid smell in the temporary Batcave as a dead rat in the wall.

Montoya says the only way she think of stopping Mary is to use the formula Batman developed to incapacitate Poison Ivy. She has the device Batman used to dispense the formula, but the only dose of it is still in Ivy. This means that, in order to replicate the formula, they have to find Poison Ivy's body.

Everybody except Ryan votes to go with Montoya's plan

Luke says their best bet to finding Ivy's resting place is consulting Bruce Wayne's Batman journals, which are located in the Batcave.

Montoya became a GCPD Detective in 2013.

Montoya did not know that Bruce Wayne was Batman.

Marquis calls Ryan to thank her for trying to freeze him instead of having him sent to Arkham. During the call, it is made apparent that he's planning a party. This leads Ryan to suggest crashing it as part of Montoya's plan.

Luke's cover identity for the party is Spencer Glad, a former Olympic athlete rumored to be the next owner of the Gotham Knights.

Sophie's cover identity for th party is Cecilia Langley, a world traveler and heiress to a whiskey fortune.

Ryan's cover identity is Penelope Devereaux, who runs a board game empire and is French.

All these cover identities are real people, whom Luke was able to uninvite from the party.

Each person attending Marquis' party is given a playing card as part of a game. Marquis calls each guest up by picking a card, and electrocutes everyone who gives the wrong answers to the questions he asks.

Luke swipes a SIM card from one of the workers' tablets and Sophie gets Marquis' thumbprint from a glass.  This leaves it to Ryan to meet him, face to face, to scan his retinal pattern with her mask.

Montoya confirms that all the Batman trophies, except for Joker's joy-buzzer, have been accounted for.

Montoya, Sophie and Ryan enter the Batcave while Luke stands watch.

Mary attends the party and flirts with Marquis.

Montoya first contacted Batman for help with Poison Ivy in early June 2011.

Montoya recalls how she met with Poison Ivy, pretending to want to join her, so that she could inject her with the desiccation solution. 

Ryan figures out, based on Bruce Wayne's journal where he discussed needing to bury Poison Ivy somewhere no one would look for her but where he could get to her if needed, that he must have buried her in the deepest part of the Batcave and that's why there's a tree in the middle of it.

Gotham City has rain 300 days out of the year.

Sophie gets a credit card fraud alert on her phone as they search for Poison Ivy. It does not occur to her until later that her card was stolen and she realizes it must have been taken by Alice.

Ryan recovers the Batsuit and uses it to track Poison Ivy's heartbeat.

Luke spots Mary at the part and tries to confront her.

Mary tells Marquis that Ryan is Batwoman and Luke is Batwing.

Once the serum is extracted, Ryan returns to the party to inject it into Mary.

Sophie leaves Montoya with Poison Ivy when she realizes that Alice has her credit card. 

Alice tells Sophie that she needed to get her alone and reveals that Montoya has been manipulating them all from the beginning. For proof, she tells her to check out Montoya's office and check the second drawer down in her left filing cabinet.

Ryan confronts Mary, but is forced to let her go after Marquis takes Luke hostage.

Ryan uses the desiccation weapon to take down Marquis as Mary makes her escape.

Montoya apologizes to Poison Ivy's body for betraying her. A white tulip blooms near her, revealing that she can hear Montoya on some level.

Sophie breaks into Montoya's office and searches the drawer Alice told her to look at. She discovers the Joker's joy-buzzer.

Luke and Ryan set Marquis up on life-support in Mary's clinic.

Ryan calls Jada Jet as Batwoman and tells her that she has her son, safe.

Sophie calls Ryan and tells her that Montoya manipulated them to find Poison Ivy's body so she could being her back.


Location.

A hotel in Metropolis
.
The flashbacks show Renee Montoya and Pamela Isley ten years earlier (i.e. 2011) 


Untelevised Adventures

Batman stopped Poison Ivy from destroying the Gotham City Dam in June 2011.


The Fridge Factor

Luke accidentally reveals Bruce Wayne's secret identity to Montoya by discussing his Batman journals in front of her.

Again, it must be noted that Sophie is not a very good detective and that she had no idea Alice stole her credit card until Alice intentionally used it to try and get Sophie's attention. She also left a handcuffed Alice unattended and somehow didn't guess that she'd try to escape or would be capable of escaping. 


The Bottom Line

An underwhelming episode that can't be bothered to keep track of what city half its cast are in. A bigger problem is that Marquis' status as "the new Joker" is completely unearned and distracts away from the far more interesting Poison Mary and the idea of Montoya as the true criminal mastermind of the season.

Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 7 - Pick Your Poison

 For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 

Plot

As Ryan's family dynamic grows even more complicated, Alice hits the road with an unexpected new partner in crime - a Poison Ivy possessed Mary!

Influences

The Batman comics of Grant Morrison (Black Glove society)


Performances

Again, Nicole Kang and Rachel Skarsten playing off each other is the highlight of the episode.


Artistry

The Poison Ivy costume and make-up is respectable. 


Bat Trivia

While discussing the blood sample Ryan gave them, Jade Jett's scientist employee makes reference to Swamp Thing. This is the first indication that Swamp Thing exists on Earth-Prime in the Arrowverse following Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The only other reference to Swamp Thing in the pre-Crisis Arrowverse was an AR Easter egg tied to the show Constantine, where fans who called the number on John Constantine's business card would hear a voice mail greeting advising them to "try the bloody swamp" if they had called looking for Alec Holland.

Mary uses the name Daphne as an alias. In classic Greek mythology, Daphne was a nymph whom Apollo pursued against her wishes. Her father, a river god, transformed her into a laurel tree to protect her. Apollo made himself a crown of her leaves.


Technobabble

The Poison Ivy infection is said to double in strength every 12 hours.

The perimeter on Alice's tracker nanobots is 15 miles.

Alice's blood type is O negative. This makes her a universal donor, but she can only accept blood from another O negative person.

According to Luke, blood cells can live outside the body for up to 4-6 hours.

The tracker nanites die along with the blood cells they inhabit.


Dialogue Triumphs

Mary: Why are we in a motor home?
Alice: Oh. Because we wrecked our super-sexy sports car fleeing the GCPD.
Mary: Alice, what did you do?
Alice: Actually, it's not what I did but, uh, if you don't remember, it's probably for the best.

(Mary learns about how she hurt Ryan and Mary as Ivy.)
Mary: Oh god... I'm gonna be sick!
Alice: Oh. Well, you're in luck. Our new ride has a toilet!
(Mary is heard gagging from the bathroom.)
Alice: Trust me, sister. It's nicer than the one in Arkham.

(Alice offers to keep Mary safe in exchange for a blood transfusion.)
Mary: What's your type?
Alice: Tall, dark and brooding.
Mary: Your BLOOD type.

(Ryan is annoyed that Sophie slept with Montoya.)
Sophie: Didn't realize I needed your permission.
Ryan: To sleep with the woman blackmailing me, threatening me with prison? No. Of course not. I am so happy you two found each other. 

Batwoman: Luke, I need a direction. I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go.
Luke: Uh, good news, bad news?
Batwoman: Bad news first.
Luke: OK. Mary hasn't used her credit cards and shockingly hasn't posted on Insta, so I don't have a bearing to give you, and we only have 42 minutes until sunrise.
Batwoman: OK. You better hit me with the good news.
Luke: 19 of our trackers are offline, so we're down to 4.
Batwoman: That's the good news?
Luke: I didn't say it was that good.

Alice: I hope this goes better than my last transfusion. Nocturna? You were there.
Mary: Right. You mean when you saved your own skin by siccing that off-brand vampire onto moi by luring her with the fact that I had Desert Rose in my blood, which was only there because you gave my mom the choice between her or me with only one cure between us? Yeah, I remember.
Alice: We've come a long way, haven't we?
Mary: Hmm. You know, for so long, all I wanted was for you to be out of my life. I should just stick an embolism in your IV and finally just be done with you.
Alice: (laughing nervously) Ahem. Heh heh. Or, uh, option "b," You could finish my oil change, and you will never have to see me again.
Mary: Actually, that's what I'm afraid of. Hard to believe, right?
Alice: You don't want to be alone. I know the feeling. But you won't be. I'm gonna stay with you through this whole Mary metamorphosis.
Mary: You'd be a lot easier to trust if you weren't a serial killer.
Alice: A serial killer who hasn't left you, doubted you, or ignored you. Do you really want to be alone right now, or do you want help from the only family you have left? 

Continuity

Ryan meets Marquis Jet for a secret meeting. However, this turns out to be a ruse to allow the Black Glove Society to capture Marquis while his guard is down.

Ryan set up Marquis in order to get a favor from Jada.

The favor turns out to be using Mary's blood sample to develop an antidote that will purge Poison Ivy's control spores from her system. 

Vesper Fairchild reports on the apparent return of Poison Ivy following Mary's attack on Batwing and Batwoman in 306.

Sophie wakes up in Rene Montoya's apartment.

Sophie learns that Mary has been taken over by Poison Ivy, but the possession only occurs during the day when Mary is in sunlight.

Luke's arm is still in a sling.

Sophie tells Luke and Ryan that she didn't go home the night before, so she has no idea what happened to Alice.

Mary wakes up next to Alice in a motor home.

Alice tells Mary that she fought the GCPD the day before  and their car got trashed, leading her to steal a motor home.

Mary, as Alice, threw her phone into the Gotham River on the way out of town.

Alice still has the AI module for the Batwing suit.

Alice offers to help protect Mary until she masters her new Poison Ivy powers in exchange for a blood transfusion to rid herself of the tracker nanites.  

I-15 runs through Gotham City.

Alice is able to throw off Batwoman's pursuit by using her blood to paint messages on various cars.

Mary and Alice begin flirting with various customers in a bar and doing blood tests trying to find O negative people to drain.

The bartender tries to kick Mary and Alice out, finding them creepy, but Mary subconsciously uses her Poison Ivy powers to make the bartender friendly.

Sophie tells Luke and Ryan about how the Mayor's Office is getting ready to go after Mary with full force.

Sophie also tells Luke and Ryan about her one night stand with Montoya.

Marquis escapes from the lab where his mother was going to have him cryogenically frozen.

Ryan and Sophie find Jada Jet after Marquis attacked her.

Marquis goes to Wayne Enterprises looking for Ryan and stabs a security guard to death with a pen that Luke Fox was given by his father.

The pen has an 18-Karat gold nib and a satin lacquer finish.

Marquis claimed that Lucius Fox used to come by his mother's house and they shot hoops in the driveway a few times.

Marquis easily beats up Luke, who only has one good arm.

Alice picks up a man named Jason who is a Gemini with no piercings or tattoos. He turns out to have O negative blood.

Dr. Tuva was the scientist working for Jada Jet who developed the Poison Ivy cure.

Marquis is waiting for Ryan and offers her the antidote in exchange for her resignation as CEO of Wayne Enterprises and all her stock options.

Sophie dresses Luke's wounds and admits her field dressings in the military academy were famously horrible.

Monotya's apartment is over a GC Jitters - apparently a local chain of the CC Jitters from The Flash.

Luke is able to track Mary by using her GC Jitters rewards card, which was used at a GC Jitters outside Metropolis 2 hours earlier. 

Alice makes reference to Nocturna from 113.

Marquis calls his mother and tells her to be watching TV at 9 am.

Mary and Alice escape from a police officer who identifies their vehicle as stolen. They hit him with the car, but he rolls under the vehicle and the tires do not go over him.

Ryan catches up with Mary and Alice and offers Mary the cure.

Mary says she doesn't want it.

Mary and Alice escape.

Ryan and Luke have their security clearances at Wayne Enterprises revoked, leaving them locked out of Wayne Tower and the Batcave. This leaves them with Ryan's costume and the Batmobile.

Marquis calls a press conference announcing that he's the new CEO of Wayne Enterprises.

Mary, now fully committed to being the new Poison Ivy, dons a green costume and watches the press conference with Alice, and they decide he looks like he might be fun.


Location

Brownsville Pub and a motel somewhere outside of Metropolis.


Untelevised Adventures

Mary and Alice had a violent encounter with the GCPD at some point between episodes, which trashed their electric sports car and led to Alice stealing a motor home.

Renee Montoya told Sophie Moore that the Mayor's Office is authorizing extreme measures to go after the new Poison Ivy during their night together.


The Bottom Line

A mixed bag, oddly enough. The parts involving Alice and Mary are magic, despite it making little sense that Mary should feel at all conciliatory to her mother's murderer. Yet Nicole Kang and Rachel Skarsten play off of each other so well that it seems quite natural and their bonding is far more interesting than Marquis' Joker act, which is far more predictable and, as a result, boring in comparison to the untouched territory of Ivy as a parasite.

Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 6 - How Does Your Garden Grow?

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 

Plot

A frightening discovery in a Robinson Park garden shed sends Montoya rushing to Ryan to place the city on high alert, as she theorizes that Poison Ivy has returned in a new form. Meanwhile, Alice is suspiciously eager to help the Bat Team, as Sophie seeks vengeance for her sister's near death at the hands of the Black Glove society.

Influences

The Batman comics of Grant Morrison (Black Glove Society)


Goofs

The newspaper article with the headline "Batman Scratches The Poison Ivy Itch" is dated as having been published one month ago. However, Batman's last battle with Poison Ivy would have had to have taken place at least six years earlier, given when Bruce Wayne disappeared from Gotham City.


Performances

Rachel Skarsten steals the show.

That being said, Nicole Kang does a masterful job switching between Mary and Ivy and is pitch-perfect vamping it up as Ivy.


Artistry

The horror elements are well played, particularly the make-up for Chris Hayner, the living beehive.

The special effects for the killer vines are good.


Bat Trivia

The episode title comes from an old English nursey rhyme, "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary." Alice quotes it to Mary near the end of the episode. The title is also a foreshadowing of the revelation that Mary has become a host to Poison Ivy's mind.

Mary's hairdo in this episode mimics the horned-hairdo worn by Uma Thurman during her final fight with Batgirl in the movie Batman and Robin.

Alice makes reference to Montoya having a "wall of weird." This is a reference to Smallville and the mural/database started by Chloe Sullivan of strange things happening around Smallville.

At one point, it is noted that the Arrowverse version of Renee Montoya was on track to become the next Police Commissioner. At the time this episode aired, Rene Montoya was the GCPD Commissioner in the monthly Batman comics.

Alice makes a reference to Harley Quinn when it is discovered Mary violated medical privacy laws while under Ivy's influence. This is the first mention of Harley Quinn existing in the Post-Crisis Arrowverse.


Technobabble

Luke checks Mary's credit card records and finds out she bought a flowering pot, fertilizer and a watering can that morning.  Her phone's geo data says that then she went to a vacant lot in the Burnside district.

Mary theorizes that Poison Ivy's pheromones allow her to communicate with nature while heightening the things she is passionate about.  This is why she overreacted to a rejection and bent the rules to see justice done to a Black Glove operative that couldn't be touched legally. 

Sunlight is the trigger for changing Mary into Poison Ivy. Her eyes turn green when Ivy has control.

Luke detects an abnormally high thermal presence in the plants Poison Ivy controls.


Dialogue Triumphs

Ryan: How did you get Poison Ivy's vine?
Alice: While you were slurping caviar off of Mummy's fine china, some of us were in the field protecting this city.
Ryan: Mm-hmm. You just so happened to stumble across a Batman trophy while you were taking a stroll through the park? 

Alice: (mock-earnest) The cherry blossoms are so gorgeous this time of year.

Alice: Ahem. I'm gonna go check on the vic's progress.
Ryan: (Because you care about a stranger's life all of a sudden?
Alice: You're right. I don't. Let's you and I go sit in the Batcave together and watch the computer tediously cycle through all the anti-encryption ciphers.
Ryan: (deadpan) Have fun with Mary.
Alice: Will do. 

(Ryan and Luke are slow in believing Mary's theory that she is Poison Ivy's host.)
Alice: I thought watching Kate come out was torture.

(Ryan and Luke finally believe Alice and Mary's story.)
Alice: And we're all on the same page. Well, that was an excruciating process.
Ryan: You knew Mary was infected by the vine. That's why you were being so coy in Montoya's office.
Alice: I just figured the last thing anyone needed was for Mary to end up on Renee's wall of weird.
(Ryan's cell phone vibrating. It's Montoya. She dismisses the call.)
Alice: (sarcastic) Oh. Muting the boss. I'm sure that's gonna end really well.
Ryan: Montoya doesn't need to know anything about this.
Alice: Okay. I see. It's fine when we throw Alice in Arkham, but, oh, poor, sweet, innocent Mary, yeah, we should protect her at all costs.
(Mary handcuffs herself to the rail.)
Ryan: What are you doing? 

Mary: What one does when they realize they can control mother freaking earth! I nearly killed someone, and I don't know why or when this infection is gonna make me transform again, and until we figure it out, I am a threat to everyone...
Alice: (mouths words) Not me. 

Ryan: Why didn't you say anything about Mary?
Alice: I was wondering how this would end up my fault.
Ryan: You obviously knew something was up. How'd you figure it out?
Alice: Uh, the question isn't how I figured it out. It's how the hell you didn't. You're her roommate, you have a billion dollars of Battech at your disposal, and your number two is a certifiable genius. One of you should have noticed. 

Mary: So... maybe the chemical pheromones from the Poison Ivy allow me to communicate with nature while heightening the things that I'm passionate about like justice?
Alice: Well, seeing as that M.O. tracks and, uh... ahem... I killed your mother, I'm really not looking forward to being turned into a cabbage. So we should find out exactly what turns Dr. Jekyll into Mrs. Hide my victims under a pot.

(Ivy, in Mary's body, knocks out Luke. She stretches in the sunbeam leaking into the Batcave.)
Alice: Good morning, sunshine. I was wondering when you'd come out to play.
Ivy: You figured out sunlight was my trigger. 

Alice: (starts undoing the handcuffs on Mary) Well, they don't call me a supervillain for nothing, but Batty will be home soon, so I hope you know what you're doing.
Ivy: Why are you helping me?
Alice: Well, why does anyone help anyone? To accrue favors owed. But until I redeem this one, I need you to be careful. Once you slither out of this Batcave, Renee Montoya's gonna be hunting you down like a gardener with a weed whacker.

Montoya: Where did you get infected? The park, the river? Where was the vine, Mary?
Ivy: It's not a homing pigeon for the brokenhearted, Ray-Ray. You don't whisper, "Pamela Isley", into the leaves and follow as it slithers its way to her secret burial site.
Montoya: You know about Pam?
Ivy: Enough to know that she doesn't want you to find her.
Montoya: Look. You need to come with me so I can get you help.
Ivy: Is that what I need? Did you use that soft, gentle tone to lure Poison Pam into captivity?
Montoya: No. She was out of control. You're not there yet. Let's keep it that way.
Ivy: What do you think she thinks about down there? I mean... besides freedom and water and how her veins scrape together like sandpaper? 

Montoya: Easy. Let's not make this ugly.
Ivy: She thinks about how much she hates you, Renee. 

(Ivy drowns Batwoman in vines.)
Ivy: You've been so wrapped up in your own drama, Ryan. It's time you got wrapped up in mine for once.

Alice: "Mary, Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" Quite well it seems from all the sirens I've been hearing around town. (gesturing to the car) It's fully electric, steppy.
Mary: Is that supposed to impress me?
Alice: Uh, yeah. Considering it was 10 times harder to hotwire. So you gonna tell me what you did to everyone's favorite cellar dweller at the Mayor's office or what? 

Mary: On the road. 

Alice: Aw. There's that patented Dr. Hamilton bedside manner... all warm and chatty.
Mary: (impatient) Get in. 


Dialogue Disasters

Cop: (To Montoya) Your ambiguous yet far-reaching power supersedes ours.


Continuity

A group of teenagers playing basketball in Robinson Park come across a man who seems to have been built into a bee-hive, who has bees come out of his mouth as he begs for help.

Montoya takes charge of the crime scene, to the annoyance of the GCPD officers on the scene.

Montoya has the man sent to Mary Hamilton's clinic on Bennett Street.

The man is identified as Chris Hayner, a Tricorner resident.

Monotya theorizes that Ivy has a new host, based on the dead vine Alice found in 305.

Montoya gives Hayner's phone to Ryan.

Alice goes to Mary's clinic to check on Hayner's progress.

Ryan finds Sophie in the Batcave, using the computer to find footage of her sister's attacker using the CCTV system. She says Alice spilled a cherry soda on her laptop.

Sophie is convinced Jada Jet is working with the Black Glove Society.

Ryan says that Jada had no idea people were going to get hurt and that she only contracted them for one job.

Sophie makes reference to her sister being frozen and three of her friends dying in 304.

Alice notes that Mary has even more plants in her clinic than she did in 305.

Alice confronts Mary with the idea that she is Poison Ivy's new host.

Chris Hayner wakes up and screams when he sees Mary, saying that she's the one who did this to him.

Mary tells Ryan and Luke that she thinks Alice is right about her being Poison Ivy's host. She says she can't remember where she was earlier in the day.

Ryan and Luke don't believe Mary or Alice until it is pointed out that the last three texts on Chris Hayner's phone were sent to Mary.

Alice says she didn't come forward with what she had figured out because she figured the Bat-Team wouldn't want Mary getting busted by Montoya.

At one time, Detective Montoya was on track to be the next GCPD commissioner.

Sophie confronts Montoya and asks for a favor, given that she agreed to take custody of Alice. She asks for all her data on Victor Fries and his preservation serum. Montoya says she doesn't have half of what Batwoman does. Sophie then asks for all the information Montoya has on the Black Glove Society. She says she knows nothing beyond the fact that people who know anything about the Black Glove Society end up dead.

Luke discovers that Mary had a profile on a dating website called Twinge and that was where she apparently met Chris Hayner. 

The Bat-Team's best guess is that Mary buried Chris Hayner in honey after he said she seemed sweet but rejected her

Alice and Batwoman go to the vacant lot and find a man buried up to his neck, The man is a Black Glove operative named Virgil Getty.

Mary was apparently able to track Virgil through the PO Box he was using to buy the cryogenic medical supplies he used on the Freeze Serum victims. She was able to do this by using her ability to access medical records to bypass the normal privacy laws.

Alice suggests they tell Sophie they have a Black Glove operative held under the Batcave, but Ryan says they have enough problems without Sophie looking for more.

Alice tells Luke and Mary that Renee Montoya and Pamela Isley dated in college and that is why Montoya is so obsessed with Poison Ivy. 

Alice makes reference to the new Mad Hatter from 301, the new Killer Croc from 302 and Nora Fries in 303.

Ryan meets with Montoya in her office at Wayne Enterprises and tells her that she knows they found a second Poison Ivy victim. She demands to talk to the victim, but Ryan says she will let her know once he's awake after she questions him.

Renee tells Ryan about her involvement with Poison Ivy.

Alice admits to telling Sophie about the Black Glove operative in their custody after Ryan told her not to.

Sophie questions Virgil and learns that the Black Glove Society had been employed to take care of various screwed up rich kids in secret since Marla Elliot hired them to try and treat her son, Tommy Elliot, before he became Hush. Before that, she formed a group of other rich parents with bad seed kids that swapped horror stories, discussed treatments and medications. This led to them spending millions on R&R to fix their kids brains.

Virgil is able to kill himself while Sophie's back is turned, as she confronts Ryan over Alice being more honest with her than she is.

Alice tells Luke and Mary that Ryan is rushing to stop Sophie from talking to Virgil because she's more concerned about Jada Jet's secrets than saving Mary and she wouldn't be surprised if Ryan handed Mary over to Montoya.

Ivy takes over Mary. Alice helps her to escape the Batcave.

Ivy calls in a tip to Rene Montoya's office, reporting an Ivy sighting at the Gotham Botanical Gardens.

Luke tracks Mary's phone to the Botanical Gardens and suits up to join Ryan as Batwing.

Yellow roses are left where Batwoman and batwing will find them. These are a symbol of friendship.

Ivy removed the fail-safe/Lucius Fox AI from the Batwing suit.

Ivy builds on Mary's resentment of Luke and Ryan neglecting her or ignoring her advice to turn her against the Bat-Team.

Luke tears his radiator cuff in the fight.

Montoya saves Ryan and Luke, but she is not happy that they didn't tell her about Mary being Ivy's new host.

Sophie is drinking at the Hold Up and is joined by Monotya. The two are later seen furiously making out.

Ryan calls Jada Jet and says that she needs a favor.

Alice meets with Ivy with a stolen electric car.


The Killing Jokes

Ryan and Luke are dumbed down considerably in their efforts to dismiss Mary's claims that she's the Poison Ivy host, purely because they don't want to believe Alice would be honest about something.


The Bottom Line

The strongest episode of the season so far.

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #17 - A Review

A mysterious plague threatens the lives of every man in Gotham City. The Birds of Prey have gathered the rest of the city's heroines - and even The Sirens - to help them keep the peace and find a cure. Can they thwart the plans of Patient Zero - the super-genius behind the viral attack - and her followers in The Daughters of Gotham?


The story comes to a satisfying conclusion under the pens of The Benson Sisters. Despite the large cast of characters, nearly everyone gets a moment to shine. All of the characters sound like themselves, even special guests Wonder Woman and Lois Lane.

Unfortunately, the artwork continues to be an ordeal to work through. There's no consistency to Roge Antonio's work, with differing levels of detail being provided to different characters in the same panel. Patient Zero, for instance, is rendered in a more realistic style than the cartoonish, streamlined superheroines she's taken hostage. A larger problem is the colors of Marcelo Maiolo, which leave everything looking washed out or orange-tinted to the point that all the white heroines are the same shade as Harley Quinn!

 The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10.

Injustice 2 #33 - A Review

Harley Quinn is free of Ra's Al Ghul's clutches, but she's not out of the woods yet. First she has to return Lucy - the daughter she gave up  - to her "mom". Then she has to return to her own awkward homecoming. Meanwhile, Ra's Al Ghul - bested but not defeated - works with his allies to activate their latest weapon in the war on Western Civilization.



It is a struggle for me not to spoil everything awesome within this comic in a bid to get you to read it. And why aren't you reading it? Have you not been paying attention all the other times I've written of how well Tom Taylor portrays these characters? How wonderful Bruno Redondo's character expressions are and how he hides little references in the backgrounds? How Juan Albarran's inks find the perfect balance between merely outlining and overshading the original pencils? How skillfully Rex Lokus uses a variety of palettes and gradients to create the perfect finishes?

Even if you haven't, I do love this comic and writing about it. So please believe me when I say (again) that this series is a must read for all lovers of the DC Comics Universe. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy fans in particular will love this issue.

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10.

Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #16 - A Review

The Birds of Prey have picked up some unexpected back-up in dealing with the plague that is slowly killing the men of Gotham City. Not only have Batwoman, Orphan and The Spoiler offered their aid but Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman have joined them along with Wonder Woman! Even with such formidable assistance, the battle ahead of them will not be easy - particularly once they learn of the new organization that stands against them!


(Click On The Image Above To See The Full Two-Page Spread!)
My comments and complaints about Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #15 remain the same in considering this issue. The script by The Benson Sisters is fantastic and does a wonderful job of capturing the personalities of all the heroes and villains involved. The artwork by Roge Antonio is lazy and ill-defined, with a coloring job by Marcelo Maiolo that leaves all the characters save Huntess with the same washed-out white skin-tone as Harley Quinn. Read it for the story. Suffer through the artwork.

The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10. Again, that's purely for the story.

Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #15 - A Review

The mother of all flu bugs seems to have hit Gotham City and it only seems to be infecting men. With Commissioner Gordon in his death-bed, half of Helena Bertinelli's class out-sick and Oliver Queen having just come into town, all the men closest to the Birds of Prey are endangered. Can they get to the bottom of things or will ace reporter Lois Lane beat them to the punch? And what other unlikely allies might join them in their fight?


Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #15 is a prime example of how terrible artwork can sink a great story. Not only does Roge Antonio seem to have rushed his pencil work and barely inked the artwork but there are numerous examples of figures being retraced throughout the book. Throw in some weird facial expressions and a coloring job by Marcelo Maiolo that leaves Lois Lane and Barbara Gordon as pale as Harley Quinn and there's not a single page of this book that looks good!


This is doubly unfortunate because The Benson Sisters have outdone themselves on the script for this issue. Bringing Lois Lane into the action adds a whole new level to things and the guest stars are perfectly handled. The final page offers up an honest surprise that I dare not spoil but it is well worth fighting through the rest of the issue to get to it.

The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10. Great story. Terrible artwork. 

Injustice 2 #22 (Digital Edition) - A Review

Deep within Ra's Al Ghul's secret sanctuary in the Amazon rain forest, a battle long in coming is about to begin - Bruce Wayne vs. Damian Wayne! Father vs. Son! Meanwhile, Harley Quinn delays her own escape from the stronghold to steal away a moment with Poison Ivy.

I suspect that some of you might be growing tired of reading my glowing reviews of Injustice 2. If that's the case, I suggest you read this book. There is no way to grow tired of it!

Tom Taylor's grasp of these characters and capacity for telling engaging, action-packed stories with them is matched only by Bruno Redondo's detailed pencils, Juan Albarran's exquisite inks and Rex Lokus' eye-catching colors. Together they are one of the World's Finest teams and every issue they release together is a treasure.

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10. 

Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #13 - A Review

The Birds of Prey wind up in the thick of things, as the criminal past of Gus (a.k.a. the new Oracle) comes back to haunt him. Tangled in a plot involving a corrupt bio-engineering firm and the machinations of both The Calculator and Catwoman, things become even more complicated when Poison Ivy launches her own attack on the company's headquarters. Even if they survive with their lives and integrity intact, will Gus still have a place with the team?


The conclusion of Source Code is an enjoyable if somewhat rushed spectacle. Julie Benson and Shawna Benson's scripts are as strong as ever, but I wish they'd had a bit more time to let this story unfold at a more leisurely pace. If nothing else, I'd like to have seen a flashback tale detailing The Calculator's past encounters with the team in the Rebirth reality rather than the quick montage we got in the last issue.

The artwork, unfortunately, remains the series' weak point. Roge Antonio's individual panels look fine but the flow of action between them is a bit odd at times. Allen Passalaqua's colors look decent enough, though there is a coloring mistake in this issue where Canary is given Barbara Gordon's hair and skin tone in a close-up that the editors really should have caught.

The Final Analysis: 7 Out of 10. Enjoyable in spite of its flaws.

Injustice 2 #7 - A Review

Harley Quinn is an unwilling accomplice to the new Suicide Squad. Determined to make things as difficult as possible on her captors, she is surprised when the man in charge - who is not the "worst Batman ever" - agrees to speak with her regarding his plans. Unfortunately, he has far greater leverage over Harley than a bomb in her brain and he means to use it to win her cooperation!


It's difficult for me to discuss this issue without giving away the game completely. Finding an image to use to show off the issue's artwork proved particularly difficult this time around. Still, I am trying to keep the secret identity of The Suicide Squad's new leader a secret, though astute readers may have already guessed it given some of the clues dropped before now.

What can I say then? I love how Tom Taylor writes Harley Quinn as the genius who plays dumb that she is supposed to be. I think he writes the mystery villain remarkably well and with the same complex understanding that he does Harley Quinn. And I think the artwork by Messrs. Sampere, Albarran and Lokus looks fantastic throughout.

The plain and simple truth is that this is one of the best books DC Comics is putting out right now. Even if you aren't a fan of the games that inspired it, this is still worth reading as a fascinating and well-thought-out Elseworlds tale.

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10. 

Injustice: Ground Zero #21 - A Review

As Barry Allen makes a fateful decision in the wake of Shazam's death, Harley Quinn has a question of her own to ponder - what do I do with myself next? A visit from an old friend and lover may give her some guidance and a new direction for herself and The Harley Horde.


This is a particularly strong issue of Injustice: Ground Zero. Seeing the events of the game from Harley's perspective, as they are presented in this issue, makes them feel brand new. Harley's insights into Barry Allen's character show her intelligence and insight - a welcome change of pace given how she's usually written as a bimbo. Then again, showing Harley's brains has been par for the course in Christopher Sebela's excellent scripts for this series and it's gratifying to see him also touch upon the Harley/Ivy relationship here, however briefly.


Marco Santucci proves a good choice for handling the art for this issue. Santucci's detail-drive style excels in bringing out the best of the intimate scenes that take up most of this chapter. The vibrant colors of J. Nanjan provide the perfect finishes to Santucci's pencils and inks.

Injustice: Ground Zero #13 - A Review

As Batman and his allies from another world plot against The Tyrant Superman, Harley Quinn finds herself shut-off from helping out. Again! Thankfully, after a little prompting from her loyal henchmen, she knows just what to do to help The Insurgency - Kill The Joker from the other world! Now she just has to find him...


Christopher Sebela takes over writing and plotting duties with this issue, to no apparent change apart from slightly more scenes recapturing the story of the Injustice: Gods Among Us game. These scenes are well handled and it's a treat listening to Harley's commentary on the other heroes' battle. Still, the best bits are the original material focused on what Harley Quinn was up to outside of the action of the game.


Tom Derenick is one of my favorite artists and this issue is a good example of why that is so. Derenick is a great visual storyteller, who fits an amazing amount of detail into every panel he draws. Sometimes those panels are obscured by the inks but the darker aesthetic suits this story well. And J. Nanjan continues to rock on the colors.

Injustice: Ground Zero #7 - A Review

Sidelined by Batman's orders following the arrival of The Justice League of another Earth, Harley Quinn is itching for action. Nostalgia leads her to try and contact the few super-villains left free to see if they're willing to team up for old time's sake. Unfortunately, most of them don't want to get involved, leading Harley to a new low - asking the GCPD if she can help them!


The artwork on this issue is amazing! I've been a fan of both Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran and J. Nanjan for a while now and every page of this issue is a good example of why this is so. Sampere has a great gift for allowing the characters to express themselves through their physicality and Juan Albarran proves capable of shading a comic without making it seem overly dark. And J. Nanjan's colors leave everything looking bright and exciting, as any comic starring Harley Quinn should appear.


What really sells this series, however, is the story. Chris Sebela writes a damn good Harley Quinn, knowing that the greater part of Harley's character is born of pathos rather than random lunacy. The best moments of this issue involve Harley trying to talk her best friend/girlfriend Poison Ivy into a team-up and being shot down because Ivy sees Harley's newfound heroic instincts as an equally self-destructive substitute for life with The Joker. It's a fair comparison and a heart-breaking moment, well-balanced by some fine action sequences and, yes, a few bits of funny random lunacy.

Justice League United #11 - A Review

My hopes for Justice League United #11 all but died when I saw the cover. This may well be the worst piece of work I've seen from Tony Harris. I think the character in the middle is meant to be Animal Man, but it looks more like Gambit is angry about running out of styling gel halfway through combing his hair.


Gambit once ate a po'boy 'DIS big!
Things don't improve once we open the book and get to the story. Apparently Martian Manhunter, Supergirl and Green Arrow all quit the team at some point between this issue and the last one. Also, Adam Strange discovered that - rather than being an alien technological device - The Zeta Beam is some kind of force that unites all of time and space.

Oh! And he merged with it and can now sense impurities in reality that he calls Breakers. And he can somehow inform the rest of the JLU about these Breakers. And somehow they can travel around, pulling heroes and villains from key points in time to deal with these Breakers before they break reality.

Confused yet? I can't blame you. This is a dramatic departure from the classic idea of Adam Strange and, as such, should have merited a much more involved explanation. As it is, it's a prime example of that greatest of mistakes - telling the audience what happened rather than showing them. It might have felt more organic had we seen what happened to Adam rather than having the information dumped on us in a single page.


The artwork is similarly problematic. Travel Foreman is generally a fine artist but I think he's the wrong one for Justice League United. Foreman's use of forced perspective is disorienting and while that was effective in conveying the horror of Jeff Lemire's Animal Man, it doesn't work here. There's far too many panels where we see people talking in the middle distance, unable to tell who is who. Additionally, Foreman's fight choreography is sloppy and there is a complete lack of visual continuity. Consider how the the number of stars on Stargirl's sleeve changes from panel to panel below.


Given all of that, I'm done with Justice League United. The artwork is sloppy and doesn't fit the story. The writing is erratic. And with half the characters I liked in this book jettisoned in favor of a rotating roster of characters without their own comics, I have no other reason to keep reading.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Four #2 - A Review

It is a time of turmoil for Batman's Insurgency. With their numbers depleted and Batman himself preoccupied, former Gotham City cop Rene Montoya has started drinking again and Catwoman is ready to split. Meanwhile, a bored Harley Quinn - once again squatting with Poison Ivy - seeks direction for her new-found independence.


As last week's issue established the status quo for The Regime, so does this week's issue set things up on the side of The Resistance. The script by Brian Buccellato draws off a lot of the history of these characters without hitting the reader over the head with continuity notes about Rene's battles with alcoholism or her relationship with Batwoman.


The artwork is uniformly excellent as per usual. Bruno Redondo gives Harley Quinn some great expressions that remind me of the work of Kevin Maguire and I love his design for Harley's school-girl costume here.. Juan Albarran does a perfect job of enhancing the original pencils with his inks. And the colors and letters by Rex Lokus and Wes Abbott are great.

Convergence: Harley Quinn #1 - A Review

Harley Quinn was poised to make her big solo comeback. Then that got all futzed up when a giant dome surrounded Gotham City.  A year later, Harley is a changed woman.  Well, mostly changed.  She's given up crime and has a new boyfriend.  And she hardly ever hears the bad voices anymore, though she does see happy little fish swimming around her hands. But hey!  It's a change!

Yep!  She's a whole new Harley.

Too bad the old Harley is needed.  For The Powers That Be that trapped the city have decreed that Harley Quinn is to represent Gotham in a battle to the death for the city's fate. And even though the other champion is a bunny in a cape, the threat is real enough that Harley's gal pals are determined to get the old Harley back...


This book was quite the delight. Steve Pugh perfectly captures the spirit of fun that has eluded everyone who has tried to write Harley Quinn in the past few years. Phil Winslade matches that attitude with his art, which has a fluid, cartoonish sense of motion in even its most static moments.

 All in all, if you've found yourself missing Harley - the REAL Harley - this book will be a real treat.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #23 - A Review

The battle between Trigon and Mister Mxyzptlk has grown ever larger, with wild magics now threatening both the House of Secrets and House of Mystery.  Thankfully, Dick Grayson - the (Dead)man with the plan - has an idea on how to save everyone.  But it will require Superman and Batman's teams to put aside their mutual distrust and work together. Can they do it after all that has occurred?  And what is the trickster mage John Constantine hiding even at this late hour?


Brian Buccellato's script for this issue is the definition of action-packed. Some may say that the script falters somewhat in dealing with some of the emotional relationships between the characters. Indeed, the matter of Damien Wayne being forced to confront the ghost of a man he killed is hastily brushed aside after a brief shot of a discomforted Robin looking at the ghostly Dick Grayson. Thankfully, the issue is not ignored completely and is brushed aside only because the characters - and by extension Buccellato - have bigger things to address.


As always, the artwork is well-done.  Mike S. Miller has created distinctive facial designs for each character, so there is no question who is who even in the close-ups where all we can see is part of a mask or an eye. J. Nanjan's inks do a superb job of enhancing the original pencils. And Wes Abbott offers a vibrant display of colors to bring the final artwork to life.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #22 - A Review

The battle between The Regime and The Resistance continues, though the battle is beginning to take a toll on reality.  Between the magic being tossed around by Trigon and Dr. Fate. Poison Ivy and Swamp Thing's connection to The Green, the odd 5th Dimensional Magic used by Mister Mxyzptlk and the presence of two Sinestro Corps members, there is a lot of energy being tossed around.  And if action isn't taken quickly, everything is going to go to Hell.  Literally.


One thing you can say about Brian Buccellato is that he does not play for small stakes. The last few issues have been steadily building the action of this battle to an almost (pardon the pun) comic level, as heavy-hitter after heavy-hitter has been brought in.  Buccellato has balanced this manic display with the skill and energy of a plate-spinner on espresso and it has been a joy to read.


The art team does their usual stellar job, easily equaling Buccellato's script.  Mike S. Miller perfectly captures the action of the story, with even the static shots of characters talking having a wild energy about them.  J. Nanjan's inks enhance Miller's pencils without obscuring them.  And Wes Abbott's colors leave everything looking amazing.