How Did Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy’s Romance First Start?

When it comes to comic book power couples in the DC universe, most will cite either Lois & Clark or Bat/Cat. But one of the most interestingly unique power couples in comics are a duo that were never intended to be partners at all, an unlikely pair of Gotham super criminals with little in common other than their hatred of being mistreated by Patriarchal society. Their relationship is complex and far outside the mainstream, but that is exactly what makes Harley Quinn (AKA Dr. Harleen Quinzel) and Poison Ivy (AKA Dr. Pamela Isley) great for each other.

But before the demented doctors started referring to each other as “Pam-A-Lamb” and “Peanut,” the two super criminals began their villainous partnership as friends. And after two decades of being gal pals, the DC fandom began passionately shipping the two, and writers quickly took notice. The two women have enjoyed an intimate partnership across the DC Multiverse, from sharing birthday kisses and showering together to the time they got married in the Injustice comics. Their open relationship is one that fulfills their romantic needs, but also grants them the freedom they both require as costumed outlaws.

The two unlikely partners first met in an episode of Batman: the Animated Series titled “Harley and Ivy” in 1993. The story begins with Joker literally throwing Harley out onto the street after handing him a prank long-barreled pistol instead of his real one, which nearly gets them captured by Batman. To get even with the Joker (and possibly win back his affection), Harley steals the Harlequin Diamond  from the Gotham museum, but her escape is interrupted when another burglar trips an alarm in the museum’s lab.

That burglar turned out to be non-other than Poison Ivy, who was stealing plant toxins for her bio-arsenal. After berating Ivy (whom Harley mistakenly calls “Poison Oakie”), the former henchgirl loads her pop-gun with a vial of poison spores and shoots it at the police. Together, the two escape in Ivy’s pink convertible named Roesbud with over a dozen vials of poison and a 3 million dollar diamond. Not bad for their first heist!

The pair spend a majority of the episode rooming together at Ivy’s dream house in Toxic Acres, an abandoned suburb in Gotham so polluted with toxic waste that Ivy has to inject her new friend with her special immunity serum, making her impervious to most forms of poison. When Ivy realizes that Harley is still obsessed with her abusive Puddin’ (a sore spot in their relationship for decades to come), she plans a series of heists targeting men’s clubs throughout Gotham, showing the heartbroken harlequin how to rise above male societal dominance. This point is driven home in an iconic scene where Harley fires an RPG at a car full of catcalling men.

Eventually, their reign of terror on the male gender is brought to an end not by Batman, but by GCPD detective Renee Montoya. But this wouldn’t be the last animated series team-up between the eco-warrior and the jolly jester. They show up together again in the episode “Holiday Knights,” where they drug and kidnap Bruce Wayne for a six figure shopping spree. They also appear as partners one final time in a Superman crossover episode titled “Girls’ Nite Out,” where they team up with Metropoilis super criminal Livewire.

Flash forward to Y2K and the two become reacquainted in Harley Quinn #1. Much of their animated relationship remained intact in comic book canon, with Ivy still insistent on Harley leaving Mr. J. To prove that her friend’s relationship with the Clown Prince is abusive, Ivy disguises herself as Harley and takes a bullet from the Joker that was meant for her. Realizing that the Joker intended to kill her, Harley lashes out at him and strikes out on her own (unfortunately, her newfound independence doesn’t last very long). The dynamic dames later go on to co-star in their own limited series Batman: Harley & Ivy, where the two besties go on wacky adventures that include saving the rain forest and taking over a live-action Hollywood adaption of their own lives.

Harley’s pattern of leaving (or being dumped by) the Joker and then getting back together continued for many years, until she eventually formed a gang of her own–the Gotham City Sirens. Pairing up once again with her Pammy, their duo became a trio with the addition of Batman’s own on again/off again girlfriend Catwoman. For awhile the femme fatales were a force to be reckoned with, but when a heated argument with Catwoman triggers years of trauma at the hands of the Joker, Harley storms Arkham Asylum with the intent on killing her ex and ending the pain once and for all. Unfortunately, Harley is unable to pull the trigger and again falls under the Joker’s spell.

Harley’s inability to let go of the Joker is ultimately what breaks up the band, but it also revealed something about Ivy that had only been vaguely hinted at–that her love for her wacky gal pal was more than just platonic. In their final story arc together in 2011, the Sirens end up fighting each other during a massive riot in Arkham, and Ivy gives her longtime friend an ultimatum; either she choose her or the Joker. Harley manages to get the upper hand on her genetically-enhanced friend by asking why she’s so obsessed with trying to save her, whispering seductively in Ivy’s ear that it’s because she is in love with her. The psychological low blow works, and Harley uses Ivy’s stunned reaction to pummel the hell out of her and escape with the Joker.

The heartbreaking betrayal almost causes the flora-controlling redhead to viciously murder Harley in her cell in Arkham, but Pamela comes to the conclusion that Harley is like a strangler fig growing on a giant tree–only able to support herself with the help of someone stronger, but also keeping the tree from growing too tall and falling under its own weight. Gotham City Sirens ends the three women going their separate ways, Catwoman remains in Gotham while Harley ends up getting “recruited” into the Suicide Squad (where she has a brief dalliance with the mercenary Deadshot) and Ivy temporarily joins the Birds of Prey.

While the New 52 era wasn’t particularly kind to Ivy or Harley, one silver-lining was 2013’s Harley Quinn comic series by Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti. Like Harley’s creators Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, the married writer/artist team also wrote the clown princess with a sense of dark Looney Tunes style whimsy. But unlike previous stories, Connor and Palmiotti didn’t shy away from Queer coding the two characters, with Harley literally referring to her green-skinned partner as “my hot girlfriend” in issue #0. What was previously only implied between panels was heavily featured in their comic. In fact, Connor and Palmiotti were so overt in their portrayal of Ivy and Harley being more than just friends that in 2015 they made it official over the DC Comics Twitter account, declaring that “Yes, they are Girlfriends without the jealousy of monogamy.”

Though their relationship remained stressful and at times argumentative, they were now out of the closet and free to be as gay as many of their fans always wanted them to be, openly showing physical affection and regularly flirting with each other (and occasionally going on dangerous date night heists). In issue #2 of Harley Quinn, Ivy leaves her botanical lab in Gotham to help her “li’l Daffodil” break into a Brooklyn kill shelter to liberate the condemned animals. When Pamela arrives to her girlfriend’s swanky new Coney Island loft, Harley asks her if she wants to see her beaver, which elicits a clear and enthusiastic yes from the redheaded villainess–not realizing Harley was referring to her stuffed beaver friend Bernie.

Some fans criticize the non-monogamy angle of their relationship, claiming that if they are in love they ought to be exclusive. But many nerds also argue the contrary, that it’s because they love each other that there is no need for labels or jealousy. Considering that the two women are both law-breaking super criminals, it stands to reason that neither would feel bound to the traditional rules of love. While they typically don’t spend more than a few issues together at a time in any particular book, both characters claim to prefer quality over quantity when it comes to their time together.

Even though their love seems a bit one-sided at times, with the goddess of the Green constantly coming to the madcap’s rescue, when Ivy was killed during Heroes in Crisis the normally irresponsible Quinn took it upon herself to nurse her partner back to health after her floral rebirth. Most recently, the two “rosebuds” were marooned on a secluded island after their romantic vacation went horribly awry in book one of Harley Quinn & the Birds of Prey.

Ultimately, what makes Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn work as a fictional couple is that their relationship happened organically (pun intended). Unlike Lois & Clark and Bat/Cat, one wasn’t created with the intent of being the love interest for the other. They were created decades apart from each other and in different mediums. Their relationship blossomed through years of pop culture cultivation among dozens of writers and a generation of young fans. And like all great romances, the two unlikely partners found love where they were least expecting it.

About The Author

Dorian Reyes Black
(92 Articles Published)

Dorian Reyes Black is a writer for the comic book news section for Screen Rant. Having attended San Diego Comic-Con every year since 2004, he stays current on all the latest news relating to the world of superheroes, science fiction, and high fantasy. Aside from comics, Dorian also has a passion for filmmaking, having graduated with a degree in Film and Electronic Arts from CSULB with an emphasis in production. He wrote, directed, and produced his first feature while still in college, has worked on several television pilots, and even appears in Jon Schnepp’s endearing documentary The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? Dorian is currently a pop-culture news host for Nerdbot Media and a contributor for Nightmarish Conjurings.

An avid cosplayer, Dorian Black can be found throughout social media hosting and managing events while masquerading as Batman, Superman, Pin-Head, Casey Jones, and SHAZAM (yes, the character’s real name is Captain Marvel). He has experienced some of the wildest nerd nightlife that America has to offer, meeting some truly talented fandom-inspired innovators in the entertainment industry along the way. When Dorian is not on the clock, he is also a big fan of photography—behind the camera, in front of the camera, and photo editing on his tablet.

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