Poison Ivy and Killer Croc, two of the most notorious villains in Batman’s history, also make for the best of friends. It’s rare to see supervillains share a genuine kinship with each other that doesn’t have anything to do with collaborating on crimes. Usually, when villains team-up, it’s solely out of necessity for the greater evil.
Killer Croc and Poison Ivy, whose true friendship is explored in Poison Ivy #17 by G. Willow Wilson, Luana Vecchio, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, make for a happy exception to the rule. Poison Ivy has continued to teeter between hero and villain in the past few years, especially during her current ongoing series. Killer Croc, meanwhile, is fully committed to being a “baddie.”
However, the nature of their friendship is unveiled once Killer Croc reveals his fear of needles. Uncharacteristic of most villains, Ivy is there for him in a vulnerable moment, showing just how close the two are.
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Killer Croc and Poison Ivy’s Friendship on Display
Earlier in the series, Poison Ivy embarked on a plan to destroy the human race with a Last of Us-esque fungus called Ophiocordyceps Lamia. She’d eventually have a change of heart before following through, but the damage was already done, as those already infected with Poison Ivy’s wild strain were turning into undead zombies. In this issue, Pamela returns to her lab attempting to create an antidote with Killer Croc by her side. In the process, she learns that Croc — after eating the Lamia mushrooms — is immune to the disease.
She’s anxious to start running tests immediately to learn how this is possible, starting with a blood sample, but Croc refuses — because he’s scared of needles. Waylon further explains that, when he battled atavism as a child and as it slowly transformed him with reptilian characteristics, the doctors would constantly break needles off his body, causing severe pain and trauma for him. Croc’s apologetic that he can’t help, even offering an alternative to knock him out and shoot him with a horse needle, but Ivy opts instead to console him and drop the subject.
Gotham’s Villains Also Deserve True Friendship
It’s rare to see supervillains form genuine friendships, but it makes perfect sense for Poison Ivy and Killer Croc to hold such a close bond. Not only have they teamed up frequently over the years, but they are two of the more misunderstood villains that Gotham has to offer. Both as a villain and a hero, Ivy has always been conflicted by what she believes to be the right thing to do, usually for the sake of preserving plant life, and it’s often left her at a crossroads. Killer Croc, meanwhile, was shunned from society due to his appearance and thus, too, became jaded toward humanity. The two Gotham natives have lost so much in their respective lives — sometimes because of Batman himself — but have found each other in their pursuit of crime.
Poison Ivy #17 is available now from DC Comics.
