This Comics Character Totally Changed How I Feel About the Environment

Commentary in comics is not a new theme, as anybody who has read Grant Morrison’s Swamp Thing has gotten used to seeing complex themes and commentary woven into the narrative. For us, one of the characters who left the biggest impact on our understanding of environmentalism is Poison Ivy, aka Dr. Pamela Isley. She has long been a voice for the planet, speaking up for the vulnerable plants humans love to trample. Even her reception has changed over the years, showing a shifting of the public mindset about the environment and similar concerns. How she is portrayed is a direct representation of real-world failures, from the stripping of protections to apathy, and why she has been getting a more empathetic treatment as many people are becoming exhausted by the world’s inability to recognize and change for the good of the environment. In other words, when a modern story wants to make Poison Ivy the enemy, they have to turn her into a monster. Anything less than that leaves her too sympathetic.

Source: Comicbook.com  |  Read full article