Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn

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Pairing
Pairing: Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn
Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel
Alternative name(s): Harley/Ivy, Harlivy
Gender category: Femslash
Fandom: DC Comics, DC Comics Animated Universe, Batman
Canonical?: Canon
Prevalence: Popular
Archives:
Other:
Harley and Ivy by IrenHorrors (2020), this piece inspired by the Harley Quinn (TV series)
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Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn is the femslash pairing of Pamela Isley and Harleen Quinzel in the DC Universe fandom. Harley and Poison Ivy first met in Batman: The Animated Series in 1993 and fans were initially drawn to the pairing because of their close friendship in canon.

Over the years, animated series and comic series have often relied on subtext to imply that Harley and Ivy are in a romantic relationship. Initially fans only had examples of word of god confirmation from DC writers, but later Harley/Ivy became canonically romantic in many DC universes. In 2020, Harley and Ivy had their first on screen kiss in the Harley Quinn animated series - incidentally, this happened on the same day Catradora went canon.

They are the most popular femslash pairing in the DC Comics and DCAU sections of the fandom, and the pairing also finds great popularity in DC franchises where they have not appeared together yet, like the DCEU.

Canon

Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn's friendship first began in the Batman: The Animated Series and was later included inside canon DC Comics comicsverse. A romantic relationship between the two had been teased at several points in the comics, with creator and BTAS writer Paul Dini providing Word of God confirmation.[1][2]

Their relationship went canon in 2013, with the Harley Quinn comic series, in which Harley refers to Ivy as her “hot girlfriend". But it wasn't until Harley Quinn #25, in 2017, that the two finally shared their first kiss. Since then, the comicsverse has continued to explicitly show a romantic relationship between Harley and Ivy with the two marrying in Las Vegas during DC's Injustice: Year Zero series.[3]

In 2019, both characters appeared in the Harley Quinn animated series, which included Harley and Ivy's first on-screen romantic relationship in the second season.

Fandom

Harley/Ivy is one of the more popular femslash pairings in the Batman/DC Comics fandoms. The ship first found popularity in the early 1990s, when Harley and Ivy became friends in Batman: The Animated Series and fans saw their potential as a couple.[4] Some fans also point to "Holiday Knights", the first episode of The New Batman Adventures, as the jumping off point for this ship. In the animated series that aired in 1997, Harley and Ivy were shown to share a bedroom with just one bed.[5]

The subtext was rapidly becoming text, and as Harley was introduced into the comicsverse, there was often discussions around whether the pairing was considered canon or not. Over time this became less necessary as their relationship, within comicsverse at least, moved away from subtext and into plain old text.

Some fans wanted the relationship to be supported, and were very happy with these developments, as they feel Harlivy is much healthier than Joker/Harley Quinn. The fan interpretation of Harley and the Joker's relationship has generally shifted into being seen as abusive rather than played for laughs as it was in its inception. This has sometimes lead to push-back from Joker/Harley fans who find their relationship to be iconic and fundamental to Harley's character.

In 2020, Harley/Ivy became canon in season 2 of the Harley Quinn animated series, much to the delight of shippers. Gifs and screengrabs from the season finale were widely shared on Tumblr and Twitter. Harlivy is the most popular pairing in that fandom, but the fandom remains small.

In August 2021, Bridget Regan was cast to play Pamela in the CW series Batwoman. Almost immediately, fans were quick to imagine the idea of the newly announced CW's Poison Ivy with the already established DCEU's Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), despite them existing in different universes.

Common Tropes & Storylines

  • Alternative Universe: AUs often involve alternate first meetings for these two. This includes stories where these characters are not super-villains, or Harleen met Pamela before the Joker. Flower Shop AUs have also becoming more common, given Ivy's love of plants.
  • Harley leaving the Joker: Many works include Joker's abusive relationship with Harley. In these works Pamela sometimes rescues a near dead Harley, or provides a safe harbor for her friend while hiding what she believes to be unrequited feelings. Many works are Hurt Comfort, as Ivy helps Harley get over the Joker. Sometimes Harley's decision to leave the Joker is because she is pregnant, and Ivy supports her during her pregnancy.
  • Arkham Asylum: Many works are set when these two were both at Arkham Asylum. In most works they are both patients, and sometimes roommates, but a small number of works focus on Dr. Harleen Quinzel's interactions with Ivy. Escaping from Arkham is also a common trope.
  • Domestic AU: There are domestic fics focused on their lives together, but also works featuring these two at their most villainous.
  • Friends to Lovers: their friendship deepening into a romantic relationship, these stories may have been more popular before they became canon
  • Sex Pollen: unlike stories in greater Batman fandom when Ivy uses sex pollen as a weapon, in Ivy/Harley fics it is usually used as a way to experiment or enhance their relationship
  • Hyenas: Bud and Lou, Harley's hyenas, occasionally appear in fanworks, usually as their domestic pets, every so often there are also hyena pups
  • Threesome or Poly: fairly rare, but when a third character is added to the mix it is usually another woman, the most common choice being their friend Selina Kyle (Catwoman)
  • Crossovers: usually within the greater DC universe, however there is a small amount of crossovers with Miraculous Ladybug, or Harley and Ivy visiting the MCU. Harry Potter crossovers sometimes show Ivy as Lily Potter or a close relative, with Ivy and Harley acting as Harry's parents.

Fanworks

Fanfiction

Fan Art

Graphics and Gif Sets

Vids

Meta

Recs

Example Art Gallery

  • Harley Quinn y Poison Ivy by Manawua (2007), this piece based on their look in the DCAU

  • Make Love, Not War - Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy by samarasketch (2019)

  • Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy by Victoria Higata (2022).

Archives and Communities

Deviantart

Deviantart search: Harley/Poison Ivy

Tumblr

Tumblr tags: Harley x Ivy, Ivy x Harley, Harlivy

Resources

Further Reading

References

  1. ^ Some fans consider Harlivy canon due to the words of the writer, Paul Dini stating it was. See: [1] [2].
  2. ^ DC Comics: Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy Are Girlfriends “Without Monogamy”
  3. ^ Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy Are Officially Married in DC's Injustice
  4. ^ Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy: An Oral History of the Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship by Ethan Alter, yahoo.com
  5. ^ Harley's Haven, Harley & Ivy, accessed 30th August 2021.
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