{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Issue 161 - Poison Ivy","description":" This show is going green, as we cover POISON IVY with the help of licensed therapist Sara Boyadjis! Intro Sara - give us your background Background (2:54) Poison Ivy, Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, created by Robert Kanigher & Carmine Infantino in Batman #181 (June 1966) Originally a botanist who was poisoned to prevent her from implicating a colleague in a theft, she survived and learned she was immune to toxins - attacked Gotham to prove she was the greatest female super villain ever Reimagined post-Crisis by Neil Gaiman, Pamela Isley was mentored in biochemistry by Dr. Jason Woodrue (Floronic Man), and was colleagues with Alec Holland (Swamp Thing) Woodrue seduces her and injects her with toxins as an experiment - she is hospitalized, and when she recovers she vacillates quickly between kindness and rage The experiments also give her the ability to manipulate plants, and her touch can transfer a fungus that gives her a control over people She becomes obsessed with Batman, as he is one of the only people she cannot control due to his strong will, although she has overcome him on occasion Woodrue breaks Ivy out of Arkham to help him create mind-controlling hemp to take over Gotham, but she sides with Batman, who decapitates Woodrue, as she takes the money and runs away - whole storyline was Very Special Episode about drugs In \u201cNo Man\u2019s Land\u201d, after Gotham is hit by an earthquake and isolated from the rest of the US, Ivy takes over Robinson Park, and turns it into an Eden-esque paradise - she also takes several orphans under her wing - she strikes a deal with Batman to maintain control over the area, as long as she grows food for the rest of the population This is when she first meets Harley Quinn, left for dead by the Joker - Ivy nurses Harley back to health, and the two become close friends After thinking her powers were poisoning the children in her care, she asks Bruce Wayne to help reverse her powers and make her human - she later regains her powers thanks to Hush, although the procedure temporarily kills her (she gets better) #BecauseComics New 52 reboots her origin - she was born with a skin condition that kept her isolated, her father murdered her mother, and in college she sold pheromone pills that mind controlled users - she later joined Wayne Enterprises to study biochemistry, but was the victim of an accidental chemical spill that gave her the ability to control plant matter Creates plant-human hybrid children that grow at an accelerated rate - the children leave Ivy and go off on their own Eventually settles in as antihero, focusing on environmental activism Establishes a relationship with Harley Quinn, but the two break it off after Ivy reveals she loves the planet more than any one person on it Issues - Opportunities for natural growth The greener she gets, the more misanthropic she gets Two specific carve outs: first Bruce, based more as an obsession (18:02) Harley relationship humanizes them both, and is the healthiest one either of them has (27:12) Break (40:42) Plugs for Grief Burrito, Frigay the 13th, and Phillip Kennedy Johnson Treatment (42:14) In-universe - Have Ivy create an area by herself, where she can be alone with plants, and slowly integrate other people Out of universe (49:00) - Address individual with god complex Skit (54:05) DOC: Hello Dr. Isley, I\u2019m Dr. Issues IVY: Thanks for remembering I have a doctorate.  DOC: My experience tells me that no matter what has happened to a person, their training sticks with them. Credentials come and go. IVY: Sounds like the seasons. Spring and fall, winter and summer. They tend to pair up that way, don\u2019t you think? I know it\u2019s common to think of the full cycle, but that\u2019s not how nature works for things to grow. DOC: Some things offset, sure. Now, what can I do for you?  IVY: As a person, probably little. But as fertilizer, maybe you\u2019re up to snuff. DOC: *sarcastic* And there are those famous thorny barbs I\u2019ve heard so much about.  IVY: Force of habit.  DOC: I heard the opposite; you wait for someone to put their guard down, and then you manipulate them or trap them. IVY: You\u2019re bringing up ancient history. Those roots have withered. I\u2019m in this world for much bigger purposes. DOC: Well, maybe I can help with your mindset and goals. Keep you emotionally focused, right? IVY: Emotion doesn\u2019t matter when you have a world to save. Your experience with\u2026others should have taught you that. DOC: Too many to name IVY: You only need one. You KNOW who I\u2019m talking about. DOC: *pause* There\u2019s an easy answer, and there\u2019s a hard answer. Which do you want first? IVY: *irritable* I\u2019m not a child waiting for guessing games *calms down*\u2026but if you must know, always handle the thorns first so the delicate petals bloom. DOC: Hard first then. *sigh* I\u2019m not talking about Harley. IVY: *surprised* But she sent me here! She said you put up with all sorts of\u2026nonsense that drives the Arkham therapists bonkers. And she doesn\u2019t trust people\u2026EVER. Neither do I. So\u2026who? DOC: I can\u2019t give their name, because it\u2019s not mine to give. IVY: I knew it. You\u2019re a stooge! You don\u2019t care about her, or me, or the planet, do you? You just want to be another one of his\u2026lapdog Bat children that miss the forest AND the trees. It was a mistake coming here. DOC: WAIT! Wait\u2026you didn\u2019t hear the easy part. IVY: *sigh, clearly angry* make it quick DOC: I agree that you can be a part of saving the world, with the right tools. IVY: You realize you put me through unnecessary anguish by getting your priorities mixed up, right? DOC: *gulp* I apologize, okay? I want this to work, but I\u2019m not going to shy away from your blindspots. What would it take for you to trust me on this? IVY: Tell me about these tools of yours.  DOC: Well\u2026this may not be what you want to hear, but there are some medications that- IVY: *interrupting* I\u2019m immune to toxins, control pheromones, and learned the essence of life itself, and you want to talk about medication?!!! Do you know the harm that Big Pharma has done to humankind, let alone the plant kingdom? How dare you! DOC: Please! It\u2019s not what you think! *stuttering due to fear* e-e-e-ever heard of St John\u2019s Wort? IVY: Of course. It\u2019s a common natural supplement for those with depression. DOC: And psilocybin?  IVY: Good old \u201cmagic mushrooms.\u201d Had to keep Harley from trying to bury herself into the ground\u2026she called herself \u201cmother earth.\u201d  Not something to play with. DOC: How about kratom IVY: Are you insane?! Nobody should touch that stuff without knowing the psychological effects even if there\u2019s anecdotal evidence for pain\u2026where are you going with this? DOC: That plants are the essence of all medicine, and we know it. YOU know it. I wouldn\u2019t dare prescribe any of the things mentioned without more study because it\u2019s too dangerous without more information. But that doesn\u2019t mean people who care\u2026I mean REALLY care, aren\u2019t trying to find out.  IVY: After everything I\u2019ve done in my life, you think a review board would allow me to participate in any such research? I\u2019m banned for life! DOC: \u2026and when has that mattered before?  IVY: You\u2019d be risking your license on someone who is a lost cause. DOC: No, I\u2019m not saying you should DO the research, I\u2019m saying you should be a PART of the research. IVY: You want me to be a guinea pig. You\u2019re evil, you know that? You are no better than any of the fossil industry moguls that strip the planet bare. You would have me die on the vine rather than produce fruit for the world! DOC: No, no, no\u2026you don\u2019t get it\u2026I\u2019m trusting you with your gift. You\u2019re IMMUNE. IVY: *pause* My body can process things that others can\u2019t\u2026filter out the danger\u2026and only leave what\u2019s left if there\u2019s a way to\u2026extract it without turning me into a green slurry in a food processor. DOC: Ewww\u2026but yes. You could be the source of a natural treatment process that eliminates the stigma of medication management, improves the safety, AND helps with your\u2026let\u2019s just say, mood lability. IVY: And you could do all of that\u2026for me? DOC: actually\u2026no. IVY: *angry* WHAT??? DOC: WAIT! Again! My point is that your own version of the world can include those types of goals in the long run, but we can\u2019t do that yet. And we sure can\u2019t do it alone. You have an opportunity to prove me wrong, but we have to meet somewhere in the middle. I have approved safe treatments that help. You have a grand scheme for how the planet should be. Can we meet somewhere in the middle? IVY: *calmer* You\u2019re weird, you know that? DOC: Compared to\u2026 IVY: True\u2026perhaps we can work on crossbreeding pollinators with aerosolized melatonin. The possibilities are endless. DOC: An apple a day could truly keep the doctor away. Well, most of them. ***dream sequence sounds***  IVY: Doctor? Doctor?  DOC: *snoring* IVY: Oh dear, I forgot to tell him to use a filtration system for his office. Those pheromones will give him some incredibly odd dreams. I\u2019ll have to keep a note of that since most people just become mindless drones. Perhaps there\u2019s something unique in his genetic makeup or blood chemistry\u2026 DOC: *whispering while sleeping* Lithium in lilacs, who could say no? IVY: Hoo boy... And I STILL didn\u2019t get the easy or hard answers out of him. On the bright side, these ramblings make for fascinating research. I will say these sessions are worth my time, at least a little bit.  Ending (60:54) Recommended reading: Fruit of the Earth, part of No Man\u2019s Land Next episodes: Moira McTaggert, Gladiator, Raven Plugs for social Transcript References: Anthony Extra Life fundraiser Tee Franklin episode - Anthony (10:04) Harley Quinn episode - Anthony (27:20) Apple Podcasts: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter Facebook TikTok  Patreon TeePublic Discord ","author_name":"Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling","author_url":"https:\/\/www.capesonthecouch.com","html":"