“ | Just a girl. Cops killed my dad, my mom left. I was alone, abandoned. But then... something happened. I changed grew! I'm different, inside and out... | „ |
~ Ivy to Nick about her transformation. |
“ | Let's make Gotham our bitch. | „ |
~ Ivy aligning herself with Selina, declaring a plan against Gotham. |
“ | Plants love us. They give us food, shelter, the very air we breathe. And what do we do in return? We kill them, because that's our nature. We cause pain. Everyone I've known has only hurt or betrayed me. Maybe I've always known in my heart what I needed to do, but I finally have the power to do so. I'm giving your city back to the plants, starting with the people who hurt me. Your time is coming. | „ |
~ Ivy threatening the city. |
Ivy Pepper, also known as Poison Ivy, is a major antagonist in the television series Gotham. Ivy is introduced in the pilot episode, living with her parents Mario and Alice Pepper.
After Mario, a criminal who was set up for the Wayne murders, is shot by GCPD Detective Bullock and her mother cuts her wrists herself, Ivy becomes an orphan and is forced to live on the street - becoming one of the many street urchins of Gotham City. She befriends another homeless girl. She grew to resent Gordon and Bullock for her father's death despite his abuse.
Selina Kyle, but after following Selina one day, she is captured by the monster group of Fish Mooney. One of the monsters attempts to kill her by using his ability of aging people to death but Ivy escapes. Despite surviving, the contact with the monster who aged her into a 19-year old woman and changed her behavior and attitude in general. Even before becoming a super villain, her selfishness and naive nature made her an outcast.
She was portrayed by Clare Foley during the first, second and third seasons (who also played Ashley Oswalt in Sinister) Maggie Geha during the third and fourth seasons, and Peyton List (who also played Lucy Lane in Smallville, Lisa Snart/Golden Glider in The Flash, and Narissa Rizzo in Star Trek: Picard) during the fourth and fifth seasons.
Personality[]
Old Personality[]
Not much is known about her personality. However, according to Selina, Ivy is creepy; nobody would even talk to her, and her only friend was Selina Kyle. When she meets Bruce Wayne, she does not blame his parents’ death for causing the death of her father, and takes interest in the former, notes that Bruce is cute.
Ivy is also shown to have a sense of humor; she answers the phone when Barbara calls, and when she asks about Jim Gordon, Ivy lies saying that she is a friend of his; this causes Barbara to incorrectly believe that the girl on the other end is a lover of Jim's, Barbara angrily hangs up the phone (although Ivy obviously meant no harm). Ivy is loyal and cares about friends, as she Ivy questioned Selina about the type of people she was being involved with.
However this changes when Ivy is aged into adulthood by Marv, as she takes pleasure in Selina not recognizing her as Ivy during an encounter at The Sirens nightclub, and even mockingly tells Selina to run along and "keep stealing wallets". But, she later tells Selina who she was and apologizes to her.
Despite her growth spurt into adulthood, Ivy still showed signs of a childlike nature and immaturity, probably due to not having a natural progression growing up. When she teams up with Oswald Cobblepot to create themselves a gang of "freaks", she saw the union as a big happy family. On a more comical note, Ivy was shown to be very gluttonous. In the 9th episode of the third season, she ate all of Selina's food and then asked for more food. Even before that, she complained a lot to Selina about "starving".
New Personality[]
Due to being disrespected, talked down to and not taken seriously by anyone (including Selina), Ivy became more violent as she was willing to do whatever it took to be respected in the criminal underworld, no longer valuing the risks of taking secret potions to get "stronger". After being transformed by the potions and gaining a new appearance and also powers, Ivy no longer identified as "Ivy Pepper" as she had been "reborn".
Remembering some memories of her old life of being disrespected, Ivy became vindictive towards everyone she ever knew, especially Tabitha. As a result, Ivy became more cold-hearted, sadistic, ruthless, seductive and emotionless, as she demonstrated twice when two men fought over her while she watched in amusement, and she didn't care for Selina's suffering when demonstrating her toxic powers on her.
However, she's shown some traits of her old self, as she was physically distraught by humanity's lack of respect for the environment. She was also honorable as she was willing to cure Selina of her poison and align with her, declaring that they make Gotham their "bitch".
Powers and Abilities[]
- Plant Communication: After drastically aging, Ivy has seemingly gained the power to communicate with plants or sense what other plants are feeling.
Quotes[]
“ | Some give you visions. Some give you energy. Some help you to sleep. I've cultivated over a dozen kinds. | „ |
~ Ivy Pepper to Bruce Wayne, about her mushrooms. |
“ | You know, plants make better friends than most people and some of them help save your life. | „ |
~ Ivy Pepper to Oswald Cobblepot. |
“ | Enjoy your party, Penguin. You little twerp. | „ |
~ Ivy Pepper before turning off the Iceberg Lounge's energy supply. |
“ | Ivy. My name was Ivy... | „ |
~ Ivy Pepper's first words after being reborn. |
“ | I'm going to make miracles happen. | „ |
~ Ivy when she acquires the Lazarus water |
“ | First I was a seed. Then a sprout. Now I've bloomed. | „ |
~ Ivy Pepper. |
Appearances[]
Appearances on The Show |
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Season 1[]
Season 2[]
Season 3[]
Season 4[]
Season 5[]
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Trivia[]
- The character is the show's version of Poison Ivy, however unlike her comic counterpart her real name is given as Ivy Pepper rather than Pamela Isley like in the comics. However it is revealed that her foster family changed her name to Pamela, and it is unclear if they were the Isley family or if that surname will come into play later.
- The first episode "Pilot" foreshadows her future of Poison Ivy by showing her tending to plants.
- She is a vegan.
- While Ivy has been villainous throughout the series, the promo for "Heroes Rise: The Primal Riddle" officially gives her her villain status and she is described as supervillain on the backside of the DVD release.
- Ivy was a recurring character in Season 1 and 2 and a main character in Season 3. She returned to recurring status for Season 4 and is currently a guest-star in Season 5.
- Ivy is one of the least malicious villains in the series. However, this changes when Ivy mutates and becomes more manipulative and vicious.
- According to producer John Stephens, Ivy became more of her Poison Ivy persona in Season 4. This was proven correct after Ivy takes chemicals and becomes a murderer/terrorist.
- Ivy seems to have a hyperactive metabolism, which would explain her constant bouts of gluttony.
- Ivy was the main antagonist of the first three episodes of the second half of Season 4.
- Her alias, Poison Ivy, is never said onscreen. It was revealed through promotional material.
- Peyton List has played two other DC characters, Lucy Lane in Smallville, and Golden Glider in CW's The Flash.
External links[]
- Ivy Pepper on the Gotham Wiki