Since the Bat Trophies washed up on the shores of Gotham City at the end of Batwoman Season 2, anyone has been able to pick up one of the wayward relics and become a baddie. Javicia Leslie's Batwoman has already had to deal with new incarnations of Mad Hatter and Killer Croc, and now — after sightings of nefarious vines across a number of episodes thusfar — a classic supervillain of the DC roster is coming into play: Poison Ivy. It's Nicole Kang's Dr. Mary Hamilton who finds herself in those thorny shoes this time around; after being infected by a Bat Trophy, she fully transforms into Ivy in next week's thrilling twist.
Kang had a lot to say about her villainous transformation:
"I’m so excited to bring you Poison Ivy. She's here... finally! That’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. Wow. In our story, I am most proud that Poison Ivy is an Asian villain whose danger does not stem from her foreignness or her mystique. Instead, we discover her personal motivations alongside those of the OG Poison Ivy’s and see them intertwine in an organic and powerful way. I am so humbled to be a Korean girl in line behind THE Uma Thurman to play the next live action Poison Ivy (what?!). Hopefully the future holds space for others like me and beyond to portray one hell of a character. For everything you’ve let me feel, scream, and become through you, Poison Ivy— thank you."
And it sounds as though Kang has long been in line to go green, per Batwoman executive producer Caroline Dries:
"As we've watched the fallout of Batman's Rogues' weapons this season, we wanted to make a few of these 'trophies' personal to our Bat Team, and Mary felt like the ideal character to go through a major 'photosynthesis.’ The fun part of making each villain's powers transferable is that we get to do our own spin on the character -- this one through the lens of what Mary would create: something heightened, playful, fashion-forward, and sexy. It was so exciting to work alongside Nicole as we picked hair color, eye color and, of course, the clothing itself. But it wasn't until Nicole showed up on set and absolutely killed her performance that the character of Poison Ivy Mary was complete."
Kang has played Mary Hamilton since Batwoman premiered on The CW in the fall of 2019. It'll be surely exciting to see her interpretation of such an iconic comic book villain.
Check out the first look image below. The midseason finale of Batwoman, "Pick Your Poison," airs next Wednesday, November 24, at 9 p.m. on The CW.
