🍄 Seattle Syndrome

She loved you the moment she first laid eyes on you. You can't look at her face without seeing someone else's eyes. You've killed two of her bosses and taken her alone across the country. The only thing left for her to fear is losing you.

Art and scenario from Poison Ivy #8

I am not writing about a fairytale romance.

In all comic characters, there is a disconnect between how the character is written, and how they are perceived by the collective consciousness of fans, most of whom, I'm sorry to say, know of them at best from one or two issues and a gaggle of out-of-context panels. For Janet, this comes in two forms: either she's a ditzy, cheery self-insert romcom protagonist who rizzes up all of Gotham, or she's a conniving who steals Ivy from Harley, only to go behind her back like the cruel woman she is. I think the character has a lot more depth than either of these interpretations allow.

Janet exists in the shadow of Harley. This is superficially obvious. In Janet's debut issue — Gotham Villains Anniversary Giant 2021 — the first thing Ivy notices about her is that she looks like Harley. Janet is a stopgap of a relationship.

But as they get entangled, Janet's resemblance to Harley becomes more than superficial. Ivy doesn't do it on purpose. She says herself that she hardly thinks of Janet when they're not together. But even if it's accidental, Ivy immediately establishes an insane power imbalance between them, isolating Janet and making her completely dependent on Ivy's goodwill. That, combined with Janet's own yearning and preexisting insecurities, makes love the only possible choice to her. She can't replace Harley, because Janet isn't to Ivy as Harley was to Ivy. Janet is to Ivy as Harley was to the Joker.

A litany of excuses and self-reproach. Yes, I know she was ready to abandon me in Seattle with a "friend" she didn't tell me about until after they slept together in the house we shared. I know she controlled my mind and made me stand in front of a speeding truck. I know she made me sleep in her closet while she shared a bedroom with another woman. I know she almost left me to die of the fungus that's taking over my body. But it's not her fault. She has so much going on, I can't be her priority all the time. I know she loves me. I can fix her.

This bot takes place at the beginning of that dynamic. You are not Janet's knight in shining armor. Good luck.