Major Batman Villain Is Gotham City’s New Mayor in DC Surprise

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It’s a classic trope in comic books for villains to try their hand at politics – we’ve seen it with Lex Luthor becoming President and Kingpin becoming Mayor of New York. Now, another major villain – this time from the Batman universe – has climbed the political ladder to become the Mayor of Gotham City. While their reasons seem good at first, this is clearly building towards a big DC event later this year.

G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara’s Poison Ivy #42 introduces the new Mayor of Gotham: Dr. Pamela Isley, also known as Poison Ivy. While she aims to make Gotham a greener city, her primary motivation is to finally get GCPD Commissioner Vandal Savage to stop pursuing her. The story begins with a tense first meeting between the two, clearly establishing their opposing roles for those unfamiliar with the characters.

The main cover and first five pages of Poison Ivy #42 may be viewed below.

How Poison Ivy comic sets up Batman: Bad Seeds

As a huge Batman fan, I’ve been following the comics closely, and things have gotten really interesting lately. The biggest shake-up? Vandal Savage, that ancient villain, has somehow managed to take control of the Gotham City Police Department! Apparently, his immortality was starting to fade, so he tried to recreate whatever originally made him immortal. It worked, but there’s a catch – his powers only work within Gotham now, which makes things incredibly complicated and, frankly, a little terrifying for the city.

While Savage was in power, the Gotham City Police Department started targeting vigilantes like Batman. He also began suppressing anyone who challenged his growing control, including Poison Ivy. She had unintentionally become the leader of an environmental activist group known as the Order of the Green Knight.

Ivy has always been a loner and wasn’t known as a team player. But when someone tried to blackmail her and threatened Harley Quinn, she stood up and fought back. This surprising act of bravery impressed the citizens of Gotham, who began to see her as a hero. This newfound popularity likely helped her win the election she ran in, as shown in the final panel of Poison Ivy #41.

The conflict between Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn in Gotham is escalating, and its ultimate impact is still unknown. DC has announced that a new Batman event, “Bad Seeds,” will directly result from this struggle. This makes the current Poison Ivy comic a must-read for any Batman fan.

Poison Ivy #42 arrives in comic shops everywhere on March 4, 2026.

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2026-02-28 00:12