Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy: All about their relationship

Are Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy a couple?

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy sharing a kiss in HBO Max's Harley Quinn animated TV series

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy were both introduced in DC Comics as Gotham City villains. But after each one of them became more of an anti-hero than a straight-up villain in the DC Universe, the relationship between the two of them also evolved from being platonic to being more than friends. Below is everything we know about Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy’s romance.

Are Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy dating?

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy remain as each other’s love interests in DC Universe. Their romantic relationship, however, didn’t happen in an instant.

They first met in the Harley and Ivy episode of Batman: Animated Series, which originally aired in January 1993. In the episode, Quinn split up with the Joker, and her determination to prove to him that she’s just as good as a criminal led her to carry out a museum heist, where she encountered Ivy stealing plants from the same venue. Since then, Quinn and Ivy had become close friends in the DC Animated Universe.

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy in the Harley and Ivy episode of Batman: Animated Series
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy in the Harley and Ivy episode of Batman: Animated Series

Fast-forward to 2009, Quinn and Ivy, along with Catwoman, were introduced as the stars of DC Comics’ Gotham City Sirens. In the final storyline of the comic book series, Quinn implies that Ivy may be in love with her. Although Ivy acknowledges that she may indeed love Quinn, the details of her love are never specified because the comic book ended with the New 52 reboot before their relationship could be addressed.

But in the New 52 Harley Quinn comic book series, it was confirmed that Quinn and Ivy are in a non-monogamous relationship, with 2017’s Harley Quinn #25 marking their first canonical kiss.

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy kiss in Harley Quinn #25
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy kiss in Harley Quinn #25

In the ongoing HBO Max animated series Harley Quinn, Ivy was shown struggling with her engagement to Kite Man before confessing her true feelings for Quinn. Harley Quinn season 3 focused on the duo’s romantic relationship, which the show will explore more in its upcoming special episode, titled Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special. The Valentine’s Day episode is set to premiere on February 9th, 2023, while the already confirmed season 4 of the series has yet to get a premiere date.

Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine

Are Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy still together?

Quinn and Ivy are still together in DC Comics and in the DC Animated Universe. However, Poison Ivy #8, which was released in January 2023, seems to confirm that the romance between the two will end in tragedy.

In the latest issue of the comic book series by G. Willow Wilson and Atagun Ilhan, it was revealed that Ivy is mutating as a result of FutureGas CEO Beatrice Crawley attacking her with an aerosol. Ivy started slipping into the Green but a worker named Janet arrived with an antidote that unlocked the former’s powers once more. It was confirmed, however, through narration that Ivy is ultimately going to the Green for good.

Like all plant elementals in the DC Universe, Ivy is called to the Green instead of Heaven or Hell. While the Green is all well and good, it is a place exclusively for beings like Ivy or Swamp Thing. Humans like Quinn, on the other hand, aren’t eligible for the Green. In fact, Quinn has already been confirmed to spend her afterlife in either Heaven or Hell, suggesting a tragic ending to her and Poison Ivy’s relationship, as most heroes in the DC Universe, no matter what happens on Earth, tend to wind up with their partners in the same space in the afterlife.

Why did Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy break up?

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy’s relationship has had a lot of ups and downs, and one of the latter includes the time they broke up in Harley Quinn #10. In the comic book issue, Quinn was the one who ended things, encouraging Ivy to find her own path the way Quinn has been able to herself.

Did Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy get married?

Though Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy have yet to get married in the DC Comics canon, the pair tied the knot in Las Vegas in the non-canon comic book Injustice: Zero Dawn.

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy's wedding in non-canon Injustice comic
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy’s wedding in a non-canon Injustice comic

Speaking on non-canon stories, DC’s Harley Quinn Romances, released in January 2023, includes a short story titled Stranger Than Fan Fiction. Described as a love letter to real-world Harlivy fans, Stranger Than Fan Fiction follows Ivy pulling a heist while her girlfriend Quinn tries to read her fan fiction to her. As Quinn recounts the events of her fan fiction, the two fight their way through the gala security.

As a “thank you” to the fan fiction community “shipping” Quinn and Ivy together, Stranger Than Fan Fiction has Quinn explaining her fan fic to be set in an alternate universe (AU) and describing the concept as out of character (OOC). AU and OOC are just two of the most common terminologies used by the fan fiction community.

A page from DC’s Harley Quinn Romances' Stranger Than Fan Fiction story
A page from DC’s Harley Quinn Romances’ Stranger Than Fan Fiction story

Will there be a Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy movie?

Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to announce a Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy movie, but Margot Robbie revealed in an interview with ComicBook.com in December 2022 that she’s been trying to get the film studio to produce a queer romance film starring the two characters for years.

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in 2016's Suicide Squad
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in 2016’s Suicide Squad

“I have been pushing for that for years,” said Robbie, who plays Quinn in the live-action movies Suicide Squad (2016), Birds of Prey (2020), and The Suicide Squad (2021). “I cannot tell you how hard I’ve been pushing for that. I want it too.”

When asked if she had any actress in mind to play her romantic onscreen partner, the actress replied, “Honestly, when I pictured, I always picture like Poison Ivy in the comics. I don’t really actually picture an actress doing it, but I agree, that would be so good.”

Who created Harley Quinn?

Harley Quinn was created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini.

Who created Poison Ivy?

Poison Ivy was created by Carmine Infantino, Robert Kanigher, and Sheldon Moldoff.

Sources: Movie Web, Screen Rant, CBR, ComicBook.com