Popular Batman Story Just Made a Shocking Change to an Iconic Villain

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Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.

Lately, DC Comics has been having a lot of fun introducing wild and intriguing reinterpretations of some of its most famous characters, such as Batman. Of course, his rogues' gallery has not been excluded from these new, imaginative takes, and one of the most mind-bending yet comes from Immortal Legend Batman.

In Immortal Legend Batman #4, Bruce Wayne comes face-to-face with an enemy named Jake, who is otherwise known as The Poisoned Man and shares a unique physiological connection with all the plant life on the planet he calls home. As even a casual comic book fan might be able to infer, this character is a gender-swapped version of Poison Ivy.

Originally created by Robert Kanigher, Sheldon Moldoff and Carmine Infantino in 1966, the Batman villain has always been depicted as an ecoterrorist, but has also gone through various evolutions in the decades since. Poison Ivy's most definitive iteration is Pamela Isley, who, after a series of bizarre experiments, develops a dominance over vegetation and a seductive aura that often helps her get her way.

That latter traditional characteristic of Poison Ivy is actually among those that are still being honored with The Poisoned Man. Erica D'Urso's illustrations for Immortal Legend Batman #4, which is written by Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom, depict Jake as a handsome and angelic figure who does not necessarily seem to have an alluring effect on the Dark Knight.

However, one moment when The Poisoned Man grows deeply close to the superhero implies that he might be attracted to Batman. Then again, it is also very likely that his only reason to kiss him would be to kill him, as one of Poison Ivy's most famous powers is her ability to claim her victims by locking lips.

Immortal Legend Batman Has Plenty More Intriguing Character Changes

Jake, a.k.a. The Poisoned Man, is just one of many examples of classic DC characters given a unique makeover for Immortal Legend Batman. For instance, the first issue of the Elseworlds story introduces a planet with a Western-style setting, on which Harvey Dent serves as the mayor and the sheriff is named Bruce Wayne.

Of course, he is revealed by the real Bruce Wayne, who moonlights as The Batman, to be no more than an imposter who has taken on that identity to hide the fact that he is one of many cosmic enemies known as "shadows." It is at that moment when half of his body is taken over by his shadow form, which makes this "Bruce Wayne" this continuity's version of "Two-Face," instead of Dent.

The Dark Knight himself has one of the most interesting character revamps for the new series, which still depicts Bruce Wayne as the wealthy heir to his murdered parents' fortune and business and fights evil with allies like Nightwing and Robin. However, he is also revealed to be just the latest of many vigilantes to take on the moniker of The Batman, which is passed down between generations, creating the illusion that he is an "immortal legend," much like the classic pulp comic book hero, The Phantom.

Immortal Legend Batman is inspired by Japanese tokusatsu, which describes the sort of content that titles like Super Sentai (which was Americanized as the Power Rangers franchise) are categorized into. The eponymous vigilante even boasts an outfit that, indeed, very much calls to mind the costumed heroes from Super Sentai.

The series takes place in a futuristic society in which humanity has achieved colonization on other planets with technology that has, unfortunately, broken the barrier between their universe and a shadowy alternate reality. Luckily, Batman has managed to harness the energy that these disparate universes are bound by and uses it to pursue and stop evil forces known as "shadows."

Immortal Legend Batman #4 is now on sale.