SDCC 2011 (and Legos)

I've held off on posting for quite a few days now because I was watching the events of the San Diego Comic Con 2011. Now that every bit of news has been revealed I'm here to report that we Ivy fans with very little.

I'm aware that beyond the few merchandise reports, the cancellation of Sirens, and the retooling of Birds of Prey - nothing much has been going on in regards to Poison Ivy. But small news is better than no news - I guess.

Jim Lee, Mark Chiarello, and Cully Hamner hosted a panel specifically to discuss the new costume designs for the new DCU. When it came time to discuss Birds of Prey Hamner touched ever so briefly on Poison Ivy.

Hamner on Poison Ivy: "That was kind of a tough nut to crack." Hamner said he wanted her leaves to have different colors — change like the seasons.

Okaaay. Doesn't that sound charming? Well, no not at all. What color are her leaves going to be during the Winter season? Dry and brown? Perhaps some holly leaves will suffice. I guess we can surmise that Poison Ivy probably went thru quite a few costume options before they settled on the body suit we saw on the cover to Birds of Prey #1. But you all know my opinion on that. Moving on...

Beyond the festive gals walking the floor in Poison Ivy costumes and the (announced ages ago) Arkham Asylum Poison Ivy action figure there was only one pint sized beauty to make her presence known.

Lego collaborated with DC Comics to produce Batman themed Lego sets back in 2006. However, 2007 would see the release of our first Lego Poison Ivy as seen on the right. She's cute in many ways. I'm not a huge fan of the muted color palette but this is clearly Poison Ivy.

Quick side note: I must admit that I did not play with Lego toys much as a child because I wasn't much of a builder. Because of this I preferred action figures and sets ready to go out of the box. I didn't mind minor assembly and sticker application. There was fun in that. But the Lego toys never quite looked like what they were supposed to be. Go figure. (Pun intended.)

This year Lego announced that they were awarded a full DC Comics license:

Warner Bros. Consumer Products Awards The LEGO Group License
to Create LEGO® DC Universe SUPER HEROES

-Construction Toys Based on the Universe of DC Comics Super Heroes Slated for 2012-

BILLUND, Denmark – July 20, 2011 – Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) with DC Entertainment (DCE) and The LEGO Group announced today the extension of their successful partnership to translate some of the world’s most popular DC Comics Super Heroes into the world of LEGO® build-and-play adventures with LEGO DC Universe SUPER HEROES. The multi-year licensing agreement grants the world leader in high quality construction toys access to the entire library of DC Comics characters and stories to inspire LEGO building fun. Construction sets, minifigures and buildable characters and creatures inspired by the universe of DC Comics are slated to launch in January 2012.

The new LEGO DC Universe SUPER HEROES collection will feature 13 iconic super heroes in LEGO minifigure form, including: Batman™, Robin™, Catwoman™, The Joker, The Riddler™, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn™, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman™, Lex Luthor™ and Wonder Woman™. Buildable characters will include Batman, The Joker and Green Lantern. Select figures will be on display in the LEGO booth (#2829) at Comic-Con International at the San Diego Convention Center July 21-24.

“We have enjoyed a successful, longstanding relationship with The LEGO Group and this agreement enables the vast universe of DC Comics to inspire an array of incredible offerings,” said Karen McTier, executive vice president, domestic licensing and worldwide marketing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “Fans of our legendary Super Heroes and villains will be delighted with the uniquely imaginative creations which only LEGO Group can create.”

The company will revisit their previous successful collections like LEGO BATMAN™ that also inspired the best-selling LEGO BATMAN: The Videogame, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, which has sold more than 12 million units worldwide since its launch in 2008.

“Given the fan enthusiasm for previous LEGO BATMAN collections, we couldn’t be more thrilled to continue the build-and-play adventures with new LEGO BATMAN play sets and the addition of other DC Comics properties,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president, licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group. “This partnership gives builders a chance to recreate the characters, vehicles and worlds of some of the most iconic Super Heroes, so they can relive the action and even customize it – a proven and winning formula in LEGO construction.”

At San Diego Comic-Con, 3,000 exclusive Batman and Green Lantern LEGO minifigures will be distributed to kick off a promotion that will take place from August to December in advance of the launch. Fans are encouraged to use their collectible minifigures and existing LEGO collections to create original LEGO DC Universe SUPER HEROES adventures through video, photography or illustration, then share their submissions on www.LEGOSUPERHEROES.com. Entrants have a chance to win monthly prizes or a grand prize trip to California for exclusive tours of Warner Bros. Studios, WB Animation and LEGOLAND® California.

Part of their new effort includes a fantastic updated Lego version of Poison Ivy. She's more colorful than her predecessor and dare I say pretty? Well as pretty as two inches of plastic can be. Let's just say this design is a bit more thoughtful. (Notice they went with a classic look. I'm sure the updated DCnU costume will be hard to market.)

I suppose that's all there is to say about Poison Ivy and her presence at SDCC 2011. I'll leave you with this Youtube video featuring old school Lego Poison Ivy running amok in the video game based off of these Lego styled characters (she appears at 0:50).



[eurobricks.com] (SDCC Lego image)

[Kevin Hink] Check out Kevin's Lego Batman themed images. Good stuff!

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Superhero Rewind: Batman and Robin Review

The folks over at Geekvolution reviewed "Batman & Robin" back in Aug 27, 2010 as part of their Superhero Rewind series. The review is a great mix of brains and humor.

They give the film a rather fair shake but explain why the Schumacher and Goldsman effort could only fail. The consensus being that Batman & Robin had no idea who it was geared towards. Children, adults - or neither? Give it a viewing and see if you agree. I know I did. Sorry Poison Ivy and Uma Thurman - you looked fierce and more than deserved this role but this film was ultimately beneath you. In hindsight of course.

[Geekvolution]

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Batman Live

I've known of the Batman Live World Arena Tour for quite some time but I had no idea Poison Ivy was a part of this production until today. How this got past my attention is way beyond me. The first official group shot has been released and it features many colorful characters including the Joker, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, the Riddler, the Penguin, Poison Ivy, and of course Batman and Robin.

The overall motif appears to be very "comic book" with obvious nods to the original 1960s Batman television series and sprinklings from the animated DCU. Let us not forget that this is very much a musical.

Batman Live Cast Photo

The costumes range from great to good to "what the heck". I think Batman and Robin look a bit too much like the film of their namesake. Schumacher-esque if you will (but no Bat nipples). Harley doesn't seem to fair as well either. I'm not a huge fan of the blue/red styling and the lack of a jester hat is just wrong. At first I thought it was for performing reasons but then Catwoman is in a full cowl so there really is no excuse. The male villains look fantastic and fun in classic looks. However, I have mixed feelings on Poison Ivy's costuming.

Poison Ivy Concept Art

If they would have stuck to the concept art for the production Poison Ivy had the potential for a gorgeous display. I do understand avoiding the green skin because the makeup application would have been entirely too tedious. But there was no reason to ignore the more structured swimsuit area of the costume. They settled for what appears to be sequin covered vines around the arms and legs and a patchy lingerie like ice skating outfit. It's not terrible but there's a too-forced air of sexiness here that could be easily read as cheap. It's not a total fail but every other character has a very substantial costume while Ivy appears to be ready for a bedroom tease. See the final costume in action below.



The woman portraying Poison Ivy is Russian born Valerie Murzak. Valerie appears to be a circus performer who specializes in aerial acts. In the cast credits she is identified as portraying a "character" but is not included in the primary cast line-up. I'm suspecting she is there to fill out the stage with some sex appeal but may not have a full speaking role. Perhaps her skills as an aerialist will be put on display.

If you click over to the the official Batman Live website you will find a full Poison Ivy character profile. A profile that includes a few images from Batman Hush and desktop wallpapers. Jim Lee has been credited for doing the promotional artwork so it's no surprise that his Hush contributions also make an appearance. You'll notice that he created a different version of Poison Ivy for this show.

This traveling production is touring the UK so we Americans may not get to see Batman Live. Though if it does well perhaps they will bring it stateside. I would definitely go. Good luck Valerie and do our girl proud! For further behind the scenes footage go to SFX's Youtube channel.

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