DC Is Ready To Kill Off A Beloved Batman Villain With A Heartbreaking Goodbye

Published Aug 21, 2026, 1:49 PM EDT Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot. Batman fans may be saying a heartfelt goodbye to one of DC’s most prolific and powerful supervillains this fall. All hell breaks loose between sunset and sunrise in Batman: Bad Seeds, the newest major DC crossover event that spans 26 issues, two months, and one night in-universe. Interestingly, Batman: Bad Seeds may have already told readers how its ending will take shape. The event is teasing a beloved Batman villain’s death quite unabashedly, and may be laying the brickwork necessary for it to be devastating. Will Poison Ivy Die In Batman: Bad Seeds? The solicitation for Batman #13, scheduled to be released on September 2, suggests that the Batman: Bad Seeds event, which apparently takes place over the course of a single night, could conclude with the death of Poison Ivy: Somewhere in the headquarters of the Gotham City Police Department, Vandal Savage hides a chemical weapon designed to kill Poison Ivy... but if Ivy dies, there will be no ending the bad night of Bad Seeds, for Gotham City or anywhere else. The stakes seem far too high for Poison Ivy to actually perish in this event, assuming that her death would actually result in Gotham City and possibly the whole planet becoming swallowed by an overgrowth of hostile flora. That said, Batman: Bad Seeds is an enormous and climactic crossover event and could be a phenomenal swan song for Poison Ivy’s character. The Batman: Bad Seeds event’s entire reading order is as follows: Poison Ivy #45 (Prologue) - June 3 Poison Ivy #46 (Prologue) - July 1 Batman: Bad Seeds - Sunset #1 (Core Issue) - August 26 Poison Ivy #47 (Prelude) - August 26 Batgirl #23 (Tie-In) - September 2 Batman #13 (Core Issue) - September 2 Batman: Bad Seeds - Gotham Central #1 (Tie-In) - September 9 Batwoman #7 (Tie-In) - September 16 Catwoman #91 (Tie-In) - September 16 Detective Comics #1113 (Core Issue) - September 16 Nightwing #142 (Tie-In) - September 16 Harley Quinn #66 (Tie-In) - September 23 Batman: Bad Seeds - Gotham General #1 (Tie-In) - September 30 Poison Ivy #48 (Core Issue) - September 30 Batgirl #24 (Tie-In) - October 7 Batman #14 (Core Issue) - October 7 Batman: Bad Seeds - Gotham Central #2 (Tie-In) - October 14 Batman: Bad Seeds - Gotham General #2 (Tie-In) - October 14 Batman: Bad Seeds - Streets of Gotham #1 (Tie-In) - October 14 Batwoman #8 (Tie-In) - October 21 Catwoman #92 (Tie-In) - October 21 Detective Comics #1114 (Core Issue) - October 21 Nightwing #143 (Tie-In) - October 21 Batman: Bad Seeds - Sunrise #1 (Core Issue) - October 28 Harley Quinn #67 (Tie-In) - October 28 Poison Ivy #49 (Core Issue) - October 28 Harley Quinn And Poison Ivy’s Love Would Give Her A Sad Ending Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy’s breakup is a fresh wound that Harley finally addressed in Harley Quinn #64, and their history as lovers will see them inevitably rubberbanding back together for Batman: Bad Seeds. In fact, despite it being listed as a tie-in issue, Harley Quinn #67 is releasing on the same day as the final two core event issues, Batman: Bad Seeds - Sunrise #1 and Poison Ivy #49, and will officially feature Harley and Ivy reuniting. If Ivy does die, Harley being there for her in Ivy’s last moments could make the event’s conclusion tremendously poignant. The solicitation for Batman: Bad Seeds - Sunset #1 reads as follows: THE BATMAN: BAD SEEDS EVENT STARTS HERE! MATT FRACTION, G. WILLOW WILSON, GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI, AND CLIFF RATHBURN KICK OFF AN ALL-NEW BATMAN EVENT! Gotham City’s new mayor, Pamela Isley, deserted by her allies both political and arcane, is about to make a last-ditch power play that will leave Gotham decimated by daylight. Having already declared war on the Bat-Family and flooded the streets with his private, paramilitarized police army, Police Commissioner Vandal Savage sees an opportunity to solve two problems at once. Storylines converge in Batman: Bad Seeds, a Gotham City event spanning one long, dark night in Gotham that threatens to turn the entire city into a hostile world of prehistoric plant life unlike anything on Earth for millennia, at a time when its greatest heroes are hunted and in hiding. As the sun goes down and Gotham loses power, Matt Fraction (Batman), G. Willow Wilson (Poison Ivy), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Absolute Evil), and Cliff Rathburn (The Walking Dead) deliver an unforgettable opening chapter that shows the only thing scarier than the night just might be the morning sun... Batman: Bad Seeds - Sunset #1 is scheduled to be released on August 26, 2026. Created By Bob Kane, Bill Finger First Appearance Detective Comics Alias Bruce Wayne Alliance Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family Race Human Franchise D.C. One of DC's most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world's leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City. FIRST APP Detective Comics #27 (1939)