Poison Ivy, Killer Croc and the Riddler are re-envisioned for DC’s upcoming young adult graphic novel, Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero.
DC’s latest young adult graphic novel, Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero, features a collection of Gotham City rogues reimagined, including Poison Ivy, Killer Croc and the Riddler, known in this story simply as E. Nigma.
Images released by DC show a new, contemporary take on the trio, with Poison Ivy wearing an understated green jacket and giving away plants, Nigma referencing puzzle-solving and Killer Croc looking most similar to his regular comic book counterpart. All three characters will cross paths with the book’s protagonist and budding vigilante, 16-year old Willow Zimmerman.
“I love the Gotham City rogue’s gallery and it was a challenge to choose the villains who would be the best dark mirrors for Whistle’s heroism,” said author E. Lockhart. “I picked the Riddler because I love puzzles and word play, and gave him a back story that connects him to my hero’s family history. He’s a complex villain with a sweet side readers may not have seen before!”
Poison Ivy, meanwhile, was chosen as a “villain who crusades for something she believes in,” and will serve as both a mentor and an antagonist for Willow, Lockhart continued. As for Croc – “a girl with dog-related superpowers would naturally go up against a crocodile man!”
“And my version of Croc, like Whistle, sees himself as a protector of their Down River neighborhood,” Lockhart said. “Only Croc protects it by going on a murder spree, while Whistle uses more positive methods.”
Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero tells a coming-of-age story focused on Willow, who lives a life of activism and volunteering at the local dog shelter in her neighborhood of Down River. Struggles with caring for her sick mother force Willow to turn to Nigma, an estranged friend of her family, who gives her a job promoting private poker nights for Gotham’s elite. Eventually, Willow takes to vigilantism alongside Lebowitz, her adopted dog, gains powers after a confrontation with Killer Croc, and learns that Nigma and his associates are actually criminals.
“Whistle is a social activist, a secular Jewish person, and a teenage girl working to support her mother through sickness — all elements I haven’t seen so much in superhero comics,” Lockhart said when the book was first announced. “The story explores the dark, ethically compromised side of a superhero’s life as well as the empowerment.”
Written by Lockhart with artwork by Manuel Preitano, Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero goes on sale May 11, 2021.
Source: DC
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