- "Kill me. Don't kill me. It doesn't matter. I beat you. I took away the one--."
- —Isabel's last arrogant words to Oliver Queen[src]
Isabel Rochev was the vice president of acquisitions at Stellmoor International and later the CEO of Queen Consolidated. She was on "The List" and was also revealed to be a partner of Slade Wilson. She was also a member of the Church of Blood, and of Slade Wilson's army. She was one of the main antagonists of the second season of Arrow.
Isabel was adopted by an unnamed couple, and the ex-lover of the late Robert Queen and Oliver Queen.
Following Slade's assault on Starling City Isabel donned a mask and suit, similar to Slade's Deathstroke one, as Ravager.[1]
Biography
Early life
Isabel Rochev was born in Moscow, Russia and raised there until she was 9 years old, when she was adopted by a family and moved to America. She had trouble making friends in school because of her accent, which she says took years to get rid of. Isabel eventually went to business school and eventually began interning at Queen Consolidated and caught the eye of their CEO Robert Queen who started cheating on his own wife Moira with her. The affair went on so long that Robert was even going to leave the company, Moira and their son Oliver and Robert's legal daughter Thea, who was really the daughter of Malcolm Merlyn, but when Thea fell off her horse Robert went to check on her the day they were planning to leave. Isabel begged Robert not to as Thea wasn't his own, but Robert assured her that they would leave the next day. However Isabel's internship was canceled and Robert never spoke to her again. She also became vice-president of Stellmoor International.
Isabel was later most likely coerced into contributing to The Undertaking, (as were many others whose names were on The List).
Pre-Season 2
Isabel, still resentful of Robert, became associated with Slade Wilson who trained her in the art of combat, in a process which she says almost killed her, but her desire for revenge against Robert's family kept her going. When Oliver left Starling City, after failing to stop Malcolm Merlyn's undertaking, Slade planted Isabel in Queen Consolidated to take it over, in order to draw Oliver back.
Season 2
In "City of Heroes", when Queen Consolidated started plummeting, Isabel attempted a hostile takeover of the company. Having already bought 45% of the company's shares, she mentioned her wish to Oliver of buying out the last 10%, effectively having power over the company. However, her plan was derailed when Oliver was able to get 5%, as does she, thus making them equal partners. Oliver was warned by his mother not to trust her, believing her to be dangerous.
In "Crucible", she is at a party awaiting Oliver to arrive. When he finally does arrive she comments on how there is blood on his face and then tells him how being late at his club was okay but not as CEO. Later, she is with Sebastian Blood when Oliver introduces them, though she calls herself Oliver's superior, he says they are partners but she responds with "only on paper". She then argues with Oliver about sponsoring a "Guns for Cash" charity drive.
In "Keep Your Enemies Closer", she goes with Oliver, Felicity and John to Moscow, believing that they're going on a business trip. She and Oliver talk over drinks, during which she tells him that she is Russian, and that she was adopted and brought to the United States. Afterwards, she and Oliver end up in Oliver's bedroom where they sleep together.
In "The Scientist", she strongly opposes the return of Moira Queen to Queen Consolidated, claiming that it will send a bad message to the investors and the city. She believes herself right when Oliver's welcome back party for Moira turns out unsuccessful. Moira implies that Oliver working with Isabel shows that he is not a good judge of character, reaffirming her suspicions.
In "The Promise", when Slade visited Oliver's family at the mansion, John Diggle attempted to kill him with a sniper rifle but Isabel, as Ravager, sneaked up on him and knocked him out. [2]
In "Deathstroke", Oliver temporarily appoints Isabel as CEO when Thea is kidnapped. Isabel seizes the opportunity to call an emergency board meeting, and convinces them to make her appointment permanent. Oliver confronts her and learns that she was working with Slade the whole time, and only bought part of the shares of Queen Consolidate to draw Oliver back to Starling City. When Oliver asks about her motives Isabel reveals that she had a connection to Oliver's father, but starts attacking him before she goes any further before revealing Thea's location. In a meeting with Slade and Sebastian Blood, she states that she is applying all of Queen Consolidated's resources towards mass producing the Mirakuru.
In "The Man Under the Hood", Isabel reveals to Oliver her relationship with Robert Queen. She tells Oliver that they were going to leave everything behind and run away together, but after Thea fell off a horse, Robert decided to stay with his family despite knowing that Thea was Malcolm's daughter, and then terminated Isabel's internship at Queen Consolidated, ending the relationship. Isabel later attempted to shoot Oliver before being shot by John Diggle twice in the chest. Isabel later awakened after being injected with the Mirakuru and receiving a blood transfusion from Slade himself.
In "Seeing Red", Diggle and Felicity become concerned as to why the press hasn't mentioned Isabel's death.
In "City of Blood", Isabel attends the reception service of Moira's funeral, after she was murdered by Slade, and reveals herself to Diggle and Felicity that they will be next. Isabel later met with Thea to tell her that her club and it's next door factory are part of Queen Consolidated and she must vacate the facility within a few days and Oliver, who was already aware of her survival, called her to tell her that he is giving up. Later Isabel, as Ravager, attacked Diggle who was attempting to plant bombs around a bridge leg to crush Slade's army beneath ground, and told him that she was eager for revenge.
In "Streets of Fire", Isabel continued to fight Diggle and asked where Felicity was as she was eager to kill her too but was then hit by Felicity's van. As she began to stand up the two fled. Isabel later observed the destruction of Starling with Slade from Queen Consolidated and witnessed Sebastian and Slade's argument over the nature of the plan. Later Isabel was tasked to kill Sebastian after he gave the cure to Oliver and she stabbed him with both her swords.
In "Unthinkable", At Queen Consolidated, Isabel and some of Slade's soldiers expect a fight with Oliver and Sara Lance, but are also faced with the League of Assassins led by Nyssa al Ghul. Isabel fights Sara and Nyssa but is overwhelmed. Before she can boast of her victory to Oliver, Nyssa snaps her neck, killing her.
Legacy
Sometime after her death, Isabel's crimes for aiding and abetting Slade Wilson's attack on Star City was exposed to the public, causing another huge scandal for Queen Consolidated.
Personality
Isabel was a driven and determined woman, but she stated that she is lonely.[3] She was also impressed with Oliver when he stood up to protect his family's company, despite the rumors of Oliver being a lazy, rowdy rich boy (however it was later revealed that Isabel was aware that Oliver is not a lazy, rowdy rich boy; she learned this through Slade). She took her job at Queen Consolidated very seriously and was highly annoyed when Oliver kept missing meetings and didn't put all his focus on his job.
She was obsessed with revenge on the Queen family because of Robert's jilting her. Isabel blamed Thea for breaking up her relationship with Robert, claiming that they were "soulmates" and that he would have run away with her and left his family behind, if not for Thea when she fell off her horse and injured herself. To this end, Isabel teamed up with Slade Wilson and trained hard to gain his trust, including training which she claimed almost killed her. She proved her worth so much so that she was even entrusted with Oliver's secret.
Though it was only Robert who betrayed Isabel, according to Moira Queen, Isabel was dangerous and an untrustworthy individual, willing to betray even those who have shown her kindness. She was also quite immoral, because although she knew Slade planned to destroy Starling City, she didn't care as long as she got to take revenge on Robert's family.
In her final moments before she was killed by Nyssa al Ghul, Isabel still showed arrogance, and had absolutely no guilt or remorse for her actions.
Powers and abilities
Powers
- Peak of superhuman physical condition: In "The Man Under the Hood", Isabel received Mirakuru by a blood transfusion from Slade. Her physical capacity was increased in terms of stamina, strength, durability and reflexes, in addition to an accelerated healing factor (the latter of which appeared to save her life after being shot). She also survived being run over by a van. However she was stripped of her powers immediately after being injected with the cure.
- Enhanced strength: Due to the Mirakuru serum, Isabel was much stronger than a normal human.
- Enhanced speed: Due to the Mirakuru serum, Isabel was able to move much faster than a normal human.
- Enhanced durability: Due to the Mirakuru serum, Isabel was able to take more damage than a normal human. After Felicity Smoak ran over her with a van, she quickly recovered and showed no signs of being damaged.
- Enhanced reflexes: Due to the Mirakuru serum, Isabel was able to react much faster than a normal human.
- Enhanced stamina: Due to the Mirakuru serum, which reduces the effects of fatigue, Isabel could exert herself at peak energy capacity greater than any normal human could.
- Rapid cell regeneration: Thanks to the Mirakuru serum, Isabel was able to heal much faster than a normal human. She was shot by John Diggle twice, but after being injected with the Mirakuru serum, her gunshot wounds completely healed, and after Felicity ran over Isabel with a van, she quickly healed from her injuries. She lost those abilities upon being injected and was killed after Nyssa snapped her neck, something she would not survived with or without her abilities.
Abilities
- Skilled hand-to-hand combatant: Isabel had some training in hand-to-hand combat, due to the fact that she was brutally trained by Slade Wilson, as she mentioned and displayed when she briefly fought Oliver in "Deathstroke" and in "The Man Under the Hood". However, she was not as skilled as Oliver or Slade.
- Skilled swordswoman: She appeared to have some skill at swordsmanship, as she was shown fighting with a pair of dual swords.
- Bilingualism: As a native Russian, Isabel speaks that language fluently, in addition to English. She reveals that when she took up English, it took her a while for her Russian accent to disappear.
Equipment
- Ravager suit: Isabel wore a suit as her supervillainess alter-ego, Ravager, to hide her identity from her victims. It is a suit similar to Slade's Deathstroke suit. It was most likely given to her by Slade after he injected her with the Mirakuru.
- Ravager Mask: Isabel wore a mask as her supervillainess alter-ego Ravager, to hide her identity from her victims. It is visually similar to the Deathstroke mask, however the colors are inverted, has a rounder shape and her nose and mouth are visible.
- Customized Swords: Isabel used customized dual swords, similar in appearance to those used by Slade on Lian Yu.
- Sidearm: Isabel carried a sidearm on her right leg.
Appearances
Arrow
Season 1
- "Pilot" (mentioned)
- "Honor Thy Father" (mentioned)
Season 2
- "City of Heroes"
- "Crucible"
- "Keep Your Enemies Closer"
- "The Scientist"
- "The Promise" (unseen)
- "Deathstroke"
- "The Man Under the Hood"
- "City of Blood"
- "Streets of Fire"
- "Unthinkable"
Trivia
- In the original Green Arrow comics, Isabel Rochev was an enemy of Green Arrow's, called The Queen. Due to how she was portrayed, this may imply that she may have had a connection with Robert Queen possibly explaining as to why she is on The List.
- In "Pilot" and "Honor Thy Father", Isabel's name is seen two names below Adam Hunt's.
- In "City of Blood", Isabel wears a specially-made Deathstroke mask and suit which is extremely reminiscent of the DC comic book villain, Ravager, the identity of Rose Wilson, the daughter of Slade Wilson, however, in some versions, Rose is a hero instead of a villain.
Gallery
Concept artwork
Promotional images
References
- ↑ Marc Guggenheim (@mguggenheim) - Twitter
- ↑ The person who knocks out Diggle in The Promise is wearing a costume virtually identical to Isabel's Ravager outfit
- ↑ "Keep Your Enemies Closer"