Ishmael was an assassin working for the Kobra Cartel.
Biography[]
Battle with Lala[]
- "Make the call; it's time we get an assassin that specializes in meta-humans."
- —Destiny[src]
Ishmael began working as an assassin in order to join the League of Assassins, starting by killing a hundred meta-humans. Destiny hired Ishmael after she saw Lala escape the Freeland Police. When Lala and The 100 attempted to get the drop on Destiny and the Kobra Cartel where some of its members were killed at the time when Destiny was checking up on the protection money payments, Ishmael stopped them; following a fight, he promptly stabbed Lala and kicked him into a coffin, leaving Destiny to seal it with cement to prevent his resurrection.
Later on, Destiny reunited with Ishmael, who had kept Lala preserved in cement for display. As Ishmael has already killed over ninety-four meta-humans, Destiny offered him a chance to stay and join her in order to fulfill his mission of killing metas, giving him the opportunity to kill Black Lighting and his team.[1]
Battle with Black Lightning's team[]
Ishmael, who researched the pasts of members of Black Lightning's team, captured Kyrie and interrogated him about Blackbird, telling him that he would kill other members of the Freeland Resistance until he found her. When Kyrie remained silent, Ishmael commended him for his loyalty as he broke his neck from his spine.
Later, Ishmael tracked Blackbird and Wylde to the Center for Gene Therapy and Genetic Research and attacked them. Because of his research, Ishmael, who had already knocked Wylde unconscious, knew that Blackbird needed to hold her breath to use her strength, so he fought her patiently until she was forced to exhale. Just as he went for the kill, Wylde, in leopard form, attacked ferociously, causing Ishmael to flee.[2]
Ishmael was checking messages after spending time with his partner and saw a text from Black Lightning on where to meet him. Black Lightning and Ishmael fought in the warehouse when, suddenly, Black Lightning lost his powers; however, the fight continued as now it was fisticuffs.[3] Sirens blared as the fight went outside; the Freeland Police Department arrived, led by Hassan Shakur. Black Lightning told them not to engage Ishmael; Hassan, trusting the hero, agreed and told his unit likewise.
Ishmael was approached by Tobias Whale and offered a position. Later, Ishmael and Destiny went to see Tobias who told Destiny that he was now the leader of the Kobra Cartel. To prove his power, Tobias had Red crush her gun with his powers. In response, Ishmael was told by Destiny to battle the two Meta-humans; Ishmael was already on Tobias' team, much to Destiny's anger.[4]
Battle with Painkiller & Death[]
Ishmael was called by Tobias when Tobias learned that Khalil Payne/Painkiller was interfering in his business.[5] Tobias gave Ishmael a way to find Looker because he had placed a tracker in his employee.
Ishmael found Khalil with Looker just outside of Freeland, on their way into the city. Ishmael, who was sent to kill both Looker and Khalil, and Painkiller battled in different fight styles, testing each other's skills. Just as Ishmael thought he had won, Painkiller sent poison into Ishmael. Ishmael died, feeling cheated.[6]
Personality[]
Ishmael seems to be a cold-blooded yet intelligent individual, able to find a way to keep Lala from resurrecting though going as far as to publicly display his preserved body. Dedicated to his personal mission of killing a hundred meta-humans, Ishmael displays a sense of strong will and purpose.
He does have enough common sense to avoid hunting metas in Central City, which has Team Flash guarding it; likely due to Flash being to super speed him to a specially-designed prison cell.
Abilities[]
- "His name is Ishmael. Advanced training in hand-to-hand combat, especially swordsmanship. Adept with technology, a master tactician. And he's a meta-hunter."
- —Peter Gambi[src]
- Peak human condition: Ishmael is in top physical condition. Able to to keep fighting and pulling off complex maneuvers without showing any signs of physical fatigue. He was able to battle, overpower and kill ninety-four unidentified meta-humans.[1] He was also strong enough to break Kyrie's neck.
- Master hand to hand combatant/martial artist: Ishmael is highly trained in combat. His fighting style seems to be a mix of Kali, Wushu, Capoeira, Karate, Muay Thai, and Western Boxing. He is able to overpower and defeat Lala as well as having killed ninety-four meta-humans.[1] He was able to fight Blackbird and Wylde at the same time, though was forced to retreat when he was overwhelmed by Wylde shapeshifting into a leopard. He can fight Black Lightning and when his powers were deactivated, Ishmael proved to be the superior fighter. He was able to fight Painkiller, who is trained in 100 different martial arts styles and was able to gain the upper hand on him.
- Master swordsman: Ishmael is skilled enough in his swordsmanship that he can deflect bullets from close range and was able to duel Painkiller in a sword fight, managing to disarm him.[1]
- Master tactician: Ishmael is a highly skilled planner when it comes to dealing with meta humans.
- "You're trying to get into the League of Assassins. They're requiring you to kill meta-humans. Quite the tall order. What's your count now?"
"94." - —Destiny and Ishmael[src]
- Master assassin: Having murdered scores of meta-humans, Ishmael is an expert in assassination.[1]
- Expert engineer: Ishmael is said to be adept with technology, as he seems to have crested some of his advanced weapons such as electrified bolas and the energy shield projectors on the pommels of his swords.
- Stealth: Ishmael was able to hide his presence from The 100, only revealing himself when Lala tried to kill Destiny.[1]
Weaknesses[]
- Khalil's Venom: After nearly defeating Painkiller in a dual, Ishmael swung the blade of his sword at Khalil's hand that he caught but also caused blood to drip on the edge to the handle which had his skin exposed to the venom at the point of it killing him.
Equipment[]
- Twin Scimitar swords: Ishmael's main weapons are twin swords that he uses for close-range combat, though also proves himself skillful enough to use them in ranged combat.[1] They also possess devices on the pommels which can create an energy shield that can block lightning and deflect rockets.
- Combat knives: Ishmael usually refers to using a range of combat knives when unable to use his swords, typically when engaging in close combat.[1]
- Shuriken: Ishmael threw a shuriken to lead Blackbird and Wylde into a trap.
- Electrified bola: Ishmael used an electrified bola to briefly incapacitate Wylde.
- Smoke grenades: Ishmael used smoke grenades when springing his ambush on Blackbird and Wylde.
- Flash bang grenade: Ishmael used a flash bang grenade to stun Blackbird and Wylde.
- Pepper spray: Ishmael used a bottle of pepper spray to make his escape from Wylde in her leopard form.
Appearances[]
Black Lightning[]
Season 4[]
- "The Book of Ruin: Chapter One" (mentioned)
- "The Book of Ruin: Chapter Two"
- "The Book of Ruin: Chapter Three"
- "The Book of Ruin: Chapter Four: Lyding"
- "The Book of Reunification: Chapter One"
- "The Book of Reunification: Chapter Two" (phone call)
- "The Book of Resurrection: Chapter One"
Trivia[]
- Prior to the Anti-Monitor Crisis, Thea Queen and Talia al Ghul reformed the League into the League of Heroes. This was likely undone by the rebirth of the multiverse.
- With Lala as his 94th kill, Ishmael only needs to kill six more meta-humans. While Destiny has contracted him to kill Black Lighting, Lighting, Thunder and Wylde, there's a good chance Tobias is also a target. And with TC on Black Lighting's team, this would give Ishmael the remaining six targets he needs.
- However as of his final battle, it seemed that Looker was going to count as a target before Ishmael's death as well as Painkiller. Making them the actual final two targets. Thanks to Painkiller though, this wasn't achieved.
Behind the scenes[]
- In the DC comics, Ishmael is a member of the League of Assassins and an enemy of the Outsiders. He debuted in Batman and the Outsiders #1 (July, 2019).
- In the comics there is also another Ishmael that was an enemy of Black Lightning. He and his brother Queequeg were metahuman shapeshifters employed by Tobias Whale to commit assassinations.