| Cyborg 001 | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Full Name |
Ivan Wisky |
|
Designated No. |
001 |
|
Origin |
Russia |
|
Species |
Cyborg |
|
Abilities |
Telepathy |
|
First Issue |
Cyborg 009: Issue 0 |
Ivan Wisky, designated 001, is one of the nine protagonists of Cyborg 009.
Originating from Russia, he was turned into a cyborg by Black Ghost while still a baby. He has very powerful psychic abilities, which were the result of his father's experiments.
Appearance[]
Ivan, like all of his other incarnations, appears as a baby due to having his physical growth permanently stunted by cybernetic implants and his father's efforts to cure his illness. Because of this, he has remained dependent on his cyborg teammates for assistance.
He has short light gray hair fashioned in a bowl cut, and gray eyes. He is usually seen with a yellow pacifier in his mouth. Unlike the traditional red baby gown, Ivan's uniform is styled after a blanket sleeper most commonly worn by infants and young children.
As befitting the modern adaption of the character, Ivan is seen in a floating chair, or being carried by Dr. Gilmore as opposed to the usual bassinet or being carried by Francoise Arnoul in his previous incarnations.
Personality[]
Because of the brain-enhancing tests Ivan endured as a baby, he is smarter than a typical human, capable of normal speech despite being stuck in an infant's body. The fact that he lived an entire life as a test subject served as a main cause for rebelling against Black Ghost, as he did not want others to go through the same experiences. He serves as a source of wisdom for the cyborgs, providing them with much-needed information.
Interestingly, he shares no hostility towards his father Gamo for the experimentation he subjected him to prior. After sensing the guilt and regret the elder Wisky secretly felt during the cyborgs' recapture by Black Ghost, Ivan reveals to him that by enhancing his brain and giving him psychic powers, Gamo already "saved" his son from his terminal illness. This prompts his father to have a change of heart and betray Black Ghost.
History[]
Ivan Wisky was born in Russia with a severe terminal illness. Dr. Gamo Wisky, a brilliant scientist, tried everything in a desperate attempt to save his infant son. While well-intentioned, he went too far in his experiments and inadvertently stunted Ivan's physical growth.
Shortly after, he and his father were acquired by Black Ghost. While Gamo worked as a scientist under their employment, Ivan was subjected to even more experiments, resulting in his conversion into a cybernetic weapon. By this time, he grew tired of his life as a test subject and secretly conspired with Dr. Gilmore to make an escape plan.
With Gilmore's help, Ivan manages to gather seven other test subjects, people who were also captured and turned into cyborgs by Black Ghost. However, there was one person missing: Joe Shimamura. Knowing this, Ivan telepathically contacts the last cyborg, who is strapped to an experimentation table, telling him to "Wake up, 009. The world is waiting for you." This prompts Joe to escape his confines and travel to the surface world above.
Ivan is among the other cyborgs he rescued when he finally meets Joe in person. After the cyborgs revolt from their creators (due to Gilmore secretly freeing them from Black Ghost's programmed restraints), Ivan tells a doubtful Joe to listen to his heart and understand that he has the support of the other cyborgs.
During the escape, Ivan senses Sekar, the leader of Black Ghost, escaping and, realizing he has set the island they were trapped in to self-destruct, urges the cyborgs to leave immediately. The team manages to barely escape in a military helicopter, with injured cyborgs Chang Changku and Jet Link in tow. While they know that no place is safe with Sekar pursuing them, they are happy with the fact that they are free from Black Ghost's grip.
Later, while the 00 cyborgs recover in Dr. Gilmore's secret underground base in Southern America, Joe gets into an argument with Dr. Gilmore, furious that the former Black Ghost scientist had operated on them. Ivan comes to the doctor's defense, telling Joe his cybernetic transformation saved him from a terminal illness. The other 00 cyborgs recall how they ended up in Black Ghost's hands, but Joe cannot remember his past due to a microchip implanted in his brain. Dr. Gilmore removes it, but the rush of suppressed memories causes Joe to travel to Tokyo, in a foolish attempt to reclaim his past life.
Though Joe's friends are upset by his disappearance, Ivan reminds everyone that discovering Sekar's current plans is more important, as Joe needs to make his own mistakes. Later, Ivan aids Dr. Gilmore in removing Black Ghost's tracking devices from the 00 cyborgs. Suddenly Joe comes back heavily injured, with Francoise helping him. The 00 cyborgs learn from Joe that he had been attacked by the cyborg twins 0010 Alpha and Omega, which causes everyone to realize that Sekar must be creating a full-scale cyborg army.
Shortly after this, Ivan psychically detects the presence of 0013, who was sent to destroy the 00 cyborgs and capture Dr. Gilmore. 0013's shapeshifting abilities make him a difficult opponent, but thanks to Joe's quick thinking, the cyborg falls into a hole dug by Chang, killing him. Though they manage to get 0013's back tooth, they find that 0013's body was rigged and they barely escape the explosion alive.
Using 0013's tooth, the 00 cyborgs trace Sekar's current location to Russia. They plan to infiltrate his main headquarters and stop the Black Ghost leader, hoping to put an end to Sekar's ongoing cyborg project. Using his psychic powers and the information gathered by Jet during his space reconnaissance, Ivan spots three openings that will allow the 00 cyborgs to sneak in. While the others work on destroying Sekar's cyborg factory, Dr. Gilmore, Francoise, and Ivan move to save Gamo and try convert him to their side.
Though Sekar's factory is destroyed, he and his cyborg army defeat and capture the 00 cyborgs, including Dr. Gilmore. Gamo is ordered to completely erase their prisoners' memories, but Ivan senses the man's lingering guilt and reveals to his estranged father that his brain experiments "cured" his illness. Finally finding closure, Gamo betrays Sekar and frees the 00 cyborgs, allowing them to gain the upper hand. In retaliation, Sekar kills Gamo by Accelerating behind him and snapping his neck, and Ivan grieves his father's death.
Ivan later joins the other 00 cyborgs in helping Joe fight Sekar, using a combination of teamwork and their own special abilities. Sekar is subdued, but he flies off to space, vowing that the 00 cyborgs will lose as long as there is war. To prevent Sekar from escaping, Joe latches on to him, though he is taken to space as well, prompting Jet to go after him. Ivan, Dr. Gilmore, and the remaining 00 cyborgs are forced to watch as both Joe and Jet make their fiery descent back to Earth.
Ivan was absent during the search for Joe and Jet after they crash-landed from space, but after his 00 cyborg teammates were healed and repaired, Ivan is seen being held by Dr. Gilmore as everyone relaxes at their new home by the cliffside, undetectable by Black Ghost. The team gathers together when Joe appears, and they all gaze at the horizon as they vow to protect the world from Black Ghost.
Abilities[]
Like all of his incarnations, Ivan has powerful psychic abilities that awoke as a result of his father's experiments. He has telekinetic and telepathic abilities, with the addition of ESP. Because he is permanently stuck in his infant form, he primarily uses telepathy to properly speak, since his vocal chords are not properly developed.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- Ivan's backstory in the graphic novel is noticeably different in having Dr. Gilmore discovering his father experimenting on him, not Ivan's mother Erika as shown in previous depictions in the original manga and other forms of media.
- His surname was also slightly altered in spelling to be "Wisky", presumably to tone down the zobvious alcohol reference, although it is worth noting that some materials for the 2001 series also used this spelling so it may also be a romanization choice.
- Early promotional art by Marcus To depicted Ivan in a barefoot sleeper outfit, and as being able to levitate his own body with his psychic powers (without need for a walker).