—David Ishima[7]Well... Secret identities, right. You had one when we were seeing each other. It was a big part of why we--
History
_from_Spider-Woman_Vol_1_37_001.jpg){kind=link}
A young David Ishima working as 1 Yarbro Court's landlord
David Ishima lived in San Francisco and was a construction worker. His parents would have preferred him to be a white-collar professional like the rest of his family,[2] for example his older brother Adam,[4] a corporate lawyer,[3] but David preferred to work with his hands and, finding special beauty in steel work, he became a construction worker and became a crew boss on high steel,[2] working in the construction of skyscrapers.[8] He developed other manual skills as well in his free time, such as gardening or massage.[2] Ishima was the landlord of 1 Yarbro Court, a classic Queen Anne tower house in a nice neighborhood, and lived in the ground-floor flat of the same building, where he had a small garden.[2] The block, while in a good neighborhood, was reportedly haunted with ghosts,[2] which Ishima had never met. Ishima knew that the adjacent buildings were for sale and the tenants never stayed long, often moving elsewhere hastily.[1]
Los Angeles-based actress Lindsay McCabe found employment at the San Francisco Repertory Theater, which required her to move to San Francisco.[9] Before moving, she found a bargain to rent the top floor and attic of 1 Yarbro Court;[2] being too big a home for her alone, she convinced her friend Jessica Drew to move in together.[9] McCabe met Ishima before the move, and after the move, she introduced him to Drew during their housewarming party.[2] As soon as Drew and Ishima saw each other, they were immediately attracted to each other.[3] Ishima gifted Drew a bonsai; she noticed a spider in it and (since she was secretly the superhero Spider-Woman), she claimed to consider it a good omen. Ishima wanted to show Drew his garden, much to her satisfaction (although she did not meet McCabe's director Ben Disraeli that day because of that). Ishima told her about himself, noticed that Drew's shoulder was tense, and massaged it. After a brief, well-received flirtation, Drew heard a hyper-sonic scream and decided to deal with the emergency as Spider-Woman: she asked Ishima to bring her a glass of water, and as soon as he turned around, Drew disappeared. It's unclear what excuse Drew gave him afterwards,[10] but they began a satisfying relationship and Drew soon learned to read Ishima's emotions.[3] During the party, Drew left with some newcomers (secretly the superheroes X-Men). Ishima found the situation unusual and asked McCabe if he should worry about Drew. McCabe told her that Drew was a mature-enough adult who knew how to take care of herself and needed her own space, but McCabe found it charming that Ishima cared about Drew—just like McCabe did herself [10].
The murder of Tim Walsh[]
Ishima began working on the construction of the 45-floor skyscraper Carillon Towers, and became friends with the project's site boss Tim Walsh, even visiting Walsh's house in Berkeley and meeting his wife Cynthia. The Carillon Towers was corrupt a pet project for General Nguyen Ngoc Coy, would-be crime czar of San Francisco, and included illegal modifications to the design for Coy's purposes, including a secret inner core with its headquarters. Walsh's job included preventing building inspectors from learning about these issues. When Ishima noticed inconsistencies in the building and things he could not understand, he asked Walsh about that, but Walsh refused to heed, and when Ishima insisted, Walsh fired him, saying he was doing it for Ishima's sake, as Ishima could get hurt if he stayed in the project. The argument between Ishima and Walsh was public and with witnesses. However, Coy's people then discovered that Walsh was secretly reporting to the FBI, and they murdered Walsh on the construction site that same night. SFPD Homicide Detective Sabrina Morell, tracking the argument between Ishima and Walsh, went to Ishima's house to ask Ishima to identify identified the body. At that moment, before dawn, Ishima was already awake and received a visit from Drew, who had just woken up after a nightmare and, seeing light in Ishima's house, decided to seek his company. Morell arrived when Drew and Ishima were together; Ishima agreed to accompany Morell, but Drew insisted on going with them. Drew, knowing Ishima, saw that he was calm and therefore assumed correctly that he was innocent; but Drew also saw that Morell was serious against Ishima, although Ishima was not noticing that. Morell took them to the construction site, Ishima identified the body as Walsh's and told Morell what had happened; but, when Morell asked where Ishima had been during the night, Drew stopped Ishima from speaking without an attorney present. Drew revealed to Ishima and Morell that she had gotten a private investigator's license, and decided to help Ishima; Morell let them go.[3]
,_Jessica_Drew_(Earth-616),_Sabrina_Morrel_(Earth-616),_San_Francisco_from_Spider-Woman_Vol_1_39_001.jpg){kind=link}
Ishima when investigated during the Walsh case
Ishima contacted his brother, who recommended his colleague John DeLuca, an expert in criminal law. Ishima and Drew met with DeLuca in DeLuca's office; DeLuca explained that, although the evidence was circumstantial, Morell could possibly get a formal accusation. Ishima, preferring to work solo on the matter so as not to tarnish Walsh's memory or endanger anyone else, refused to reveal where he had been on the night in question, and left the office to go see Walsh's widow and try to get the copy of the building's blueprints that Walsh kept at home. Drew decided to follow him discreetly, and DeLuca agreed to work with Drew to help Ishima even if Ishima did not want them to. However, Mrs. Walsh refused to collaborate with Ishima, accusing him of being the murderer of her husband - in reality, Mrs. Walsh was involved in the crimes and warned the real killers, fearing Ishima would make her lose her part of the profits. Ishima did not hear this, but Drew did. Back in San Francisco, Ishima saw Drew following him and tried to scare her away, even though it cost him their relationship. After a warrant was issued for Ishima's arrest, Morell approached him and attempted to recruit him for the Dragon Clan, a secret vigilante society in San Francisco with ties to the Yakuza; but he rejected her, not knowing that Drew was still spying on them.[3]
Coy turned to the disguised assassin Death-Stroke and his mercenaries, the Terminators, who kidnapped Ishima and Drew in a car, taking them to the top floor of the building under construction; their goal was to find out whether Ishima had information incriminating them, and then kill them both by throwing them from the top floor, 600 feet from the ground. Drew used her powers to distract them with a flash of light, and then jumped into the void to free herself, reappearing shortly after as Spider-Woman - but Ishima believed that Death-Stroke had killed her. Death-Stroke then knocked Ishima over, but Spider-Woman rescued him, hovering over the ground; Spider-Woman identified herself as Drew's associate, and when Ishima asked about Drew, Spider-Woman told him that Drew was safe. When the Terminators noticed that they could not see the corpses, they pursued them, but Spider-Woman defeated several of them. Although Ishima suckerpunched one of them, Spider-Woman noted that it had been pure luck and that he was in danger. Spider-Woman defeated Death-Stroke, and when the police arrived, they arrested Death-Stroke, the Terminators, and Ishima. Spider-Woman promised to prove Ishima's innocence, and over the next few days, Drew worked with DeLuca and, to their surprise, Morell, to that end. In a pre-trial at San Francisco City Hall, Judge Elizabeth Lynn officially dismissed all charges against Ishima, accepting the D.A.'s motion on it. He immediately apologized to Drew, who demanded a celebration such as a dinner in a North Beach Italian restaurant,[3] also officially starting an official romance[11] although initially Drew felt only that she cared for him.[12] Before leaving City Hall, Morell reminded Ishima of his offer to join the Dragon Clan, but he insisted on his rejection.[3][12]
Romance with Jessica Drew[]
At the area's Camelot Fair, Ishima decided to dress up as Sir Lancelot to match the surroundings; Drew only learned this detail on the day of the fair, when McCabe told her while driving her there. However, once at the Fair, Drew had strange visions in which she herself transformed into Morgan Le Fay, living in a real-life Camelot. Worried about Ishima and McCabe, she decided to look for them, and found Ishima convinced that he was the real Lancelot, in love with Queen Gwynevere (who was McCabe). This was a ruse by the real Le Fay, who wanted to make her enemy Drew see her motivations and convince her to collaborate in her plans. Drew bested Le Fay, and the Fair was restored to normal.[13]
After that, Ishima's brother recommended his student Pamela Kramer to hire Drew as a private investigator to find her missing father Michael. Quickly seeing that Kramer was in danger, Drew hid her in her house with McCabe,[4] and asked her sometimes-ally Lieutenant Morell to reinforce the defense. Following a predefined plan, McCabe was ready to, in the event of an attack, take Kramer to Ishima's unlocked flat so that Kramer could call the police from there, and then McCabe would throw off the attackers by visibly running towards the roof[14] (During this time, Ishima often did double shifts[15] and night shifts, which rarely coincided with Drew).[16] Sure enough, Kramer was attacked by the villainess Viper, who defeated Morell and then fell into McCabe's trick: Viper did not find Kramer, but left McCabe so badly injured that the latter needed hospitalization.[14] As Spider-Woman, Drew discovered where Viper's lair was and, after a tough fight, day, he went to visit Ishima. Ishima was also tired because she had worked a double shift that day, but he greeted Drew warmly, asked about McCabe (who was out of danger but still in the hospital) and offered to make tea for Drew. Drew then asked Ishima to lend her his motorcycle to go after the woman who had attacked McCabe. Ishima begrudgingly accepted, fearing that Drew would die in the operation but also knowing that he would not be able to change her mind. He also lent her leather clothing for the trip, told her that he loved her, and cried when she left.[15]
Drew survived that encounter triumphant[15] (and bought her own motorcycle shortly after)[8] and, after a strange adventure in which she was hired by the Impossible Man to find his missing wife, Drew insisted on having a long-postponed dinner with Ishima, cooking sushi for him. Ishima was once again elegant and polite, exceeding Drew's romantic expectations and proposing to skip the dinner part. The Impossible Man interrupted them on the phone to ask Drew for help again, saying that his wife had disappeared again; but Drew dismissed the urgency, suggesting that she could return within hours, and unplugged the phone to focus on spending time with Ishima.[16]
After several weeks of ridiculously-long work days, Ishima showed up at Drew's doorstep with a picnic basket and a day-long plan at Stinson Beach. During a sunset swim, however, Drew and Ishima were attacked by at least five professional hit men hired to kill Drew. Drew beat three of them; the fourth one took Ishima hostage and threatened to kill him with a knife. Knowing that the hit man intended to kill them both, Drew discreetly used his powers to paralyze the attacker with a venom blast. On the shore, Lieutenant Morell helped Drew against the hit men and explained to him what she had discovered; but both Drew and Ishima had suffered injuries and fell unconscious. Morell took Ishima to his home and left him in the care of McCabe, but took Drew for an operation related to that attack.[8]
Spider-Woman's Identity and Death[]
Drew felt that his relationship with Ishima had advanced to a point where they both needed more than casual encounters, even if it meant sacrificing the independence they valued and making themselves vulnerable.[8] He knew she was keeping secrets, and he was willing to respect them.[17] However, it was not that easy for her: During a work trip to Los Angeles with McCabe (who knew Drew's secret identity as Spider-Woman), Drew confessed that she was considering revealing her identity to Ishima as well, because hiding it from someone so close was too hard for her.[18] After a casual phone call from Los Angeles,[19] when she returned home, she met up with Ishima and, although he did not like her new haircut, sooner than later they were enjoying their romance. After a work outing, Drew returned home, told Ishima about her case looking for a pyromaniac runaway teenager, and revealed that she was Spider-Woman. He initially did not believe her revelation (seeing her dressed as Spider-Woman, he believed she had bought a costume) and was taken aback.[17] At that point they had only been a couple for a few months.[20]
After a mission in which Spider-Woman rescued multiple imprisoned superhumans, she invited several of them (Daddy Longlegs, the Gypsy Moth, Poltergeist who was the runaway she was looking for, Tigra, the Shroud and the Werewolf by Night) to her home in Yarbro Court to regroup and decide what to do. McCabe arranged an impromptu party, and Ishima was invited. He was clearly shocked at his girlfriend's visitors,[21] unable to accept her life.[21][20] Drew then had a vision while going to the bathroom to clean up, and Ishima joked that if there was a ghost in the bathroom, Drew could certainly fraternize with him.[21] Ishima insisted that Drew accompany him to the yard,[21][20] to break up with her.[21][20][6] He explained his decision by saying that he was looking for a woman who was more normal than she was, and he seemed intimidated by the appearance of the guests,[21] and admittedly not feeling comfortable dating a costumed superheroine now that he knew about her secret identity.[6]
,_Jack_Russell_(Earth-616),_Jessica_Drew_(Earth-616),_Lindsay_McCabe_(Earth-616),_Maximillian_Coleridge_(Earth-616),_Michael_Silk_(Earth-616),_Morgan_Le_Fay_(Earth-616),_Sybil_Dvorak_(Earth-616)_from.jpg){kind=link}
Ishima and others of Spider-Woman's allies and friends' spirits are summoned by Morgan Le Fay
At that moment, however, Ishima twitched and his body began to glow because he became possessed by the ghost of the magician Magnus, Drew's former mentor. Magnus needed a host to speak to Drew and explain that they had to deal immediately with the threat of Morgan Le Fey, for which they must travel to Le Fey's castle in the 6th century and confront Le Fey there. During that confrontation, Le Fey claimed to have captured the souls of Drew's friends, including Ishima and McCabe, in a sphere, and then used these spirits to attack her. The heroine believed that it was an illusion, and that Ishima was at home with the rest of her friends; but she was reluctant to use her power for fear of harming them. She eventually held them off with a diffuse venom blast, and later, when Le Fay was destroyed, Magnus told her that the spirits of Ishima and the others had returned to their rightful bodies, disturbed but unharmed. Alas, Le Fay was up to one last trick, and when Drew attempted to return to her own body, she discovered that Le Fay had killed it. Drew's spirit left the world of the living with Magnus and he, at her request, cast a spell so that everyone who had ever met her, including Ishima, would forget her.[21]
Ishima, no longer possessed by Magnus, re-entered the house and met with McCabe, who asked him about Drew. Ishima had trouble remembering what had happened: He remembered talking to Drew, but from the moment he had been possessed, everything had become blurry, and he could not remember anything else. Then Magnus's spell affected them, and none of the rescued superhumans even remembered how they had gotten to that building. The Shroud, Drew's former ally, went out into the yard, found Drew's body, and remembered her; his screams attracted McCabe, Tigra and Poltergeist, and then Ishima, who upon seeing her, also remembered her: Magnus's magic had failed. Tigra and the Shroud attempted to keep Drew's body alive while Ishima and the others called for an ambulance. Drew arrived at St. Anthony's Hospital, being in a coma; Ishima blamed himself for what had happened, although Tigra and the Shroud told him that Drew had clearly been attacked.[20] Tigra, having contact with the superheroes Avengers, asked them for help.[20] Drew was resurrected from the dead, although she had lost some of her superpowers, so she decided to give up her secret identity and remain just a private investigator.[22]
,_Katherine_Pryde_(Earth-616),_Lindsay_McCabe_(Earth-616),_Ororo_Munroe_(Earth-616),_1_Yarbro_Court_from_Uncanny_X-Men_Vol_1_206.png){kind=link}
Ishima takes Kitty Pryde on a date
Since Drew had stopped being Spider-Woman, Ishima continued dating her, although no longer exclusively. When Drew's superhuman friends X-Men bumped into her home, Ishima had no problem with it as a landlord or boyfriend; and, since Drew was often busy working, when Ishima got tickets for Lila Cheney's gig at the Chi Chi Club, he invited X-Woman Kitty Pryde. Ishima picked up Pryde and politely promised X-Men's leader Storm that he would bring Pryde home reasonably soon and unscathed; McCabe vouched for Ishima, who had always behaved like a gentleman. Sure enough, Ishima gave Pryde an excellent evening and returned her home; but on the way back, the X-Men were attacked by the Freedom Force; Force's Avalanche altered the shape of the street beneath Ishima and Pryde's feet. Pryde saved Ishima with her powers and, although Ishima offered to help, Pryde insisted that, being human, the best thing Ishima could do is not get in the way. Ishima met up with Drew and McCabe at their house; however, Drew insisted on confronting the Force, bypassing Ishima. After the Force withdrew, Ishima stayed at home with Drew and McCabe,[1] but soon after the X-Men left to find another hideout in San Francisco.[23] Drew and McCabe eventually moved as well, leaving San Francisco behind,[24] so she stopped being in contact with Ishima.[25]
Relaunch Recovery Center and new encounter with Spider-Woman[]
Over the next few years, there were several changes in Ishima's life. At some point, he sold the apartment building at 1 Yarbro Court and founded Relaunch Recovery Center in another part of the city,[6] where he attempted to give second chances to those who might otherwise struggle to get them.[5] Ishima was especially committed to helping his community.[6] He also got married,[5] had several daughters,[6] and later divorced.[5] Ishima kept in touch with his daughters,[6] making sure they did not use social media,[7] and telling them stories about "the strong lady from daddy's past," Spider-Woman. Ishima also learned about Spider-Woman by reading about her online, and put an earring in his left ear. All of these events could have taken place in a different order.[6]
Three years after their divorce,[5] Echidna Capital Management, a venture capital company, began buying up public housing in various areas, attempting to obtain, among others, the land where Relaunch was located. Ishima and other San Franciscans organized demonstrations, but Echidna, with its buildings specially protected by well-armed guards, continued its activity.[6] Ishima also learned of a battle between superhumans in the city in which the villain Quicksand, in the form of a sandstorm, attacked the city causing damage in a rampage, until she was stopped by some young rookie superheroes, the Assembly; The attack was close enough to Relaunch that Ishima had to spend a lot of time cleaning his place of sand.[7]
A few weeks later,[7] Ishima participated in a protest against Echidna, in which Echidna's guards released tear gas. Spider-Woman, who had returned to San Francisco, tried to defend the citizens including an elderly woman; she then noticed Ishima and left with him before Echidna became even more aggressive. Ishima (who Spider-Woman found particularly attractive despite the years) quickly explained to Spider-Woman some changes in his life, such as that he now owned a recovery center and had daughters[6] (although, in his haste, he did not tell her that he was divorced and therefore available for a romance with Spider-Woman).[5] Ishima gave his card to Spider-Woman,[6] and a few days later she called him for information. The meeting was pleasant as there was still mutual attraction and familiarity, and Ishima was helpful even though being a private detective's informant was something he did not usually do. Thanks in part to the leads he gave her, Spider-Woman discovered that the Assembly was working for Echidna.[7] Spider-Woman rescued the Assembly and several other supervillains being held by Echidna and her sponsor, Hydra, and brought at least one, Angar the Screamer, and several other rescued people to Relaunch, asking Ishima to take them in. (Some of the other rescued people may have been Icemaster, Quicksand, and Zzzax.) Ishima welcomed them, stressing the importance of second chances, and regretted not having a second chance himself by courting Spider-Woman; only then did he mention that he was divorced. He kissed Spider-Woman's cheek, unaware that Assembly's Liberty, by then Spider-Woman's ally, was spying on them.[5]Personality
David Ishima chose a blue-collar career against his parents' wishes because he enjoyed working with his hands.[2] He was a dedicated workaholic, both in his profession[15][8] and in his free time; he liked to always be busy, whether in chores[17] or in his personal life, planning and executing activities with his partner.[8] With women, Ishima was respectful,[17][1] while making sure that his partner enjoyed the time he spent with him.[2][1] He was extraordinarily thoughtful and kind,[3][16] able to cry without being ashamed,[15] while seeking to advance his relationships when appropriate,[8] but at a fast pace.[20] He was, however, looking for a relationship with a normal woman, and resisted the idea of dating a superhuman like Spider-Woman. Although he once felt intimidated by seeing his building full of exotic superhumans and called them freaks,[21] some time later he had no problem with the X-Men being in his building and even invited Kitty Pryde on a date.[1]
David Ishima was a brave man, willing to face even violent enemies.[3][1] However, his combat training was limited, which could make him a liability in such a situation.[3][15][1]Attributes
Powers
David Ishima did not have any superpower.[1]
Abilities
Paraphernalia
Transportation
Trivia
- The first time Ishima saw Spider-Woman in costume, he nicknamed her Weblady - but she asked him to not call her that.[3] That was the nickname that her previous partner, Scotty McDowell, had used for her.[26][27]
- Ishima liked Jessica Drew's hair loose[16] and disliked her shorter haircut.[8]
- Sabrina Morell wanted to recruit Ishima for the Dragon Clan, as she did "hate to see good talent go to waste."[3] It's unclear what talent in particular Ishima had that Morell was interested in.
- When retelling the events leading to Drew's death, Tigra said that Ishima had discovered Drew's secret identity as Spider-Woman.[20] Really, Drew had revealed it to Ishima,[17] but Tigra may have misunderstood this detail.
- Ishima once said "Scout's honor",[1] a line that may suggest that he had been a member of the Boy Scouts - or, he may have said it ironically. Being a very earnest fellow, Ishima probably would not have used such an oath if he had not been a member; but still, there is no solid proof of him having been a boy scout.
See Also
- 14 appearance(s) of David Ishima (Earth-616)
- 1 minor appearance(s) of David Ishima (Earth-616)
- 4 mention(s) of David Ishima (Earth-616)
- 11 image(s) of David Ishima (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Uncanny X-Men #206
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 Spider-Woman #37
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 Spider-Woman #39
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Spider-Woman #42
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Spider-Woman (Vol. 8) #10
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 Spider-Woman (Vol. 8) #7
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Spider-Woman (Vol. 8) #8
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 Spider-Woman #46
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Spider-Woman #35
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Spider-Woman #38
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Avengers 2005 #1 ; Spider-Woman (Drew)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Spider-Woman #40
- ↑ Spider-Woman #41
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Spider-Woman #43
- ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 Spider-Woman #44
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Spider-Woman #45
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Spider-Woman #49
- ↑ Spider-Woman #47
- ↑ Spider-Woman #48
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 20.7 Avengers #240
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 21.8 Spider-Woman #50
- ↑ Avengers #241
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #202
- ↑ Wolverine (Vol. 2) #11
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #8 ; Spider-Woman I
- ↑ Spider-Woman #21
- ↑ Spider-Woman #34