| “ | I'm going to save the human race, Sara. Maybe you can help me. | „ |
| ~ Ivo offering Sara a position in his field of work. |
Anthony Ivo is the overarching antagonist in Season 2 of the TV series Arrow.
He is a scientist obsessed with finding the Mirakuru, an experimental serum capable of creating human weapons, and use it to "save" the human race. He is also responsible for Slade Wilson's descent into villainy after killing Shado.
He was portrayed by Dylan Neal, who also portrayed District Attorney Ray Sacks in Smallville.
Personality[]
| “ | Oliver: You freaking psychopath! Ivo: History will make that judgment. |
„ |
| ~ Oliver and Ivo |
It is reasonable to believe that Ivo was once a fine man who was enthusiastic about his career and adored his wife, Jessica. However, when she fell ill, Ivo became a vicious and obsessive man. He wanted to find Mirakuru, a Japanese super soldier medicine that offers fast healing, so he could save his wife. However, he was cold, brutal, amoral, and entirely heartless in pursuit of his aims; he had imprisoned numerous individuals and ruthlessly experimented on them for research.
Ivo's true cruelty wasn't revealed until he finally found the Mirakuru and made Oliver Queen choose between sparing Sara Lance or killing Shado in cold blood. He also forced the captain of the Amazo to shoot his captives so that they could remove the bullet and demonstrate their strength.
Ivo is an extremely cunning scientist who used his knowledge of Slade's love for Shado to persuade Oliver to accept responsibility for her death, which in turn provoked Slade to attack Oliver. Ivo is fairly predictable because Sara foresaw that he would use truth serum to compel Oliver to talk after he was taken prisoner on board the Amazo.
This prediction came true, and it put his men in danger in the boiler room. Despite the fact that he exhibited true concern for Sara Lance and prevented her from becoming one of his experimental experiments, he had little regard for his crew as seen by the fact that he shot the captain in anger over his repeated failures to save Ivo.
Biography[]
Season 2[]
In "League of Assassins", when Sara Lance awoke on the Amazo after almost drowning, she found herself in a cage. Anthony ordered "The Captain" to release her, and he took her back to his quarters. He informed her that he was a scientist who intended to "save the human race".
In "Keep Your Enemies Closer", quite a while later, after capturing Oliver Queen (who adopted the pseudonym "Tommy"), he interrogated him, explaining that he was looking for a sunken submarine containing a serum created by the Japanese army during World War II, Mirakuru.
After Sara tricked Oliver into confirming that his friends were alive, Anthony declared that Oliver would take them to Slade and Shado on Lian Yu, and then revealed that he was aware that his real name was actually Oliver.
In "State v. Queen", Ivo and his men took Oliver and Sara to land. They went to find Slade and Shado in their hideout, but when they couldn't find them, he ordered "The Captain" to blow the hideout up. He forced Oliver to take him to the grave of the Japanese soldiers that Oliver had stumbled on earlier, and when they arrived, he and his men searched for the hōzen, which Oliver had previously taken.
When they were unable to find it, Anthony grew angry and demanded that Oliver tell him where it was, having "The Captain" threaten to shoot Oliver's hand off. After Slade and Shado ambushed Anthony's group, he agreed to release Oliver. After the others escaped safely, Anthony shot an already-wounded Captain in the head for his failure to prevent Oliver's escape, and promoting the first mate of the Amazo to be the new captain.
In "The Scientist", Ivo and his crew followed Oliver, Shado, Sara and a wounded Slade to the submarine. After they injected Slade with a dose of raw Mirakuru, Ivo and his men burst in, holding the three of them at gunpoint.
In "Three Ghosts", Ivo took a defenseless Oliver, Shado and Sara to the surrounding forest. He forced Oliver to decide which one of the two women would be killed, threatening that if Oliver did not choose, he would kill both of them. When Oliver leaped to try and stop him, Ivo killed Shado. A Mirakuru-enhanced Slade then burst out of the forest and wiped out most of his men, forcing Ivo to flee.
In "Blast Radius", when Sara, Oliver and Slade all escaped Ivo, they set up camp for the night. Ivo contacted them using a walkie-talkie, telling Sara that he would ravage the whole island if it meant he could get the Mirakuru back. The group did not respond.
In "The Promise", it is revealed that Ivo's wife Jessica has developed severe mental illness; it was implied that he is researching Mirakuru in hopes of finding a cure for her. As part of his plan to take the Amazo, Oliver allowed himself to be captured and interrogated by Ivo.
After later being cornered by Oliver, Ivo lures him into discussing Shado's death so that a nearby Slade can overhear. Slade later captures Ivo after taking over the Amazo. After he ordered Ivo to reenact Shado's murder, he cuts off Ivo's right hand.
In "Deathstroke", he was left with Sara, Anatoly, and Thomas, along with Oliver by Slade.
In "The Man Under the Hood", Ivo is slowly dying from gangrene resulting from his amputated hand. He tells Sara and Oliver that he created a cure to counteract the effects of the Mirakuru; in return for the cure's location, he requests a quick death. They agreed, and Ivo told them that the cure was in the Amazo and gave them the key to it. Then Sara points a pistol at Ivo and was about to kill him, but Oliver stopped her and kills Ivo himself with two shots to the chest.
Appearances[]
Arrow[]
Season 2[]
- "League of Assassins"
- "Keep Your Enemies Closer"
- "State v. Queen"
- "The Scientist"
- "Three Ghosts"
- "Blast Radius" (voice only)
- "Blind Spot"
- "The Promise"
- "Deathstroke"
- "The Man Under the Hood"
Killed Victims[]
- Shado
Trivia[]
- In comics, Anthony Ivo, more commonly known as Professor Ivo, was a genius scientist and inventor that suffers from thanatophobia (fear of death), and a frequent enemy of the Justice League. Anthony Ivo's obsession with using the Mirakuru to save his wife and the human race is likely a reference to his comic counterpart's obsession with evading death.
- Ivo's ship, the Amazo, is a reference to his comic counterpart's most famous creation, Amazo; a synthetic android capable of duplicating the powers of all the Justice League members.
