"I am happy for the company, especially the company of Americans. My country is a charming one, but it is backwards, always rejecting progress as corrupt. It is my most cherished dream to lead my people into the 21st century."
Princess Ilana Rostovic was the acting monarch of Pokolistan. While presenting herself as a kind-hearted person, she was secretly a power-hungry, sadistic, and narcissistic person with plans of world domination, subsequently becoming a target of the sorceress Circe and the Sons of Themyscira, who successfully predicted her future as a ruthless conqueror. Considering Pokolistan's alliance with the United States to be very valuable, A.R.G.U.S. sent the Creature Commandos, commanded by Rick Flag, Sr., to protect her. During the crisis, Rostovic seduced Flag, Sr. to manipulate him.
After successfully stopping Circe, Rostovic failed in her attempts to convince Flag, Sr. to kill the sorceress. To ensure that her plans were not foiled after Circe shared her premonition with A.R.G.U.S., Rostovic sent Clayface to impersonate Professor Aisla MacPherson in order to fake her innocence and avoid being assassinated by the reassembled Commandos. However, she was assassinated anyway by the Bride to avenge Nina Mazursky, who was killed in cold blood by Rostovic.
Ilana Rostovic was born as the royal crown Princess of the European nation of Pokolistan. As her mother began to lose her mental faculties, the responsibilities of ruling Pokolistan fell on Ilana. However, Rostovic grew frustrated with the country's old ways, hoping to move her nation forward into the 21st century when she became queen. She also began negotiating with the United States, planning to sell access to oil deposits in exchange for an alliance with the nation.[2] Rostovic began practicing the routine of swimming in the lake in her yard every morning.[4]
Despite putting on a charming image in public, Rostovic was actually narcissistic, power-hungry, sadistic individual, seeking to conquer the world, and cause chaos and destruction in the process. As a result, she became the target of the sorceress Circe and the Sons of Themyscira, who were able to forecast her ultimate fate as a ruthless conqueror. Following the incidents in Pokolistan caused by Circe, who threatened to defeat her, Rostovic called upon the help of the the American government agency A.R.G.U.S., led by Amanda Waller, who sent a task force to protect her. Rostovic planned to seduce their leader, Rick Flag, Sr., to manipulate him into killing Circe but also to unknowingly warn her of an assassination attempt in case her plan failed and her schemes were revealed.[4]
Once the team arrived at the castle, Rostovic approached them to greet them while Flag Sr. looked on in admiration. Rostovic mentioned that Flag's middle name was Bill, which sparked curiosity amongst Bride and Nina Mazursky. Flag then bowed to greet Rostovic, but Alexi told him that his greeting was reckless by Pokolistan standards and warned him that they should be killed. The guards pointed their guns at Flag, alerting the team, only for Alexi to start laughing and reveal it was a joke, Rostovic then stopped Alexi, inviting the team to a banquet.
The team was led to a banquet of roast chicken at a table and ate the food heartily, leading Flag to apologize to Rostovic for his manners. Rostovic told Flag to refer to her by her first name and the two toasted, calming Flag down by telling him that his manners did not bother her and that she enjoyed seeing her friends. Hearing the Queen snore, Rostovic introduced her to Flag and told her that she was unofficially taking care of the kingdom as her mother was no longer able to.[2]
"Listen, Ilana... I just... I don't think this is exactly ethical. I'm here to protect you." "To protect me from loneliness? From lack of passion? From Pokolistani men who have never seen the world, have no clue how to treat a woman, and who can't see me as a human being I am behind the veil of royalty?"
At dusk, the team went out into the courtyard, where Rostovic played a game of toss a bone with Weasel. Rostovic then sat down to talk with Flag, with Flag expressing his desire for the team not to be a nuisance, as their goal was to keep her safe. Rostovic reassured Flag, stating that she enjoyed the company. Flag then alluded to Weasel's company, to which Rostovic asked him why he was imprisoned. Flag explained that he had supposedly killed twenty-seven children but had not shown any violent tendencies since then and told him not to worry.
Rostovic then expressed her musical taste in rock and roll, making Flag laugh, and spoke of how Pokolistan's culture was backward and that she wanted to change it to align more with 21st century Western culture. When Rostovic asked him if he was married, he replied that he used to be, but he didn't like it, talking about his military service and the death of his son, and Rostovic expressed her condolences. Flag assured her that her son would have gotten along very well with her, but Rostovic began to flirt with him, inviting him to accompany him to her bedroom.
Going up to a room, Rostovic showed Flag his closet which she found beautiful, confusing Flag, who did not understand what she wanted to show him. Rostovic then stripped in front of Flag, which made him nervous as he avoided looking at her. Flag tried to get away from her, saying that it was unethical to have sex with her. However, Rostovic pushed Flag onto the bed and continued to flirt with him, but feeling uncomfortable, Flag got out of bed and sad that he did not think it was appropriate, saying that they would form a plan the next morning, and leaving G.I. Robot to guard the door.
At night, Rostovic went to sleep, but was quickly awakened by the noises caused by Rick Flag Sr.'s confrontation with Doctor Phosphorus in the kitchen, and went to find out what happened, only to find Flag threatening Phosphorus with the detonator, drawing her bewildered attention, which led to Flag restraining himself and scolding Phosphorus.[2] Rostovic took Flag to the bathroom to treat his burns, where Flag angrily stared at Phosphorus, G.I. Robot, and Weasel, who were watching from the doorway, threatening them with the Nano-Bomb Remote Detonator, as Rostovic closed the door.[5]
Intimate Encounter with Flag Sr.[]
"Ilana, I already told you, it's just not ethical for us to..." "Don't. Do not treat me like a child, Richard. Don't you know I'm soon to be the queen of this country, and I get what I... want?"
While healing him, Rostovic asked what the detonator did, and found the treatment given to the Creature Commandos to be cruel. Rostovic then asked Flag to take off his shirt to clean his wounds, speaking of how obedient the team was, and Flag promised her that he would keep her safe, surprising Rostovic for his kindness. Rostovic began to ask him about his injuries, touching him and making him uncomfortable as he tried to reject her. Rostovic continued to seduce him, then kiss him and encourage him to have sex with her, stripping as the team listened to the moans from the door. Once they finished having sex, the team alerted Flag that the Bride of Frankenstein and Nina Mazursky had left Poko Castle, with Flag leaving Rostovic to save them.[5]
The next day, Rostovic was sleeping in her room until she was awakened by a royal guard who desperately warned her that they were under attack, grabbing her hand as he urged her to escape, promising to get her to safety. However, as soon as the guard crossed the door, he was massacred by a missile from the Sons of Themyscira, bloodying Rostovic, who perplexedly looked at the guard's arm holding her, escaping when she saw that they had found her.
As she ran down the stairs, she witnessed from a balcony the battle between the Sons of Themyscira and the Amethyst Knights, running again when she saw that the pursuers were catching up with her, but ended up colliding with two assassins. One of the grabbed her, lifted her up over his shoulder, and hit her buttocks. When they other assassin said to kill her as they were ordered to, he alludes to wanting to rape her. Upon hearing this, Rostovic rushed to scratch the thug's face, managing to free herself.
Rostovic kills a thug
Rostovic ran desperately seeing how the stalkers were chasing her, reaching a room where she managed to close the door with the lock just before the thugs caught her, getting scared when she heard them banging on the door loudly. Quickly, Rostovic ran to the closet where she kept a safe with a flintlock pistol, entering the code to open it, then the stalkers managed to knock down the door and one of them grabbed her hair to hold her back, but she grabbed the pistol and shot him in the mouth, running to open the window, shooting a thug in the chest who tried to approach her.
Rostovic was then surprised by Circe, who quickly launched an explosion at her to knock her down, and when she tried to get up, Circe used her powers to levitate her and slam her into the wardrobe, a weakened Rostovic begged for mercy from Circe, promising to give her whatever she wanted, but Circe only wanted to kill her, preparing to cast a spell on her. However, Rostovic witnessed Weasel enter the room and push Circe out the window, savagely biting her before Doctor Phosphorus burned her in agony, ultimately defeating her.[6]
With Circe defeated, Rostovic met up with Rick Flag, Sr., sharing a kiss on the rooftop, asking him if he would see her again, but Flag said that he should go back to Belle Reve to find out what was going on with Circe. Rostovic suggested just shooting her, mispronouncing bang, which made Flag laugh, who told her that killing people was not the American way, although Rostovic reminded him that the internet thought otherwise, and expressed her feelings to Flag, telling him that she was in love with him, but Flag had to leave.[7]
"I saw Clayface on the tapes. First, you seduced Flag to get him on your side. Then after we captured Circe, you suggested we kill her. That would have taken care of everything. But Flag, despite him being an old rube hung up on your charms, refused. So you sent one of your knights to spy on us. He must have seen McPherson visit Waller. Someone you'd know would back up Circe's story. So your only choice was to get your friend, Clayface, to make it look like she wasn't who she was. Even though she was who she was when she and Waller spoke."
After failing to manipulate Rick Flag, Sr. into killing Circe and concerned that she might expose her scheme, Rostovic sent Sergei to spy on the task force at Belle Reve Correctional Center, who witnessed the arrival of Professor Aisla MacPherson, who confirmed Circe's clairvoyant abilities and successfully convinced Amanda Waller of Rostovic's true nature. Rostovic then hired Clayface to assassinate Pr. Aisla MacPherson, who had to make it seem as though he was hired by Circe to lead Waller into killing Rostovic. In order to further conceal her role in the scheme, Rostovic planned to trick Flag into thinking Clayface was guiding them astray, since she expected him to suspect the MacPherson he met was a phony.[4]
Against the Creature Commandos[]
Rostovic discovers that Task Force M was sent to kill her
"It is tragic, Sergei. They are being misled by their own government. But we have no choice. You must find them. And you must kill them all.[8]"
Rostovic was soon informed that Task Force M was returning to Pokolistan to protect her after A.R.G.U.S. detected another threat to her safety, with Alexi coming to pick them up. While having a banquet lunch, one of her butlers answered a call asking to speak to Rostovic, hearing the voice of Rick Flag, Sr., so Rostovic ran to pick up the phone, pretending to be shocked when he asked to leave the castle because the Creature Commandos were on their way to kill her. Rostovic pretended to ask for an explanation but Eric Frankenstein interrupted Flag, and as they had no time, Flag demanded only to leave the castle, before being forced to hang up.
Upon discovering Task Force M's intentions, the Amethyst Knights ambushed them, culminating in the team fleeing. Rostovic was left worried waiting for information, until Sergei arrived to warn her of the situation and stated that he did not believe they posed a danger on their own. Rostovic saw Task Force M's betrayal as tragic as they were being deceived by their own government, but as they had no other choice, Rostovic ruthlessly ordered Sergei to kill the team as soon as they were found, which Sergei was commited to do.[3]
At night, the Amethyst Knights gathered in the castle ready to resist the attack of the Creature Commandos and defend the Princess. As Rostovic walked with her cell phone in her hand, her right-hand man Sergei told her that it seemed strange that her former allies were trying to kill her and she said that they were being tricked by Circe. Sergei suggested Rostovic to hide in the bunker, but a revenge-hungry Rostovic insisted on killing the team as soon as they were found. During the next morning, Rostovic witnessed from the balcony her army prepared in rows to protect her.[9]
In the morning, Rostovic went out into the courtyard to swim in her private lake, passing by her army of Amethyst Knights who were standing in line, however Sergei advised her not to go swimming, but Rostovic decided to swim anyway as she felt safe, considering not swimming was a bad example for her people, which made her seem strange to Sergei as it was only her and the guards there, and Rostovic proceeded to climb the stairs to climb onto the stone and jump into the lake to swim back up while the guards stood guard.
Unbeknownst to her, the Commandos reached Poko Castle, planning to ambush Rostovic, convincing Nina Mazursky to dive into the lake and kill her, but this failed as Weasel, suffering a PTSD episode, warned Rostovic of Nina Mazursky's ambush, looking down and noticing the threat, and when Nina tried to stab her, she managed to dodge it by pushing Nina into the depth. Despite Nina's efforts to stab her, Rostovic blocked her face, managing to snatch the knife from her and began stabbing her several times in cold blood, killing her, and shocking the Commandos. Rostovic slowly emerged from the water, covered in Nina's blood and looking perturbed, while Amanda Waller contacted Bride to report that the mission was aborted.[4]
"I want you to know I'm not going to kill you because you're going to cause World War III. And I'm not doing it to save the world. After all, what has this ball of dirt ever done for me? No. Ilana, I'm killing you because you took the life of the only friend I have. And the only one of us with an ounce of kindness in her veins."
After stopping the Creature Commandos, the Amethyst Knights congratulated Weasel for saving Rostovic's life, calling him a hero and promising to build a monument in his honor. Rostovic met with the Bride of Frankenstein in a hallway and made her enter her office, telling her that she understood why they tried to kill her, trying to manipulate her into thinking that they were misled by Circe into believing they were saving the world by doing so. Rostovic then said that she didn't held any grudges, and told the Bride that Circe was probably the one who truly wanted to destroy the world, only for the Bride to say that she didn't think Circe was lying about Rostovic's future as a ruthless conqueror.
Rostovic puts on a serious demeanor
Rostovic laughed it off as a joke, calling the Bride a "very funny monster" while opening a drawer under her table, revealing her hidden flintlock pistol as she pretended to look at some papers, readying herself for confrontation. When Rostovic asked the Bride about what she was talking about, the Bride then proceeded to recall seeing Clayface on the castle's security tapes, which made Rostovic's smile disappear from her face as she put on a more serious demeanor.
Rostovic is shot and killed by the Bride
After the Bride revealed that she had figured out her plan of seducing Rick Flag, Sr. and hiring Clayface in order to make them distrust the validity of Circe's premonition, Rostovic told her that none of that made any sense, to no avail, as the Bride proceded to describe her as being exactly as Circe predicted: a power-hungry, sadistic, and narcissistic individual who wanted to cause World War III and destroy the world. The Bride then revealed that she would be killing Rostovic not to save the world from that fate, but to avenge her only friend, Nina Mazursky, who according to her was the only one of them who had an ounce of kindness in her veins. Finding herself trapped and with her schemes revealed, Rostovic then tried to kill the Bride with her hidden pistol, only for the Bride to shoot her first in the forehead, killing the Princess, avenging Nina and averting the dark future.[4]
Personality[]
"You were who Circe said you were all along. A power mad, sadistic, narcissistic, Disney princess who wants to destroy the world."
On the surface, Rostovic appeared to be a kind, friendly and caring young woman. Despite being the Princess of an isolated country that puts importance in keeping the old ways, she was shown to be quite open-minded and modern, starting negotiations with the United States to become allies. She also didn't have prejudices, happily welcoming the Creature Commandos and considering them guests of honor, even being willing to be friends with them, despite most of them being criminals and not humans.
She was also quite flirtatious and shameless, seducing Rick Flag, Sr. undressing herself in front of him despite that he's a middle-age man and went to protect her and getting involved with him could be perceived as unprofessional. Rostovic mentioned to Rick Flag, Sr. that all her life she had been overprotected and treated like a child but since she was about to become the ruler of Pokolistan she refused to let others, specially men, treat her like that. Ilana took her role as Princess and future heir seriously. When Circe went to attack her palace, she pleaded with her being willing to give her anything she wanted if she stopped her attack and killing her subordinates.
During her assassination attempt by the Creature Commandos, Rostovic decided to go for her morning swim, despite the fact that it would give the task force the perfect opportunity to kill her. When questioned by Sergei about the prudence of following her routine although it would put her in unnecessary danger, Rostovic answered that she had to make an example for her people and not cower in fear, as she was surrounded by Amethyst Knights protecting her; demonstrating the value she had for her people and her desire to push her country as a leader.
It is later revealed that Ilana was actually very cunning, machiavellian and manipulative: intentionally seducing Rick to get him on her side, sending her agents to follow the Commandos back to America, and setting up Clayface to make it seem that Circe was lying about her true nature. All in order to accomplish her objetive to achieve world domination. Ilana was also apathetic, as she killed Nina Mazursky in cold blood, with no emotion in her eyes, and later is seen perfectly normal, unaffected by the fact she had killed someone. When she's confronted by the Bride of Frankenstein, she leaves behind her friendly and kind-hearted attitude, calling her a "funny monster", contrary to when they first met with Ilana treating them as equals and seemingly not caring about their condition as monsters or not humans.
As described by the Bride, Ilana's true nature was exactly as Circe predicted. Just like the Rostovic from the dark future, the Princess was overall a power-hungry, narcissistic and sadistic person who was capable of doing whatever it took to achieve her goal of world domination by any means necessary, even if it meant going against her country's traditional politics, striking alliances with metahumans like Clayface or seducing Rick Flag Sr. using her own body and beauty to manipulate him.
Abilities[]
Master Tactician: As the acting monarch of Pokolistan, Rostovic was a highly skilled leader and strategist. Secretly a power-hungry individual with the goal of world domination, Rostovic put on the façade of an innocent and endearing princess to deceive his enemies; façade that would be discovered by Circe's premonition of a dark future where Rostovic destroys the world. Upon meeting the Creature Commandos, Rostovic immediately tried to seduce their leader, Rick Flag, Sr., in order to gain his trust and manipulate him into killing Circe. When this failed and the sorceress shared her dark premonition with A.R.G.U.S., Rostovic hired the metahuman Clayface to use his shapeshifter powers to impersonate professor Aisla MacPherson and make it seem as if he had been hired by Circe to mislead them, taking advantage of her previous advances with Flag, Sr. to further make them doubtful of Circe's clairvoyant powers. Rostovic's plans were successful in the end, with Amanda Waller taking the bait just in time to stop the reassembled Commandos from assassinating her. Confident in her victory, Rostovic tried to manipulate the Bride of Frankenstein into thinking that Circe was probably the one who truly wanted to destroy world, but was left surprised by the deductive skills of the Bride, who wanted to avenge Nina Mazursky's death and pieced Rostovic's scheme together. Left with no other choice but to attempt to kill the Bride, Rostovic carefully readied her attack by preparing to take her flintlock pistol out of her drawer, but it would be to no avail, as the Bride demonstrated to be quicker than her, ending Rostovic's plans of world domination with a gunshot to her forehead.
Skilled Combatant: Rostovic was able to kill Nina Mazursky in a fight in the water, which was her element, apart from being a metahuman. She was also able to scratch the face of a Son of Themyscira much larger than her to the point of scarring.
Expert Swimmer: Rostovic could dive underwater to a considerable depth and still come back to the surface alive.
Markswoman: Despite lacking proper training, Ilana knew how to use firearms, as she successfully killed two Sons of Themyscira at point-blank range with a pistol.
Bilinguism: Ilana was fluent in both her native Pokolistani and English.
Flintlock Pistol: Ilana kept this firearm in a safe in her room in case of serious situations. She used it to kill two Sons of Themyscira who were attacking her. Later, upon her scheme being discovered by the Bride of Frankenstein, she attempted to use the same weapon against her in her office, to no avail.
Princess Ilana Rostovic is an original character created for the Creature Commandos series.
Behind the Scenes[]
James Gunn created the character with Maria Bakalova in mind, including having her be Bulgarian like the actress is. Bakalova was the first person cast in the DCU.[10]
