<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Babylon 5 Character
Susan Ivanova
Status	Alive
Gender	Female
Species	Human
Origin	Russia, Earth
Portrayed by	Claudia Christian
First Appearance	"Babylon 5: In the Beginning"
Profession	Officer - Earth Alliance
Relatives	Ganya (brother) Sophie Ivanova (mother) Andrei Ivanova
Special Features	latent telepathy

Susan Ivanova is a character from the Babylon 5 TV series played by actress Claudia Christian. Ivanova was the executive officer for the Babylon 5 station until the series' fifth and final season. She is known for her sardonic wit, pessimistic attitude, personal bravery, and integrity above reproach.

A History of Personal Tragedy

Susan Ivanova was born the daughter of Andrei and Sofie Ivanov in the Russian Consortium on Earth, and was educated abroad. Ivanova is an Orthodox Russian Jew and a career officer in Earth Force.

Her mother, Sofie, was a telepath and the family had to move frequently to stay ahead of the Psi Corps. When the Corps eventually caught up to her, they gave her a choice: She could join the Corps, losing all contact with her family; take drugs to inhibit her telepathic abilities; or go to prison. She opted to take the inhibitors, but the drugs caused a protracted and inexorable erosion of her mind. When Ivanova was still a child, Sofie committed suicide rather than lose any more of herself to the drugs.

Ivanova was a teenager at the beginning of the Earth-Minbari War. Her older brother, Ganya, was a Starfury pilot attached to the EAS Lexington. On Ganya's final mission, he was dispatched to pursue a lone enemy fighter that had strayed into the patrol area of the Lexington. The situation proved to be a trap set by the Minbari, and Ganya's fighter was shot. He lost control of the heavily damaged fighter and crashed into a nearby asteroid. Ivanova had said her goodbyes to him prior to the departure of the Lexington. She gave him one of her earrings for luck. She promised to always wear the remaining earring in anticipation of his return. Though Ganya was killed in battle, Ivanova never broke that promise and is seen throughout the series wearing only one earring.

Her father, Andrei, was a pacifist and had already lost his wife and son, so he was ardently opposed to Ivanova's decision to join Earth Force. She enlisted despite her father's wishes. Ivanova's decision drove a wedge between father and daughter, and they did not speak to each other for many years. During the series' first season, they reconciled before his passing, but Ivanova remained emotionally wounded from the years of separation. Andrei's final words to her were of his pride in her accomplishments and his long-unspoken love.

Failed Relationships

Ivanova's romantic relationships were rare and usually ended badly. Her relationship with Malcolm Biggs was ended by the discovery of his affiliation with Home Guard, a group of xenophobic radicals determined to remove all |alien influence from Earth. Ivanova used her prior relationship with Biggs to help Commander Sinclair arrest him.

She developed a relationship with Psi Corps commercial telepath Talia Winters. Ivanova's mistrust of the Psi Corps was rooted in her mother's suicide and also sprang from the fact that Ivanova was herself a latent telepath. Despite the uneasy beginning, the two became quite close and, though it was never explicitly stated in the series, it was often implied that the two women were lovers. This relationship ended abruptly when it was revealed Talia was a spy, however unknowingly, planted by the Psi Corps to infiltrate Babylon 5. The Corps had implanted a hidden personality in Talia's mind and, when triggered, the new personality asserted itself, effectively “killing” Talia's old personality.

The Ranger Marcus Cole would prove Ivanova's ultimate loss in love. Marcus fell in love with Ivanova very quickly, but the two never became involved. During an attack by Earth Alliance forces loyal to President Clark, Ivanova was fatally wounded. Marcus returned her to Babylon 5 and sacrificed himself to save her. He used an alien device demonstrated in prior seasons to transfer his life energy to her body. When she awoke Marcus had died, literally exchanging his life for hers.

A Sometimes Comic Character

Not all of Ivanova's roles within the series were so serious. Ivanova delivered some of the most often repeated comedic quotes from the show. She played “straight man” to Zathras and had to suffer the pains of learning what John Sheridan called “the fine art of diplomacy.” Her sarcasm and sometimes playful banter served as balance for her more somber side.

Ivanova's exploits in the field of diplomacy often produced humorous situations despite the outcomes. Early in the series' second season, she was tasked with bringing a peaceful resolution to a conflict dividing the station's population of Drazi. Actually, Christian had broken her leg, and this temporary disability was written into the episode. The scene in the episode “Acts of Sacrifice” in which she fakes having sex with a visiting Lumati delegate is often cited as a fan favorite. Ivanova learned to become an excellent negotiator while helping Sheridan bring the League of Non-Aligned Worlds together to fight the Shadows, as well as to bring black-market privateers into the station's supply-chain resources.

A Born Fighter

Ivanova is a skilled combat pilot and an able brawler, as well. She has never backed down from conflict, whether aboard the station, in a Starfury, a fistfight, or even a verbal debate. She rose through the ranks to become a high ranking officer on a high-profile posting. In later life, she attained the rank of Earth Force general and went on to became the leader of the Rangers. She accomplished all this and more, and never betrayed a trust nor sacrificed her personal integrity.

Leaving the Station; Leaving the Series

Ivanova was written out of the series' last season. She was replaced by Tracy Scoggins as Captain Elizabeth Lochley. Series creator J. Michael Straczynski reported that problems in contract negotiations and schedule conflicts led to Christian's departure from the series. The reason for her character's departure was linked to the death of the Marcus Cole character. Ivanova returned for the series finale “Sleeping in Light” but this was because the final episode had been filmed a year prior to the end of the series.

Ivanova Quotes

(Reciting the “B5 mantra”):
“Ivanova is always right. I will listen to Ivanova. I will not ignore Ivanova's recommendations. Ivanova is god.”

“Worst case of testosterone poisoning I've ever seen.”

“Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova. Commander. Daughter of Andrei and Sofie Ivanov. I am the right hand of vengeance and the boot that's going to kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth. I am death incarnate and the last living thing that you are ever going to see. God sent me!”

“No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow.”

“All love is unrequited, Stephen, all of it.”

“I can only conclude that I'm paying off karma at a vastly accelerated rate.”

Ivanova had the last character lines spoken in the series in this epilogue from “Sleeping in Light.”

“Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations. There would never be another. It changed the future and it changed us. It taught us that we have to create the future, because if we don't, others will do it for us. It taught us that we have to care for one another because if we don't, who will? And it showed us that sometimes true strength comes from the most unlikely places. Mostly, though, I think it gave us hope, hope that there can always be new beginnings . . . even for people like us.”