Rumiko Fujikawa

File:Rumikofujikawa.png

Rumiko Fujikawa, art by Sean Chen.

Rumiko "Ru" Fujikawa is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, created by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Sean Chen. She is an Iron Man (Tony Stark) supporting character and Tony Stark's primary romantic interest throughout the duration of The Invincible Iron Man vol. 3 (May 1998)

Fictional character biography

Rumiko Fujikawa first appeared in the pages of The Invincible Iron Man vol. 3 #4 (May 1998) while Iron Man (Tony Stark) battles Firebrand on the island of Isla Suerte. The daughter of Kenjiro Fujikawa, the man who had taken over Stark's company during his stay in the Heroes Reborn universe, she begins to date Stark largely as an act of rebellion to parents who disapproved of Stark.

Rumiko's romance with Stark enjoys many highs and lows. She enjoys his jet-set lifestyle but finds he is often too obsessed with his work and does not pay enough attention to her. This fact is made even worse due to all the problems facing Stark in his career as Iron Man at this point, such as his armor temporarily becoming sentient and attempting to kill him, or the arrival of the Sons of Yinsen, a group dedicated to the memory of the scientist who helped Stark develop the original Iron Man armor. During a period when they are broken up, she sleeps with Stark's business rival and enemy, Tiberius Stone. In remorse, Rumiko arranges for Stark to acquire sufficient stock in his old company that he can reclaim control of it. Tony and Rumiko get back together and are very stable for a while, until Tony takes the job as Secretary of Defense and becomes so busy that he neglects her and their relationship.

Rumiko is murdered in Invincible Iron Man vol. 3 #87 (October 2004) when she is attacked by an Iron Man impostor named Clarence Ward.

Other versions

Secret Wars

In the Armor Wars mini-series of the Secret Wars storyline, Rumiko's teenage daughter Kiri is featured as a major character who resides in the futuristic Battleworld domain of Technopolis (which is based on a world in which everyone wears armors to live and survive due to an airborn virus).

In other media

Television

• In Marvel Anime: Iron Man, the character Dr. Chika Tanaka (voiced by Takako Honda in the Japanese version and by Laura Bailey in the English dub) is based on Rumiko Fujikawa.

Film

• Her character was meant to appear in Iron Man 2, but was later scrapped. Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi and Singaporean actress Fann Wong were considered for the role.