Mr . Ishtar Mr . Ishtar is the patriarch of the tomb - guardian Ishtar family , the father of Marik Ishtar and Ishizu Ishtar and also the adopted father of Odion , although he refused to admit to be the latter . Personality . He was a very strict extremist and faithful follower of his clan of Tomb Guardians , whose duties include guarding the Millennium Items for the sake of the Pharaoh . To him , the duty of guarding the Millennium Items and the Pharaoh was more important than his wife and children . He takes the baby Marik from his wife as soon as he ' s born to declare his son ' s heritage , leaving his wife to die by Odion ' s side . He refuses to let any of his family to leave their underground home for the outside world , for the fear of distracting their duties as guardians . He forces the ritual on his family , never letting them have a choice . He also refuses to let another clan take the duties as Tomb Guardians , even when they are worthy of the duties as Tomb Guardians . He believes the Ishtar family is the only clan capable of doing the job and no other clan . His love for Marik was only for the sake of the clan , seeing the boy was the only heir , and ignored his pleas for ceasing the clan ' s ritual of carving on his back . His love for Ishizu and his wife remained unclear , but was willing to use cruel abuse to punish his children if they broke any of the clan ' s rules . This later leads to his demise when Marik kills him . On the other hand , he cared little to none for his adoptive son , Odion . He refused to see the boy as his son to any degree , but instead a servant . He even threatened to kill Odion for any failures on behalf of taking care of Marik , and was not above on killing him for breaking the clan ' s rules . This is also the reason why Marik murdered his father . History . Little is known for Mr . Ishtar ' s early life , but as the first born son of the Ishtar clan , he had the Pharaoh ' s stone tablet symbol carved onto his back at age twelve . Sometime later , he got married . When Odion was adopted , Mrs . Ishtar , who loved Odion as a real son , considered to allow him to become the heir of the clan if they did not have a son by Odion ' s tenth birthday ( twelfth birthday in the dub ) . Her husband , who did not share the same love for the boy , reluctantly agreed . When Ishizu was born , the couple was disappointed for not having a boy . However , four years later , Marik was born , and though Mrs . Ishtar died giving birth , the clan finally had its heir . Odion was then assigned as a carer for Marik , on his father ' s instructions . When Marik got bitten by a cobra , Mr . Ishtar was furious with Odion ' s lack of carefulness , and ordered him not to leave Marik ' s bedside until he was fully cured , threatening him with death for any future failures . When Marik was reaching his age of taking the clan ' s tradition of bearing the carvings on one ' s back through a ritual , Marik tried to refuse , and Odion offered to take his place , but Mr . Ishtar refused , angrily stating that he was " just a servant " , and threatened to cut off his tongue if he asked again . It was this point that he revealed that he never once considered Odion as a full - fledged member of the clan , and even refused to accept him as a son . Mr . Ishtar then proceeded to use the Millennium Rod ' s concealed knife to carve the Pharaoh ' s stone tablet symbol onto his son ' s back , ignoring his protests and cries of pain , which also spawned an alternate personality . When Odion cut his own face with his own carvings to ease Marik ' s anger , Mr . Ishtar finds them repulsive , and kept ordering Odion to wear something over his face , and continued to refuse him as a member of the family . About a year later , Marik convinced Ishizu to go see the outside world , while Odion kept watch from letting their father find out . Unfortunately , when the siblings departed , they unknowingly triggered a silent alarm , which alerted their father . Mr . Ishtar was beyond furious , and punished Odion by slicing him with heated blades ( a whip in the original anime ; the torture was cut from the English dub , and he ordered Rishid to leave after weakening him with the Millennium Rod ) . When Marik returned , he tried to stop his father from hurting Odion , but the man merely pushed him aside and proceeded to torture Odion to a presumed death . He then proceeded to order his son to accept his punishment . However , as Odion was unconscious , nothing was to stop Yami Marik from awakening . Yami Marik then sarcastically thanked his father for " killing " Odion . His father , who was unaware of this split personality , was unamused and attempted to punish Marik . However , when Yami Marik took the Millennium Rod , his father ' s indifference turned into fury , ordering him to put it down and accept his punishment . When Marik refused , he tried to lunge at his son . Yami Marik then used the Millennium Rod to slam his father against a pillar , as well as a protesting Ishizu . With his mobility disabled by the Rod ' s power , Mr . Ishtar ' s last words were an angry order for his son , who was advancing with the Rod ' s knife , to stop . Yami Marik , being born of pure hate , sneeringly ignored this final order and proceeded to cut out the tattoo on his back and threw the skin onto the unconscious Odion . In the Japanese anime , Marik simply stabbed his father to death , while in the English dub , he was sent to the Shadow Realm . Before his death , Mr . Ishtar ' s anger turned to pure horror as he realized his own son was going to kill him , and his scream was loud enough to travel throughout the entire underground . When Marik woke up , he believes it was the doing of the Pharaoh , as Shadi rose behind his father ' s body and told him the Pharaoh would be coming soon .