Zavok (ザボック Zabokku?) is an recurring antagonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is a Zeti who is the leader of his entire race. He is also the former leader of the Deadly Six. When Dr. Eggman came to the Lost Hex, Zavok and the other members of the Deadly Six were forced into serving the doctor due to the effects of the Cacophonic Conch. After Sonic the Hedgehog arrived and got rid of the conch, Zavok and the others rebelled against Eggman and took control of his forces. Zavok then enacted his plan to achieve world domination, by using Eggman's Extractor to make himself and the other Deadly Six stronger while destroying the earth, but was ultimately defeated by Sonic, though not for good.
Appearance[]
Zavok is a red Zeti with a very stocky build. The majority of his upper body is pure red, as is his serpentine tail. He has five-fingered hands that end with sharp cyan-colored nails. Zavok's body from the waist down is black in coloration, ending in two-clawed feet with cyan toes. His head is relatively small compared to the rest of his body and his lower jaw sticks out, showing a row of spiked fangs. The upper half of his head is black save for red markings around his eyes, which are purple with yellow sclera. Zavok has what appears to be a relatively thick cyan-colored unibrow that forms a vaguely V-shaped crest. Sticking out from the sides of his head, Zavok has two vicious curved horns that are striped in varying shades of dark gray. Zavok has a large cyan piece of hair sticking out from the back of his head. Zavok has two rows of sharp black spikes sticking out of his shoulders. His only attire seems to be a pair of black bracelets with gray spikes jutting out.
History[]
Past[]
At some point, Zavok was taken under Master Zik's wings as the elderly Zeti's last disciple. Under Zik's tutorage, Zavok was taught in martial arts and became quite powerful. Many years ago, Zavok was brought into the Deadly Six when Master Zik formed the group, with Zavok's skills making him well-suited for the position as their leader.
Sonic Lost World[]
In the Wii U version and PC version of Sonic Lost World, Zavok and the Deadly Six met Dr. Eggman, who used a Cacophonic Conch to enslave them. Begrudgingly, Zavok assisted Eggman in his scheme for world domination by capturing Animals for an army of Badniks. As Eggman later showed Zavok how to make Badniks, the doctor revealed how the Deadly Six would help him both conquer the world and defeat Sonic the Hedgehog. Curious about Sonic, Zavok let Zazz fight him to learn more.
While in Windy Hill, Zavok and his team met Sonic, before coming with Eggman as he left Zazz to finish Sonic. Resuming the Animal hunt, Zavok spoke against Eggman's criticism of their efforts, only to be brought back in line by Eggman with the Cacophonic Conch. When Eggman later tested his unstable Extractor, Zavok secretly eavesdropped on the test. Zavok and the Deadly Six were later further scolded for their failures by Eggman with the Cacophonic Conch, only for Sonic to appear and knock the conch away. Now free, Zavok and his team took control of Eggman's Badniks and had them attack everyone present, before Zavok ordered his team to attack as well, effectively driving Eggman, Orbot, Cubot, Sonic and Tails away.
Zavok enacting his plan to destroy the world, from the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World.
Now free, the Deadly Six took control of Eggman's operations on the Lost Hex, but Sonic still opposed them. When Master Zik wanted to deal with Sonic, Zavok was reluctant to let him bother himself with that. When Master Zik returned, Zavok enacted his plan to destroy the Earth with the Extractor and use the energy it harvested to make the Deadly Six stronger, as his revenge at Eggman, earning him the approval of his teacher. No sooner, Zavok tricked the lazy Zeena to go deal with Sonic. Zavok later contacted Sonic, Eggman and their allies to discourage them and mock Eggman before he was cut out. While studying Sonic, Zavok was inspired by Master Zik to make Sonic their slave by turning Sonic into a robot using what they had learned from Eggman. The Deadly Six quickly set up a trap for Sonic, only to find Tails caught in it when it returned. While annoyed, Zavok decided to use Tails to their advantage, before scowling at Zor who arrived to announce the failed capture of Sonic.
Zavok meeting with Sonic at Sky Road, from the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World.
Finding Sonic himself, Zavok taunted Sonic with his plans to turn Tails into a robot and later the loss of his friends on earth due to the Extractor, thus luring him into two separate fights with him, only to be beaten by Sonic. Frustrated at this, Zavok began the mechanization process on Tails as revenge and left the roboticizer to finish it. Later on, Zavok confronted Sonic with Zor and Zeena, where he told Sonic to join Tails as he revealed a seemingly roboticized Tails. When Sonic refused, Zavok ordered Tails to kill Sonic, but was forced to retreat when Tails attacked him, having only pretended to be roboticized. Confronted by Sonic again, Zavok was defeated one last time by the hedgehog despite his Extractor-enhanced strength.
Sonic Forces[]
Phantom Copies of Zavok, Chaos, Metal Sonic and Shadow, from Sonic Forces.
In Sonic Forces, Zavok, alongside Chaos, Shadow and Metal Sonic, was Phantom Copied by Infinite, Eggman's newest servant, using the virtual reality powers of his Phantom Ruby. This Phantom Copy was instated in the Eggman Army as one of the group's foremost soldiers. The Zavok Phantom Copy soon after made its debut alongside the other three Phantom Copies to assist Infinite in defeating Sonic. Afterward, the Zavok Phantom Copy helped Eggman conquer over 99% of the world.
Six months later, the Zavok Phantom Copy went to the Death Egg where Sonic was being held prisoner in order to banish the hedgehog into space as Eggman wanted. However, thanks to the Resistance disrupting the power onboard the space station, Sonic's restraints were removed just as the Zavok Phantom Copy arrived, thus allowing him to fight the illusionary Zeti. Using the Death Queen, the Zavok Phantom Copy engaged Sonic, but was ultimately defeated and faded away upon his defeat, although not before expressing irritation at losing to Sonic again.
Hundreds of Phantom Copies of Zavok were later present in the outskirts of the Eggman Empire Fortress where they took part in the final battle between the Eggman Army and the Resistance until all the sources of Eggman's Phantom Copies were destroyed for good, ending the Phantom Copies' existence.
Team Sonic Racing[]
Zavok after being spotted by the Chao, from Team Sonic Racing.
In Team Sonic Racing, Zavok, who no longer had ties to the Deadly Six, was hired by Dr. Eggman to steal the Ultimate Energy Engine from its creator, Dodon Pa. During his mission, Zavok was spotted by Big. Fortunately for Zavok, no one paid attention to Big's observation. However, he was eventually noticed by the Chao near a race track, causing him to be spotted by Sonic and the other racers. When Eggman pretended that he had nothing to do with Zavok's appearance at the Grand Prix, he hastily invited Zavok to join Team Eggman, and gave him the Road Dragoon to drive in. Afterward, Eggman rebuked Zavok for being discovered. Zavok immediately after made Eggman even angrier when he revealed that he had not been able to find the Ultimate Energy Engine. Eggman thus hoped that Zavok would do better in the Grand Prix. After losing several races however, Eggman began to criticize Zavok for his lack of driving skill. Zavok, however, insisted that their opponents were just strong and that he respected that, before warning the doctor to keep his mouth shut. Later, Eggman offered Zavok a task he was much more suited for: kidnapping Dodon Pa.
After Zavok kidnapped Dodon Pa and brought him onboard the Final Fortress, Eggman demanded to Dodon Pa that he handed the Ultimate Energy Engine over to him. However, Dodon Pa revealed that it was unfinished, making it useless. Furthermore, the racers had stopped racing, and without them producing Ultimate Team Energy, the engine could never be finished. This prompted Zavok to point out to Eggman that this was his own fault: by kidnapping Dodon Pa, he had brought the Grand Prix to a halt and stopped the racers from producing the necessary energy. To compensate for this Eggman tricked Sonic and his friends into racing his henchmen so that Dodon Pa could capture the heroes' Ultimate Team Energy and use it to finish the Ultimate Energy Engine. As a part of Eggman's plan, Zavok was instated as one of the racers Sonic and co. had to beat. Despite Zavok's best efforts though, he lost. Zavok later took part in the subsequent races with the heroes alongside Eggman until Dodon Pa finally finished the Ultimate Energy Engine, which Eggman then stole and incorporated into his Death Egg. Afterward, Zavok took part in the villains' last race against the heroes onboard the Final Fortress. In the end, Zavok and his team lost, and the Death Egg ended up driving into the Final Fortress's energy core, forcing Eggman and his lackeys to escape the Final Fortress as they began crashing.
Personality[]
Zavok is a merciless and cruel being. He is very serious, ferocious, brutal and dark, often deploying graphical threats of death and destruction, and he has little tolerance for failure. Power-hungry and ever focused on his goals, Zavok does not let anything stand in his way. Despite his intensiveness though, Zavok has occasionally displayed a sarcastic, dry sense of humor, such as when he sarcastically complimented Eggman as a "mighty conqueror", and when he jokingly quoted Zor, when stating his opinion of Sonic advancing toward him, deeming Sonic's plan "pointless".
For all his brutish intensiveness, Zavok keeps a calm demeanor and has a penchant for quick-thinking which makes him well-suited to leadership. Even as his temper flares up, he manages to keep his emotions in check. Zavok is likewise quite cunning and intelligent. Always observant, he studies his opponents in advance and knows how to use a situation to his advantage. He knew he would learn more about Sonic by letting Zazz fight him, regardless of the outcome, and quickly formulated a plan to use Tails to his advantage when his team accidentally caught him instead of Sonic. He is also manipulative, tricking Zeena into fighting Sonic with praise and compliments, and sending Sonic into disarray with psychological taunts.
Zavok comes off as very prideful. He disdains the idea of being in servitude to another being which can aggravate him to the point where he will speak up despite the danger present to him. Zavok's pride transcends into arrogance, which is shown in his mockery at Eggman for attempting to enslave him and the Zeti and at Sonic challenging him. He also has a bit of an ego in that he thinks he is better than everybody else, calling himself "the one Zeti" Sonic could not defeat even after losing to the hedgehog beforehand. Regardless, he respects those that prove themselves worthy adversaries.
Like the other Deadly Six, Zavok is inherently malicious, sadistic and violent. He relishes in inflicting pain, torturing and killing others, telling Sonic how he would enjoy his screams and fear. He also finds joy in tormenting others psychologically, gleefully taunting Sonic with the losses of his friends. An omnicidal monster, he has no qualms about causing global genocide for his own gain or personal reasons, as he was perfectly content with destroying the world for the benefits of his team. Likewise, Zavok is very vengeful and will seize any opportunity for retribution; once Eggman had no means of controlling him, Zavok quickly sought to make him pay for his abuse, going as far to destroy his world to spite him, and plotted to turn Tails against Sonic after being humiliated by Sonic.
Powers and abilities[]
Zavok is regarded as the strongest warrior of the Zeti race. He possesses high fighting skills as well and his tutelage under Master Zik has made him a certified force to be reckoned with. His power is so great that it is recognized by everyone, including his master. He excels in close combat, using combos of punches where he can surround his fists with red energy for more powerful strikes and using guards to protect himself. As another testament to his strength, Zavok has never needed to use his full power before his final battle with Sonic on the Lost Hex.
Zavok is noted to possess formidable physical prowess. He is capable of superhuman feats of strength, enough to punch over a meter thick robot parts off their joints with a single strike. He also has incredible jumping skill, allowing him to leap high into the air and across very large distances in an instant. To match his strength, Zavok has a large amount of endurance and durability, enough to let him withstand Sonic's regular Homing Attack and continue fighting indefinitely. He is also able to move at speeds matching Sonic's as small dashes. Besides physical skills, Zavok is capable of flight. He also possesses a degree of pyrokinetic abilities that let him fire large fireballs from the palm of his hands.
As a Zeti, Zavok possesses the innate ability to manipulate magnetic fields, which enables him to control electronics. This allows Zavok to take control of robots and other kinds of machinery.
As seen during Dodon Pa's Grand Prix, Zavok also has excellent skills when it comes to driving and racing in racecars like the Road Dragoon.
Transformations[]
Giant Zavok[]
Giant Zavok, from the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World.
With the use of a secret formula, Zavok can transform into Giant Zavok, immensely increasing his own size. While in this state, Zavok's strength, mass, and durability are increased to the point where he can effortlessly barge through anything and withstand several explosions before going down. He can also shoot either an intense laser or immense fireballs from his mouth. Zavok refers to this state as his "full strength".
Weaknesses[]
Like all other Zeti, Zavok's powers are greatly inhibited when the Cacophonic Conch is blown, which causes him great pain.
Relationships[]
Deadly Six[]
Zavok and the other Deadly Six attacking, from the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World.
As the leader of the Deadly Six, Zavok is very loyal to his fellow Zeti, who in turn have a lot of respect for him. He seemingly holds them in high esteem, referring to them as "brothers" and had every intention of sharing the energy the Extractor harvested with them. Amongst the Deadly Six, Zavok has taken a liking to Zazz due to his readiness to fight anything. He also holds a great amount of respect for his teacher Master Zik. When Master Zik wanted to take care of Sonic, Zavok did not want him to bother himself with it as it was beneath him, and when he gave him the idea of turning Sonic into a robot, Zavok respectfully thanked him for the plan.
Regardless of his respect for his team members (excluding Master Zik), Zavok is still a strict leader. He is not above using his team as a means to his own end, like letting Zazz fruitlessly fight Sonic so he could learn more about his enemy or tricking Zeena to go out on a mission, and he will lash out at them when they fail to carry out his orders. He also does not always get along with their quirks, such as Zeena's lack of initiative and arrogance. Also, as implied by Zazz, Zavok will go to the extent of physically punishing his team should they fail him.
By the time of Dodon Pa's Grand Prix, Zavok has dissociated himself from the rest of the Deadly Six, though the exact reason is unclear.
Dr. Eggman[]
Zavok telling Eggman about his dislikes for him, from the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World.
Due to him enslaving and humiliating him, Zavok holds nothing but spite for Dr. Eggman. Even while under the threat of being exposed to the Cacophonic Conch, Zavok spoke up against Eggman and expressed his contempt at him when the doctor criticized them. He also does not think highly of the doctor and considers him a fool. Regardless, he does respect Eggman's technological prowess. Once Sonic accidentally freed Zavok from Eggman's control, Zavok quickly seized the opportunity to take revenge on Eggman by attack him with everything at his disposal and had every intention of making Eggman suffer and eventually claim his life. Also, when Zavok set the Extractor to destroy the earth, one of his reasons for doing this was to kill Eggman as revenge.
Despite his past with Eggman however, Zavok willingly let himself work for him during Dodon Pa's Grand Prix. However, he was still as hostile towards Eggman as ever, warning the scientist against taking him lightly or criticizing his skills.
Sonic the Hedgehog[]
Zavok trying to taunt Sonic with the loss of his friends, from the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World.
When Zavok first heard of Sonic the Hedgehog from Eggman, he was intrigued by the blue hedgehog and desired to learn more. When Sonic set out to stop them once they broke free, Zavok thought of him as no more than a nuisance destined to fail. As Sonic continuously defeated the Deadly Six, however, Zavok began to see Sonic more like a legitimate threat and acknowledged his strength; Zavok himself admitted that if Sonic did not try his patience, he would respect him. When Master Zik later brought it up, Zavok gained an interest in making Sonic the Deadly Six's robotic slave.
After the other Deadly Six had been defeated, Zavok decided to take care of Sonic personally, but was too dealt humiliating defeats. Infuriated by Sonic, Zavok decided to take revenge on him by turning his best friend into a robotic instrument to use against him.
Although technically not the real Zavok, his Phantom Copy had the same personality traits relating to Sonic as the original, as shown by their interaction before and during the battle, and also implied upon his defeat that the Phantom Copy at least retained enough of the original's memories up to his defeat that it expressed irritation at losing to him again.
Trivia[]
- Zavok's name may be based on the word "havoc", fitting his role as a world-destroying villain.
- Zavok's name may also be a reference to the game engine Havok, which is used to program many of the physics of certain modern Sonic the Hedgehog games, including Sonic Lost World.
- Zavok's final battle is similar to the fight with Bowser in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. 2. In addition, the way he is defeated is done in a similar way to Bowser's battles in Super Mario Galaxy 2. Also, both Zavok and Bowser shoot fireballs and both fall into the lava when defeated.
- Zavok and Bowser's physical appearances are also similar too, as they both have spiked wrist bands and hair tufts hanging backwards from their heads, and feet with claws.
- The similarities are noted in the intro to Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where the two are shown facing each other in a boxing match.
- Zavok is the only member of the Deadly Six (and the only boss other than Eggman) to have his own theme for boss fights. That being said, Zavok's battle theme also plays during Master Zik's rematch in the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, as both of them are fought in the same Zone.
- Initially, Zavok was given the subtitle "Master of Chaos", but it was later changed to "King of Chaos."
- In the Wii U/PC version of Sonic Lost World, Zavok is the only one of the Deadly Six who can withstand Sonic's Focused Homing Attack.
- During the boss fight against Zavok in Sonic Forces, when the Phantom Copy is defeated by Sonic, he will say "No! How could I lose to the likes of you again?", implying that the Phantom Copy has the memories of the original Zavok.
- Zavok and Zeena are the only Deadly Six members whose names are never mentioned in Sonic Lost World.
Gallery[]
