Zavok

Zavok (ザボック) is an antagonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is a Zeti who is the leader of the Deadly Six and his entire race. 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 Earth, but was ultimately defeated by Sonic.

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 grey. Zavok appears to be bald, sans for a cyan ponytail 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 grey spikes jutting out.

Past
At some point, Zavok was taken under Master Zik's wings as the elderly Zeti's last disciple. Under Zik's tutorlage, Zavok became quite powerful and was taught in various subjects. 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 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.

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.

Finding Sonic himself, Zavok taunted Sonic with his plans to roboticize Tails 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 roboticization 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 for good by the hedgehog despite his Extractor-enhanced strength. What happened to Zavok afterwards is unclear, although it is presumed that he survived.

Sonic Forces
Zavok appears as one of the Replicas created by Infinite with the powers of the Phantom Ruby. It was first used by Infinite alongside replicas of Metal Sonic, Chaos and Shadow to defeat and capture Sonic.

This replica later served as Sonic's guard during his tenure aboard the Death Egg as a prisoner. After the Death Egg was assaulted by the Resistance, the replica went to execute Sonic, though his restraints were removed as a result of the base's dying power. Replica Zavok then fought Sonic, but was ultimately destroyed. Despite being a replica of Zavok, it retained his memories, as the replica lamented being beaten by Sonic "again" right before being destroyed.

Hordes of mass-produced replicas, Zavok among them, fought the Resistance in the final battle at Eggman's Imperial Fortress.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Zavok makes a cameo appearance as a part of the "Deadly Six" trophy which can be collected in the game.

Sonic Runners
In Sonic Runners, Zavok makes an appearance during the "Zazz Raid Event." Here, he convinced Zazz to simply keep on fighting after Zazz began to lose heart after several losses to Team Sonic. After Zazz had left, Master Zik pointed out to Zavok that Zazz would never be able to beat Sonic, no matter how hard he tried. Zavok noted that he was aware of this, and revealed that he was simply using Zazz to collect more intel on Sonic so that one day, the Deadly Six would be able to destroy him once and for all.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
In Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Zavok is a playable character in the Boxing event.

Sonic Forces: Speed Battle
Zavok is one of the playable characters in Sonic Forces: Speed Battle who was added to the game's roster in the version 1.0.1 update. He has the following gameplay characteristics:

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 conquerer", 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.

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 Earth 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 great fighting skills and his tutelage under Master Zik has made him a certified force to be reckoned with. 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.

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. In the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World, Zavok also demonstrated the ability to increase his own size immensely. 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, and he can shoot either an intense laser or immense fireballs from his mouth. Zavok refers to this state as his "full strength".

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.

Deadly Six
As the leader of the Deadly Six, Zavok is very loyal to his fellow Zeti. 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 a strict and anti-social 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 extend of physically punishing his team should they fail him.

Dr. Eggman
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.

Sonic the Hedgehog
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 an robotic instrument to use against him.

Battle
Zavok is encountered at Sky Road in the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World. He rides and controls a giant, robotic serpent-like dragon with the same color scheme as Zavok. There is an encounter against Zavok, as well, as Zavok (without the robot dragon) punches and stomps on Sonic at Zone Four of Sky Road. In Zone Two, Zavok rides the dragon, as the robot dragon shoots fireballs at Sonic, but the weak point is shown as the tail. This battle takes place in a planetoid-sphere arena which eventually turns into a 2.5D arena in Zone Two.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Zavok and Deadly Six were enslaved by Dr. Eggman with the Cacophonic Conch, but got liberated by Sigma, a villainous robot from an alternate world. Zavok personally helped Sigma with his plan, only to betray him when he and the Deadly Six received power-enhancing armor from him. Zavok's attempts to control Sigma however, proved in vain as the robot took control of Zavok's mind using a device hidden in his armor and had him serve as one of his commanders until the unified heroes freed him. The Deadly Six's involvement would later be erased when Xander Payne erased all the events of Worlds Unite.

In the not-so-distant future, Zavok would meet Eggman again on the Lost Hex, only to be enslaved by the doctor once more.

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 games including Sonic Lost World.
 * The robot dragon that Zavok will use for his boss fight bears a great resemblance to the Egg Viper and the unused Sky Chase Dragon from Sonic Adventure. It also bears some resemblence to the Egg Wyvern and Egg Dragoon.
 * Zavok plays a similar role to Antasma from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team; Both are the main villain of their respective game, temporarily work with the series antagonist (Eggman and Bowser), and are both the second to last boss while being overshadowed by Eggman and Bowser. The difference is, Bowser and Antasma work together for the majority of the game and Bowser betrays Antasma and leaves him to be killed by the Mario Bros., as opposed to Zavok overshadowing Eggman earlier into the game and Eggman reassuming his antagonistic position only after Zavok's final defeat.
 * 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.
 * Zavok is the only member of the Deadly Six (and the only boss other than Eggman) to have his own theme for boss fights.
 * Initially, Zavok was given the subtitle "Master of Chaos", but it was later changed to "King of Chaos."
 * Out of all the Zetis, Zavok has the longest and thickest tail.
 * In the Wii U and PC version of Sonic Lost World, Zavok is the only one of the Deadly Six who can withstand Sonic's Focused Homing Attack.
 * In Sonic Forces, when the replica of Zavok is defeated by Sonic, he will say "No! How could I lose to the likes of you again?", implying that the replica has the memories of the original Zavok.