Master Zik

"Your time is almost over, brash hedgehog. I shall prepare for you a lesson in respect. A painful lesson."

- Master Zik, Sonic Lost World

Master Zik (マスタージーク) is one of the primary antagonists in Sonic Lost World. He is a Zeti, the founder and a member of the Deadly Six and the teacher of Zavok. When Dr. Eggman came to the Lost Hex, Master Zik 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, Master Zik and the others rebelled against Eggman and took control of his forces. Afterwards, Master Zik followed Zavok's plans to make him and the other Deadly Six stronger by using Eggman's Extractor, while destroying Earth, but was ultimately defeated by Sonic.

Appearance
Master Zik is a blue Zeti, and the smallest of the Deadly Six by far. His head and body are indistinguishable and are of a spherical shape, with small limbs. Only Master Zik's head is sky blue, while the rest of his body is black. He wears a robe that matches the color of his torso with a torn hem on his wrists and around the waist. His short black legs end with two blue claws, with a third claw on each heel. Master Zik has five fingers on each sky blue hand, each finger tipped with a blue nail.

Master Zik has wrinkles across his forehead and lips, and a long white moustache which reaches down to his feet. He has a pair of very short horns on his head, which are colored in black and yellow rings. He is largely bald sans for a long strand of white hair. Master Zik's sclera are yellow with purple irises, while he has blue eyelids and black under-eyes. Master Zik carries a wooden staff that is taller than he is, which ends in a inward swirl at the top.

History
At some point time, Master Zik took up Zavok as his student and taught him in various subjects. Many years prior to Sonic Lost World, he formed the Deadly Six, but eventually passed the reigns on to Zavok. Though he eventually went into semi-retirement, he remained a member and advisor to the younger Zeti.

Shortly before the events of Sonic Lost World, Master Zik and the other Deadly Six met Dr. Eggman, who used a Cacophonic Conch to enslave them. Master Zik then begrudgingly assisted Eggman in his latest scheme for world domination by capturing the Animals Eggman needed to build an army of Badniks.

When Eggman returned to his factory, Master Zik stood by when Eggman showed him and the other Deadly Six how to make Badniks and when he revealed his intention for him and the other Deadly Six to help defeat Sonic the Hedgehog. Shortly after, he saw Zazz leave to fight Sonic.

Sometime later, Master Zik was with Eggman and the other Deadly Six in Windy Hill where they ended up being found by Sonic. When Eggman then left Zazz to finish Sonic, Master Zik left with Eggman and the remaining Deadly Six. After that, Master Zik and the others continued to gather animals for Eggman. However, the animals they got were deemed underwhelming by Eggman, and Master Zik and the other Deadly Six were subjugated by the Cacophonic Conch when Zavok spoke up.

Later on in Desert Ruins, Master Zik and the other Deadly Six were scolded by Eggman for their failures and were punished by hearing the Cacophonic Conch again. However, Sonic then appeared and knocked the conch away. Now free to use their powers, Master Zik and the other Deadly Six took control of Eggman's Badniks and used them to attack everyone present, driving off Eggman, Orbot, Cubot, Sonic and Tails.

After been liberated by Sonic, Master Zik and the other Deadly Six took control of Eggman's operations on the Lost Hex, but Sonic still opposed them. As the others were unable to beat Sonic, Master Zik decided deal the hedgehog himself. Though Zavok disagreed, Master Zik convinced him to let him go by swiftly outmatching both Zazz and Zomom. He later locate Sonic in Tropical Coast and confronted him in battle, but was defeated, though he was impressed by Sonic's power. Returning to base, Master Zik heard Zavok's plan to destroy the Earth with Eggman's Extractor and use the energies that it harnessed to make himself and the other Deadly Six stronger, which in turn would kill Eggman as punishment for their enslavement, and praised him for it. Later, Master Zik found Sonic again and faced him in battle again, but lost once more.

When Zavok later studied Sonic, Master Zik gave Zavok the idea of turning Sonic into a robot serving them since Eggman had taught them how to make robots, though he still gave Zavok some credit. Afterward, the other Deadly Six set up a trap to capture Sonic. When the trap returned with Sonic seemingly caught it, however, Master Zik discovered that they had instead caught Tails. Zor then arrived to tell that they had failed to capture Sonic, to which Master Zik and the others scowled in response.

Later on in Lava Mountain, Master Zik, bent on revenge, teamed up with Zazz and Zomom to attack Sonic after he had avoided their first assault. Despite having his strength enhanced by the energy from the Extractor, however, Master Zik was beaten again. What happened to Master Zik afterwards is unclear.

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

Personality
Master Zik is the wisest of the Deadly Six, serving as a source of wisdom for his student Zavok and others. He is very perceptive and has an eye for seeing potential in others. At the same time, he holds wisdom in such high regard that it can always beat strength.

Normally, Master Zik takes it easy in his semi-retirement. He is most of the time very calm and in a state of peace, telling Zavok calmly not be concerned when he asked Master Zik not trouble himself with Sonic and being impressed by Sonic's potential despite him being a threat to them. Likewise, he never shows any sign of distress or surprise and is never fazed by insults or taunts. Despite the air of peace around him though, Master Zik can be very firm. He has no problem about stepping into a situation to handle it himself where others cannot and he can be very strict and grimly serious when the situation calls for it. He also does not tolerate disrespect, telling Sonic repeatedly that he needs to learn respect.

Master Zik has rather low opinions young people in general as he considers youth is truly wasted on them. Regardless, he does take a certain liking those that can impress him as he smiled after seeing Sonic's fighting skills. He also thinks highly of his student Zavok, believing that Zavok would eventually come up with the same idea he had for turning Sonic into a robot slave.

Like the other members of the Deadly Six, Master Zik is inherently malicious and violent. He takes a leveled joy in inflicting pain, torturing and killing others, and he has no qualms about causing massive genocide or widespread destruction for his own gain. He will also gladly encourage others' genocidal plans, as he praised Zavok for his plan to destroy the world for their own benefits. He also comes off as vengeful, given that once he was freed from Eggman's enslavement by Sonic, Master Zik launched an attack on the scientist with the others.

Powers and abilities
Master Zik is a fighting genius, possessing unparalleled wisdom and powers. He was once regarded as the "strongest warrior" and has been stated to have taught Zavok, suggesting he is extremely powerful. Despite being old and in semi-retirement, Master Zik possess so many skills that it allows him to fight with the strength and agility of someone a fraction of his age.

Master Zik has great reflexes, and acrobatic skills; he can swiftly outmaneuver both Zazz and Zomom at the same time, is able to balance perfectly on his staff, stand easily on top of giant rolling fruits and perform body flips in a split second. He also has incredible accuracy, capable of throwing his staff next to his targets with less than a few inches distance from far away. He also has immense jumping skill, allowing him to leap high into the air and precisely across very large distances in an instant.

Besides his physical abilities, Master Zik has some degree of telekinetic abilities. He can call his staff to him with a gesture and make objects as big as giant fruits move through mid-air according to his own will. In addition, Master Zik has the ability to project volleys of blue energy blasts from the palm of his hand, and he is capable of flight.

As a Zeti, Master Zik possesses the innate ability to manipulate magnetic fields, which enables him to control electronics. This allows Master Zik to take control of robots and remotely pilot mechs without using physical control interfaces.

Battle
Master Zik is encountered at Tropical Coast on the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World. He is fought at Zone Two of Tropical Coast, as he rolls on a giant apple that can crush Sonic. In Zone 4 of the same stage, Master Zik is surrounded by fruit as Sonic must use the Homing Attack to destroy the fruit. Master Zik can also bring up a shield from the palm of his hand to block hits from Sonic.

Game adaptation
Master Zik made a brief appearance in Sonic Halloween Comic Fest 2013 and Sonic Super Special Magazine #9 published by Archie Comics, which are both comic book prequels to Sonic Lost World. In the comics, after Dr. Eggman had enslaved the Deadly Six with his Cacophonic Conch, Master Zik and the other members of the Deadly Six were rounded by Zavok, and went down to Earth to capture Animals for Eggman.

Comic continuity
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Master Zik and Deadly Six were enslaved by Dr. Eggman with the Cacophonic Conch, but got liberated by Sigma, a villainous robot from an alternate world. As Master Zik and the Deadly Six received power-enhancing armor from Sigma to help with his plans, they betrayed him and tried subjugating him, only for Sigma to take over Master Zik's mind using a device hidden in his armor, and had him serve as one of his commanders.

Trivia

 * Master Zik is the only member of the Deadly Six to have a prefix to his name.
 * Master Zik is the oldest member of the Deadly Six, being 1,036 years old.
 * Master Zik's personality and appearance are based off of an early Chinese poet.
 * In the 3DS version of Sonic Lost World, Master Zik is shown to be able to ride his staff like a surfboard.
 * Master Zik is the only member who carries a weapon-like tool.