Zazz

"I've been itching for a fight all day!"

- Zazz, Sonic Lost World

Zazz (ザズ) is one of the primary antagonists in Sonic Lost World. He is a Zeti and a member of the Deadly Six. When Dr. Eggman came to the Lost Hex, Zazz 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, Zazz and the others rebelled against Eggman and took control of his forces. Afterwards, Zazz 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
Zazz is a very tall and very lanky Zeti, with very thin limbs and body structure. The upper half of his body appears to be vibrant pink, while his body from the waist down is pure black, ending in two-clawed feet with purple toes. A third much smaller claw appears to jut out from his heels. Zazz has a long tail that appears to be bent into a vague "Z" shape, similar to that of Knuckles the Echidna. Zazz has a row of small black spikes running down his back, from the base of his neck to the middle of his spine. Zazz's thin arms end in proportionately large five-fingered hands, each finger tipped with purple nails.

Zazz has an oblong head with a large gaping mouth, which is never closed. He has long, thin, sharp teeth and a long cyan tongue, which is almost always seen hanging out the side of his mouth. He has green irises with yellow sclera and black markings under each eye. On the top of his head, Zazz has a pair of horns that point outwards, colored in alternating rings of black and light purple. Between them is a mohawk of purple hair.

Zazz wears a pair of black wrist cuffs with grey spikes on them, and a matching spiked collar.

History
Many years prior to Sonic Lost World, Zazz was brought into the Deadly Six when Master Zik formed the group.

Shortly before the events of Sonic Lost World, Zazz and the other Deadly Six met Dr. Eggman, who used a Cacophonic Conch to enslave them. Zazz 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, Zazz was present 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. Feeling like destroying something, Zazz gladly took off upon Zavok's permission to find Sonic and tear him apart. He found Sonic in Windy Hill and fought him, but was defeated.

Soon after, Zazz was with Eggman and the other Deadly Six in Windy Hill, where they were found by Sonic and Zazz was introduced to the hedgehog by Eggman, along with the other Deadly Six. Upon Eggman's orders to fight Sonic, Zazz gladly stepped up while Eggman and the other Deadly Six left. Zazz then took Sonic to another place to fight him, but was defeated again. After his battle with Sonic, Zazz and the other Deadly Six resumed gathering animals for Eggman. However, the animals they got were deemed underwhelming by Eggman and Zazz and the other Deadly Six were subjugated by the Cacophonic Conch when Zavok spoke up.

Some time later in Desert Ruins, Zazz and the other Deadly Six were scolded by Eggman for their failures and heard the Cacophonic Conch again as punishment. However, Sonic then appeared and knocked the conch away. Now free to use their powers, Zazz and the other Deadly Six took control of Eggman's Badniks and used them to attack everyone present. Upon Zavok's orders, Zazz proceeded to attack Eggman alongside Zomom, knocking Eggman out of his Egg Mobile, before Eggman, Orbot, Cubot, Sonic and Tails choose to flee.

Having been liberated by Sonic, Zazz and the other Deadly Six took control of Eggman's operations on the Lost Hex, though Sonic still opposed them. When Master Zik offered to go deal with Sonic, Zazz was involuntarily used and knocked out by Master Zik to demonstrate his physical prowess. Some time afterwards, Zazz went with Zavok's ongoing 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. Later, Zazz was with Zavok when he contacted Sonic and his allies to tell Sonic the futility of his efforts, where Zazz taunted them with their impending deaths before Eggman cut them out.

Later on, Zazz and the other Deadly Six set up a trap to capture Sonic so they could turn him into a robot that would serve them. When the trap returned with Sonic seemingly caught in it, however, Zazz discovered that they had instead caught Tails. Zor then arrived to tell that they had failed to capture Sonic, to which Zazz and the others scowled in response.

Sometime later, Zazz and Zomom attacked Sonic, Eggman, Cubot, and Orbot when they arrived at Lava Mountain. With their strength enhanced by the Extractor's harvested energy, Zazz and Zomom threw boulders at them and seemingly knocked everyone except Sonic into a lava pit. Zazz, bent on revenge, then teamed up with Zomom and Master Zik to attack Sonic after he escaped their first assault. Despite his enhanced powers, however, Zazz was defeated for good at Sonic's hands. What happened to Zazz afterwards is unclear.

Sonic Dash
Zazz appears as a boss event in the mobile game Sonic Dash as part of the Sonic Lost World event. He is encountered at random, and when encountered, he will be riding on top of the Moon Mech. The player must dodge his star attacks until the end of the section that the player is on. The player is then shot up into the air by a spring. In the air, the player is allowed to attack Zazz and his Moon Mech by tapping Zazz, earning more bonus points. Defeating him grants a boss bonus of up to 160,000 points, depending on the multiplier amount that is used.

In the V. 1.9 update of Sonic Dash, Zazz became a permanent boss instead of just being temporary. In addition, an indication of encountering Zazz is the Eggman symbols that appears on all the monitors before hitting the springs. However, that indication was changed to Zazz's head at the V. 1.9.1 update.

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

Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Zazz will appear in the upcoming 5th installment of the Mario &amp; Sonic series; however, whether he will be a playable character or a rival is unknown.

Sonic Runners
In Sonic Runners, Zazz appeared as an event boss during the "Zazz Raid Event". Here, Zazz returned to get revenge on Sonic, as ever since Sonic defeated him, he has been unable to sleep. Stealing Power Rings to become more powerful, Zazz was confronted by Team Sonic and subsequently defeated.

During the "Zazz Raid Event", Zazz can be fought in three different boss battles, but players have to encounter him first by playing through regular stages. For the "Zazz (Normal)" boss, Zazz rides the Moon Mech, slowly moving towards the player while Star-Shaped Missiles come at them. Dodge the projectiles and hit Zazz with the Spin Jump a specific amount of times to defeat him. A "Zazz (Rare)" boss can also be encountered, which has a powered-up Zazz riding a silver Moon Mech, where he needs more hits to be defeated and also sets up bumpers to slow down the player while attacking. The third, rarest and strongest version of the boss is "Zazz (Super-Rare)". There, he rides a golden Moon Mech and attacks with star-shaped Saw Arms, while constantly trying to ram the player at high speed. While only having 10 Health Points the first time, Zazz levels up each time he is defeated, eventually giving him over 1000 Health Points and making his attacks much faster and more frequent. Gathering White Wisps during the battles will increase the damage the Spin Jump deals to him, reducing the hits needed to be landed on hit.

Personality
Zazz is a nasty, cruel and ruthless Zeti with an unpredictable personality which is both his greatest strength and weakness. Easily the most psychopathic of the Deadly Six, he is wild and out of control to the point where he comes off as rather feral, as he gives off constant yells, always wears a very wild expression, and attacks with equal savagery. Likewise, he often walks around with erratic body movements and even twitches occasionally. He is heedless to manners and social customs, having no trouble getting extremely close to the face of others, giving rude comments and yawning when being scolded. Because of his unpredictability, however, it can be easy to turn the tables on him.

Zazz loves to fight and enjoys fighting more than eating three meals a day. He is always ready to fight someone, even before he knows what he will be fighting, and will pursue his enemies with relentless determination and attack with powerful strikes. Another trait of Zazz is his short temper and hot-headedness; he hates when people show him disrespect and just a few snarky comments or oppositions are enough to send him into a furious frenzy.

Like the other members of the Deadly Six, Zazz is inherently malicious and violent. He has an extreme appetite for violence and mayhem, and he relishes in the prospect of carnage and destruction, wildly eager and joyous about killing others by dismembering them. He also has a macabre sense of humor, laughing and giggling at how Sonic and his allies would die as the Extractor destroyed the Earth. In line with his thirst for violence, Zazz has no qualms about causing massive genocide or widespread destruction for his own gain. He is also vengeful, given that once he was freed from Eggman's enslavement by Sonic, Zazz launched an attack on the scientist with the others and wanted to get back at Sonic after he defeated him.

Power and abilities
Zazz possesses high amounts of physical strength, allowing him to easily lift, throw, and carry the large Moon Mech with just one hand. He is also able to run at super speeds, enough to let him keep up with Sonic, all while carrying the Moon Mech. In addition, Zazz also has incredible jumping skill, allowing him to leap high into the air and across very large distances in an instant. He is also highly acrobatic, enough to let him easily balance on the fast-rolling Moon Mech.

Besides his physical abilities, Zazz also possesses the ability to project volleys of pink energy blasts, either in the shape of orbs or tacks. In the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Lost World, Zazz is also shown being capable of flight.

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

Battle
Zazz is encountered at Windy Hill zone on both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Lost World. He is encountered at the end of Zone Two and Zone Four at Windy Hill in the Wii U version, and he is encountered briefly in Zone Three as well as a separate boss fight on the Nintendo 3DS version. In both versions, Zazz's primary weapon is his Moon Mech. The Red Wisp, which turns Sonic into the Red Burst Color Power, is available to use during the separate boss fight on the Nintendo 3DS version.

Game adaptation
Zazz 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, Zazz and the other members of the Deadly were rounded up 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, Zazz and the Deadly Six were enslaved with the Cacophonic Conch by Dr. Eggman when he conquered the Lost Hex. However, Sigma, a villainous robot from an alternate world, freed them from Eggman's control. After Zazz and the Deadly Six received power-enhancing armor from Sigma to help with his plans, they betrayed him and tried subjugating him, but Sigma took over Zazz's mind using a device hidden in his armor, and had him serve as one of his commanders until the unified heroes freed him.

Trivia

 * Zazz's name may be based on the music genre jazz. His accent is also reminiscent of a stereotypical New Orleans dialect.
 * Despite his name maybe being based off of jazz, Zazz is the complete opposite of jazz.
 * Zazz's personality and design are slightly reminiscent of Iggy Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. series, as they both have a tall, thin and lanky build, and always make wild shrieks.
 * Coincidentally, both are the first bosses in their games; Zazz in Sonic Lost World and Iggy Koopa in "Super Mario World".
 * In the Japanese version of Sonic Lost World, Zazz is the only member of the Deadly Six to have spoken "Engrish".
 * Zazz appears to be the lowest-ranking member of the Deadly Six, as he fears that if he doesn't defeat Sonic, the others will "razz (tease) him until he's blue", and upon losing to Sonic at Lava Mountain, fears that Zavok will "beat him".