One of the great, weird Kirby designs.
ARNIM ZOLA
Created By: Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America #208 (April 1977)
Role: Evil Geneticist
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (149), PL 9 (149) Scientist
STRENGTH 6
STAMINA --
AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6
DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 8
AWARENESS 3
PRESENCE 1
Skills:
Deception 6 (+7)
Expertise (Science) 11 (+19)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+3)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 2 (+5)
Technology 10 (+18)
Treatment 6 (+14)
Vehicles 5 (+5)
Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Lab), Ranged Attack 8, Skill Mastery (Science), Ultimate Science Skill
Powers:
"Robotic Body"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 8 [8]
"Beams to Another Body" Immortality 2 (1 week) (Quirks: Must Have Alternate Body Ready) [3]
"Controls Creations" Mind Control 10 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Feats: Mental Link) (Flaws: Limited to His Own Creations -2) [21]
Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +0
Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +8, Fortitude --, Will +7
Complications:
Motivation (Science!)- Zola is a purely evil scientist, doing genetic experiments for the fun of it. He loves discovery, and cares not for any innocents who suffer.
Weakness (Electrical & Magnetic Attacks)- Zola's android body contains many metal implements, and will be highly vulnerable to either source of attack.
Enemy (Captain America)
Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 46--23 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 62 / Defenses: 11 (149)
-Arnim Zola is a classic Kirby creation- a big ol' android with a huge human face projected onto the torso, with a tiny lil' robo-head on top. Just ugly and crazy as hell- a perfect embodiment of the wildness of the "House of Ideas" under Kirby's care.
-Curiously, though, Zola was created AFTER Jack left and rejoined Marvel, and he went right for Captain America. He was another "Retcon Foe" of Cap's from WWII, being a Swiss biochemist who'd worked for the Nazis (his equipment was discarded Deviant technology). His master-stroke was creating a device that copied and could transfer somebody's brain-waves- essentially, permanent immortality as long as you had a copy (and in comics... there's always a copy). Using this gear, he successfully resurrected the Red Skull, himself, ADOLF HITLER, and any number of people as an easy "get out of death free" card. Appearing as his own villain at first, he largely just became a "Skull Minion", frequently appearing having created new clone bodies or something- Mark Gruenwald's run features him in this manner. His presence is a little "different" in most of the issues I have- he's your standard smug, overconfident bad guy, but is rarely humiliated or enraged like others are. He kind of just takes things as they go- his joy is simply the building of stuff.
-Zola is briefly in
Thunderbolts, having kidnapped a bunch of orphaned children following the Onslaught massacre in New York City and giving them powers- one of them became Jolt. He was in Ed Brubaker's
Cap run as a Skull Minion yet again, having his body destroyed by the Grand Director, a madman who was just lashing out at everyone at that point. He was a major figure in a recent Rick Remender arc that involved Cap being sent into a Parallel Universe (my friend says it was REALLY BORING)- a "Dimension Z" ruled by Zola. Cap rescues and adopts a clone of Zola named Ian, raising him and an army that defeats Zola and his daughter- Jet Black. That world's Sharon Carter sacrifices herself to kill Zola, and even Jet reforms. Zola, unperturbed in the main universe, allies with HYDRA during
Secret Empire, but is taken apart by the "Superior Octopus" (Otto Octavius) when he turns on Ock when it's clear the villain plans to leave HYDRA- Otto outsmarts him and takes him down.
-Zola's certainly no fighter (I can't recall a single story where he even threw a punch), but a brilliant inventor, up there with all the other super-scientists in the Marvel Universe, and as such he's a real smartie-pants. He can also control all of his own creations (a highly-Limited Mind Control effect), and can beam himself to available techno-bodies if his current one is destroyed.