Zenebas

For the faction, see Zenebas Empire. For the reborn faction brought forth by his totally-not-a-bastard son, Günther Prozen, see Neo Zenebas. For his father, see King Helic. For that dickhead who wouldn't give him the Central Continent his brother, see Helic. For his daughter, see Elena. For Zenebas, the actual character, see the article below. To hear this menu again, press 1.

Personality

It's not a stick, it's a sceptre.

Zenebas, often mistaken for a faction, was actually a dude. (The Empire was, however, named after him by him, because people on Zi are extremely creative about naming things.)

He was never the nicest of men, though he started out a lot saner than he ended. Restless, aggressive, and feeling a bit put-upon by the Wind Tribe-happy council (considering his mum was from one of their old rival tribes), his intentions in starting his own empire were not outright evil—though road to hell, paved with, et cetera.

As time wore on, it became evident he could never admit to being wrong or truly forgive his brother, being willing to run his country into the ground to avoid giving in...and eventually, leave it open to Guylos' eventual betrayal and absorption rather than see the continent under Republic rule. He spent his final years mostly stoic and silent, and died on Nyx full of chagrin and regret.

By contrast, and contrary to much fanon regarding the animated version of his son, he was actually mentioned as being a good father—though one has to speculate as to where Prozen came from beyond "sympathetic Guylos regent with a thing for Zenebas", given that his age implies he was conceived while the Empire was already collapsing. Distracting oneself, were we?

Seems to have had short to fluffy brown hair in most illustrations, despite a brief phase of...blond.

History

Zenebas was the younger of King Helic's two sons. The marriage may have been for political reasons, as Zenebas' mother was the original Guylos's sister; regardless, the later-formed Republic council was not fond of Zenebas, nor Zenebas fond of them.

When Helic died, he left things political to Zenebas' older brother, who was also named Helic...as was the Helic Republic. Zenebas was meant to be running the military side of things, so they could balance each others' weaknesses. In peacetime, however, he grew bored and caused trouble, his arguments that they should attack/subdue potential enemies rather than waiting for them to attack again going unheard.

Eventually, they had a bit of a backstab-tastic row, and Zenebas buggered off to start his own empire (with blackjack, and hookers, and no stupid council). Many years of war followed, with Zenebas determined to take over the continent and make it more awesome, and Helic regretful but refusing to hand it over. Humans showing up just made it worse, fueling the arms race with their new technology.

Somewhere in here (~ZAC 2033), he acquired a daughter by an unknown woman (aren't they always unknown in the battle story?). If you go by the possibly Tomy-only take on events, he also took in the orphan of one of his top bodyguards.

The first time Zenebas was losing, he fled to Nyx and allied with Guylos; he returned with Zoids like the Death Saurer and started gaining ground. At one point he had the Republic on the run to the point where Helic resorted to guerrilla warfare and body doubles, though an attempt to kidnap Helic and end things quickly didn't go too well.

Unfortunately for Zenebas' increasingly unstable designs on the continent, there were Mad Thunders, and his ass getting kicked again...and Guylos betraying him and taking his army. Really, that's what happens when you trust someone who goes by "Evil Emperor". Elena was kidnapped as a handy pawn, and while Zenebas would survive to the end of the war, his effectiveness as a ruler was all but over.

At his funeral, a young Prozen watched and looked on, mourning the father he never knew and vowing he would revive the Empire.

Appearances

• Just about the entire old line, both Shogakukan and Tomy.
• Zoids Official Fanbook 4 (well, a flashback to his last days and funeral)

Continuity

"...dad, WHAT DID YOU DO to your hair?"
"The 80s."
"Ah."

Shogakukan has Zenebas as having no kids in the OJR. Tomy has him as having Elena (and, if you count him as some sort of planned future-heir, Störmer). By the NJR, Shogakukan adds Elena's half-brother Prozen and forks her into their continuity, now disguised as Camford. (Störmer, meanwhile, has fallen in a plot hole.)

Zoids Graphics 16 has Zenebas as piloting an Iron Kong Mk.II and Störmer a Death Saurer when Guylos forces do their attack-and-betray thing (and, depending on how you interpret things, Zenebas appears dead at this point). Shogakukan, by contrast, doesn't have Störmer, and so gives Zenebas a custom Death Saurer (with spikes and Maneuver Thrusters) to be tossed around by a Deadborder. At the time, they didn't have Elena around, and thus Zenebas was more the resident handy hostage. He and his daughter seem to have shared this role in the NJR take on the two slightly-conflicting stories.

Zenebas' appearance, like Helic's, is ferociously inconsistent thanks to differing artists. Brown hair seems a constant other than an...80s hair episode, however, and he's described on multiple occasions as tall.