StephenJondrew
Friday, April 01, 2011, 05:22 AM
Syndicated Article - Originally Posted here (http://thestandardcomic.com/2011/03/17/zachary-zarthos/)
Of all the supervillains to enter the public consciousness over the past few decades, none are more notorious than Zachary Zarthos. Though he may have faded from memory in this current generation, there was a time when the citizens of Sky City – and at times, even the world as a whole – lived in fear of what The Standard’s arch-nemesis would do next.
It is all but unthinkable to consider this now, but at one time Zachary Zarthos was one of Sky City’s most celebrated citizens. Considered in the 1960s to be among the top five most intelligent people on the planet, Zarthos initially devoted his great mind to the service of his native Sky City. He designed several of the remarkable buildings that helped earn Sky City the nickname, “the city of the future”, and created some of the most advanced security systems in the world for many of the city’s banks and businesses, variations of which are still used to this day. From energy-efficient cars to state-of-the-art hospital equipment, Zarthos had a hand in a wide range of celebrated technology. Just as he had mastered one area of excellence, it seemed Zarthos would set out in pursuit of another. With a burgeoning interest in politics, some had even speculated that his latest conquest would be to become Sky City’s next Mayor.
Then The Standard saved the train and the aircraft in December 1966, and everything changed. Within a week of The Standard’s first public appearance, Zarthos announced he was developing a top secret project. A few months later, in a public press conference he revealed what he had been working on: a large, heavily-armored vehicle that looked something like a silver tank, only with rocket boosters that allowed it to fly. He called this new invention the Death Machine, and proceeded to demonstrate its effectiveness by jumping inside and launching an attack on the city. His targets seemed to be buildings and landmarks rather than people specifically, but 8 people died in his rampage, with many more seriously injured. This crazed spree was only brought to a halt when The Standard arrived on the scene, quickly dismantling Zarthos’ Death Machine and handing the disgraced genius over to the authorities.
The people of Sky City were baffled. Why would such a renowned and respected member of the community go so violently rogue, apparently without motive? It is perhaps understandable that, despite the death toll, in light of this initial incident Zachary Zarthos was deemed to have suffered from temporary insanity, and so was sent to a low-security mental health centre for medical treatment rather than to prison. He quickly escaped and embarked on another nefarious plot, this time souring the very contributions to the city that had made his name in the first place. Taking advantage of some security override directives he’d worked into the design of the numerous skyscrapers he had built in the city centre, he locked down each and turned them into inescapable prisons for the thousands of office workers and apartment residents inside them, threatening to detonate enough explosives to bring all crashing to the ground unless his ransom demand of one billion dollars was met within 24 hours. But again, The Standard saved the day, hunting down Zarthos and defeating him before he could blow up any of the buildings.
This time the authorities were not so lenient, and Zachary Zarthos was given a life sentence, what would turn out to be his first of many. You see, while in yesterday’s blog I talked about how in the real world, supervillains going to prison tended to mark the end of their criminal career, that rule did not apply to Zarthos. It seemed not a prison in the country could contain him, likely because he had designed most of their security systems. Time and time again, Zarthos would escape, return to Sky City, and embark on some elaborate criminal scheme. As the years went by, these campaigns of terror became increasingly fixated on The Standard in particular, with traps designed to snare him or bigger and better weapons that Zarthos boasted would finally kill Sky City’s favorite son. But having said that, right from the beginning, even when Zarthos was attacking the city as a whole, or even engaging in attempts at world conquest, every act seemed to be an attempt to get The Standard’s attention and draw him out into battle. As grandiose and public as his criminal career was, one gets the sense that every foul deed was meant for an intended audience of one.
Throughout the 24 years that Gilbert Graham was The Standard, Zachary Zarthos was there too as a perennial thorn in his side, the most dangerous man in the world. But strangely, when Gilbert Graham retired, so too did Zachary Zarthos. Having been sent to prison in Gilbert’s last adventure in the costume, Sky City waited for Zarthos’ inevitable next escape. They waited, but it never came. It seemed that Zarthos had instead opted to quietly serve his multiple life sentences in the maximum-security prison out on Aaron Island. Even the arrival of a new, younger Standard couldn’t entice him: with the original Standard gone, Zarthos just gave up. On Sunday October 26th, 2003, Zachary Zarthos died of lung cancer, having spent the last 13 years of his life behind bars.
Despite his death, the Zarthos name is still very much alive. Zachary’s daughter, Zena Zarthos, is the founder and CEO of the global conglomerate Zarthos Industries, whose developments in the fields of science and technology have gone a long way to return the Zarthos name to its former celebrated status. But for many, the Zarthos legacy will be forever linked to the most infamous supervillain in history, a man whose misdeeds fascinate and appal the world even today.
A big part of this fascination stems from the fact that a seemingly good man’s overnight turn to evil is as baffling and motiveless today as it was 44 years ago. Many have speculated that it was down to envy of The Standard, that Zarthos was embittered by how quickly his achievements had been overshadowed by a masked hero waltzing into his city. I’m not so sure. I think that his “overnight turn to evil” was anything but, and in fact was the logical next step for what had always driven him. I believe Zachary Zarthos was always a deeply unhappy man, never content with his achievements, always in search for something that could challenge an individual of such supreme intelligence – hence his mastery of numerous trailblazing disciplines. And in The Standard, he found what he had always been searching for: an immovable object to his irresistible force. This conclusion is perhaps supported by one of Zachary Zarthos’ most famous quotes:
“If The Standard can be called the greatest hero in the world, it is only reasonable to assert there must also be a greatest villain in the world. I believe that to be as desirable an accolade to attain as any.”
Of all the supervillains to enter the public consciousness over the past few decades, none are more notorious than Zachary Zarthos. Though he may have faded from memory in this current generation, there was a time when the citizens of Sky City – and at times, even the world as a whole – lived in fear of what The Standard’s arch-nemesis would do next.
It is all but unthinkable to consider this now, but at one time Zachary Zarthos was one of Sky City’s most celebrated citizens. Considered in the 1960s to be among the top five most intelligent people on the planet, Zarthos initially devoted his great mind to the service of his native Sky City. He designed several of the remarkable buildings that helped earn Sky City the nickname, “the city of the future”, and created some of the most advanced security systems in the world for many of the city’s banks and businesses, variations of which are still used to this day. From energy-efficient cars to state-of-the-art hospital equipment, Zarthos had a hand in a wide range of celebrated technology. Just as he had mastered one area of excellence, it seemed Zarthos would set out in pursuit of another. With a burgeoning interest in politics, some had even speculated that his latest conquest would be to become Sky City’s next Mayor.
Then The Standard saved the train and the aircraft in December 1966, and everything changed. Within a week of The Standard’s first public appearance, Zarthos announced he was developing a top secret project. A few months later, in a public press conference he revealed what he had been working on: a large, heavily-armored vehicle that looked something like a silver tank, only with rocket boosters that allowed it to fly. He called this new invention the Death Machine, and proceeded to demonstrate its effectiveness by jumping inside and launching an attack on the city. His targets seemed to be buildings and landmarks rather than people specifically, but 8 people died in his rampage, with many more seriously injured. This crazed spree was only brought to a halt when The Standard arrived on the scene, quickly dismantling Zarthos’ Death Machine and handing the disgraced genius over to the authorities.
The people of Sky City were baffled. Why would such a renowned and respected member of the community go so violently rogue, apparently without motive? It is perhaps understandable that, despite the death toll, in light of this initial incident Zachary Zarthos was deemed to have suffered from temporary insanity, and so was sent to a low-security mental health centre for medical treatment rather than to prison. He quickly escaped and embarked on another nefarious plot, this time souring the very contributions to the city that had made his name in the first place. Taking advantage of some security override directives he’d worked into the design of the numerous skyscrapers he had built in the city centre, he locked down each and turned them into inescapable prisons for the thousands of office workers and apartment residents inside them, threatening to detonate enough explosives to bring all crashing to the ground unless his ransom demand of one billion dollars was met within 24 hours. But again, The Standard saved the day, hunting down Zarthos and defeating him before he could blow up any of the buildings.
This time the authorities were not so lenient, and Zachary Zarthos was given a life sentence, what would turn out to be his first of many. You see, while in yesterday’s blog I talked about how in the real world, supervillains going to prison tended to mark the end of their criminal career, that rule did not apply to Zarthos. It seemed not a prison in the country could contain him, likely because he had designed most of their security systems. Time and time again, Zarthos would escape, return to Sky City, and embark on some elaborate criminal scheme. As the years went by, these campaigns of terror became increasingly fixated on The Standard in particular, with traps designed to snare him or bigger and better weapons that Zarthos boasted would finally kill Sky City’s favorite son. But having said that, right from the beginning, even when Zarthos was attacking the city as a whole, or even engaging in attempts at world conquest, every act seemed to be an attempt to get The Standard’s attention and draw him out into battle. As grandiose and public as his criminal career was, one gets the sense that every foul deed was meant for an intended audience of one.
Throughout the 24 years that Gilbert Graham was The Standard, Zachary Zarthos was there too as a perennial thorn in his side, the most dangerous man in the world. But strangely, when Gilbert Graham retired, so too did Zachary Zarthos. Having been sent to prison in Gilbert’s last adventure in the costume, Sky City waited for Zarthos’ inevitable next escape. They waited, but it never came. It seemed that Zarthos had instead opted to quietly serve his multiple life sentences in the maximum-security prison out on Aaron Island. Even the arrival of a new, younger Standard couldn’t entice him: with the original Standard gone, Zarthos just gave up. On Sunday October 26th, 2003, Zachary Zarthos died of lung cancer, having spent the last 13 years of his life behind bars.
Despite his death, the Zarthos name is still very much alive. Zachary’s daughter, Zena Zarthos, is the founder and CEO of the global conglomerate Zarthos Industries, whose developments in the fields of science and technology have gone a long way to return the Zarthos name to its former celebrated status. But for many, the Zarthos legacy will be forever linked to the most infamous supervillain in history, a man whose misdeeds fascinate and appal the world even today.
A big part of this fascination stems from the fact that a seemingly good man’s overnight turn to evil is as baffling and motiveless today as it was 44 years ago. Many have speculated that it was down to envy of The Standard, that Zarthos was embittered by how quickly his achievements had been overshadowed by a masked hero waltzing into his city. I’m not so sure. I think that his “overnight turn to evil” was anything but, and in fact was the logical next step for what had always driven him. I believe Zachary Zarthos was always a deeply unhappy man, never content with his achievements, always in search for something that could challenge an individual of such supreme intelligence – hence his mastery of numerous trailblazing disciplines. And in The Standard, he found what he had always been searching for: an immovable object to his irresistible force. This conclusion is perhaps supported by one of Zachary Zarthos’ most famous quotes:
“If The Standard can be called the greatest hero in the world, it is only reasonable to assert there must also be a greatest villain in the world. I believe that to be as desirable an accolade to attain as any.”