Arnim Zola is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by Marvel Comics. He is a master of biochemistry and a recurring enemy of Captain America and the Avengers. The character first appeared in Captain America and the Falcon #208 (April 1977), and was created by writer/artist Jack Kirby.[1] When he was first introduced, Zola was a Nazi scientist experimenting with genetic engineering during World War II. His skills as a geneticist drew the attention of the Red Skull, who recruited him into Hydra to aid their efforts to create super soldiers. One of his experiments led to the brain of Adolf Hitler being copied into a being later known as Hate-Monger.[2] Later in life, Zola transferred his own mind into a sophisticated robot body which protected it by storing it in its chest and displaying a digital image of Zola's face on its chest plate. This robot body allowed Zola to survive until modern times, as whenever it is destroyed, Zola could simply upload his consciousness into a new body.
Arnim Zola was a Swissbiochemist during World War II who became one of the first human genetic engineers in history after finding papers and equipment used by the offshoot race of humanity known as the Deviants. He finds a ready home among the Nazi Party, who see his experiments as a means to ensure the existence of the Master Race.[3]
One of his first accomplishments is the creation of a brain pattern imprinting device, which allows a person's mental essence to be projected into a cloned brain. Zola uses this machine on Adolf Hitler, creating the Hate-Monger. Zola was later approached by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker into taking part in the establishment of Hydra.[4]
The Red Skull also financed some of Zola's experiments, allowing him to produce such creations as Primus, Doughboy, and Man-Fish.[5] During one such experiment, Zola collects humans from the rubble of New York City after the devastation caused by a being known as Onslaught. Zola endows a teenager with superpowers, creating the hero known as Jolt, who is eventually stopped by the Thunderbolts.[6] Zola also collected DNA samples of Captain America at the time when Red Skull's body began to age rapidly,[7] and used this template to create a new body for his ally.[8]
As part of another experiment, he collects the DNA of multiple superpowered individuals and uses it to create Proto-Husks that are destroyed by Deadpool.[9]
A copy of Zola, who had been impersonating Brian Braddock's mentor Professor Walsh, dies at Meggan's hands.[10]
In the aftermath of the Superhuman Civil War, Zola joins the Red Skull in his newest attempt to kill Captain America, which succeeds. Afterwards, while Red Skull is busy with his plans to control America with a puppet government, Zola attempts to reverse-engineer a mysterious device given to him by Doctor Doom, as well as craft a device that will separate the Skull's consciousness from the mind of Aleksander Lukin, which was the result of misuse of the Cosmic Cube. He manages to unlock the device's secrets and has a brainwashed Sharon Carter hooked up to it. However, she breaks off the connection, just as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents storm the base. Zola quickly transfers Red Skull out of Lukin but his body is destroyed by the Grand Director. Red Skull was then stuck in one of Zola's robot bodies.[12]
Stuck in a computer somewhere during the "Captain America: Reborn" part of the "Dark Reign" storyline, Zola is located by Norman Osborn. He informs the current director of H.A.M.M.E.R. that Captain America is locked in space and time on the date of his supposed death. Doom's machine was meant to bring him back for an unknown purpose but because of Sharon, he has become unstuck in time, causing him to relive the events of World War II.[13] By the time Zola rebuilds the machine in Castle Doom, Sharon Carter is brought to him so that he can transfer the Red Skull's mind into her body.[14]
Eventually, Captain America finds Zola hiding in an alternate dimension known as Dimension Z, where time moves at faster rate than on Earth. There, Zola has built a massive fortress and an army of genetically altered soldiers with the intent of conquering Earth. In the initial assault, Cap rescues a genetically engineered infant boy (Zola's son Leopold). In the decade stranded in Dimension Z, Cap raises the boy as his own son, Ian. The two take up with the peaceful Phrox, and eventually lead a rebellion to stop Zola's forces, now commanded by Zola's daughter, Jet Black. Ian is later captured by Zola, and brainwashed to accept Zola as his father again, but eventually breaks out of his control, only to be shot by Sharon Carter. Eventually, Carter sacrifices herself to destroy Zola and his fortress, allowing Cap and a now reformed Jet to escape back to Earth, where only seconds have passed since his arrival in Dimension Z.[15]
During the "AXIS" storyline, Red Skull tells Arnim Zola that everything is in place on his end. Zola is confronted by his daughter Jet Zola who refuses to return to her father's side. Falcon sneak attacks Zola. Ian finds and frees Sharon Carter, only to learn that Zola has a bomb strong enough to destroy all of New York City. Falcon removes the telepathic antenna on Zola's body to stop him from controlling the bomb, but it only sets the bomb to activate. Falcon takes the bomb high into the sky above New York before it goes off.[16] After the Unvengers are defeated, Zola flees with Jet Zola.[17]
Arnim Zola later appears as a member of Hydra's High Council when the Red Skull uses the Cosmic CubeKobik to rewrite history and make Captain America a Hydra sleeper agent.[18][19]
During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Arnim Zola assists Hydra in taking over the United States.[20] Hydra also obtains Bruce Banner's corpse and resurrects him for their use.[21]
During the "Spider-Geddon" storyline, Arnim Zola and Hydra meet with Superior Octopus in an attempt to recruit him to rebuild Hydra. However, Octopus defeats them and dismantles Zola.[22]
Arnim Zola 4.2.3
A flawed copy of Arnim Zola's consciousness later joins the Shadow Council and battles the Secret Avengers, who are investigating the Shadow Council's operations.[23]
Powers and abilities
Arnim Zola has no natural superpowers, but is a scientific genius and biochemist specializing in genetics and cloning. His android body gives him the ability to control the minds of others, generate mental blasts, and transfer his consciousness into another body if destroyed.[24]
Other versions
Secret Wars
An alternate universe variant of Arnim Zola from Earth-85826 appears in the Secret Wars tie-in series Hail Hydra. This version is the leader of Hydra. Additionally, Zola serves as the namesake of a road in New York on Earth-21722.[25][26][27]
Spider-Gwen
An alternate universe variant of Arnim Zola from Earth-65 appears in Spider-Gwen.[28]
Ultimate Marvel
An alternate universe variant of Arnim Zola from Earth-1610 appears in Ultimates Annual #2.[29] This version is an artificial intelligence based on the real Zola created by the O.S.S.[29][30] Additionally, a character based on Zola named Arnim Zola III appears in Ultimate Mystery as a member of Roxxon's brain trust.[31][32][33]
In other media
Television
Arnim Zola makes a cameo appearance in a flashback in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Wrath of the Red Skull!".
Zola appears in Spidey and His Amazing Friends, voiced by Trevor Devall.[35] This version is a robot with extendable limbs whose face is an entirely computerized screen and can possess any electronic devices. Additionally, he is assisted by three smaller robots known as "Hydrabots" (voiced by Jonathan Lipow, Sainty Nelsen, and Bob Bergen).
Film
Arnim Zola appears in Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., portrayed by Peter Haworth. This version is an elderly Hydra chemist who created the "Death's Head virus" and was recruited back into Hydra by Viper.
Zola first appears in the live-action film Captain America: The First Avenger. He helps the Red Skull harness the Tesseract's power during World War II, creating advanced weaponry for Hydra to use. After being captured by Steve Rogers however, Zola is forced to reveal the location of the Red Skull's base.
Zola appears in the live-action television series Agent Carter episode "Valediction", wherein he receives Johann Fennhoff as a cellmate and recruits him into Hydra.[36]
Zola appears in the live-action film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Following the end of World War II, Zola took advantage of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s participation in Operation Paperclip to revive Hydra by slowly taking over S.H.I.E.L.D. from within over the course of the intervening decades. During this time, he also experimented on Bucky Barnes, transforming him into an assassin called the "Winter Soldier". After contracting a terminal illness in 1972, Zola had his consciousness transferred into a supercomputer in a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. From there, Zola masterminded S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "Project Insight" in the present as a means to identify and target potential threats to Hydra's interests. Zola reveals all of this to Rogers and Natasha Romanoff when the two find the supercomputer housing his consciousness, stalling them in a sacrificial attempt to kill them with a missile sent by Alexander Pierce. Zola's supercomputer is destroyed, but his ploy failed as Rogers and Romanoff survived it and eventually foil "Project Insight" and expose Hydra.[citation needed]
The second variant appears in "What If... Ultron Won?" and "What If... the Watcher Broke His Oath?". Zola created multiple back-up copies of himself, with Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton seeking out the last known copy to help them defeat Ultron, who has killed all life in the universe. With Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. gone, a purposeless Zola agrees and his consciousness is transferred to an Ultron drone in the hopes of uploading himself to Ultron's mind and deleting him, but fails to because Ultron left his universe. Zola later has his consciousness transferred into one of Barton's arrows, which Romanoff uses to defeat Ultron with help from Captain Carter of the Guardians of the Multiverse. After Killmonger tries to take Ultron's Infinity Stones, Zola takes control of Ultron's body and fights him for them, but the Watcher and Doctor Strange Supreme seal them in a pocket dimension, which the latter agrees to watch over.
Arnim Zola appears as an unlockable playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers, voiced again by Mark Hamill. He appears in both his original robotic body from the comics and a human body based on his appearance in Captain America: The First Avenger.
^Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 179. ISBN978-1465455505.
^Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #9-11. Marvel Comics.
^Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (vol. 2) #24. Marvel Comics.
^ abcdefg"Arnim Zola Voices (Captain America)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 14, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
