Arnim Zola is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. He is a master of

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

and a recurring enemy of

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

and the

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

. The character first appeared in ''

Captain America and the Falcon ''Captain America and the Falcon'' is a title used by multiple American comic books published by Marvel Comics featuring the superheroes Captain America and Falcon (comics), Falcon. It was used as the cover title for Captain America (comic book), ...

'' #208 (April 1977), and was created by writer/artist

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

. When he was first introduced, Zola was a Nazi scientist experimenting with genetic engineering during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His skills as a geneticist drew the attention of the

Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...

, who recruited him into Hydra to aid their efforts to create super soldiers. One of his experiments led to the brain of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

being copied into a being later known as

Hate-Monger The Hate-Monger is the name of several different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The original character first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #21 (December, 1963) and was cr ...

. 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. Zola has appeared in several forms of media outside of comics. He made his live-action debut in the television film '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), portrayed by Peter Haworth, and appears in media set in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

(MCU), portrayed by

Toby Jones Toby Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his extensive character actor roles on stage and screen. From 1989 ...

. Additionally, Grant Moninger,

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, and the Joker (character), Joker in various animated DC Comics projects, starting with ''Batm ...

, and

Trevor Devall Trevor Devall (born November 10, 1972) is a Canadian voice actor. He worked for various other studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for years, before he relocated to Los Angeles, California in 2013. Early life Trevor Devall was born ...

have voiced Zola in animation.

Publication history

Arnim Zola was created by

, and he first appeared in ''

'' #208 (April 1977).

Fictional character biography

Arnim Zola was a Swiss biochemist during

who became one of the first human

genetic engineer Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including th ...

s 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 The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

, who see his experiments as a means to ensure the existence of the

Master Race The master race ( ) is a pseudoscientific concept in Nazi ideology, in which the putative Aryan race is deemed the pinnacle of human racial hierarchy. Members were referred to as ''master humans'' ( ). The Nazi theorist Alfred Rosenberg b ...

. 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

, creating the

. Zola was later approached by

Baron Strucker Baron Wolfgang von Strucker () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A former Nazi officer, he is one of the leaders of the Hydra terrorist organization, and the archenemy of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. H ...

into taking part in the establishment of Hydra. The

also financed some of Zola's experiments, allowing him to create Primus,

Doughboy "Doughboy" was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s, when it was gradually replaced by " G.I." as the following ge ...

, and Man-Fish. During one such experiment, Zola collects humans from the rubble of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

after the devastation caused by Onslaught. Zola endows a teenager with superpowers, creating the hero known as Jolt, who is eventually stopped by the Thunderbolts. Zola also collected DNA samples of

at the time when Red Skull's body began to age rapidly, and used this template to create a new body for his ally. 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 Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (December 1990). In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is ...

. A copy of Zola, who had been impersonating

Brian Braddock Brian Braddock is a superhero appearing in British and American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created in 1976 by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, with later contributions from Alan Moore and Alan Davis, he first appeared in ...

's mentor Professor Walsh, is killed by Meggan. During the " X-Men: Endangered Species" storyline, Arnim Zola is among the nine supervillain geniuses recruited by

Beast Beast most often refers to: * Animal, a multicellular, eukaryotic organism in the biological kingdom Animalia * The Beast (Revelation), one of three beasts described in the Book of Revelation * Monster, a type of creature found in fiction, folklo ...

to help him reverse the effects of " Decimation". In the aftermath of "

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

", Zola joins the

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 Doctor Doom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #5 in April 1962, and has since endured as the arch ...

, as well as craft a device that will separate the Skull's consciousness from

Aleksander Lukin Aleksander Lukin () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The character first appeared in ''Captain America'' vol. 5 #1 (January 2005), and was created by Ed Brubaker and St ...

. He manages to unlock the device's secrets and has a brainwashed

Sharon Carter Sharon Carter (also known as Agent 13) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers, the character first appeared in '' Tales of Suspense'' #75 (March 1966). Sharon ...

hooked up to it. However, she breaks off the connection as

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in ''Strange Tal ...

agents storm the base. Zola quickly transfers Red Skull out of Lukin but his body is destroyed by the

Grand Director William Burnside, Doctor of Philosophy, PhD,''Captain America'' #602 also known as the Captain America of the 1950s, Commie Smasher or Bad Cap, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created ...

. Red Skull was then stuck in one of Zola's robot bodies. In the " Dark Reign" storyline, Zola is located by

Norman Osborn Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of th ...

. 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. 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. Eventually,

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 Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

). In the decade stranded in Dimension Z, Cap raises the boy as his 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

. Eventually, Carter sacrifices herself to destroy Zola and his fortress, allowing Cap and a reformed Jet to return to Earth, where only seconds have passed since the former's arrival in Dimension Z. During the "

AXIS An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

" storyline, Red Skull tells Arnim Zola that everything is in place on his end. Zola is confronted by Jet, who refuses to return to his 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. After the Unvengers are defeated, Zola flees with Jet. Arnim Zola later appears as a member of Hydra's High Council when the Red Skull uses Kobik to rewrite history and make Captain America a Hydra sleeper agent. In " Secret Empire", Arnim Zola assists Hydra in taking over the United States. Hydra also obtains

Bruce Banner The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

's corpse and resurrects him for their use. In "

Spider-Geddon ''Spider-Geddon'' is a 2018 comic book Limited series (comics), limited series and Crossover (comics), crossover Story arc, storyline published by Marvel Comics featuring multiple alternative versions of Spider-Man that had appeared Spider-Man in ...

", Arnim Zola and Hydra meet with Superior Octopus in an attempt to recruit him to rebuild Hydra. However, Octopus defeats them and dismantles Zola.

Arnim Zola 4.2.3

A flawed copy of Arnim Zola's consciousness later joins the

Shadow Council The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them. 0–9 198 A A-Force A-Next A.I. Army The A.I. Army is a fictional organization appearing i ...

and battles the

Secret Avengers ''Secret Avengers'' is an American comic book Ongoing series, series published by Marvel Comics featuring a fictional black operation, black ops superhero team of the same name. The series started with Ed Brubaker on writing duties, depicting a b ...

, who are investigating the group's operations.

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.

Other versions

Secret Wars

An alternate universe variant of Arnim Zola from Earth-85826 appears in the ''

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'', is a 12-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter ...

'' tie-in series ''Hail Hydra''. This version is the leader of Hydra.

Spider-Gwen

An alternate universe variant of Arnim Zola from Earth-65 appears in ''

Spider-Gwen ''Spider-Gwen'' (also titled ''Radioactive Spider-Gwen'', ''Ghost-Spider'', and ''Gwenom'') is an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics that began February 2015. The series revolves around Gwen Stacy of Earth-65, an alternate un ...

''.

Ultimate Marvel

An alternate universe variant of Arnim Zola from

Earth-1610 Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

appears in ''Ultimates Annual'' #2.''Ultimates'' Annual #2 (2007). Marvel Comics. This version is an artificial intelligence based on the real Zola created by the O.S.S. Additionally, a character based on Zola named Arnim Zola III appears in '' Ultimate Mystery'' as a member of

Roxxon The Roxxon Energy Corporation (also known as the Roxxon Oil Company, Roxxon Oil Corporation, Roxxon Corporation, or simply Roxxon) is a fictional massive petroleum industrial conglomerate in the Marvel Universe appearing in American comic books ...

's brain trust.

In other media

Television

* Arnim Zola makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in a flashback in ''

The Super Hero Squad Show ''The Super Hero Squad Show'' is an American superhero animated series produced by Marvel Animation that aired from 2009 to 2011. It is based on the Hasbro toyline " Marvel Super Hero Squad", which portrays the Avengers, the X-Men, and various ...

'' episode "Wrath of the Red Skull!". * Arnim Zola appears in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'', voiced by Grant Moninger. 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. This version is a member of the Enchantress's

Masters of Evil The Masters of Evil is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in '' The Avengers'' #6 (July 1964), with the lineup continually changing over the years. Publication ...

and a former inmate of the Big House. * Arnim Zola appears in ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...

'', voiced by

. * Arnim Zola appears in '' Avengers Assemble'', voiced again by Mark Hamill. This version is a member of the

Cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state (polity), state, or another community, often by Wiktionary:intrigue, intrigue and usually without the kn ...

. * Arnim Zola appears in the ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' episode "Spider-Island", voiced again by Mark Hamill. * Arnim Zola appears in ''

Marvel Future Avengers is a Japanese superhero anime television series produced by Madhouse and Walt Disney Japan, based on the Marvel Comics universe. The series follows a group of teenagers with special powers, who are trained by the Avengers to become superh ...

'', voiced by Volcano Ota in the original Japanese version and

Kirk Thornton Kirk Thornton is an American voice actor, director and script writer working mainly with English-language versions of Japanese animated series. Career His major roles include Brandon Heat in '' Gungrave'', Hotohori in '' Fushigi Yūgi'', Klei ...

in the English dub. * Zola appears in ''

Spidey and His Amazing Friends ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (also known as ''Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends'') is an American animated television series produced by Marvel Studios Animation (formerly Marvel Animation) and animated by Atomic Cartoons (who als ...

'', voiced by

. This version is a robot with extendable limbs who can possess electronic devices. Additionally, he is assisted by three smaller robots called "Hydrabots" (voiced by Jonathan Lipow, Sainty Nelsen, and

Bob Bergen Robert Berger (born March 8, 1964), known professionally as Bob Bergen, is an American voice actor. He voices Warner Bros. cartoon characters Porky Pig and Tweety and has voiced characters in the English dubs of various anime. He formerly hosted ...

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 Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Arnim Zola appears in media set in the

(MCU), portrayed by

. Following his first appearance in '' Captain America: The First Avenger'', Zola appears in the '' Agent Carter'' episode "

Valediction A valediction (Derivation (linguistics), derivation from Latin ''vale dicere'', "to say farewell"), parting phrase, or complimentary close in American English, is an expression used to say farewell, especially a word or phrase used to end a lett ...

" and '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier''. Additionally, alternate reality variants of Zola appear in '' What If...?''.

Video games

* Arnim Zola appears as a

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

in ''

Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal ''Iron Man / X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal'' is a video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboa ...

'', voiced by Tim Jones. * Arnim Zola, based on the MCU incarnation, appears as a boss in '' Captain America: Super Soldier'', voiced by

André Sogliuzzo André Sogliuzzo (born August 10, 1966) is an American voice actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' Darksiders II'', '' Final Fantasy XIII'', '' Jackie Chan Adventures'', '' Need for Speed: Most ...

. * Arnim Zola appears as a boss in ''

Marvel Avengers Alliance ''Marvel Avengers Alliance'' was a 2012 turn-based social-network game developed by American studio Offbeat Creations and published by Playdom. It is based on characters and storylines published by Marvel Comics. The game was available as an Adob ...

''. * Arnim Zola appears as an unlockable playable character in ''

Lego Marvel Super Heroes ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes'' is a 2013 Lego-themed action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xb ...

'', voiced by

Robin Atkin Downes Robin Atkin Downes is an English actor. He is known for his work in animation and video games. Early life Downes was born in London. He earned an MFA from Temple University in Philadelphia. Career Downes has voiced characters in animated f ...

. * An amalgamated incarnation of Arnim Zola appears as an unlockable playable character in ''

Lego Marvel's Avengers ''Lego Marvel's Avengers'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, ...

'', voiced again by Mark Hamill. This version's human body is based on the MCU incarnation while his robot body is based on the original comics design. * Arnim Zola appears as an unlockable playable character in ''

Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on 14 November 2017 and ...

''. * Arnim Zola appears as a boss in ''

Marvel Future Revolution ''Marvel Future Revolution'' was an action role-playing game developed by Netmarble Monster and published by Netmarble. It was released for Android and iOS on August 25, 2021. The game's storyline is based on the Secret Wars series and is set on ...

''.

Miscellaneous

Arnim Zola appears in '' Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle!'', portrayed again by Toby Jones.

Publication history

Fictional character biography

Arnim Zola 4.2.3

Powers and abilities

Other versions

Secret Wars

Spider-Gwen

Ultimate Marvel

In other media

Television

Film

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Video games

Miscellaneous

References

External links