Zinyak

Zinyak is a character in Saints Row IV and Enter the Dominatrix.
==Overview==
Zinyak is an extraterrestrial warlord and the leader of the alien race known as the Zin. Serving as the main antagonist of Saints Row IV, he invades the Earth and kidnaps Playa, who is now the President of the United States, and puts them into a simulation of Steelport.
The supreme alien commander speaks with an upper class English accent and is described as being a fan of literature. Indeed, he states in his Text Adventures that it was his love for literature that inspired him and ultimately lead him to Earth. He makes several references to this throughout the game: he can be heard reading the entire first chapter of ; he quotes an entire passage of , and later in the mission the text adventure consists of several elements of 's works; he compares his final confrontation with Playa to that of Mercutio and Tybalt in ; and in a post-credits scene, Zinjai reveals that Zinyak used time travel to "build a menagerie of his favorite humans" before destroying Earth, and among them abducted English novelist Jane Austen (who serves as the game's narrator).
==Biography==
===Saints Row IV===
Zinyak is first introduced when he and his Empire begin their attack on Earth. He comes in through the ceiling of the presidents press conference and abducts Kinzie Kensington and then Shaundi before disappearing. He also appears later in the destroyed gunship where he fights Playa and eventually triumphs over them. After Playa is defeated, Zinyak puts them and all their friends into their own virtual simulations based on their worst fears.
Once Playa begins to openly defy their simulation based on pleasantry and order, Zinyak takes notice. He remarks that he should've known that a "prison of peace could never hold a sociopath" like Playa, who insists that they're a "puckish rogue". He then throws Playa into a Zin-dominated version of Steelport, threatening to destroy the Earth if they attempt to escape. Later, when Playa escapes, Zinyak carries out his threat and Earth is utterly destroyed. But this only hardens Playa, who goes back into the simulation to rescue the other Saints and then get revenge by killing Zinyak.
Zinyak talks to Playa through out the game telling them that they will fail and that fighting will cause the extinction of the human race in an effort to discourage them and break their will.
After all the Saints have been rescued (including (to everyone's surprise) Johnny Gat) Zinyak contacts Keith David and manages to convince him to turn against the Saints with the promise that in exchange, Earth will be restored. However, when Keith bears witness to Playa being brutalized by two Zin, he has a change of heart and saves his friend, only to be put back into his own simulation moments later by Zinyak.
After saving Kinzie, the Saints eventually succeed in completely disrupting The Simulation. They then proceed to fight their way through Zinyak's ship. After donning a suit of Zin power armor which can replicate their Super Powers from the simulation, Playa makes a dramatic entrance into Zinyak's throne room and insists that they're still going to "rip his goddamn head off".
Broadcasting to the entire Zin Empire so that his subjects could watch their leader extinguish humanity's last hope, Zinyak calls upon his own giant Mech Suit to fight Playa. However, he quickly resorts to a more cowardly tactic once his suit starts taking considerable damage; retreating behind a force field and relying on explosive C.I.D.s to cover him.
Not willing to give in, Playa uses Telekinesis to throw the C.I.D.s through the shield and back at Zinyak, causing even more extensive damage to his mech. Realizing that the situation was beginning to look bad for him, Zinyak summons his minions to wear down Playa, but the other Saints quickly arrive on Xors to back their leader up by distracting the Zin reinforcements.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Playa proceeds to destroy Zinyak's protective shield, followed by his mech; leaving him completely exposed and vulnerable; true to his word, Playa moves in to try and decapitate Zinyak with his own hands. Even as the Saints leader is in the process of removing Zinyak's head from his body, he defiantly claims that his minions would avenge his death and exterminate humanity for good; at which point, his head is ripped off, spinal cord included. Impressed by this feat, the whole of the Zin Empire bows down before Playa, who then assumes control of the Zin Invasion Fleet as its new emperor and supreme commander.
Assuming all of the Saints' Loyalty missions have been completed, it is revealed by Zinjai, Zinyak's second-in command, that Zinyak told Keith a half-truth; the Zin do not possess the means to restore Earth but they do have time travel technology that could enable the Saints to revisit Earth before its destruction. Zinjai then shows Playa the many humans in stasis Zinyak had collected from across history, including his favorite author, Jane Austen.
===Enter the Dominatrix===
Zinyak does an interview for Jane Valderamma on the The Ship Crib concerning the cut DLC Enter the Dominatrix in the style of a . He compliments his performance, stating that he was kept on because he had "chewed up the scenery".
In an alternative timeline to Saints Row IV, Zinyak launches an attack on Steelport with his Zin forces. Playa later confronts Zinyak at where the Syndicate Tower once stood. Despite his long health bar, it only takes one shot to bring Zinyak to his knees. Playa then beats up Zinyak, and shoots him in the head, killing him, while Zinyak complains throughout the scene's commentary track. After his death an AI known as The Dominatrix takes control of the Zin, and places the Saints into a virtual simulation of Steelport.
==Trivia==
* As noted in the official description, he was originally to appear in a standalone expansion pack for Saints Row: The Third titled Enter the Dominatrix. However it was cancelled and merged with Saints Row IV instead. In the same official description, "alien warlord" Zinyak is noted as having "eyed Earth and its precious natural resources and females [...] for centuries".
* He is the first non-human antagonist in the Saints Row series.
* In real-life, Volition has a Zinyak Twitter account, which posts in-character as Zinyak.
* Zinyak is the host of Klassic 102.4 in Saints Row IV, often speaking of his own morality, reading the first chapter of , and reciting with Jane Valderama. He still hosts the radio station even after his death.
* Even though he dies in the final mission of Saints Row IV, during the curtain call, Zinyak appears and does "".
* Zinyak's name is spelled Zin-Yak on TV screens.
* The manner in which Playa kills Zinyak is likely a reference to the series, in which the titular Predator aliens remove the spines and skulls of their prey to be used as trophies.
** It could also be a reference to the games, wherein the character Sub-Zero kills his opponent in such a fashion in one of his Fatalities.
* There is an outfit of Zinyak in the Zinyak Attack Pack (which consists of his head and body).
* In a way he can be considered as an "evil counterpart" to both Playa and Matt Miller with the former starting out as a nobody before rising to the top of ruling an empire and the latter for trying to imprison Playa's mind inside a virtual world that would render them brain dead and leave their body to rot.
* In the second DLC for Saints Row IV, How the Saints Save Christmas, an achievement can be unlocked called "He's Still on the Naughty List" which requires Playa to fire presents at the Zinyak statue on Magarac Island and into his giant hand.
* At one point during Pierce's Loyalty mission, Playa and Pierce are driving, singing along to Biz Markie's "Just a Friend", when Zinyak hijacks the radio signal, and starts singing along in a deep opera voice to the dismay of Playa and Pierce. Zinyak calls them Philistines.
*Zinyak is featured under Z in The ABCs of Saints Row.
*Because of the modding patch Zinyak's head is stuck to Playa's hand even in the dancing scene.
*Zinyak speaks with a British accent.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
 
Category:Characters in Saints Row IV