Zeke

Zeke von Genbu (), Bringer of Chaos, also known as Ozychlyrus Brounev Tantal () and often addressed as The Zekenator or Thunderbolt Zeke, is a playable character in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. He approaches Rex's party multiple times, a presenting him as the most evil Driver in all of Alrest. In actuality, he is the crown prince of Tantal. He is Pandoria's Driver.
==Appearance and personality==
Zeke is a tall, muscular man with short, spiky gray hair and eyes. In his main appearance, he wears a long black hooded coat with armored shoulders that is open to reveal his chest, several belts on his midriff, black pants with armored knees, black and green boots, and black fingerless gloves with spikes. He also wears a black eyepatch with a turtle pattern over his left eye. As revealed during the events of the Spirit Crucible Elpys, Zeke bears a piece of Pandoria's Core Crystal embedded in his chest over his heart.
At first appearance, Zeke is a bombastic and overdramatic man, who refers to himself with the title of "Zeke Von Genbu, Bringer of Chaos" and has several similarly dramatic titles for his weapon and attacks. Zeke's poor luck means that he is often getting himself into situations. Despite his demeanor, however, Zeke is the Crown Prince of Tantal and known throughout Alrest as Tantal's most powerful Driver, Thunderbolt Zeke. His many years spent exiled from his kingdom, as well as his experiences working as a special envoy for Indol have made Zeke jaded and pessimistic of his impact as the heroic figure he hopes to be, until his encounters with Rex give him greater hope for the future. Zeke shows a surprising amount of maturity throughout the story, serving as a mentor figure for Rex and having a great deal of political insight.
==Story arc==
===Xenoblade Chronicles 2===
Just after Rex, Nia, Tora, and their s leave Garfont Village in Uraya and head for Fonsa Myma, they are approached by Zeke and Pandoria right next to a cliff. The party tries to remember if they have met them before. Nobody does, and Zeke takes it personal. He introduces himself and challenges them for a duel, but gets rejected by Rex. Zeke, surprised by his refusal, stays persistent and questions of the party can really take on the three of them. Nia, who is getting annoyed, asks what makes it three of them. Zeke tries to present their pet Turters, who has suddenly gone missing. Pyra finds him just next to her feet and picks him up. Zeke quickly rushes toward her and, instead of taking the Aegis, he grabs back his pet. Zeke responds that she'll be his soon anyway. He once again challenges the party, and this time, it is accepted. Zeke seems to lose, but still has his super-ultra-mega-move: The Ultimate Lightning Fury Slash. Nia is not impressed by its name, but Zeke shows off his art by smashing his sword, the Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher, into the ground and leaves quite an impression. However, the impact was so strong that the ground collapses and Zeke and Pandoria fall down the cliff. The party proceeds as if nothing happened.
Zeke is again encountered in Mor Ardain while the party is en route to the Old Factory, where he again challenges the party to battle. Zeke explains that the party "got lucky" last time due to the cliff they were on, and that he has the ability of the Eye of Shining Justice, which he is sworn to keep sealed for the benefit of mankind. Zeke attempts to unleash his Ultimate Lightning Fury Slash, which unlodges a large boulder from the cliff above him and Pandoria, causing them to run away.
Zeke again shows up in Ysheva Harbor, where he is recognized by Mòrag. Zeke says he has been waiting for the party for three days, and again challenges the party to a battle, which Mòrag decides to sit out of. Upon Nia taunting him by pointing out his previous misfortunes in battle, Zeke demonstrates his true strength by taking down the party in one swift slash. Mòrag then reveals him to be "Thunderbolt Zeke," Tantal's greatest driver and crown prince. After his battle, Rex holds back, declaring that Zeke isn't a bad guy, to which Zeke concedes and reveals his true intentions, having been working for Indol and declaring his battle to be a test for the Aegis. However, Zeke leans on a fence after this and goes tumbling into the Cloud Sea, as the rest board the ship without him. 
Zeke reappears in Indol; how he made it there after falling into the Cloud Sea is never explained. Zeke criticizes the anti-Blade protestors in the refugee camp, suggesting that they are ungrateful for Indol's sheltering of them. After hearing about the Titan weapon incident on Temperantia, Zeke joins the party, partly because he thinks it would be fun and partly because he wants to learn about due to their name. Zeke and the other party members manage to stop the Titan weapon, but fail to apprehend Jin, who was controlling the weapon. 
Zeke attends the ceasefire meeting in Indol as a representative of the Kingdom of Tantal to ensure partiality between Uraya and Mor Ardain; his arrival stuns one of Queen Raqura's aids, who refers to him as "the prodigal prince of Tantal". This is also when Zeke's birth name, Ozychlyrus Brounev Tantal, is revealed. At the meeting, Zeke provides his testimony of the events at Temperantia, which Ragura finds preposterous. 
After the meeting, Zeke agrees to take the party to the Omega Fetter, which is under the control of Zeke's home nation of Tantal and is necessary to dispel Ophion and open the path to the World Tree. Zeke explains to Rex that the Tantalese are the descendants of the original Tornans, specifically Addam, hence his interest in the terrorist group bearing their name. After the party takes out the Tirkin chefs which they believe to be carrying out an assassination attempt at the final Mor Ardain-Uraya peace summit, Zeke tries one of their foods and finds it delicious in an exaggerated scene.
While the party takes a Titan ship to Tantal, Zeke asks Rex whether he prefers Pyra or Mythra; Rex replies that he thinks of them as the same person, which Zeke finds surprising. After Rex asks Zeke why he was with the Praetorium when he's the Crown Prince of Tantal, Pandoria reveals that he was banished by his father because Zeke would constantly sneak out of the isolationist nation and travel for fun instead of focusing on his studies. Pandoria also tells Rex that Zeke made up the tital of "special envoy of Indol", and that Praetor Amalthus rescued a half-dead Zeke and took him in. 
When the party reaches Theosoir, the capital of Tantal, Zeke reveals that the market they see before them is actually the black market, as Tantal's climate prevents local produce from being sold, and people pay exorbitant prices for smuggled food, which the government allows as the populace would starve to death otherwise. 
After Rex presents the Praetor's letter to King Eulogimenos, Zeke's father, he captures Pyra and restrains the party, sans Zeke and Pandoria. Zeke pleads with his father to let them go, but Eulogimenos refuses, stating that he cannot allow the world to burn. Zeke laments the situation, stating that he believes Rex could break Tantal out of its isolationist stagnation, and that it is his and Pandoria's obligation as adults to guide him through the challenges of his journey. Zeke and Pandoria plan to break the other party members out of jail, but are surprised to find they already freed themselves. They rejoin and head towards the ether cannon, where Eulogimenos plans to destroy Pyra; Zeke's attempt to neutralize the cannon is ineffective, but Poppi manages to redirect the blast to miss Pyra, whom Zeke frees from her bondage. A flashback scene then shows that after the other party members were taken captive, Eulogimenos told Zeke that the Tantalese are not actually Addam's descendants, but rather that the heritage was claimed by the nation's founders in order to gain legitimacy; the revelation disheartens and angers Zeke. 
When Genbu begins its rapid descent after being struck by the Ether Cannon, Zeke originally instructs Rex and the others to get in an escape pod while Zeke and Pandoria try to evacuate as many Tantalese citizens as possible (and likely sacrifice themselves in the process); however, when Pyra suggests that she can fix the Omega Fetter, Zeke joins the other party members in agreeing to accompany her to Genbu's head, where the Fetter sits. 
The party successfully fixes and retrieves the Fetter, and repels an ambush by Akhos, Mikhail, and Patroka; however, Zeke's Ultimate Lightning Fury Slash is again interrupted, this time by Jin, who stabs Zeke in the chest; Jin then remarks that "Thunderbolt" is an apt nickname, as that was the first time Jin ever failed to inflict a lethal blow with his Nodachi. The party falls to Jin, who absconds with the Omega Fetter and the Aegis.
After the other party members talk Rex into continuing his journey and confronting Jin, Zeke escorts them to a meeting with his father, who informs them of the existence of the third Aegis sword. Eulogimenos asks Zeke to protect Rex on his way, as he saw something profound in Rex's eyes; Zeke accepts, although he then states that he would have accompanied Rex anyway. 
As the party enters into Spirit Crucible Elpys, Zeke instructs Pandoria to stay at the entrance due to the possibility of her returning to her Core Crystal, which would result in Zeke's death as well due to a piece of her core being in his body; however, Pandoria reminds him of a promise he made to her and Zeke relents. As they march further, the other party members comment on how both Zeke and Pandoria look exasperated; Zeke then reveals the Core Crystal and tells the story of his near-death experience. 
A flashback scene shows Zeke laying on the ground in a forest, where Pandoria begs him to get up and keep moving. He appears to accept his anticipated death, telling Pandoria he hopes that her next Driver is better than he was, but Pandoria picks him up and attempts to carry him to refuge. However, Pandoria collapses and falls unconsciousness at the feet of what she thought to be bandits. In fact, the one who appeared in the forest was Amalthus, who performed a procedure to implant part of her Core Crystal into Zeke's heart, as it was the only way to save both of them. After waking up, Zeke told Pandoria something which evoked a massive smile from her; what he actually said is unknown. He tells the party that he could be considered a Blade Eater, and then proceeds with them throughout the Spirit Crucible and to the Cliffs of Morytha, where his trouble with cliffs continues as the party and Jin fall beneath the Cloud Sea.
In the Land of Morytha, Zeke is separated from Rex and Mythra, as are the other party members minus Poppi and Brighid. Zeke reappears along with the other characters and rejoins the party during the fight against the . Zeke accompanies the rest of the party as they climb up the World Tree. 
As the party climbs the World Tree, Zeke recalls a conversation between himself and Amalthus overseeing the refugee camp an indeterminate amount of time before the present. Amalthus asked Zeke what he made of the scene, to which he replied that he saw people struggling to survive, much like the rest of Alrest. Amalthus then asked Zeke whether he had ever taken someone's life. Zeke answered that he never has, as he believed killing to be a sign of weakness. Amalthus stated that this made him weak, but that his weakness was why he was standing where he was. Finally, Zeke asked Amalthus whether he hates humans, to which Amalthus replied that he merely hated the world. After reminiscing on the conversation, Zeke asks Rex what he thinks of the world, and of humans, to reassure himself of how Rex differs from Amalthus; indeed, Rex affirms that despite their flaws, he still sees the good in the world and in humans; Zeke expresses relief and mulls about the potential consequences of if somebody who, unlike Rex, hated the world were to have his power, clearly referring to Amalthus.
After Amalthus is killed by Jin, Zeke recalls another conversation he had with the Praetor. Amalthus asked him to confirm whether he and Pandoria were attacked by bandits, to which Zeke states that they were, and that they likely planned to sell Pandoria's Core Crystal on the black market. Amalthus then lamented to Zeke about the nature of humanity and how all people are at least willing to take what they desire by force. Zeke asked Amalthus why he bothers saving people like him if that's the case, to which Amalthus answered that he wishes to remind himself of who humans are, and that Zeke and Pandoria's desperation reminded him of his own mother's desperation to save him. Back in the present, Zeke questions how someone so full of hatred could have looked so sad back them.
Inside the First Low Orbit Station, Rex confronts a phantasm of Zeke and Pandoria (alongside those of Tora and Poppi) at the Cliffs of Morytha; "Zeke" claims that Rex had led the adults along and that he never considered the consequences of his actions; Rex manages to defeat the phantasms. After Pyra asks the Architect to stop his test, Zeke reappears alongside the other party members and complains to Klaus about the unpleasant visions he was shown. 
In the ending cutscene, Zeke implores Rex to grow up and accept Pneuma's sacrifice, noting that she's the person Rex loves and accepting her decision is what being an adult means. As the party is flown on Gramps' back, Pandoria clings to his arm, to which he attempts to fight off before accepting. Zeke then stands up along with the rest of the party as Pyra and Mythra return and the game ends.
===Xenoblade Chronicles 3===
Zeke makes a small appearance in Nia's photograph of him and the rest of the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 party as Aionios splits back into the worlds of Bionis and Alrest.
==Lore==
* Zeke at first seems very goofy and non-threatening, as he would repeatedly fall victim to his own comically bad luck, as well as his goofy attitude negating any attempt he makes at appearing as a threat.
** Despite the Zekenator's outwardly silly demeanor, he is actually a fairly wise and worldly individual, having left his home country of Tantal specifically to understand Alrest better. Rex would even come to look up to the prince, despite the awkward first impression.
* Zeke refers to his eyepatch as his "eyepatch of power" which conceals his Eye of Shining Justice, an ability available to use in New Game Plus. Pandoria, however, claims his eyepatch is due to him not being able to afford a second contact lens. This contact lens may actually be a colored contact, as Zeke has gray eyes, unlike most Tantalese, who have red eyes, and his father, Eulogimenos, who has gold eyes.
* Zeke and Pandoria are often shown to move in sync, a feature potentially attributable to Zeke being a Blade Eater with part of her Core Crystal.
* Going by various details provided within Future Redeemed, Zeke is almost certainly Linka's father.
==As a playable character==
==As an enemy==
*Zeke (Uraya)
*Zeke (Mor Ardain)
*Zeke (Leftheria)
*Zeke (First Low Orbit Station)
==In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate==
Zeke appears in as a . He also appears on the stage in the background alongside his Blade, Pandoria.
==Trivia==
* Zeke's character is potentially a reference to Bart Fatima from Xenogears, a fellow eyepatch-wearing exiled prince with a boisterous personality. The alternate costume "Embercake Zeke" bears Bart's colors.
** Zeke's name is derived from "Siegfried", possibly a reference to Bart's half-brother Sigurd Harcourt.
* According to the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 artbook, Zeke was meant to originally wield a katana.https://twitter.com/DailyXenoSeries/status/1574421035213942784
* Zeke's self proclaimed last name, "von Genbu", is a reference to the Titan Genbu, and also Genbu or the Black Tortoise of the Four Gods, an ancient Chinese astrology system which is also present in Japanese and Korean mysticism. Dromarch, Azurda, and Roc reference the other three gods in their Japanese names.
* One of Zeke's battle lines is "I'm really feeling it!", a reference to Shulk's iconic battle line in Xenoblade Chronicles.
* Zeke is indirectly mentioned in Future Redeemed by Rex while talking about the loss of his left eye from his battle with Alpha to Glimmer. He explains to her that Zeke had a similar eye thing.
==In other languages==
==Gallery==
===Xenoblade Chronicles 2===
====Artwork====
Zeke Pandoria illust.jpg|Illustration of Zeke and Pandoria by Masatsugu Saito from his Twitter for the 1.3.0 update of Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Zeke concept art.jpg|Concept art
====Screenshots====
Zeke and Pandoria hooded.jpg|Zeke and Pandoria with their hoods on.
Zeke and Pandoria.jpg|Zeke and Pandoria.
Rex fails recognize Zeke.jpg|Zeke and Pandoria's reaction to Rex not recognizing them.
Zeke smirk.jpg|Zeke smirks.
Handling a man's turtle.jpg|"Handling a man's turtle!"
ULFS Max symbol 1.jpg|Zeke uses ULFS Max.
Zeke and Pandoria fall down Cobalt Cliffs.jpg|Zeke and Pandoria fall off Cobalt Cliffs.
Zeke answers Shellhead.jpg|Zeke answers to Nia calling him Shellhead.
ULFS Max symbol 2.jpg|Zeke uses ULFS Max again.
Zeke three days.jpg|Zeke explains that he has been waiting for the party for three days.
Zeke and Pandoria after Sonic Thunderslash.jpg|Zeke and Pandoria after knocking the party over with Sonic Thunderslash.
Zeke breaks fence.jpg|Zeke breaks a fence at Ysheva Harbor.
Zeke stranded.jpg|Zeke floating on the Cloud Sea on the fence he broke.
Zeke congress.jpg|Zeke at the Rulers' Congress.
Tantalese crest on Zeke's object.jpg|The Tantalese Crest on an ornate knife of Zeke's.
Zeke tastes Fire Dragons meal.jpg|Zeke tastes one of the meals prepared by the Fire Dragons.
Fortis welcomes Zeke.jpg|Zeke is welcomed by Fortis.
Eulogimenos shows Zeke the reliquary.jpg|Eulogimenos shows the Reliquary of Tantal to Zeke.
Zeke attacks ether accelerator.jpg|Zeke attacks the ether accelerator.
Zeke Core Crystal.jpg|Zeke showing his implanted Core Crystal.
Zeke gravely wounded.jpg|Zeke is gravely wounded.
Pandoria carries Zeke.jpg|Pandoria carries a gravely injured Zeke.
Zeke and Amalthus look at refugee camp.jpg|Zeke and Amalthus look at the refugee camp.
Zeke and Tora boss.jpg
Rex Zeke and Nia advertising.jpg|Rex, Nia, and Zeke advertising Just Desserts during Follow Your Passion.
===Xenoblade Chronicles 3===
====Screenshots====
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 party's photo.png|Zeke in a group photo in Xenoblade Chronicles 3
===Super Smash Bros. Ultimate===
Zeke and Pandoria (SSBU).png|Zeke and Pandoria in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
==References==
Category:Characters (XC2)
Category:Drivers (XC2)
Category:Tantalese
it:Zeke