Zeus

> "Was that a zombie in a goddamn cape?"
>
> Marianne Peters, *Army of the Dead*

**Richards** was a soldier involved with experiments at Area 51 that led to him becoming **Zeus**, the king of the zombie horde in Las Vegas. Zeus was portrayed by Richard Cetrone in *Army of the Dead* and will appear again in *Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas*. Cetrone hasn't been confirmed for the prequel role.

## Biography

### Before the outbreak

Not much is known about the life Richards led as a human, however he was a soldier involved with work at Area 51 in some capacity. He volunteered to participate in Torrance's experiment with an alien sickness, which would unexpectedly lead to him becoming the first zombie.

### Las Vegas outbreak

After becoming a zombie, Zeus was transported from Area 51 to an undisclosed location, but ended up breaking out of his containment chamber near Las Vegas. He killed the members of his transport other than Kelly and Bissell, who he turned to zombies. He followed the lights of the city, where he ventured, followed by his new alphas, to spread the infection. The rise of the zombies forced the living humans out of the city, those who failed becoming members of the zombie horde. Inspired by a statue of Zeus in front of The Olympus, Zeus began to wear an over-the-shoulder cape and carry a rebar rod that mirrored the divine lightning bolt. The city was eventually walled off, containing the zombies inside, and Zeus became their king.

### Götterdämmerung heist

When the military pulled out of the quarantine zone, the Las Vengeance heist team moved into the city for their own purposes. Zeus watched as the group paid tribute to the horde, gifting a living human to Athena. Athena brought Burt Cummings back to The Olympus, where Zeus shortly arrived to convert him into a new recruit. The humans later called Athena out a second time, but when she approached, she was captured, her head taken. Hearing her death cry, Zeus found her body left behind and brought it back to The Olympus. He carved out her womb, where their zombie fetus lived, but it appeared to die in his hands. He rallied his troops, and the horde attacked Bly's Casino where the humans were at that moment.

Zeus arrived after his alphas and engaged Vanderohe in single combat, the latter of whom managed to escape into the Götterdämmerung vault when Ludwig Dieter intervened. Setting his sights on the rest of the humans after presumably killing Dieter, Zeus went upstairs to find his alphas burning alive. He chased the remaining members of Las Vengeance to the roof where they were making their escape via helicopter. Lilly showed Zeus Athena's head, holding a gun to it to allow the others to fly away. In a moment of distraction, Zeus threw his pole into Lilly's shoulder, pinning her to a wall. Lilly was able to drop Athena's head over the edge of the roof, at which point Zeus anguished, then made to bite deep into Lilly's neck. He quickly set his sights on the remaining survivors, riding Wildfire back to The Olympus, within which he found Scott and Kate Ward and Geeta.

Scott launched a grenade at Zeus, who was caught up in the explosion, allowing the three to get back to the helicopter on the roof. They would have made a clean escape, except Marianne Peters had flown off. She returned for them, but the delay enabled Zeus to catch up, and as they took off, Zeus leapt into the vehicle and began a deadly brawl with Scott. Zeus bit Scott, but Scott split Zeus' skull with a bullet, ending his reign.

## Abilities

* **Zombie physiology**: As a zombie, Zeus' mind was a deteriorated version of his human mind, but his body could withstand far greater strain.
	+ **Alpha intelligence**: As a zombie, Zeus' intelligence wasn't at the level of living humans', however as an alpha, his intelligence was more akin to an intelligent animal than a mindless beast, making him a much greater threat than a typical shambler.
	+ **Infection manipulation**: As a zombie, Zeus' bite was able to convert living humans into zombies. Since he was the original zombie, his victims became alphas. As the infection got further from the source, its effects degraded, but the zombies created by Zeus were the strongest and smartest, second only to himself.
* **Exceptional physiology**: As an alpha, rather than his body weakening with the zombie infection, it strengthened.
	+ **Superhuman strength**: Zeus had inordinate strength, capable of throwing an adult human across the room with a single arm as seen when he threw Vanderohe with a broad swipe.
	+ **Enhanced coordination**: Zeus had excellent coordination, as shown when he pierced Lilly with his spear even though she was holding Athena's head, preventing Lilly from shooting Athena.
* **Social manipulation**: The alpha zombies that he had converted followed him almost worshipfully, completely disregarding their own safety for his revenge.

## Equipment

* **Metal mask**: Knowing his brain was his major vulnerability and able to do something about it, Zeus wore a metal face shield whenever he went into battle against people with guns. The face shield was previously a SWAT ballistic mask.
* **Rebar spear**: Zeus carried a rebar rod, which he used as a spear against Lilly, pinning her to a wall.
* **Wildfire**: Zeus rode a zombie horse, capable of carrying him quickly across his kingdom.

## Relationships

### Allies

* Las Vegas horde - subordinates
	+ Athena - love interest
	+ Alpha General
	+ Valentine
	+ Wildfire
	+ Kelly - enemy turned ally
	+ Bissell - enemy turned ally
	+ Burt Cummings

### Enemies

* Las Vengeance
	+ Lilly
	+ Scott Ward
	+ Vanderohe
	+ Ludwig Dieter
	+ Kate Ward
	+ Marianne Peters

## Appearance chronology

*Lost Vegas**Army of the Dead*
Las Vegas outbreak*Viva Las Vengeance**Army of the Dead*

## Gallery

Zeus' spear prop behind the scenes*Army of the Dead*Zeus breaks freeConcept art by Jared PurringtonConcept art by Jared PurringtonConcept art by Jared PurringtonConcept art by Jerad Marantz (follow link for more)
## References

1. ↑ Zack Snyder confirms Zeus' human name is Richards
Shay Hatten, Zack Snyder, Joby Harold (writers) & Zack Snyder (director) (May 14, 2021). *Army of the Dead*.
Peter Aperlo (author) (June 1, 2021). *Army of the Dead: A Film by Zack Snyder: The Making of the Film*. Great Britain: Titan Books.

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