Maria Cruz

> "It's not a matter of 'think,' it's a matter of 'is,' and it is a bad goddam idea."
>
> Maria Cruz, *Army of the Dead*

**Maria Cruz** is a mechanic-turned zombie survivor. She's one of the founding members of Las Vengeance. Cruz was an important character in *Army of the Dead* before appearing briefly in *Army of Thieves* and setting the stage in the *Army of the Dead: Viva Las Vengeance* introduction video. She will also appear in *Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas*. Cruz is portrayed by Ana De La Reguera in all media.

## Biography

### Before the Las Vegas outbreak

Prior to the zombie outbreak, Cruz was a successful businesswoman who ran an automobile repair shop in Las Vegas. Her business was successful enough to land her on the cover of an issue of *Vegas Success*.

### Zombie wars

When the Las Vegas outbreak uprooted her life, Cruz joined the Las Vengeance search and rescue team, where she helped save dozens of people from the clutches of zombies. At some point during the outbreak, she was known to be stationed at the McCarran Forward Operating Base and communicating with potential recruits for the Las Vengeance crew.

When the city was walled off and the group went their separate ways, Cruz moved to Victorville to work as a mechanic.

### Götterdämmerung heist

When Bly Tanaka offered Scott Ward $50 million to break into the Götterdämmerung in zombie-infested Las Vegas, Cruz was the first person he approached to join his venture. While considering it a bad idea, she agreed to do it. Scott offered her $15 million for her role in the heist. She joined him for the rest of the recruiting process, finding Ludwig Dieter, the safecracker, and Mikey Guzman, a very skilled zombie killer.

As they headed into the city, Cruz remained near Scott until they made it to Bly's Casino. The group split up to take care of their separate goals, and Cruz went with Marianne Peters to the roof, where Peters was going to fix up the escape helicopter. Arriving safely, Cruz left Peters to her own devices and rejoined the main group in the lobby. A WBC World News broadcast came on explaining a change in the date of the upcoming nuclear strike on Las Vegas, putting it about two hours away. The new timing was cutting it a little close, but it'd be enough time to get the money and get out without incident.

When Dieter finally cracked the safe, despite their success Cruz began to feel dejected and pulled away from the group. Scott asked her what was wrong, and she admitted that, while she's happy to take the millions, she had come on the mission for Scott, not for the money. Thinking she was mistaken that they could have had something, she was disappointed in being there. Scott told her he thought he'd already messed things up between them and didn't realize what it was she wanted, so the two began to look forward to a future together. In that moment Scott realized his daughter, Kate Ward, was nowhere to be seen, and that she must have sneaked away to find her missing friend, Geeta. He rushed to the elevator to follow her, and Cruz joined him. When the doors opened, however, the elevator was filled with alpha zombies, and one immediately grasped Cruz's head in his hands. He twisted, snapping her neck.

## Abilities

* **Multilingualism**: Cruz was fluent in both English and Spanish.
* **Mechanics**: Cruz worked as a mechanic and business owner with a business successful enough that she made it to the cover of *Vegas Success* magazine. She also used this skill to set up the Sin City Tacos truck for use during Las Vengeance search and rescue missions.
* **Business acuity**: Cruz ran her own business, which was so successful that she was featured on the cover of *Vegas Success*.
* **Zombie experience**: As a veteran of the zombie wars, Cruz had a large amount of experience dealing with zombies, including but not limited to taking them down.
* **Leadership**: Cruz had the drive and skill to run her own business both before and after the zombie wars, including hiring employees. In addition to her business, she led rescue teams during the wars for Las Vengeance, which was so effective that even the military deferred to the group.
	+ **Plan-making**: Cruz planned several simple rescue missions for Las Vengeance Search & Rescue, saving countless lives.

## Equipment

* **Glock 17**: During the zombie wars Cruz used a Glock 17 pistol to dispatch the undead.
* **Heckler & Koch HK416C**: Cruz's primary weapon was the HK416C ultra-compact carbine. It's equipped with a light, an EOTech holographic sight, Steiner DBAL laser, and a Magpul D60 drum magazine capable of storing 60 rounds. The weapon is capable of full-auto fire.
* **Browning M2HB**: Cruz also used the M2HB mounted on the tactical Sin City Tacos truck to tear through zombies during the zombie wars.
* **Camaro**: Cruz's personal vehicle just prior to the Götterdämmerung heist was a Chevrolet Camaro.

## Relationships

### Allies

* Las Vengeance
	+ Scott Ward
	+ Vanderohe
	+ Marianne Peters
	+ Kate Ward
	+ Mikey Guzman
	+ Chambers
	+ Ludwig Dieter
	+ Lilly
* Anita

## Appearance chronology

*Lost Vegas**Army of the Dead*
zombie wars*Viva Las Vengeance**Army of the Dead**Army of Thieves*

## Gallery

Cruz's gun concept art by Jonathan BachDead Drop #7Promotional photoPromotional photo from the *Vegas Success* photoshootA skeleton (right) is implied to belong to Cruz in an alternate timeline
## Trivia

* The key Cruz wears around her neck opens a locker in her body shop.
* Natalie Padilla Dashnaw performed the stunts for Cruz in *Army of the Dead*.

## References

Shay Hatten, Zack Snyder, Joby Harold (writers) & Zack Snyder (director) (May 14, 2021). *Army of the Dead*.
Netflix, Pure Imagination Studios, & The Stone Quarry (Fall 2021). *Army of the Dead: Viva Las Vengeance*.
Peter Aperlo (author) (June 1, 2021). *Army of the Dead: A Film by Zack Snyder: The Making of the Film*. Great Britain: Titan Books.

 p.45