Just a minor change to Zac's lore, which would make ALL the difference

Malicious Metal·Jan 12, 2017·135 votes·7,009 views

Make his Parents be alive and well and let him visit them every now and then for some tea, cake and getting some advice from Ma and Pa.

Hell, he is Zaun's Superman, even Clark had Martha and Jonathan Kent!

Just by changing this crucial detail we'd have a new and improved Zac without having him lose this light-heartedness that made him stand out from all the gloomy guys and gals from Zaun.

http://img06.deviantart.net/e752/i/2013/133/0/9/happy_mama_day__by_myth1c-d657zgs.jpg

(Also, it's saddening that I had to go through so much "fan art" until I finally found a fitting piece of art for this thread...)

53 Comments

Virgin RayJan 12, 201768 votes

i thought his mom was Ezreal for a second

Fondling GemsJan 12, 20171 votes

Maybe Ez is. ;)

Velzard of KozJan 12, 20173 votes

And his fathers were Kindred All smoke and confusions...

the Anarchit3chtJan 13, 201719 votes

I'm not convinced that it isn't Ezreal. Same hair cut, goggles... you can't see if s/he has them tig ol bitties either because well... the way s/he is being hugged.

CheddarSaladJan 13, 20171 votes

I allways thought Ezreal was tailor swift

OISJan 13, 20171 votes

no it's becky

dominusxJan 12, 201730 votes

fan art with zac? you mean hentai right?

GULAG 4 UJan 13, 20171 votes

Lol

Chromatic EagleJan 13, 20171 votes

Well he does pick up emotions from his surroundings.

TyrekGoldenspearJan 12, 201729 votes

You know that thumbnail had me worried fir a sec about what detail you wanted to include exactly...

On a phone I could only see him hugging a woman. For some reason my first thought was Riven.

DanjengJan 13, 20171 votes

Why Riven? :o

dragon1xxJan 13, 201728 votes

It's a...let's just leave it at fanart.

TyrekGoldenspearJan 13, 20173 votes

Enough people have made Zac/Riven references for me to have this ingrained, even though I don't care for the ship.

GreenheathJan 13, 201715 votes

Yeah not crazy about the change. He went from having a Superman vibe to a Batman one. We dont need more dark heroes.

Chromatic EagleJan 13, 20171 votes

He's not really Batman though. Dead parents is a superficial comparison. He takes responsibility for his anger issues and tries his best to be around positive people and help fix damages.

swordofsunJan 13, 20172 votes

So, more like Flash.

Chromatic EagleJan 13, 20171 votes

I lean more towards Spiderman but I guess.

swordofsunJan 13, 20172 votes

I was sticking with the DC theme.

If we're going Marvel I'd almost wanna say Daredevil instead of Spidey. New York = Piltover (Spidey) with Hell's Kitchen = Zaun, tragically dead parent to use as motivation, anger issues that he works to control, working from the shadows. I'm sure there's more comparisons and admittedly I haven't read any DD is forever.

(Didn't he end up leading the Hand at one point? That was weird.)

Overlord ForneusJan 13, 20172 votes

[{quoted}](name=Chromatic Eagle,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=4QLEaf3m,comment-id=00070000,timestamp=2017-01-13T13:43:46.942+0000)

He's not really Batman though. Dead parents is a superficial comparison. He takes responsibility for his anger issues and tries his best to be around positive people and help fix damages.

Makes me wonder what would happen if Zac went to Ionia to learn to master himself.

VoidzillaJan 13, 20176 votes

I found it a little trite that Zac had to have his "parents" die as well; I liked how he's basically this blob-weapon turned superhero who's a momma's boy at heart. It offered a unique character archetype and added a bit of silly relief in a world/game where death is a constant factor in every character's life.

If anything, they could've made it so that Zac's parents were seriously injured and hospitalized. Zac, seeing as how he's struggling with emotions now, experiences rage and almost goes on a rampage, about to murder half of the slums and, by effect, fulfill Takeda's desires. However, his mother, through her respirator or cast or whatever, reminds Zac that he was raised better than that and doesn't have to be a kill to seek revenge. He's not just a weapon; he can fight against his enemies without shedding blood. With his parents' love still binding him, Zac learns how to deal with emotions (and possibly stabilize his form, to play into him being a sentient slimemold) and, much like classic superheroes, uses violence only when necessary.

With something like this, Zac can still be the same goofy character we know, and he has more depth without having to resort to complete and utter loss.

AxxukaJan 13, 20174 votes

Janna Meanwhile in Zaun...

WarWorkJan 13, 20172 votes

This make her being a prostitute even more confusing

Chromatic EagleJan 13, 20175 votes

She wasn't a prostitute, that was just an in game joke about phone sex.

TheOneTrueBrandJan 13, 20174 votes

I don't know why they want to retcon cool lore, then turn it into more generic archetype lore

PiotyrJan 13, 20174 votes

Because they are making every lore more generic to make it easier to write for? The lore use to be insanely unique (If a bit hoky) and rather than fix it they decided to retcon everything so they had more options to tell a story.

RalanrJan 12, 20173 votes

Honestly I'm fine with either. But how are you going to explain how Takeda doesn't just keep sending more people know that he knows Zac's location?

OleandervineJan 12, 20178 votes

{quoted}

Honestly I'm fine with either. But how are you going to explain how Takeda doesn't just keep sending more people know that he knows Zac's location?

They move their home, and Zac continues to patrol ALL of Zaun, keeping the citizens safe. If there are reports of a gooey superhero protecting the West End of Zaun and the East end of Zaun in the same night, there's no way to pin point where he originated from. He can also morph his shape, so wearing heavy clothing and perhaps a concealing breather mask, he would be able to move about in daylight and enjoy life.

Also, Malicious, is that Ezreal he's hugging?

Valaran NaraJan 12, 20171 votes

{quoted}

They move their home, and Zac continues to patrol ALL of Zaun, keeping the citizens safe. If there are reports of a gooey superhero protecting the West End of Zaun and the East end of Zaun in the same night, there's no way to pin point where he originated from. He can also morph his shape, so wearing heavy clothing and perhaps a concealing breather mask, he would be able to move about in daylight and enjoy life.

Also, Malicious, is that Ezreal he's hugging?

The problem is they now know the experiment is within reach. They will also make the assumption that the scientists who ran off with said experiment is somewhere within the city since he doubt they were going to just release the thing.

In the old lore, they were kept alive and kidnapped. In all honesty, that looks like what was going to happen, but Takeda's goons got too rough and killed them on accident.

There's ways of getting information, and for them to not be hunted within Zaun, they must move out. Which means either Zac is left behind, or he no longer sticks with Zaun as home turf.

OleandervineJan 12, 20174 votes

[{quoted}](name=Valaran Nara,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=4QLEaf3m,comment-id=000000000000,timestamp=2017-01-12T22:47:07.052+0000)

The problem is they now know the experiment is within reach. They will also make the assumption that the scientists who ran off with said experiment is somewhere within the city since he doubt they were going to just release the thing.

In the old lore, they were kept alive and kidnapped. In all honesty, that looks like what was going to happen, but Takeda's goons got too rough and killed them on accident.

There's ways of getting information, and for them to not be hunted within Zaun, they must move out. Which means either Zac is left behind, or he no longer sticks with Zaun as home turf.

We know a few things from other stories though, notably Evelynn's. The main point is that Zaun is broken into districts, and that not all of them are under the rule of the same Chem-Baron. Takeda is hiring Evelynn to kill another Baron, Baron Artega, which means that there is more than Takeda ruling over Zaun. Another thing we know is that Takeda made a deal with Evelynn. This means his life is most likely going to be ending sooner than it should due to this deal. All this put together means that there are places in Zaun that are under the rule of other Chem-Barons, places that Takeda's men would most likely have difficulty traversing into without incurring a gang war between his clan and the ruling Chem-Baron of the area. What we also know is that since he's most likely going to die by Evelynn's hand, his seat will eventually go vacant and someone else will rise to take over. All of this political unease and the eventual death of Takeda means that Zac's family will be able to take advantage of the chaos and the territory of the Chem-Lords to ensure their survival and continued living.

Valaran NaraJan 12, 20171 votes

{quoted}

We know a few things from other stories though, notably Evelynn's. The main point is that Zaun is broken into districts, and that not all of them are under the rule of the same Chem-Baron. Takeda is hiring Evelynn to kill another Baron, Baron Artega, which means that there is more than Takeda ruling over Zaun. Another thing we know is that Takeda made a deal with Evelynn. This means his life is most likely going to be ending sooner than it should due to this deal. All this put together means that there are places in Zaun that are under the rule of other Chem-Barons, places that Takeda's men would most likely have difficulty traversing into without incurring a gang war between his clan and the ruling Chem-Baron of the area. What we also know is that since he's most likely going to die by Evelynn's hand, his seat will eventually go vacant and someone else will rise to take over. All of this political unease and the eventual death of Takeda means that Zac's family will be able to take advantage of the chaos and the territory of the Chem-Lords to ensure their survival and continued living.

True, except for one problem.

Takeda is known for having gangwars.

As long as he identifies where, the man wouldn't care.

Though, by the way things sound with the Chem-barons, I don't think the scientists would have tried to take that spot.

NarasimhaJan 12, 20173 votes

Just to jump in, I highly doubt Eve is going to outright kill Takeda. Atleast, not without the situation changing. My assumption from 'The first payment' was that she was going to take some of his life force. Not a lot, but a bit over a long period of time. Takeda would die sooner than he should, but not in the immediate future.

In the meantime, he's in the perfect place to continue expanding his power. Every dead Chembaron means more territory he can snatch up.

WarWorkJan 13, 20171 votes

Plus i think Warwick will eventually catch up to him

Chromatic EagleJan 12, 20173 votes

He's less Superman and more Spiderman.

DryditchJan 12, 20176 votes

No, Zac is The Tick!

FantasySniperJan 13, 20176 votes

http://mindbenderent.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Spoon.jpeg

Now that you mention it, Zac is most similar to The Tick in every way.

DryditchJan 13, 20175 votes

They also have the same voice actor... so that's a thing.

ZT XperimentorJan 16, 20171 votes

Wait what! I gotta look this up . . .

DryditchJan 16, 20172 votes

Yeah, Zac is Kronk, The Tick, and every other character Patrick Warburton has ever voiced.

ZT XperimentorJan 16, 20171 votes

Oh I thought I recognized his voice, thanks!

DryditchJan 16, 20172 votes

No problem!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iGSAFjzBd8

PhoenixOfHeavenJan 13, 20171 votes

Spider-Man is the young, naïve, typical hero. Superman is the icon for confidence, innocence, and bravery. The way Zac is, he's definitely more Supes.

Lintu PuckJan 13, 20173 votes

You know he can still be the jolly green giant even with the tragedy, right? Plop his gooey but in the center of enough happiness and boom.

PiotyrJan 13, 20173 votes

I think the best way to do this is just to have Zac defend his parents from an attack, hear his parents will have to always be on the run and ditch them for their own good. Simple, he loses his parents but they aren't dead so he can be happy but free for stories.

Oakleaf RangerJan 13, 20172 votes

Share some of this "fan art" you found please.

MontethePythonJan 13, 20171 votes

I agree that Zac's parents being dead seems completely unnecessary, but clarification, Superman only had Martha Kent ususally, lmao in most comics and recent media on superman Jonathan Kent had died as part of the backstory or mainstream story. Daddy Kent just cannot stay alive. Tornadoes, villains, car accidents, and heart attacks have all killed Jonathan Kent in the past.

RikoZerameJan 14, 2017

I'm not entirely sure what started the "kill Pa Kent" trend. Might look into it later; that said, while it's more common in modern versions, I don't think it was more popular overall. A few Silver Age comics--the kind that don't have any continuity, as they just wanted to tell one-offs--actually focus on the death of BOTH Kents, and Post-Crisis had Pa Kent alive for most of it. He shows up in The Death of Superman and the comics leading up to it, for example, watching the fight on TV.

Regardless of geeky musing, Pa Kent's death usually lead to Superman being or trying to be MORE light-hearted, not less. He ain't Batman, no matter how much Zack Snyder wants him to be. Its an odd balance to strike, and I also agree that it's a little disappointing to see how they're doing it with Zac. :/