Zandar (Zachary)

The last character from G.I. Joe: Retaliation is also the only bad guy from the batch, and we see him with the fake President of the United States of America as head of his security detail. Portrayed by Matt Gerald, he is Zandar, an agent of Cobra who also acts as the jailer of the true POTUS, and who’s killed by General Colton during the rescue mission. The original Zandar, however, is not Cobra, albeit he works with them often: he belongs to another team we already met, and he has a close relationship to one of the main villains. Let’s see together.

Almost everything concerning Zandar’s past is conjectural at most, with the only certain data being that his real name was Zachary, that he was the twin brother of Zarana, and that his older brother was Zartan, the world’s master of camouflage. The rest is pure speculation: some say he was born in Florida and entrusted to an orphanage along with his sister when his parents died under unknown circumstances, and that it was his big brother who rescued them, killing his bullies in the process. On another account, Zandar and Zarana grew up on the streets of London, then left to find their big brother and tracked him back to Australia. However things went, Zandar was indeed always in company of Zarana, and he was somehow subjected to her dominant personality; he also worked with his brother Zartan as a commander of his Dreadnoks, and he showed some resentment towards him. Despite his silent and shy demeanor, however, also Zandar wasn’t someone to trifle with: even the most seasoned Dreadnoks feared him, and for good reasons, as the ones who got him angry never lived to tell the story. Even the most undisciplined Dreadnok, Road Pig, only obeyed to the twins, and nobody allowed themselves the slightest mistake when Zandar was supervising. Used to live in the shadow of his siblings, Zandar became a master of stealth, managing to make himself practically invisible in any environment, unnoticeable until it was too late for his targets: a formidable asset for a man like Zartan who prized himself with his and his group’s skills in assassination.

When Zandar formed a situational alliance with Cobra, the world’s greatest terrorist organization, the Dreadnoks were involved as well, and became a spec ops squad at the orders of Cobra Commander. This was a situation that suited Zarana more than her brother, and while she found a kin personality in the terrorist leader, Zandar preferred to spend his time with his men, showing up only when some plan had to be laid out against the G.I. Joe, Cobra’s main enemies. He did take matters into his own hands when Zartan was captured by the Joes: he led a small group of Dreadnoks, not the brightest among them but the loudest ones, and while they acted as an all-too effective distraction, he freed his big brother from The Pit. Then, as the Joes realized their prisoner was missing and started pursuing the runaways, Zandar thought fast: he had Zandar and the others hide nearby the hideout, then he disguised himself as a simple auto mechanic, feigning total ignorance on the real nature of the bikers gang and on what was going on… resulting convincing enough to lead the Joes to think that Zartan and the Dreadnoks had abandoned their old hideout, and the mechanic along with it. When a civil war erupted on Cobra Island, the Dreadnoks fought on the side of Cobra Commander, and albeit he personally didn’t like the tyrant wannabe much, Zandar did his part in keeping him alive and in ensuring his victory. The Dreadnoks were victorious, and Cobra Commander came out on top, rewarding the bikers with a position of prestige in his new army: for Zandar, at the moment, it only meant that he was the one overseeing the construction of Commander’s new stronghold on Broca Beach, in New Jersey. What Cobra Commander failed to realize, however, was the Zandar’s loyalty was first and foremost to the Dreadnoks and to his family, and despite his submissive attitude, it didn’t take much to end on his bad side…

Zachary may seem a shy and weak-willed loner, but he’s actually a dangerous psychopath: despite his meek demeanor, making him angry is a sure death sentence. As Zandar, he’s one of the world’s masters in the art of camouflage and covert movement: he can literally disappear in any environment, making himself invisible and sneaking up on his prey unseen in a jungle, in a swamp, or even in a desert or in a modern city; his weapons of choice are, accordingly, the silent ones, like bow and arrow, Bowie knives, crossbows, harpoons, and he uses handguns only with a silencer on; he’s also good at masquerading, albeit not as good as his older brother, and despite all appearances he’s an effective leader. Definitely more dangerous than he looks, Zandar is one of the best mercenaries money can buy, so psychologically dependent on his sister, however, that he rarely makes choices for his own, limiting himself to act on his siblings’ decisions.