Zoltab
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Zoltab is a fictional character, the main antagonist of the novel Blart: The Boy Who Didn't Want to Save the World, by Dominic Barker.
[edit] History
Zoltab was one of the seven lords created by the Creator. Zoltab, along with the other lords (Andromeda, Baikal, Centaur, Dub, Efcheresto and Fluther), foresaw the creation of the Earth. The Creator made all the lords swear to never interfere with the affairs of mankind directly, and to never use their powers for glory on Earth. Zoltab, after swearing the oath, was tempted by evil and his own power. Some say this is because his name was last on the register of the Creator's training school and this gave him an inferior complex. The reason for his name being last is obviously because they were in alphabetical order. Using his powers, he made man worship him. His ultimate plan was to use the will of his followers to overthrow the Creator. When the other lords heard of this, they opposed Zoltab and a great war began. Zoltab was eventually defeated, and was imprisoned beneath the ground, in the Great Tunnel of Despair.
[edit] Role in Blart: The Boy Who Didn't Want To Save The World
Zoltab, still imprisoned beneath the Earth, still had influence on his remaining followers. A cult was made, its goal to free Zoltab. Minions and Ministers (the two classes of Zoltab followers) united and began a great dig to the Great Tunnel of Despair. When Capablanca, the wizard, finds Blart, he thinks he is the chosen one who will stop Zoltab. But Zoltab has interpered the prophecy. The first born son of Blart's family is destined to stop Zoltab's return. But Zoltab has recruited two new servants: Blart's grandfather (The Master) and |Blart's mysterious older brother, who is the rightful chosen one. When Zoltab is freed, he plans to wed. His chosen bride is Princess Lois, of Illyria. He captures her, Beowulf and Pig the Horse. When he finally brings Blart and Capablanca into custody, he orders his most evil servants to kill Blart: Famine, Disease, Pestilance and Death. When all four are defeated, Zoltab introduces Blart to his older brother. But, one of Zoltab's guards turns into a dragon. The cause of this being Blart's shouting of random magic spells early on. The dragon crushes Blart's brother, and the blood of the first-born son of Blart's family splashes on Zoltab. His power gone, he shrinks down to minuscule size, ending his evil reign. Capablanca then vows to create another Great Tunnel of Despair and place Zoltab in it and put a Cap of Eternal Doom over it.
[edit] Comparisons
As most of the characters in Blart are parodies of archetypes found in the Swords and Sorcery genre, the character of Zoltab is basically the stereotypical Dark Lord character, an incredibly powerful villain who was defeated years ago but whose vengeful spirit is ever waiting to return and whose name people fear to speak. His character was probably inspired by that of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, an evil Dark Lord who was banished from the world long ago but whose minions seek to bring about his return. As Dominic Barker's novel largely pokes fun at the fantasy genre, particularly the works of Tolkien this is probably the case. Zoltab is also very similar to Melkor from The Silmarillion, being one of the divine beings that were appointed by a god-like figure to protect the world but who fell from grace and sort to use his power for his own ends. However as Melkor fell because of pride, Barker turns the tale on its head by having Zoltab turn evil due to feelings of inferiority. Zoltab is also very reminiscent of Satan from John Milton's Paradise Lost. John Milton's depiction of Satan also heavily influenced Tolkien in his creation of Melkor and Sauron.
On an interesting side-note Zoltab sports a slight scar that causes his upper lip to be permanently wrinkled. As a result, Barker describes his face as being fixed in "a sneer of cold command." This may be a reference to the Mary Shelley poem, Ozymandias in which the sculpture of a proud king's is said to possess "a wrinkled lip" and a "sneer of cold command." Like Ozymandias, Zoltab is an arrogant ruler whose hubris leads to his downfall.
