Sandbox:Zōffy
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— Zōffy introducing himself to Ultraman (Shin Ultraman) |
Zōffy (ゾーフィ is an Extraterrestrial from the Zōfi)Planet of Light who, along with his pawn Zetton, appears as the final antagonist of Tsuburaya Productions, Toho, and khara's 2022 film Shin Ultraman. He is based heavily on Zoffy (lacking the macron over the "o"), an Ultra who debuted in Tsuburaya Productions' 1966 television series Ultraman.
Name
Zōffy's name is based on that of Zoffy, which is spelled the same in Japanese as the Germanic name "Sophie" (derived from Ancient Greek σοφία sophia, meaning "wisdom"). While Zoffy's Japanese name (ゾフィー has a Zofī)long final vowel, Zōffy's (ゾーフィ has a long first vowel instead; this is communicated in English by the Zōfi)macron in "Zōffy." This shifting of the extended vowel is a reference[1] to the August 1967 issue of Bokura magazine, as well as the September 1967 book New Monster Encyclopedia based on it, which both referred to Zoffy as Zōfi due to a misprint.[2]
Tsuburaya Productions' official English subtitle track for Shin Ultraman erroneously capitalizes the "ō" in Zōffy's name, becoming ZŌffy.
Development
Zōffy's connection to Zetton and overall role as an antagonist—in stark contrast to the consistently-heroic Zoffy—traces to a 1967 document authored by Shoji Otomo for Tsuburaya Productions. The document, which was intended to standardize information about the kaiju of the original Ultraman for use in creating nonfiction books, erroneously attributed traits of the villainous Alien Zetton to Zoffy, including their 2-meter height, control over Zetton, and weakness to the SSSP's Super Guns.[3] As a result, these errors were reproduced in publications that referenced the document, including the aforementioned Bokura issue and New Monster Encyclopedia, which also introduced a misspelling of Zoffy's name that was not present in the document.[2][3] Shin Ultraman writer Hideaki Anno decided to adopt both the relation to Zetton and misspelled name for Zōffy, transforming him into a new character.[1]
Zōffy's black and gold coloration was inspired by NEXT, a project conceived of by original Ultraman production designer Tohl Narita but which was never produced. Narita's design for NEXT's main character featured a gold body with black lines.[1] It is possible that additional inspiration was taken from a piece of concept art that Narita created for "Ultraman Miracle", a precursor to Ultraman Great with a black and yellowish-white color scheme, though this may simply be a coincidence.[4] Like Shin Ultraman's version of Ultraman, Zōffy lacks a Color Timer, inspired by another Narita illustration titled Incarnation of Truth, Justice, and Beauty.[5]
Zōffy's head was based on a 3D scan of an original Ultraman Jack mask used in Return of Ultraman, retaining its asymmetrical elements such as its mismatched eye shapes.[6][7] Scrapped designs for Zōffy included one with line patterns based on the Zoffy from Ultraman, one with line patterns based on the Zoffy from Ultraman Ace onward, and one with a black line in the center of his head.[6]
Design
Zōffy is very similar to Ultraman in appearance, sharing his physique and overall patterns. However, his skin is gold in color while the markings that cover his body are black. An extra line swoops below his chest pattern while a thin circle lays on each shoulder. Additionally, his forehead crest is black. His eyes are slightly lopsided and so are his lips, the latter creating a visage that resembles a smirk to the side.
Personality
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Zōffy follows the Code of the Planet of Light very strictly, and comes across as very cold and stern because of that. He sees the death of one sapient race as inconsequential to the overall universe. He is a being who follows hard logic. This can be seen by the fact that Ultraman's actions endangered the rest of the universe, so the destruction of humanity is but a rational solution, as they could potentially be unregulated bioweapons unleashed upon all life in the galaxy.
Once Ultraman destroys Zetton, Zōffy saved his life, impressed by Ultraman's alliance with humanity, having discovered a way to destroy the alien machine while the extraterrestrial was unconscious. Seeing mankind's ingenuity and determination to survive against the odds, he develops a respect for mankind and decides to stop antagonizing them. Nevertheless, he is still strict following the Planet of Light's Code, so he demands Ultraman to come with him to face judgement for his crimes, even denying the rebellious member of his own species his wish to stay on Earth to protect it. When the former requested that he undo his fusion with the human that he had killed, Zŏffy again showed disbelief, but he showed his capacity for kindness further by granting Ultraman his request for the human to live again.
History
Reiwa era
Shin Ultraman
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Zōffy first appears during Ultraman's battle against Mefilas, causing the latter to stop his plot and escape from Earth, as he implies that "things could get unpleasant". Later on, he reappears before Ultraman in the forest where Shinji Kaminaga died. Zōffy tells Ultraman that humanity's interactions with Mefilas have spelled danger to the multiverse. The manipulative alien's plan has revealed that they are compatible with Beta Capsule technology. Thanks to this, they can be exploited by other species in the multiverse, so he intends to destroy them with the aid of the Ultimate Celestial Suppression Weapon, Zetton. He will use the machine to destroy the entire Solar System via launching a billion degree fireball above Earth. When Ultraman argues for the worth of humanity, Zōffy says that their potential danger, thanks to their potential evolutionary similarity, supersedes their preservation. Ultraman refuses to allow this to happen, fighting the construct in space. It is ultimately futile, as he cannot even damage it. Ultraman is eventually defeated after a short skirmish. Zōffy reappears to him as he falls back to the planet, telling him to simply stand down and await mankind's destruction.
Afterwards, it is revealed that Ultraman accounted for this scenario, giving Akihisa Taki information about the functions of the Beta System who, in turn, shared it with mankind's greatest minds. Once Ultraman reawakened from his coma, he was directed by the humans to activate his Beta Capsule twice, creating a sixth-dimensional wormhole that could potentially defeat Zetton. Ultraman flew to space once again to enact this plan, ending with his absorption into the wormhole and Zetton's destruction. Zōffy eventually found the other alien in another dimension, detecting his strong will to live. He declares that he has changed his mind, seeing mankind's potential for good thanks to their collaboration with Ultraman. Zōffy decides to spare humanity out of admiration, but still wants to bring Ultraman back to the Planet of Light to answer for his violations of its Code. Even when Ultraman says he wants to stay to protect humanity, he denies this request. Instead, Ultraman decides to sacrifice himself for the life of the man that he fused with, Shinji Kaminaga. Zōffy, despite his disbelief at Ultraman's willingness to die, decided to grant this request, separating him from the human and returning him to life, and remarking if Ultraman has grown so fond of humanity to do such a thing.
Abilities
Flight
While on Earth, Zōffy constantly hovers above the ground. He can move in this state, as shown when he meets Ultraman falling to Earth after his defeat by Zetton.
Zetton
As an adjudicator from the Planet of Light, Zōffy can summon a compacted Zetton, seemingly from thin air. It can then be sent into space and unfold into its complete form.
Beta Capsule
Like Ultraman, Zōffy possess a Beta Capsule. Zōffy's Capsule could reverse Ultraman's fusion with Shinji Kaminaga, though it is unknown whether it could allow him to fuse with a human himself.
Gallery
- Main article: Zōffy/Gallery.
Trivia
- A close-up of Zōffy's face recreates a similar shot of Zoffy from the fifth episode of Ultraman Ace (1972).
- The original Zoffy previously appeared in the 1992 video game Battle Soccer: Champion of the Field, meeting characters from the Godzilla, Kamen Rider, and Gundam franchises.
External links
References
This is a list of references for Zōffy. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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Bibliography
- Miyoshi, Kan, ed. (13 May 2022). Shin Ultraman Design Works. khara. ISBN 978-4-905033-28-8.
- Anno, Hideaki. "Shin Ultraman Memo". In Miyoshi (2022), pp. 73-75.
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