Zatz, the Prince of Bats is the secondary antagonist later secondary protagonist of the miniseries. He is a demigod, warrior, former emissary of Lord Mictlan, and love interest and ally of Maya. He is was honorable, noble and kind, sympathizing with Maya's cause and later allying with her. He fought alongside Maya in the Battle against Lord Mictlan, and was resurrected as the God of the Moon after being killed in battle.
When Zatz was a child, Lord Mictlan took his right eye, leaving him with only one functioning eye. This led to him to have a deep-rooted, though rarely expressed, hatred of Lord Mictlan. He loved his parents dearly and was bereaved when his father was assassinated by Mictlan.
He was also mature, having a very philosophical view of death and accepting it as a natural part of life and helping Maya understand the same.
History[]
Backstory[]
Many years earlier, Lord Mictlan's general Camazotz, the God of Bats, had a child named Zatz with a mortal woman named Zyanya from the Barbarian tribe. She was later killed by monsters while trying to protect Camazotz and Zatz, and Zatz was brought before Mictlan. Camazotz convinced Mictlan to spare the boy, but the God of War took one of Zatz's eyes, leaving him with one eye and forcing him to wear an eye patch. Zatz, gaining the title Prince of Bats, remained in the Underworld with his father, eventually becoming Mictlan's emissary and a soldier in his army of gods.
Physical Description[]
Zatz is a mesoamerican native , a fair skinned youngster with fangs, shoulder-length white hair and red eyes. He can turn into a bat or a large group of bats. He wears extremely intricate armour, consisting of large shoulder extensions and also wears large metal earrings shaped like paws with skull emblems in it. His general colour theme is black, purple, and green. He is also very thin.
Personality[]
Despite serving under Lord Mictlan and given the task to bring her to him to be sacrificed, Zatz was not be a malicious person. He was fair, honorable (often with opinions on how combat should be carried out), respectful, and charismatic. Even when he brought the news of Maya needing to be sacrificed by the gods and the news of her brothers dying in war, he remained respectful and understanding.
He developed feelings for Maya after their second meeting, interested in her fiery and loyal personality. In many instances, Zatz followed Maya through her journey to keep a look out for her, relating on being half-human like her, and trying to convince her to join to take down Lord Mictlan with him and his father, although Maya didn't trust him.
He was also shown to have a calm, and reserved stone faced facade that makes him rarely flinch or lose his cool. However there are certain moments where the facade breaks, and he has a playful, romantic, and incredibly goofy side when mentioning or seeing Maya and acts like a smitten teenage boy than a stereotypical prince of darkness.
Zatz was also family oriented, caring deeply for his father and his deceased mother. He became absolutely devastated when his father was killed by Lord Mictlan and swore that he would make Mictlan pay for it. He was also deeply attached to his pet Colmillo, screaming in anguish when he was left behind while escaping the Underworld. He didn't seek personal vengeance unlike Maya, often talking about how he saw death as people becoming stars and watching over their relatives.
He cared deeply for Maya, even when she didn't like him at first. Zatz always told her that he would see her soon and would often watch over her on her quest. He was fascinated by her fighting spirit and skill, shown with him cheering for her during her fight against Acat and when she fought him on the rocks. He was even willing to lay down his life for Maya, shown when he begs Lord Mictlan to sacrifice him instead of her and tells Maya he loved her before being killed by Mictlan in the battle in Teca.
His selfless and honorable spirit is what leads him to earn living on as the God of the Moon.
Skills and Abilities[]
Strengths[]
- Fighting: Zatz is a very skilled sword fighter, wielding Crimson Moon, his macuahuitl, with great efficiency and strength. He is very agile and uses strategy in his fights. He also uses daggers in battle, though they are secondary weapons.
- Shapeshifting: Being the Prince of Bats, Zatz is able to shapeshift into various bat forms, like a large group of bats and a single normal-sized bat for travel and escape, and a very large bat with great strength for battling.
Relationships[]
Maya[]
Zatz fell in love with Maya after their second meeting, thinking her to be loyal, brave and beautiful. He often attempted to gain her affections, although she did not trust him. Their relationship took a turn for the better after Zatz warned Maya of Hura and Can's impending threat. Maya fell in grudging love with him after their mock 'fight' in the rocky area some way away from the Golden Mountains.
Their relationship progressed when Zatz offered to aid them in taking down Lord Mictlan, after the team entered The Underworld. However, the plan failed and Maya was to be sacrificed. Zatz, immobilised, pleaded with Lord Mictlan to sacrifice him instead. Later, with the help of Lady Micte, they escaped, and the two comforted each other over their losses. Zatz then told her about his family and how he believes that the dead become stars who watch over the living. The two then shared their first kiss.
Before the final battle, Maya kissed Zatz once again, saying that she did it in case she would not get to do it again. After Zatz's death, Maya was visibly heartbroken and cried. After the two were resurrected as the Sun and Moon deities, Maya says that she now gets to dance with her beloved every day.
Acat[]
Acat was the goddess of tattoos, in both Maya and the Three and Mayan Mythology. Zatz and her had dated for quite some time, probably due to their closeness in age, both living amongst countless elder deities.
After he met Princess Maya, another demigod like himself, he very quickly figured out that what he felt with Acat was not what he wanted at all. It was clear how unhappy he was in the situation, seeing as he goes to defend Maya in her battle against Acat in Episode Two. Zatz moderates their battle and does not reciprocate Acat's attempts at affection, leading to the conclusion that he does not like her. When Acat fights Maya ruthlessly, he stops the battle and keeps Maya alive instead of taking his girlfriend's side. He breaks up with her because he claims "you have no honor. Clearly, we were a mistake." When Acat returns to Lord Mictlan's temple unsuccessful, the lord takes her life and consumes her heart.
This frees Zatz forever of his ex-girlfriend and allows him to continue to pine after Maya.
Quotes[]
"Be well, Princess Maya. I'll see you soon"
"Hey, I missed you" - Episode Eight: The Bat and the Owl
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zatz, the Prince of Bats." - Episode One: Quinceañera
Appearances in the Series[]
- Chapter One: Quinceañera: First appearance
- Chapter Two: The Prophecy: Appears
- Chapter Four: The Skull Archer: Appears
- Chapter five: The puma warrior
- Chapter Seven: The Divine Gate: Appears
- Chapter Eight: The Bat and the Owl: Appears
- Chapter Nine: The Sun and the Moon: Last appearance