𝒁𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑭𝒂𝒊𝒓 ✨🌹

Personality We're all coming back here alive, you hear me? Let's go. Zack

Zack is upbeat, optimistic, kind, and driven, beaming with enthusiasm and energy even under dire circumstances. His energetic nature is coupled with a short attention span and restlessness, earned him the moniker "Zack, the Puppy" when his mentor spoke of him to others.[10] Zack is extremely affable, befriending people quickly with ease, and gaining the trust of allies.[note 8] He is similarly flirty and charming with women.[note 9] Over time, the dire circumstances Zack faced did not make him bitter or pessimistic, but rather matured him away from his more restless behavior, maintaining his positive and hopeful attitude even in his latter days.[18]

Zack's core motivation is to become a hero and protect his honor, his guiding principle. When fighting Wutai, he affirms loyalty to comrades while equivocating as to which side is right, but spares the captain's life rather than act out of cruelty.[9] When he eventually clashes with former comrades, he does so reluctantly, after trying each time to save them.[note 10] His quest to see good in people and to support them allows him to inspire,[note 11] but sometimes lead to naivete.[note 12] Zack's drive is a direct contrast to Genesis, who seeks heroism for the glory, validation, and superiority coming with it,[11] where Zack seeks to surpass only himself. Though he grew cynical of his own past ambivalence as to what he was fighting for,[15] his commitment to honor and heroism stuck with him to the end, reiterating his mantra in his last stand.[The mantra "Embrace your dreams" and "Protect your SOLDIER honor" came from his mentor, Angeal. The two had mutual admiration, Angeal writing to his mother about Zack[10] and recommending him to 1st Class, while Zack matured under his guidance. Angeal had been described as the "spiritual leader of SOLDIER"[33], something Zack inherited by passing on his legacy, as he served as an inspiration for comrades

Appearance Zack's signature appearance is a tall, well-built man with spiky black hair, and the iconic sky blue "mako eyes" common to SOLDIER members. In his most iconic appearance as a SOLDIER First Class, he dresses in black uniform, wearing gloves and boots, and wields the Buster Sword. He also has an X-shaped scar on his cheek, a silver stud earring in his left ear, and a single lock of hair hanging down in front of his face.

As a SOLDIER 2nd Class, prior to promotion, Zack wears a dark blue SOLDIER uniform (instead of the red and magenta most SOLDIER 2nd Class members are seen wearing), with his gloves and boots, and wielded a standard SOLDIER sword. His spiky black hair as a 2nd Class is shorter, and he has several bangs framing his face, while lacking the scar and ear stud. While in Costa del Sol, Zack wears black shorts with a white cord and a yellow design and wields a parasol for a makeshift weapon.

Biographical information Home Gongaga Village Age 16-23 (Crisis Core, Before Crisis) (born 1984[1]) Affiliation Shinra Electric Power Company Occupation SOLDIER

Physical description Race Human Gender Male Height 6'1" (185 cm)[2][3][note 1] Hair color Black Eye color Sky Blue (Light green glow) "mako eyes" Blood type O[2]

Zack Fair is a recurring character in the Final Fantasy VII series. He is the main protagonist of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, which expands on his backstory after being introduced in Final Fantasy VII through a few flashback sequences as a non-player character. He also appears in other entries as a supporting character, including Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-, Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Zack was a member of SOLDIER, the elite military division of the influential Shinra Electric Power Company. He was from the countryside, a village called Gongaga, and was determined to become a hero. Under the mentorship of Angeal Hewley, Zack made SOLDIER First Class, and eventually inherited his Buster Sword, becoming one the company's most dependable elites alongside Sephiroth. After a series of crises stemming from the Shinra Electric Power Company's SOLDIER program, Zack eventually passed on the Buster Sword to one of his best friends and comrades, Cloud Strife. Despite the conflict around him, Zack remained steadfast and upbeat, drawing from his own moral compass, and committed to being there for his girlfriend, Aerith Gainsborough.

In Crisis Core, Zack is capable of using a wide variety of materia which grant him attacks. Introduced in the game, new attacks can be unlocked by mixing materia using the Materia Fusion mechanic. Zack is also capable of wielding special abilities from the Digital Mind Wave, in which depending on slot reels, he can wield attacks from a summon or a close ally against his foes.

Before Final Fantasy VII Early life Zack was born in 1984 in the town of Gongaga.[1] Having had childhood dreams of joining SOLDIER, he left for Midgar in 1997, at the age of thirteen, without notifying his parents, and joined the Shinra military.SOLDIER 2nd Class Zack VS. Sephiroth copy Zack fighting a virtual form of Sephiroth. Zack trained under tutelage of First Class Angeal Hewley in the Virtual Reality System, and Angeal noticed Zack's restlessness. At one point during training, Angeal compared Zack to himself several months prior and saw minimal improvement, leading him to train against Sephiroth.[7] By October 2000, Zack had reached SOLDIER Second Class, working under Director Lazard Deusericus in the 49th Floor of the Shinra Building. He had also befriended SOLDIER Second Class Kunsel.

Battle of Fort Tamblin 1 Zack battles Wutai troops in Fort Tamblin. In the prologue of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Zack underwent another digital training session with his mentor in the Virtual Reality System. After victory, he was easily defeated by a virtual Sephiroth, as he was warned about his overconfidence.[8] In November, depicted in chapter 1, despite the debacle, in Zack's first face-to-face meeting with Director Lazard, Angeal recommended Zack for First Class, and Lazard deployed the two to Fort Tamblin in Wutai. The two also learned that the First Class SOLDIER Genesis Rhapsodos had deserted Shinra, taking a number of SOLDIERs of Second and Third Class with him.[9]

On the way to Fort Tamblin, Angeal told Zack about the origin of Banora White apples, his poor upbringing and friendship with Genesis in Banora, and the Buster Sword that had been passed down in his family. Once inside, Zack took out the enemy forces single-handedly. As well as encountering a nine-year-old Yuffie Kisaragi, he encountered a group of Wutai warriors who tried to convince him Shinra were evil; despite disagreeing with their version of events and being ambivalent as to which side was best, Zack affirmed that he had made his choice to stick with SOLDIER and still fought them. After then fighting two anti-SOLDIER monsters, he was saved by Angeal using the sword, Angeal jokingly telling Zack he was "only a little more important" than his Buster Sword, and thus it was worth using to save him.[9]

After heading back, Zack was attacked by several copies of Genesis summoning Ifrit, and Angeal vanished. Sephiroth saved Zack, and concluded that Angeal had left with Genesis, something Zack refused to believe.[9] In chapter 2, Lazard assigned Zack to accompany Tseng of the Turks to Banora to investigate Angeal and Genesis's abandonment (after Sephiroth refused the mission due to his friendship with them). There, Zack met Gillian Hewley, who had heard of Zack from Angeal's letters to her calling him "Zack the Puppy", but did not know his whereabouts. Zack and Tseng encountered Genesis, who taunted him and injured Zack who was saved by Angeal. Tseng revealed the village would be bombed to cover up the incidents, and after Zack returned, he found Gillian dead. Genesis sent Bahamut to attack Zack, before sprouting a black wing and flying off, after which Zack evacuated on a Shinra helicon.

Genesis War See also: Genesis War In chapter 3 of Crisis Core, during April 0001, Zack was promoted to SOLDIER First Class, but was not as happy as he had expected to be. Genesis's army attacked Midgar, and Zack was sent to push them back, meeting Cissnei as the Turks were also deployed. Noting the wings on the Genesis copies, Cissnei told him they symbolized freedom, not monsters. Sephiroth called Zack to Mako Reactor 5, as Angeal had been sighted there; at Sephiroth's suggestion, they agreed to deliberately fail to eliminate Angeal. There, they found documents for Project G (which they assumed was "Project Genesis"), and encountered the professor responsible, Dr. Hollander. After chasing him, Zack was stopped by Angeal, who sprouted an angelic wing and told him that he was a monster; Zack pleaded this was not true and refused to fight, but Angeal destroyed the platform beneath Zack, sending him to the Sector 5 slums below.[11]

Zack and Aerith CC Zack asking Aerith out on a date as repayment for waking him up. In chapter 4, Zack awoke in the Sector 5 slums church where he met Aerith Gainsborough, offering to pay her back with a date. Impressed with the flowers that grew in the church, he suggested she sell them, and when the two visited the market, he bought her a pink ribbon that she always wore from then on. Their date was cut off when Zack was called to upper Midgar to repel another Genesis attack, this time to attack Professor Hojo; en route, Angeal appeared, this time wanting to work with Zack. Zack, Angeal, and Sephiroth then fought Genesis, but after Zack fought a summoned Bahamut Fury, Angeal and Genesis were nowhere to be seen.[12]

Zack inherits the Buster Sword Zack inherits the Buster Sword from Angeal. During April, in chapter 5, on the way to visit Aerith, Zack was stopped by Tseng. He was sent to the mountain town of Modeoheim with Tseng and some Shinra infantrymen, one of whom was Cloud Strife, and the two instantly bonded over their shared country

In Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, on January 16, 0002, Zack was sent to deal with the insurgency known as Avalanche in Icicle Inn to destroy their base along with a Player Turk and his SOLDIER friends, Essai and Sebastian.[note 2] Essai and Sebastian were kidnapped by Avalanche and turned into Ravens, the personal guard of Fuhito. Zack attempted a rescue mission and brought them back to their senses, but they died. When the Player Turk left, Zack killed a Raven named Kyneugh, and after escaping the base, Zack made a grave for Essai and Sebastian with both of their swords crossing.

Zack at Costa del Sol Zack at Costa del Sol with Cissnei. In chapter 6 of Crisis Core, early summer of that year, Zack rested in Costa del Sol with Cissnei watching him. His vacation was interrupted by Genesis copies, leading them to suspect Genesis was still around. They learned that Director Lazard had betrayed SOLDIER and worked with the copies to break Dr. Hollander out of imprisonment in Junon. Zack followed to Junon to prevent Hollander from leaving, but was unsuccessful; Sephiroth, arriving late, noted Zack's failure but forgave him, and gave him permission to return to Midgar to see Aerith.[13]

In chapter 7, Zack returned to find monsters released from Hojo's lab, and that an Angeal copy was protecting Aerith.[note 3] He built Aerith a wagon and helped her sell flowers, and noted Tseng watching them. Zack entrusted Tseng as the only one who could be depended on to look after Aerith. Zack was to be sent on a mission to Nibelheim, Cloud's hometown, alongside Sephiroth, Cloud, and two other Shinra infantrymen. Zack bid Aerith farewell and left.

Nibelheim Incident Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Zack and Cloud Zack and Cloud talk in the inn. See also: Nibelheim Incident During September 22 of 0002 (depicted chapter 8 of Crisis Core, and multiple other titles), the three arrived in Nibelheim, with Sephiroth asking Cloud how it felt to return to his hometown. Zack asked if Sephiroth had any family, to which Sephiroth answered that his mother's name was Jenova, piquing Zack's curiosity and suspicion due to Genesis's earlier reference to her. A local named Tifa Lockhart guided them up Mt. Nibel to the Nibel Reactor, and a villager snapped a picture of Sephiroth, Zack, and Tifa on the way there.[15]

Zack and Sephiroth found several pods filled with makonoids at the mako reactor, and Sephiroth learned from Genesis that he was created as part of the Jenova Project, causing him to have a mental breakdown. Outside, Cloud was injured protecting Tifa from an attack from Genesis, and Zack escorted them back to the town; after Cloud lamented he could have protected them if he made SOLDIER, he responded that SOLDIER was like a "den of monsters". He expressed regret at himself for simply following orders with SOLDIER mindlessly, but when Cloud asked Zack about the Buster Sword, he was reminded of Angeal's mantra of honor, and had a renewed purpose. Meanwhile, Sephiroth hid in the basement of the Shinra Manor reading files of the project for seven sleepless days, asking to be left alone when Zack attempted to talk to him.[15]

Nibelheim Incident Witnessed by Zack Zack sees Sephiroth with Nibelheim ablaze. On October 1, Zack attempted again only to find Sephiroth had snapped, believing himself to be the last Cetra, and hating humanity for supposedly abandoning his forebears during an unspecified disaster. Sephiroth burned the town to the ground and headed to the reactor to find Jenova, with Tifa chasing him, and Cloud and Zack following. Tifa was cut down and refused to trust Zack when he tried to help her, and after failing

Experiments and fleeing Shinra Genesis Chapter10 Zack encounters Genesis on the way back to Midgar. Over the four years he was experimented on, Hojo's project was deemed a failure, due to Zack's strong tolerance to the Jenova cells from his SOLDIER conditioning, and Cloud's lack of tolerance causing toxicosis.[17] Awakening in Shinra Manor December 0006,[5] Zack knocked out the researcher watching them and freed Cloud who had severe mako poisoning and was in an almost vegetative state; Zack dressed Cloud in a clean SOLDIER uniform before leaving.[17][18] As escapees of Hojo's experiment, they were fugitives wanted by Shinra, and Kunsel mailed him to warn him of a battalion sent after them.[19]

Zack eats a Banora White Zack takes a bite out of a Banora White, fulfilling Genesis's childhood dream. In chapter 9 of Crisis Core, they left the now-rebuilt Nibelheim, and on the way, Cissnei was ordered to take the escapees in, but betrayed orders and allowed Zack and Cloud to pass.[17][note 5] Their journey took them to Zack's home of Gongaga, where Cissnei warned Zack to stay away as the Turks had been ordered to look for him there. She told him she had already spoken to his parents and they were well. Zack found Genesis copies looking for Cloud, believing he possessed S Cells (Jenova cells from Sephiroth) that could cure their degradation; Hollander believed that Zack's S cells were useless due to his resilience and only Cloud's would help.[17]

LO Files 3 Case report in Last Order. Zack defended Cloud and killed Hollander once and for all, with the help of Lazard, who had since become an Angeal copy to take Angeal's strength. Lazard disavowed his past desire for vengeance and wished to help Zack stop Genesis and save the world.[17] In chapter 10, the three traveled to the Banora ruins to search for Genesis, and Zack fought him in the Banora Underground, now wielding the power of the lifestream to cure his degradation. Challenged once again for the title of SOLDIER Firs

Original continuity Zack's final stand Zack facing the Shinra Army Zack faces the Shinra army. See also: Zack's Final Stand On the way to Midgar, the two hitched a ride on the back of a pick-up truck. Zack planned for him and Cloud to become mercenaries together, and pondered if he could stay with Aerith if her mother, Elmyra Gainsborough, allowed it.[18] Meanwhile, while the Shinra army were deployed against Zack, Tseng separately ordered the Turks to collect him first, hoping to save Zack's life and deliver the 88 letters Aerith had written to him prior to the one that reached him.[20]

Zack's Fall Cloud inherits the Buster Sword from Zack. At the end of September 0007, when the two approached Midgar, an army of Shinra soldiers awaited them, as the Turks had been unable to reach him first. The army gunned Zack down as the killing blows were landed by two soldiers and one commander,[note 6] who ignored Cloud at the commander's orders.[18] In the lifestream after passing, Zack joined Angeal and told Cloud to "say hi" to Aerith for him, and asks if it was fair to say he successfully became a hero.

Legacy CCFFVII Zack's End Zack returns to the Planet with Angeal's spirit. The combined trauma from the Nibelheim Incident, his mako poisoning, and witnessing Zack's death became too much for Cloud's mind to handle. Aided by the Jenova cells in his body, Cloud's mind was warped, and he adopted elements of Zack's memories and persona, combining them with an idealized image of himself to create a new personality and history for himself. Cloud arrived in the Sector 7 slums and found Tifa again, who noticed his memory was off but kept quiet, and encouraged him to work for her and Barret Wallace in Avalanche.[21]

FFVII Zack Nibelheim Incident Zack in a flashback sequence. In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud had several breakdowns during his journey due to his faulty memory. When he met Aerith (falling from the plate above to the church, as Zack had done), she noticed similarities between him and Zack, commenting on their rank and eyes.[22] His version of events in "The Tragedy of Five Years Ago" had him retell the Nibelheim Incident where he swapped places with Zack, but went blank after confronting Sephiroth, something he could not explain.[23] In "Gongaga, the Village of Sadness", the party met Zack's parents, still waiting for his return; Aerith reminisced and wondered if Zack was still out there but had found someone else, while Tifa denied knowing Zack.[6] Tifa kept her knowledge of the Nibelheim Incident to herself until Sephiroth showed Cloud a vision of the true events in "That Which Waits in the Northernmost Reaches"; thereafter, in "Searching for the You of That Day", she and Cloud helped repair his mind, and Cloud reclaimed his memory to accept his true identity rather than rely on his constructed persona based on Zack.

Dont give up An apparition of Zack encouraging Cloud in his final battle. When Aerith returned to the lifestream after her death, she reunited with Zack, as depicted in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.[note 7] His voice, along with Aerith's, calle

Remake continuity Zack brings Cloud to Midgar from FFVII Remake Zack's survival in the remake. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Zack's final stand (based on the Crisis Core depiction, where he comments on the price of freedom and repeats Angeal's mantra before fighting the Shinra army) was shown during "Destiny's Crossroads" when the party battled Sephiroth and the Whispers. After the Whispers' defeat, Zack's fate appeared to be altered, as he barely survived the encounter and defeated the army, before being knocked down by a burst of light from Midgar. He recovered and took a weakened Cloud to the city.[25] In "Episode INTERmission", after an unknown period of time, Zack visited the Sector 5 church hoping to see Aerith, only to find her absent and the church full of refugees from the topside of Midgar.[26]

Zack brings Cloud to Midgar from FFVII Rebirth Zack brings a mako-poisoned Cloud to Midgar. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth reveals that this Zack is from another reality separate from the party who escaped Midgar to pursue Sephiroth across the globe. In this world, Barret, Tifa, Aerith, and Red XIII were in the Shinra Building when it was toppled by tornadoes and they were dug out from the rubble by Shinra and taken to helicopters. Zack brought the mako-poisoned Cloud from his time to Midgar, but upon witnessing a news report on the Sector 5 slums town square, he hoisted Cloud onto Kyrie Canaan and rushed after the helicopter shown carrying Aerith.

Red XIII, who was being transported alongside Aerith, momentarily regained consciousness and attacking the pilots, causing the transport to crashland. Zack fought his way through to Aerith and took her to her home in the Sector 5 slums. During the hassle, her hair ribbon came undone and her white materia fell out. Back in Aerith's room, the ribbon and materia were placed on a night stand, and Cloud was also brought in to recuperate. Elmyra Gainsborough chastised Zack for failing to look after neither Cloud nor Aerith properly

When Zack was about to head topside to look for Hojo, he read a letter from Biggs where he learned Biggs was going on a bombing run alone. Distraught, Zack wavered between going after Biggs to stop him, continuing on to procure a cure for Cloud, or to stay put to protect Aerith who was supposedly in grave danger from Sephiroth as per Marlene's vision. Reality dovetailed again; still in the same reality, Zack headed topside to look for Hojo, but ended up being ambushed by Shinra infantry yet again. In the reality where Zack chose to look for Biggs, he found the lone Avalanche survivor in the core of Mako Reactor 6, but the well was dry, the lifestream entirely depleted, and Biggs's bomb failed to even detonate. Zack seemed vaguely aware that this reality had not been his first choice, but simply said that he had been worried about Biggs and that was why he came. Biggs was killed by a sniper, and Zack realized that the Shinra infantry was upon him yet again, cursing how his fate never seemed to change no matter what choices he made. As the soldiers began shooting at him, Zack decided that he was done with the misfortunes fate had dealt him, and would decide how his life played out, running from the infantry.

In the reality where Zack decided to stay in the slums, he sat on the church steps pondering his next move, when Sephiroth passed him and opened the door to the church. Zack was instantly alarmed, yelling at Sephiroth, who turned to Zack. As Zack grabbed his Buster Sword ready to fight, Sephiroth seemed to consider Zack not a priority, slashing at Zack and sending him into a different dimension. As he fell, Zack realized that Sephiroth was responsible for everything currently happening.

Zack&Cloud in edge of creation from FFVII Rebirth Zack and Cloud join forces against Sephiroth. In the world where Cloud, Aerith, and their friends went on a quest across the globe to hunt for Sephiroth and the black materia, they reached the City of the Ancients where Sephiroth

Sephiroth was defeated in all layers of reality, Cloud and Aerith ending him in a two-on-one battle in a white void. Zack appeared back in the Sector 5 church where the flowers were as vibrant as ever. He pondered about his experience of worlds seemingly momentarily coming together.