Zzzax, "the Living Dynamo" is a humanoid creature that was formed from electricity by an act of sabotage at a Con Ed nuclear power plant in New York City. A group of terrorists used explosives, and in destroying the dynamos started a chain
reaction that caused a rapid build in energy. The energy escapes and absorbs several engineers working at the plant, and by
using the electrical energy from their brains was able to achieve humanoid form and sentience.
Calling itself Zzzax, the creature fights the Hulk and the hero Hawkeye, but is swiftly defeated. A short time later, a team of three scientists at Soul-Star Research
Center in Chicago revived Zzzax; it absorbs one of them. The Hulk fights Zzzax once again, which gives the remaining two scientists
time to shut down the process and stop Zzzax. Zzzax, however, regenerates and eventually pursues the two scientists, bringing
it into conflict with the hero Luke Cage. Zzzax is defeated, but not before another scientist is killed.
Several years later, Zzzax reforms when a faulty Soul-Star generator power core is installed at the
Northwind Observatory for the Hulk's alter ego, Bruce Banner. Now in full control of the Hulk, Banner uses his knowledge of
Zzzax to defeat the creature without any casualties. Zzzax is later restored by the demonic entity Mephisto to battle the Thing, in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the entity known as the Beyonder. Zzzax then teams with fundamental force villains Graviton, Quantum, and Halflife in a battle with Hawkeye and the West Coast Avengers.
When Zzzax is eventually contained by the spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D., General Thunderbolt Ross - a long-time foe of the Hulk - arranges for his mind to be transferred into Zzzax's body in a tactical
experiment. Ross is able to dominate Zzzax's mind and fights against a new Hulk, Rick Jones, but returns to his own body when confronted with the fact that he had threatened innocent lives as Zzzax.
Zzzax's power is relinquished by Ross shortly afterwards to save his daughter Betty Ross Banner. Zzzax is restored again twice after this, but is defeated in short order by the hero Iron Man and is contained again years later by the mutant Cable.
Although captured and imprisoned in "The Raft", a facility for super-villains, Zzzax is freed in a mass breakout staged by the villain Electro. While recaptured by S.H.I.E.L.D. again, Zzzax escapes a containment unit and turns the Helicarrier's defense systems against its agents. The heroine She-Hulk manages to recapture Zzzax in a modified stasis box, where the creature currently remains trapped.
Powers and abilities
As a being of pure electricity, Zzzax can absorb and discharge vastly powerful currents of electricity,
manipulate nearby electrical fields, and fly. The creature's size and strenght level also increases in relation to the amount
of electricity absorbed. This control of electrical current also extends to the human nervous system, as Zzzax has been shown
to be capable of controlling even the Hulk. Zzzax is also dependent upon electricity from the human brain to survive, and
when killing prey will temporarily take on the personality traits of the victim. In more recent times, Zzzax has been shown
as being capable of generating intense heat, to the point whereby water - a previous weakeness - evaporates before touching
it. As another recent addition, it was shown capable of inhabiting and controlling the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier.
