Zemus

The body dies... but the spirit lives on.

Zemus, shortly before transforming

Zemus is the main antagonist of Final Fantasy IV. He is a Lunarian who wants his brethren to come out of their long slumber and populate the Earth. Zemus has formidable mind control powers that he uses to manipulate various individuals, especially those with Lunarian blood. He is faced in a cinematic battle that only serves a storyline purpose.

Profile[]

Appearance[]

Zemus appears as a blue-skinned bald humanoid in a floor-length black cloak with white stripes inside its hood. In his Yoshitaka Amano artwork, these white stylings resemble fangs. His lower body is indistinct, being covered by the cloak.

Personality[]

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Zemus considers the Lunarians a superior race to the Earthlings and, thus, any coexistence between the two impossible. He wants to eradicate mankind so the Lunarians can live peacefully on the Earth. After being sealed away, he comes to view even his fellow Lunarians as mere tools for him to make his goal into a reality. In his megalomania, Zemus stops at nothing to enforce his plan, using whatever means he deems necessary. Over time, his will grew so strong that it can exist independently from him, bringing new entities into existence, such as Zemus's Mind and Zeromus.

Abilities[]

Zemus (SNES).

Zemus is a psychic who can control the minds of others remotely, particularly Golbez, who, in, turn uses the same power on Kain Highwind. Strong feelings can interrupt this power, as seen when Rosa stops Kain from killing Cecil and when Tellah attempts to kill Golbez with Meteor. Fusoya eventually breaks Zemus' control over Golbez so that he can remember his true identity. Zemus' psychic powers make him nigh invincible to attacks from even the most powerful mages. It is unknown if Zemus was able to control Kain directly and how the mind control ability he grants Golbez may differ from his own.

Story[]

Zemus appears to have been the only voice among the Lunarians advocating for world domination. The rest wanted to wait for the people of Earth to evolve to the point where the two races could coexist. Zemus was sentenced to an indefinite slumber and the Red Moon's Crystals sealed him within the moon. Due to his immense psychic powers, however, his mind remained awake and searched for ways to realize his plan, beginning with the Lunarian Kluya's son, Theodore (Golbez).

FFIV iOS Zemus Defeated — Zemus after being defeated by Golbez and Fusoya.

Zemus manipulates Golbez into summoning the Giant of Babil, a massive android capable of eliminating all life from the planet to make way for the Lunarians. When the Crystals are gathered and the Giant roams the Earth, the Lunarian Fusoya, Kluya's other son, Cecil, and their allies infiltrate the giant and destroy its central processing unit. Fusoya then breaks Zemus' mind control over Golbez. Furious at having been puppeteered to commit atrocities, Golbez swears to kill Zemus and leaves with Fusoya for the Lunar Core.

In the ensuing battle, Zemus resists Golbez's and Fusoya's spells and taunts them into killing him by casting Meteor. Despite Zemus being killed, his hatred lives on and manifests as Zeromus. Cecil and his allies, with the help of the prayers of their supporters on Earth, vanquish Zeromus, halting his ambitions, despite his promise to return.

Gameplay[]

Main articles: Zemus (boss) or Zemus (3D boss)

Zemus is only encountered in a cutscene battle where Fusoya and Golbez join forces to fight him. The battle is purely cinematic. Golbez's HP in this battle (2,943) can alternatively be read in Japanese as nikushimi (憎しみ?), which means "hatred", while his starting HP in The After Years (2,971) can be read as tsugunai (償い?), meaning "atonement".

Spoilers end here.

Other appearances[]

Pictlogica Final Fantasy[]

This section about a character in Pictlogica Final Fantasy is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game[]

Zemus appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as two Dark-elemental Backup cards and as a Lightning-elemental Forward.

Behind the scenes[]

One piece of unused dialog for Zemus exists: "You are entering into my realm, the Zemus-Zone. No one can ever escape from my minions! Perish in the Darkness before you reach me." This speech is given by Zemus, taunting the party telepathically. This was probably intended to be displayed upon entering the Lunar Subterrane or the Lunar Core. The "Zemus-Zone" is possibly a reference to Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone and also an unused location name, but may have been the working name for the Lunar Core during the English localization.