The Winter Soldier Arnim Zola

[cph9fa]

i have a feeling Zola is probably uploaded a back-up of himself to an internet connection when Natasha used the apple store to triangulate his original position.

I just saw the movie last night. Didn't Black Widow have a throw-away line about how making backup copies was a good habit? Foreshadowing?

 

[Godsfireworks]

I just saw the movie last night. Didn't Black Widow have a throw-away line about how making backup copies being a good habit? Foreshadowing?

Whoa.

 

[spideymouse]

Zola's reveal was a complete surprise and delight to me. And the whole scene surrounding it is a perfect example of the attention to detail the writers and directors laboriously paid to this movie.

Even before they got there, the whole Apple store honeymoon-in-New Jersey joke was served by this upcoming scene taking place in Wheaton.

Then having SHIELD's original HQ at Camp Lehigh fit so well in tying back to TFA, as well as made perfect sense since that's where the SSR first set up camp. It gave the audience a chance to reconnect to skinny Steve in that quick but powerful flashback, and then they were treated to seeing Cap's intelligence and detective skills in seeing how the bunker looked out of place and finding the hidden elevator.

And just when the movie's captured us with these really cool character moments (including Widow's War Games reference), BAM! they reveal freaking Zola! So good, in all of the ways people have already mentioned in this thread. And I love how just when maybe audiences were getting tired of Zola monologuing on and on with all of that exposition and all that campy villain tone to it, they then completely justify it as Zola simply stalling Cap and Widow as the missile was on its way.

As you can guess, it's definitely one of my favorite scenes of the movie after seeing it twice so far.

Regarding previous speculation, I do think that [BLACKOUT]Zola is dead. Pierce does say that the ongoing hunt for Cap and Widow "cost me Zola."[/BLACKOUT]

 

[The Caped Knight]

Zola's brain was stored at the bunker, but that doesn't mean he didn't transfer his A.I. to another server before the missile strike, He could've much like Brainiac has in the comics or even Ultron.

 

[spideymouse]

Zola's brain was stored at the bunker, but that doesn't mean he didn't transfer his A.I. to another server before the missile strike, He could've much like Brainiac has in the comics or even Ultron.

I completely agree. However, it is then bad planning to have a character pretty much state that Zola didn't make it. To have yet another reveal in a future Cap movie that Zola is still alive would lessen the impact that his reveal had here in Cap 2.

 

[The Caped Knight]

I completely agree. However, it is then bad planning to have a character pretty much state that Zola didn't make it. To have yet another reveal in a future Cap movie that Zola is still alive would lessen the impact that his reveal had here in Cap 2.

not exactly, We know the Red Skull will return somehow and yet to Rogers he's still dead.

Pierce said they cost him Zola. Zola sated that the location was his brain. I think because he knew about the air strike he transferred his brain to another server just as the missile launched

 

[yllum]

Zola's brain was stored at the bunker, but that doesn't mean he didn't transfer his A.I. to another server before the missile strike, He could've much like Brainiac has in the comics or even Ultron.

Ultron!! I think zola will be relevant in A2.......

 

[crounsa810]

Anybody remember his quote about freedom and people giving it up willingly? Was it he who said that? Something about technology and people giving away their freedom.

I remember hearing that line and going "Whoa"

 

[kedrell]

Regarding previous speculation, I do think that [BLACKOUT]Zola is dead. Pierce does say that the ongoing hunt for Cap and Widow "cost me Zola."[/BLACKOUT]

Even if not dead it did cost him Zola as an asset.

 

[AnneFan]

Regarding previous speculation, I do think that [BLACKOUT]Zola is dead. Pierce does say that the ongoing hunt for Cap and Widow "cost me Zola."[/BLACKOUT]

Going on what he knew, anyway. I could see Zola storing his conciousness in other places as well.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

Anybody remember his quote about freedom and people giving it up willingly? Was it he who said that? Something about technology and people giving away their freedom.

I remember hearing that line and going "Whoa"

"Hydra created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. One the purification process is complete, Hydra's New World Order will arise."

 

[BH/HHH]

I'm so glad I stayed spoiler free for this film. When Zola turned up I geeked out big time.

 

[titansupes]

As someone who's knowledge of Cap comes only from the first movie and TA... this twist was amazing. I probably didn't have the same reaction you guys did when his face came on the screen, because I don't know anything about that from the comics... but just that whole reveal and the subsequent plot twists that followed was perfect for the movies. I loved this.

I think this may be the first MCU movie I see twice in theatres. But there's a lot of stuff coming out this month and the next, so we'll see.

EDIT: And BH/HHH, me too. The only thing I knew going into this was what I'd seen in the first trailer and I'd read vague comments about SHIELD being gone by the end of it, but never really paid attention. I'm glad that's how it went.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

For those saying that Zola acted differently in TFA compared to what we saw in TWS, there's a reason for that. Zola back in WW2 had a body and an actual soul. We saw him react with fear and slight trepidation under the Red Skull, but his loyalty to HYDRA was ultimately undying. Now we see him in his new form, with no human vessel, no soul and nothing to fear, with only his loyalty to HYDRA and his devious mind still intact. That's what's so creepy seeing how much he went from a meek little man in TFA to a boasting and deadly A.I. in TWS. I love it.

 

[cherokeesam]

"Hydra created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. One the purification process is complete, Hydra's New World Order will arise."

And this, for the people who think Zola, an AI, could actually "die" in a bomb blast:

"Cut off one head, and two more shall arise in its place."
....Ultron and MODOK. t:

 

[Enriquespy]

They should upload him to the tron computer, so we get to se Toby Jones wearing a tron suit and fighting against The Dude.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

Actually, he'd be Obadiah Stane in this universe.

 

[Enriquespy]

Don't bring logic into this!!!

 

[seishin87]

Regarding previous speculation, I do think that [BLACKOUT]Zola is dead. Pierce does say that the ongoing hunt for Cap and Widow "cost me Zola."[/BLACKOUT]

I think interesting thing in what is said is, [blackout] Pierce says "cost ME Zola". Key word being "me". I'd say at the least Pierce himself doesn't have any backups of Zola, but seeing the USB ports and with Zola himself repeating the whole "cut off one head, two shall take it's place" phrase and going as far as even having his graphic on the screen divide into two images, I think we may get more Zola yet. That and there's still the "Zola Bot" seed from TFA. TWS is just a teaser in that regard.[/blackout]

 

[spideymouse]

I think interesting thing in what is said is, [blackout] Pierce says "cost ME Zola". Key word being "me". I'd say at the least Pierce himself doesn't have any backups of Zola, but seeing the USB ports and with Zola himself repeating the whole "cut off one head, two shall take it's place" phrase and going as far as even having his graphic on the screen divide into two images, I think we may get more Zola yet. That and there's still the "Zola Bot" seed from TFA. TWS is just a teaser in that regard.[/blackout]

I think the "Zola Bot" plans in TFA was more of a fun easter egg than something we should expect to actually show up in the "flesh" in a future movie. I could be wrong though. I do think their adaptation of the comic book version in TWS was a perfect homage/reference to the comics without going full campy.

 

[UltraSuperGuy]

Regarding previous speculation, I do think that [BLACKOUT]Zola is dead. Pierce does say that the ongoing hunt for Cap and Widow "cost me Zola."[/BLACKOUT]

Spoiler

You really think Zola is going to check in like a dutiful soldier to Pierce and say "hey, I'm still around!" No, he's going to lay low and go back into plotting/scheming mode.

 

[TalismanRing]

Zola is the ultimate survivor. He's like a cockroach - when the world ends he'll probably still be there.

 

[fixxxer]

Zola is the ultimate survivor. He's like a cockroach - when the world ends he'll probably still be there.

Exactly. I highly doubt Zola would've so gladly "sacrificed" himself without making (um, literally) backup plans. This is a guy who has been portrayed as the most brilliant mind in the MCU-thus-far. From being decades ahead of everyone in harnessing the Tesseract's power to literally defeating death even though computer technology was still in its relative infancy back in 1972. Highly doubt he wouldn't have found a way to transfer his consciousness.

Or maybe he already has transferred his consciousness. Maybe what Cap and Widow encountered was an Arnim Zola rather than the Arnim Zola.

 

[marcvader]

I think the "Zola Bot" plans in TFA was more of a fun easter egg than something we should expect to actually show up in the "flesh" in a future movie. I could be wrong though. I do think their adaptation of the comic book version in TWS was a perfect homage/reference to the comics without going full campy.

Give me camp, give me camp!

 

[UltraSuperGuy]

Give me camp, give me camp!

There's an interview with the writers of the movie where they initially wrote that Zola transferred his consciousness to his robot form and walked out of the bunker before it got blown up but the producers were like "too much, too much". The writers are total comic book fans, hell, they even want to do MODOK.