Zorba is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 that appears in comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

s published by Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...

#198 (Sept. 1978) and was created by writer John Buscema

John Buscema

John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...

 and penciller George Tuska

George Tuska

George Tuska , who early in his career used a variety of pen names including Carl Larson, was an American comic book and newspaper comic strip artist best known for his 1940s work on various Captain Marvel titles and the crime fiction series Crime Does Not Pay, for and his 1960s work illustrating...

.

Biography

Zorba is a member of the Royal Family of Latveria

Latveria

Latveria is a nation in the . It is an isolated European country ruled by the supervillain Doctor Doom, supposedly located in the Banat region. It is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, and also borders the Symkaria to the south. Its capital is Doomstadt.-Publication history:Latveria first...

, son of King Vladimir, Brother of Rudolfo. During Doctor Doom

Doctor Doom

Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...

's reign, Zorba was the leader of the rebel Latverian Freedom Fighters. Zorba replaced Doom as king of Latveria after Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...

 defeated Doctor Doom; however, Zorba promised Reed Richards he would only be the interim ruler because democratic elections would be held soon. Zorba was elected ruler of Latveria, but civil unrest followed after Zorba was forced to raise taxes to maintain the standard of living that Latverians had grown accustomed to under the rule of Doctor Doom. Without Doom's authority, the civil unrest caused the country to fall into lawlessness and poverty. To control the situation, Zorba instated martial law, enforced by a secret police of Doom's Servo-Guards that terrorized the citizens. Zorba's reign as king ended when Doom returned to Latveria and was restored to power with the help of the Fantastic Four.

Powers and abilities

A surgically implanted cybernetic eye that fires various beams of heat, light, energy. Zorba is also a skilled swordman and martial artist in his own right.