Dr. Zomboss VS Dr. Neo Cortex

 

“There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.”

-Oscar Levant

Dr. Zomboss, the evil genius commander of the undead.

Dr. Neo Cortex, the brilliant archenemy of Crash Bandicoot.

Mad scientists are always looking for a way to prove themselves, but these two big brained nerds can’t help but experiment. To them, no barrier is insurmountable, whether it be the boundaries of dimensions or time itself.  With their genius machinations and armies of loyal subjects, they have set out to make all the world tremble before them.  If these cartoonish masterminds were to fight cranium-to-cranium, who would prove themself the greater mad scientist in a DEATH BATTLE?

Background

Dr. Zomboss

“Fools! Lackwits! Did you think that that you... you, with your small but admittedly tasty-looking brains, could stop me, the master of all zombies? Then by all means, give it a try.”

Edgar Zomboss received a Doctorate in Thanatology in just two years, making him the youngest student to ever obtain the degree. Now Dr. Zomboss, he used his new knowledge and natural genius to wage war on humans everywhere, in pursuit of the one thing all zombies desire… BRAINZZZ.  

As his cartoonishly large cranium would indicate, Dr. Zomboss is a genius, capable of creating whatever monstrous machine he can imagine. Beyond just thanatology, Zomboss is a master in all fields of science from robotics to chemistry to neurology.  He also has nearly unlimited resources from his company ZCorp Incorporated Inc.  Through his brilliance, he quickly amassed an army of zombies and set out to take over the world.

Zomboss did not earn his degree just through his intelligence, but also by lying, cheating, and stealing. He refuses to fight fair, he even wrote the book on it. As long as he wins in the end, nothing else matters to him. Over the years, he has devised countless schemes to conquer Neighborville and defeat the plants of the world and his arch-rival, Crazy Dave, once and for all. Even through failure, Zomboss always pushes on in his pursuit of world domination. Someday, he may finally defeat those heroic herbs and take over everything. On that day, he will enjoy a delicious feast of brains.

Dr. Neo Cortex

"I've ruined the lives of so many... I can't be expected to remember them all!"

Dr. Neo Cortex (Also known as Dr. Cortex or just Cortex) born in Peoria, Illinois, is a professional evil scientist bent on world domination. He is best known as the arch-nemesis and creator of Crash Bandicoot. Cortex has tried to take over the world numerous times, but his plans were easily foiled by Crash and his friends.

Cortex spent his youth as the youngest son in a family of circus clowns (as written in the production bible). Unlike his family, who loved the spotlight and making people laugh, Cortex spent most of his time reading science books. He was always teased, and at the age of three, had an "N" tattooed on his head for "nerd" by a particularly evil group of drunk circus performers. But soon, the torment stopped, after a "freak" explosion wiped out his entire family, leaving Cortex to fend for himself - though a sibling may have possibly survived, as Cortex has a niece, Nina. Or is she?

Though no matter how much he fails, his plans of exterminating the bandicoot and his company will never end anytime soon.

Equipment

Dr. Zomboss

Laser Gun

While he prefers to avoid putting himself in direct physical combat, Dr. Zomboss is always prepared with his trusty laser gun.

Heat Ray

Another weapon Zomboss keeps on him at all times, it fires a stream of hot energy at whatever it is pointed at. The energy can be regulated by Zomboss for different tasks such as heating up a snack or blasting down a brick wall.

Wrenches

When all else fails, Zomboss falls back on a classic projectile: wrenches. He has standard metal wrenches along with special red wrenches that explode on impact.

Sun Vacuum

In order to fight against those pesky plants, Zomboss invented a way to steal their main source of power: sunlight. With this invention Zomboss could weaken entire platoons of plants at once to give his zombies an advantage. He has also invented other means of denying plants sunlight, such as blocking out the Sun with smoke.

Chemical Cloud

For one of his many schemes to conquer Neighborville, Zomboss created a gaseous chemical mixture that dulls the minds of those unfortunate enough to breathe it in, leaving them defenseless. It appears that zombies are immune to the gas’ effects.  This cloud is contained in a small sphere that Zomboss can carry with him.  But if Zomboss were to throw it, the cloud would be released and blanket the whole city in its toxic fumes.

Cold Crystal

Originally intended to just keep his drinks cold, Dr. Zomboss accidentally made this device powerful enough to cause snow storms large enough to cover all of Neighborville. The nearby area’s temperature can drop low enough to freeze objects and people solid.  It is even strong enough to freeze an entire river.

Dream Machine

After one too many nightmares of his many, many defeats, Zomboss decided to invade the dreams of others to wreak havoc. The machine can be used to subtly influence the dreamer’s thoughts in order to gradually change their beliefs and opinions on things, such as zombies being good.

Robots

If you can’t beat em, copy em. Dr. Zomboss has many robots, but his greatest tend to be imitations of his greatest enemies. He has made robots designed after both plants and humans with the intention to fool the enemy. They can be commanded remotely and provide constant camera feed to Zomboss. There are also mounted robots that defend specific areas. These come with all sorts of abilities such as fire, snow balls, poison, sound, explosions, healing, and more.

Hero-Tron 5000

To further empower his zombie hordes, Dr. Zomboss invented the Hero-Tron 5000 and installed it in one of his Zombots.  With a single shot from its canon, it can turn any zombie into a Zombie Hero, equipped with new superpowers. However, if Zomboss accidentally presses a horribly placed button, the Hero-Tron will self-destruct and can accidentally end up giving enemies powers.

Race Cars

Just for the fun of it, Zomboss and his zombie engineers built crazy race cars to compete against each other. There are dozens of these cars, coming in all shapes and sizes, each with their own unique flair. Zomboss’ personal racer is the fastest of them all, with an engine powered from barrels of imps.

Giant Space Magnet

Of course Zombies landed on the Moon, didn’t they teach you this in first grade? While there Zomboss decided to set up a special moon base and build this giant magnet. It is capable of forcibly changing the Earth’s orbit, causing a permanent solar eclipse. By doing this, it would deprive the plants of the sunlight they desperately need to thrive.

Time Portal Creator

As the name suggests, this device opens portals across time and space to allow Zomboss to access any point in history he desires. In particular, Zomboss used time portals to contact zombies throughout all of time to add to his army. He has even contacted his own future self to acquire more power and even more advanced technology. Time portal creators were later integrated into many of his other machines, allowing him to traverse time at will. However, these time portals can be closed by a sound of a specific frequency… which just so happens to be the frequency of burping frogs.  

Zombox

Dr. Zomboss’ self-proclaimed greatest invention, it allows him to get all of his world conquering done without having to ever leave his home (something we could all use). With it, he can release and direct entire hordes of zombies remotely while also being provided with constant information about the battlefield. His zombies can also be remotely boosted by supplying them with delicious brains at the swipe of a finger. But if Zomboss really wants to rain terror, he will drop his disastrous Zombomb strikes to obliterate a target area. Zomboss also created his Zombie Tech Delivery Tablet, allowing him to give all of the same commands while on the go.

Boss Mode

An aircraft used by Dr. Zomboss in the Garden Warfare games allowing him to send down troops, heal wounded soldiers, and literally air strike his opponents.

Dr. Neo Cortex

Ray Gun

Cortex’s trusty Ray Gun is his primary method of personal combat, primarily shooting blasts of plasma at his foes. He can charge up a plasma shot to make it even more powerful. This Ray Gun comes with a variety of secondary functions. These include:

• Tractor Beam: A Tractor Beam that can be used to pick up and carry objects 

• Stun Mode: Leaves the target temporarily stunned/paralyzed

• Teleport: Allows Neo Cortex to teleport around

• Blockification: Transforms the target into blocks/platforms and vice versa

• “Love” Mode: Function of unknown properties seen in the Twinsanity introduction

• “Incineration” Mode: Function of unknown properties seen in the Twinsanity introduction

• “Disintegration” Mode: Function of unknown properties seen in the Twinsanity introduction

• Lightning Mode: Allows Cortex to shoot lightning out of his Ray Gun

• Force Field Creation: Creates Force Fields for Cortex to utilize on the defensive

• Hairdry: Easily Cortex’s most valuable and destructive function, where the Ray Gun acts as a hairdryer

Evolvo-Ray

A machine built by Neo Cortex and Nitrus Brio (mostly the latter), this contraption mutates its target into a stronger and more efficient version of themselves. A modified handheld version of this machine was used by Cortex to mutate the animals of Wumpa Island, making them obey and carry out Cortex’s orders.

Cortex Vortex

A device built by Neo Cortex to subject victims of the evolvo-ray to mind control. Was used on a multitude of mutants to obey Cortex, as well as on Crash Bandicoot to make him into the general of Cortex’s mutant armies, although it rejected Crash in particular and only made him goofy.

Hoverscooter

    A hoverboard Cortex uses to fight Crash and Co., providing him increased mobility.
Used to damage enemies by ramming into them with it.

Jetpack

Cortex has another method of aerial mobility, being his jetpack. With it, he was able to battle Crash while moving through an asteroid belt.

Leg Rockets

Used by Cortex to fly away while laughing, which he absolutely loves to do by the way.

Energy Force Field 

A forcefield made out of energy that protects Cortex from outside attacks.

Teleportation device 

A device used by Cortex to teleport across shorter distances. Pretty self explanatory.

Karts 

Cortex has utilized a variety of karts in the racing spin-offs. These include:

Standard - Originally used as a Team Cortex Kart, but is now used as his frequent vehicle. It is red/yellow with his own face on it.

Imperium - Cortex’s tier 1 kart in TTR, its appearance is that of an old gen race car, red with black stripes and front wheels that are smaller than the rear's. On the front is a plate with the number "0.1", and on the rear wing "CRTX" is written on each side. It has three tailpipes at the back. 

Deadinator - Cortex’s tier 2 kart, The car is purple with white flames painted on it, and a giant supercharge sticking out of the bonnet.

Futurosity - Like the Deadinator is Cortex’s tier 2 kart but is different in appearance. The car is lavender, has a light blue brain ornament on the front, and has a scuba suit in the back.

Probulot 2000 - Cortex’s tier 3 kart, it is grayish blue with blue outlines and has hover wheels. It is also powered by power crystals

Planetary Minimizer

The Planetary Minimizer was a giant machine that Cortex used to shrink Earth to the size of a grapefruit in the Huge Adventure. It was used in the final battle between Crash and Cortex. In-game, when Crash gets hit by the machine's blast without a mask, he'll shrink down to size and lose a life. It eventually malfunctioned (by destroying the stabilizer gems, the Colored Gems) and fused Cortex, N. Gin, Tiny, and Dingodile together, creating Mega-Mix. After the "defeat" of Mega-Mix, the Minimizer exploded, with the defused villains escaping at the last moment. The machine is powered by power crystals.

Power Ups
     

While they’re only used in racing games these items are very versatile

N. Brio's Beaker	The Beaker can be laid on the track or thrown ahead by the player as a simple obstacle. Anyone who runs into it will spin out and lose one Wumpa Fruit. The Juiced Up Beaker contains a red liquid instead of a green one, and causes anyone who runs into it to slow down significantly with a black storm cloud appearing above them. Additionally, the Power-Up they currently have will be replaced with a new one, and they can't use it until the storm is over.
TNT Crate	The TNT Crate can only be laid behind the player. When someone runs into it, they have three seconds to repeatedly hop around to remove the crate, otherwise it explodes. Like most Crates, they can be destroyed from a distance with weapon Power-Ups. The Juiced Up TNT Crate is in fact a green Nitro Crate, which will explode immediately on impact.
Bowling Bomb	The Bowling Bomb can be rolled out in front of or behind the player, and explodes on impact or when it reaches an abyss. Pressing the Power-Up Button again causes the Bowling Bomb to explode prematurely. When Juiced Up, the Bowling Bomb explodes with a much larger blast radius, making it easier to hit multiple opponents at once. Sometimes, players can receive three Bowling Bombs from a single ? Crate.
Tracking Missile	The Missile will target the closest opponent in front of the user and send them tumbling on impact. The Missile won't take the stage layout in mind, however, and will crash into a wall if the target is too far away. They also won't travel over abysses. Players can use a Beaker, Bowling Bomb or a TNT Crate to defend against a Missile. When Juiced Up, the Missile travels much faster and have more accurate aiming. Sometimes, players can receive three Missiles from a single ? Crate.
Turbo	Using a Turbo will give the player a quick speed burst. This speed burst also allows the player to squash opponents in the way. The Turbo cannot be stacked within a turbo boost chain to reserve a longer turbo boost. When Juiced Up, the Turbo will give a faster turbo boost that lasts a bit longer.
Power Shield	This green bubble shield encases the user, protecting them once from any obstacle or an opposing Power-Up. It can also be used to run into opponents. The shield is only active for a limited amount of time, before it disappears. Pressing the Power-Up button again causes the Power Shield to be shot forward and send opponents tumbling on impact. When Juiced Up, the Power Shield turns blue, and will last indefinitely until impacting on an obstacle, opponent, or a Power-Up.
Invincibility Mask	The Invincibility Mask temporarily protects the user from any damage, as well as giving them a speed boost. It allows the player to hit as many obstacles, Power-Ups, and opponents as they can within its duration. Players will get a different Invincibility Mask depending on the character they play as. Aku Aku appears with Crash and his friends, Uka Uka appears with Cortex and his henchmen, the Velo Mask appears with Emperor Velo XXVII and his associates, Sparx appears with the Spyro the Dragon characters, and Apo-Apo appears with Rustland-themed characters. Additionally, Sparx appears as everyone's Invincibility Mask on Spyro Circuit, while Apo Apo does the same on Megamix Mania. King Chicken and Iron Checkpoint Crate can use all five Invincibility Masks. When Juiced Up, the Invincibility Mask lasts for a longer amount of time.
N. Tropy Clock	When used, the N. Tropy Clock emanates a large radius that causes everyone to spin out and slow down significantly for a short amount of time. The Clock also prevents affected opponents from using other Power-Ups. The Juiced Up N. Tropy Clock will cause the opposing racers to slow down for a little longer. This Power-Up is only available during races.
Warp Orb	The Warp Orb travels around the entire track, targeting the racer in first place, and will be able to hit anyone it encounters on its way. There is no way for the leading racer to avoid the Warp Orb unless it still possesses a Power Shield or Invincibility Mask. Racers not in first place can still evade the Warp Orb if the track is wide enough. When Juiced Up, the Warp Orb will target not only the leading racer, but also every other racer in front of the user. This Power-Up is only available during races.
Super Engine	The Super Engine gives the player an immediate lasting speed boost, even after being hit with an obstacle. When Juiced Up, the Super Engine will produce blue fire, and last longer. This Power-Up is generally only available during battles, but as of August 23rd 2019, is also now always available in online races.
Invisibility	Invisibility makes the player invisible to opponents. This prevents Missiles from tracking the user down and makes it harder for opponents to aim their other Power-Ups. Invisible users can still be hit with those Power-Ups, however. When Juiced Up, the effect lasts a little longer. This item is only available during battles.
Ice Mine	A blue mine that can be dropped onto the track similarly to N Brio’s from CTR. It will freeze anyone upon impact, causing the victim to spin out. When Juiced Up, the mine becomes purple. Anyone hit by the purple Ice Mine will take longer to thaw out and have reduced traction.
Tornado Top	Much like the Warp Orb  in Crash Team Racing, it chases down the driver in first place, making them, along with anyone else who gets in its way, tumble and crash. When Juiced Up, it will target every driver ahead of the user one by one.
Red Eye Missile	Transforms the user into a giant missile that they can steer towards other opponents. Explodes on impact, knocking over anyone in the blast radius. Has better handling when Juiced Up.
Static Orb	A magenta, spiky sphere that emits purple electricity, which can be dropped behind the user on the track. Anyone running into it will not only spin out, but they will also be slowed down temporarily and get their weapon changed, not unlike CTR's Red Beakers. When Juiced Up, the Static Orb will emit red electricity, causing anyone running into it to additionally get their controls reversed for a short time. It also gains the ability to home in on players within proximity.

Mutagen

Borrowed from N Brio, Cortex’s strength increases giving him abilities such as bullet hell, creating shockwaves, and a spin attack just like Crash but with a purple aura surrounding him.

N. Tropy Staff

• Used as Cortex’s abilities in Skylanders.

• Slows and damages the enemy within its vicinity.

• Shooting from his ray gun while active causes the staff to release sparks called Insane Bolts.

• Cortex can use the bolts to power up his Ray Gun briefly.

Rehabilita-Laser

• Used for Cortex’s Sky-Chi attack in Skylanders

• Uses his ray gun’s staff mode to shoot a targeted laser down from the sky. Can guide it while the laser is active

    Mines 

• Can toss out mines that explode within close proximity to enemies.

• The Multi-Mine upgrade causes mines to occasionally spawn other mines upon being thrown out.

Rift Generator

Built by Cortex and N. Trophy with the intention of conquering the whole multiverse, this machine can create rifts between dimensions.  

Units

Dr. Zomboss

Mr. Stubbins

Zomboss’ second-in-command is his pet zombie hedgehog that he stole from some nerds he bullied in college. Zomboss considers Mr. Stubbins to be the very best of his army and entrusts him with the hardest missions. Fortunately, Mr. Stubbins is highly intelligent for both a zombie and a hedgehog, able to go on private missions of his own and operate some of Zomboss’ creations, including his own private miniature race car. He is extremely skilled and multi-talented as well. He can take down a full-grown man, venture out into space or the depths of the ocean, and serenade an audience with his lovely singing. Mr. Stubbins is great at managing operations when Zomboss is busy and is arguably a more cunning strategist than his own master. Zomboss better be careful though, because this zombie hedgehog dreams of someday becoming the leader himself.

Project Paradox Zombies

During the climax of Plants vs Zombies 2, Doctor Zomboss enacted his ultimate plan upon present day Suburbia: Project Paradox. The results of said project allowed Zomboss to tear open rifts in spacetime, giving him access to zombies from every point of human history. This spans all the way from the Jurassic Period (even though the dinos aren’t) to a distant unknown future period. Notable zombies summonable with this timeline travel are:

• Football Zombie: This zombie always goes above and beyond for the team. He is fast and durable, making him a huge threat. Apparently he has no idea what a football actually is.

• Zomboni: A zombie riding on a zamboni that crushes all foes in its path and leaves behind a trail of ice.

• Jack-in-the-Box Zombie: A zombie carrying an explosive jack-in-the-box. It takes time to wind up the box but when it is finished it blows up the zombie and anyone else nearby.

• Digger Zombie: A zombified miner that can burrow underground to attack from behind enemy lines.

• Gargantuar and Imp: A massive zombie capable of swinging massive weapons and flattening enemies in one hit. On its back is a tiny, fragile imp. While it is fairly weak, the Gargantuar can throw the Imp onto enemies from afar. Many versions of these exist throughout time, including the Giga-gargantuars which are even tougher.

• Ra Zombie: A zombie that surprisingly enough isn’t actually named after the god, rather the noise they make. However, they are still capable of using their abilities to absorb sunlight into their staff, as well as having laser eyes. Don’t ask how that works.

• Explorer/Torchlight Zombie: A seemingly normal zombie that wields a torch…capable of one shotting practically any plant it comes into contact with…instantly. Even those coated in steel!

• Tomb Raiser Zombie: A zombie that adorns a helm in the likeness of the god Anubis, lives up to its title by being capable of barfing up individual bones that can instantly raise gravestones upon contact with the ground. It can also shoot lasers.

• Swashbuckler Zombie: A zombie that rides the ropes up onto the player’s ship. Normally a pretty generic zombie otherwise, but in heroes it gained the ability to constantly buff the power and durability of pirate zombies when they harm a powerful target.

• Barrel Roller Zombie: A zombie that holds a barrel containing two pirate imps. Capable of instantly one-shotting nearly all plants, made further consistent in Plants vs Zombies Heroes, where it’s given the deadly trait, allowing it to instantly kill any target it can successfully harm.

• Pirate Captain Zombie: Not to be confused with the much more powerful Captain Deadbeard, the undead pirate has a zombified parrot at its command, which it commonly uses to capture plants and remove them from battle by raising them far up into the air.

• Pianist Zombie: Rolling out with his prized piano, this zombie makes others dance to the beat, making their movements unpredictable. The piano can also be used to flatten enemies.

• Chicken Wrangler Zombie: This zombie has tied zombie chickens around its body, which it can release when it takes damage. Although the zombie chickens are very weak, they move very fast and come in large groups.

• Hunter Zombie: Coming from the Ice Age, this zombie brought with it a bag of snowballs that it can hurl at threats, freezing them solid.

• Weasel Hoarder: Similarly to the Chicken Wrangler Zombie, this zombie wears a log packed with weasels. When the log breaks, the weasels rush out to attack. They are just as fast as the zombie chickens and tougher, but they come in smaller groups.

• Bug Zombie: A giant bug flies over enemies while carrying a zombie. When the bug is defeated, it drops the zombie onto the ground below to attack.

• Imp Porter Zombie: While the zombie itself may be weak, it carries a whole army. The bag it holds on its back can be unpacked to form a large tent from which zombies will exit.

• Jetpack Zombie: As the name would imply, this zombie wears a jetpack to quickly soar above the battlefield. Unfortunately, he got stuck with the version 1.0 jetpack and thus can only hover a few feet.

• Shield Zombie: Piloting a vehicle from the future, this zombie can shield itself and nearby zombies by projecting a forcefield in front of itself to guard against attacks.  This shield does have a limit though so it will deactivate after absorbing too much damage.

• Mecha-Football Zombie: In the far future, football is played in large mech suits. On top of just being awesome, this zombie is heavily armored inside its machine and is capable of violently pushing aways enemies.

• Jester Zombie: This zombie is a master of the fine arts and has performed with some of the greatest theater troops around. From this skill he has learned to spin in a tornado fashion, redirecting most projectiles fired at him back at those who fired them.

• Wizard Zombie: Adding magic to the army, the Wizard Zombie can turn enemies into harmless sheep by firing a beam from its staff. The enemies turn back however once Wizard Zombie is defeated.

• Zombie King: Like any good royal, this king refuses to get up from his throne and do anything himself. Instead, he continuously knights other zombies, improving their defense and health.

• Glitter Zombie: Riding in on rollerskates, she leaves a sparkling rainbow behind her to protect zombies covered by it from damage and status effects.

• Arcade Zombie: Before the age of handheld consoles, this zombie pushed around an entire arcade machine to play whenever it wanted.This arcade machine can be used to block incoming damage, flatten foes, or summon 8-Bit zombies from it to attack. 

• Boombox Zombie: This boombox is for more than just playing funky music, it can also be used to incapacitate enemies for as long as the boombox plays. This does not affect enemies that are accustomed to music based abilities or ones that act automatically.

• Jurassic Rockpuncher: This prehistoric behemoth is not only tough as stone, but is too heavy to be knocked back. It also uses its superhuman strength to crush enemies with rocks instantly, somehow causing the ground to ignite and be made uninhabitable for a short time.

• Surfer Zombie: Hanging ten on the waves, this surfer can quickly traverse any body of water. When it hits land, it will use its board as both a weapon and a barricade to block projectiles.

• Fisherman Zombie: This zombie prefers to stay in the water rather than fight on land.  With its trusty fishing hook in hand, it pulls foes from the land into the ocean where they meet a watery demise.

• Octo Zombie: He was voted the single most hated zombie in the entire game by players and it is not hard to see why. In addition to being incredibly bulky, it hurls octopi at its targets. Upon landing, these octopi wrap around the enemy and incapacitate them until they are removed by others.

• Cardio Zombie: Above all else, he cares about keeping himself and other zombies healthy. Rather than fighting directly, he continuously hands out high protein brains to his fellow zombies to make them faster. Fitting his muscular visage, he is incredibly durable.

• Healer Zombie: It is all in the name. This zombie is able to magically heal other zombies at a frightening pace, making the zombie hordes all the harder to defeat.

• Zcorpion Zombie: This roman catapult launches vases at the opponent. In addition to dealing damage, these vases also hide zombies in them which are deployed upon landing. For some reason, this catapult will self-destruct randomly.

• Zombie Medusa: Far from a teamplayer, she petrifies her fellow zombies into stone pillars that act as barriers. She also pushes a petrified zombie herself for protection and to crush enemies.

ZomBotany

After the plants mowed his zombies down, Dr. Zomboss decided to fight fire with fire.  He modified his zombies with plant DNA to create the ZomBotany, an army with many of the abilities of his photosynthetic adversaries.

• Peashooter Zombie: With the same iconic head as its plant counterpart, this zombie can fire peas over long distances to damage opponents.

• Wall-nut Zombie: This zombie may not be stronger than usual, but it has a lot more health, making it harder to put down.

• Gatling Pea Zombie: A stronger variant of the Peashooter Zombie, it shoots four peas at once, dealing large amounts of damage quickly.

• Tall-nut Zombie: Even tankier than the Wall-nut Zombie, this behemoth will not go down without some serious firepower.

• Jalapeno Zombie: After a short time, this zombie will combust, incinerating anything in a lane and leaving behind flames.

• Squash Zombie: When encountering an enemy, this zombie will jump into the air and crush them. However, this comes at the cost of its life.

Tiny Zombies

Occasionally when Zomboss is creating his zombies (yes he makes them in a machine), they come out incredibly small. While he initially saw this as a negative, he has since learned to weaponize these microscopic hoards. Their tiny size allows these zombies to go unnoticed by most and sneak their way onto enemies. Once there, the zombies can slowly begin eating them alive or even enter their bodies and feast on their delicious brains.

Zombie Heroes

Even among the countless hordes of zombies with unique abilities, some manage to stand out among the rest.  These zombies all command armies of their own and possess unique abilities that allow them to hold their own.

• Super Brainz: The most iconic of all zombie heroes, Super Brainz might not be the smartest but he makes up for it with his many powers. He was given his powers by Zomboss’ Hero-Tron 5000 and fights on the frontlines to protect Zomburbia. He is super strong, can fly, empowers himself with energy, fires energy balls, has telepathy, and smells so bad he can kill you.  

• The Smash: Formerly a normal gargantuar, it was turned into The Smash, a wrestling zombie hero.  Obviously it possesses incredible strength, able to create shockwaves and leave craters with its attacks but it also has regeneration and can boost other zombies.

• Impfinity: Although Zomboss would prefer Impfinity help out with work around the lair, it is too busy causing chaos. It can duplicate itself, usually only creating two clones but it can create more.  Other powers include boosting zombies, creating tombstones, and the previously mentioned deadly stink.

• Rustbolt: After a freak accident at the junkyard, Rustbolt rose from the wreckage. Rustbolt wields a shrink ray, capable of shrinking and weakening any foe hit, and his mighty spatula. He also has regeneration and can grant other zombies with improved armor.

• Electric Boogaloo: This Disco Zombie always had good moves, but now they are electrifying. He has complete control over electricity allowing him to release it in all directions, fire them in controlled bolts, boil the water in targets, and even drain health.  He can also summon backup dancers.

• Brain Freeze: This Yeti Zombie has a fondness for ice cream, snowstorms, and brains. It can freeze entire platoons of enemies solid. Even more impressively though, is its very precise control over the weather, able to create massive blizzards in seconds, form acid rain clouds, and even summon “Dolphinados”.

• Professor Brainstorm: Not all of Dr. Zomboss’ subordinates are stupid, some are brilliant in their own right, like Professor Brainstorm. Fittingly for the zombie that invented the Zombie Teleportation-ator, he possesses various methods of summoning zombies of all kinds. His big brain also grants him telepathy.

• Immorticia: As both a zombie and witch, she brings a lot of power to the table. Her primary attack is summoning her Zom-Bat familiars to fight for her, in hordes big enough to scare away teams of plant heroes. She is also capable of summoning zombies, creating acid rain clouds, and evaporating the water in someone’s body.

• Z-Mech: Using future technology, this imp can now pilot a robotic exoskeleton to make it a force to be reckoned with and fulfill all of its anime dreams. On top of incredible defense, the Z-Mech comes equipped with a jetpack, missiles, electric weapons, a laser, a self-destruct sequence along with an ejector seat, a teleporter to summon zombies, numerous methods of buffing other zombies, and even a disco ball.

• Neptuna: Half zombie, half mermaid, all trouble. She thrives in the water where she is able to attack by launching octopi at foes or by manipulating the ocean however she wishes. She is also equipped with zombie buffs, tombstones, and, of course, Dolphinados

• Huge-Gigantacus: Contrary to his name, he is quite small, but don’t let him hear you say that. With his Terror-Former 10,000, he can completely change the environment around him to gain an advantage. He can summon Iron Boarders, set up teleportation stations, and freeze over the environment.

Garden Warfare Troops

• Foot Soldier: With high morale and no trace of fatigue, Foot Soldiers consider it an honor to serve in the ongoing siege upon Neighborville’s brains. These zombified militarians typically use a standard assault rifle, along with a big ass rocket strapped to their back that they rocket-jump with, TF2-style. Some of its variants include a flaming crossbow, a freeze-ray, and tons of other weird gimmicks. 

• Engineer: Primarily focusing on support, Engineer Zombies set up machines that can strike down enemies from afar, and can create teleporters. It can create your basic autofiring turrets, along with controllable drones and a mounted gatling turret.

• Scientist: While the Scientist Zombie appears weak at a glance, it excels in causing chaos wherever it goes. It can create heal stations, throw sticky bombs, and even turn into pure energy. 

• All-Star: A complete juggernaut, the All-Star can tank almost any attack that comes its way, and wields a machine gun. 

• Imp: Looks are deceiving, as proven by this little zombie. It’s incredibly frail, but near-impossible to hit with its sheer speed. Even if it’s outmatched, it can call in the Z-Mech. This huge robot can take blows like nothing, and dish back incredible firepower. 

• Captain Deadbeard: After being frozen for centuries, he and his good ol’ parrot pal were ready for combat with their pirate tactics, such as his trusty short and long ranged gun, summoning a cannon, or even hiding inside an explosive barrel that doesn’t harm him. And in the card game, he has the ability to give all pirate zombies the Strikethrough ability, allowing them to hit multiple targets in one blow.

Zombie Bosses

• Baron von Bats: A vampiric zombie boss with the abilities to turn himself into bats, summon more zombie vampires, and shoot a powerful laser.

• Giga Gargantuar: A more powerful variant of the regular Gargantuar with sunglasses and the capabilities to shoot lighting from its telephone pole as well as carry three times the imps.

• Zen Sensei: As a practitioner of HARSH-al arts, Zen Sensei is a master at hand to hand combat with powerful punches and kicks with the abilities of leaping great heights, launching an energy ball, and creating weak clones of himself that pack the same punch as the real one.

• Sasquatch: Just as the yeti, Sasquatch is a variant of them this time with pyrotechnic abilities being able to create fire blasts and meteors by itself.

• Captain Smasher: As yet another variant of the Gargantuar, Captain Smasher possesses a canon allowing them to shoot cannonballs as well as summon pirate zombies.

• Gargoatuar: A giant goat zombie with blue flames coming off from its head that specializes in rushing their opponents with their forehead. It’s noteworthy to point out that this boss can also be encountered in Infinity Time.

Dr. Neo Cortex

Uka Uka

Aku Aku’s evil twin brother and Cortex’s main driving force for his plans, Uka Uka grants Cortex great defensive abilities. When worn by Cortex he grants invulnerability, energy blasts/attacks, flight, and can open up quantum rifts (although this particular ability drains Uka Uka of most of his power). He acts as additional advice for Cortex, giving instructions and information.

Uka Uka is also capable of fending for himself, able to shoot out lasers, fireballs, and can summon barricades to impede movement. 

N. Gin

Cyborg and assistant to Neo Cortex, Gin was originally Cortex’s and Brio’s classmate, who also accidentally lodged a missile in his head. Of course being the genius he is, was able to turn it into a life-support system which also cost his sanity.

As well as general advice and gadgets he provides Cortex, he is accompanied with several mechs, weapons, and a jetpack of his own. One of these mechs in particular, the Weapon of Mass Percussion (W.O.M.P. for short) is able to hypnotize “an army”.

N. Brio

Another scientist who has repeatedly worked under Cortex before, Nitrus Brio was Cortex’s former right hand man. He has created and utilized a few potions before in combat, including a Green Potion that creates blobs to fight for Brio, and a Red Potion that acts as an explosive when thrown. These potions are also able to mutate Brio into a superpowered version of himself when drunk. 

N. Trance

A dimensional being originating from the Fifth Dimension who aids Cortex, N. Trance is a master of hypnotism. In his debut, he was able to brainwash Crunch, Coco, and Fake Crash. In future games like the Crash Racing spinoffs, he appears with a team of brainwashed subordinates. N. Trance also has the abilities of flight and can shoot projectiles while flying around like a UFO.

Tiny Tiger

Tiny Tiger is a thylacine with an ironic name initially created by N Brio. He is often seen working for the Cortex and is arguably his most loyal animal minion. He is strong enough to easily tear through two stone pillars and fight on par with Crash Bandicoot and is durable enough to tank hits from him and can easily survive great heights. He has a trident that is mainly used to impale him and a tank that can shoot cannonballs at the opponent and out of the sky. He can also throw out purple fireballs. His downside is while he may be a tough tiger he isn’t very smart and not aware of any of his surroundings most of the time. The Crash of the titans version of him also exists and the DS version is even worse.

Ripper Roo

Ripper Roo (also known as Doctor Roo) is an insane blue mutated kangaroo. He is widely considered to be Cortex’s first and failed experiment with the Evolvo-Ray. He is mainly known for relying on explosives in combat such as TNT, nitro crates, and a cane that can place them underneath the ground. His downside is that he is rather lacking in physical combat and is really crazy!

Koala Kong

Koala Kong is a koala who was evolved by the Evolvo-Ray. He has a speech impediment and works more often in tasks that require pure strength just like Tiny the Tiger. He is strong enough to lift, throw, and destroy boulders pretty easily.

Pinstripe Potoroo

Don Pinstripelli Potorotti (commonly shortened to just Pinstripe Potoroo) is a potoroo subjected to the Evolvo-Ray to be Cortex's loyal bodyguard. His main weapon is a machine gun that can fire rapidly. He can also press a button to make barriers out of toxic waste barrels and can throw out cherry bombs at the ground that create fiery craters.

The Komodo Brothers

The Komodo Brothers are genetically engineered Komodo dragons known as Joe and Moe. Joe is the skinny one with a lot of speed who is able to spin for a long time until getting dizzy. Moe on the other hand, may not be fast like his brother Joe, but delivers brute strength at the same time. He is also good at throwing swords. 

Dingodile

Dingodile is a genetically enhanced hybrid of a dingo and a crocodile, having a crocodile's body and tail, and characteristics of a dingo with an Australian accent. His main weapon is his flamethrower that shoots out fire, obviously, but also ice barrier missiles and water. He even got a backpack that can shoot missiles into the sky and create an electric field. Recently, he acquired a gun that can temporarily propel him into the air or suck up crates and spit them out at opponents. He is also pretty durable, capable of tanking 3 explosions of his backpack without any injuries and can even attack with his own tail. He even did the impossible and has the guts to cuss in a kids game.

Nina Cortex

Nina Cortex is Neo Cortex’s niece (possibly even daughter) who was usually a kind loving little girl until getting banished to her uncle’s old school, Madame Amberley’s Academy of Evil.

Nina is very fast capable of keeping up with Crash speed wise while he is riding a polar bear and this was when she was a toddler. She has the ability to use her robotic arm to punch and she can also spin. Her arms can grab onto grappling hooks to scale high heights. Their impressive reach also gives her the unique ability to safely break TNT and nitro crates from a distance without the need for a countdown, Nitro Switch Crate, or Detonator Crate.  She also has a weapon called The Mutato-Raygun-3000 which can mutate animals into titans, turn titans back into normal animals and even transform both humans and mutants into babies. It can be reflected by a spin attack.

Nefarious Tropy

Doctor Nefarious Tropy is the self-proclaimed Master of Time, a scientist and evil-doer who specializes in time travel and quantum warp technology. He is an old friend of Uka Uka, who has on occasion sought N. Tropy's expertise when dealing with Crash Bandicoot after being disappointed multiple times by Doctor Cortex. He is one of the most powerful enemies of Crash Bandicoot capable of splitting an iceberg into multiple pieces with a tap of his fork. He can create time paradoxes without any affect on his pasts and even rewind time. He is also able to look into the future with his powers of time. He can also fly and fire various projectiles with his staff such as fireballs, homing clocks, energy waves, ice balls, and electricity. He can also cause a shockwave, obliterating the opponent. He can even use a forcefield and teleport. As the master of time, he is a genius capable of creating time twisting machines and even has showings of being more competent than Neo Cortex himself! He is a very powerful foe for Crash.

Lab Assistants

Cortex's main form of subordinate are Lab Assistants: almost identical and mostly male androids that are mass produced to serve as minor enemies for Crash. They often don disguises corresponding to the setting or time the level is in.

• Beaker-Throwing Lab Assistants: In the level Slippery Climb and The Lab, there will be various Lab Assistants that toss chemical beakers in Crash's direction. 

• Electric Lab Assistants: These Lab Assistants appear in the The Lab. They will usually stand near the edge of the path, create an electrical barrier in front of Crash and walk towards him when he's in range.
  Lifter Lab Assistants: In the Polar levels of Cortex Strikes Back, Crash will encounter a pair of Lab Assistants lifting and dropping heavy metal crates. Crash must judge when the Lab Assistants will lift or drop the crates because he must either jump over the crates or run under them depending on the position of the crates. 

• Lumberjack Lab Assistants: These types of Lab Assistants appear in Diggin' It and Bee-Having. They are dressed as lumberjacks and carry a big sledge hammer. Their form of attack is trying to pound Crash with their large sledge hammers. They are more dangerous when Crash is hiding in the soil, because their sledge hammers have the ability to harm Crash regardless of whether or not he is hiding under the ground. When Crash is underneath the soil and gets hit by the sledgehammer, a gravestone will come out of the ground.

• Welder Lab Assistants: These Lab Assistants can be found working on the ceiling. They are carrying welders and will quickly aim them towards Crash, pausing every few seconds to reload the welder. The flames from the welders are unavoidable and Crash must wait for these assistants to pause and reload, during which he has the opportunity to spin them away.

• Space Lab Assistants: In Rock It and Pack Attack, these Lab Assistants will create electric barriers that will electrocute Crash if he flies into one of them, similar to the electric Lab Assistants from the first game. They can be defeated when their electric current is down by spinning them into the fire that is blocking the path.

• Hunter Lab Assistants: These Lab Assistants only appear in the secret areas of Un-Bearable and Bee-Having. They will fire bullets towards the left side of the screen in a linear path. Crash can avoid these bullets by predicting their path of travel.

• Pusher Lab Assistants: These Lab Assistants can carry a large door-type object and shove it towards Crash when he gets near them.

• Other Lab Assistants: In the boss fight against Tiny Tiger they can be seen going down a pipe to the left of Crash. They only serve as background enemies and pose no threat. A regular Lab Assistant also appears in the intro cutscene for the game

• Wizard Lab Assistants: These Lab Assistants appear in the Medieval-themed levels, and attack Crash by sending magic spells towards his direction. Crash can avoid these magic spells by running in different directions around them. If a magic spell does hit Crash, he will turn into a frog.

• Knight Lab Assistants: In the Medieval-themed levels, Crash will come across Lab Assistants trying to pull a sword out of the ground. Every few seconds the Lab Assistants will manage to pull the sword out and swing it around in a circle. If struck, Crash will be split in two as his lower half will walk away, leaving his upper half floating and concerned. He can spin the knights away when they are trying to pull the swords out.

• Giant Lab Assistants: Just as the name implies. They are only found in one level in the game; the last medieval level, Double Header. However, in the Japanese version they have one head instead of the usual two. They like to swing their giant clubs at Crash. They are also the largest version of the Lab Assistants. Crash can defeat them by jumping on their heads, although they don't actually die unless hit by Crash during mask invincibility, but rather just fall on their backs, whose stomach can be used by Crash to jump higher. Getting hit by their clubs causes Crash to get smacked onto the camera.

• Frog Prince Lab Assistants: When Crash is attacked by a frog with no Aku Aku mask, the frogs will kiss him and reveal themselves to be Lab Assistants disguised as princes.

• Oriental Lab Assistants: Only appears in Coco's riding tiger levels. There are several variants of these. One type likes to sit in the middle of the track and lift bricks. (weight lifting or working on the Great Wall of China?) Another runs around and carries buckets on their back, another wields a staff for defense and another opens a trap door for Coco, allowing Coco to boost up over a castle wall.

• Scimitar Lab Assistants: There are a few types in the Arabic-themed levels. The first type walks away from Crash holding a scimitar, then comes slashing at him after turning around. The next one stands in the same place and throws blades at Crash.

• Genie Lab Assistants: Also appearing in Arabic-themed levels, the genie Lab Assistants hover using their carpet and will encase Crash inside a magic jar if he touches them.

• Wave Lab Assistants: Appearing in the prehistoric levels, these Lab Assistants tend to hide in the swamp water, when Crash gets close enough they leap out and jump on him pulling him under water, then they stand up revealing themselves.

• Triceratops Riding Lab Assistants: This variant was originally supposed to appear in the chase sections of the prehistoric levels, chasing down Crash on a Triceratops. However the idea was later scrapped due to technical reasons, and the triceratops appears chasing down Crash independently.

• Egyptian Lab Assistants: There are multiple types of Egyptian Lab Assistants. The first likes to pull a lever, which drops a giant concrete block that can crush Crash. Then there are ones that have flamethrowers that will try to burn Crash by moving their flamethrowers from left to right. Then there are two types of mummies, one that jumps around in a sarcophagus, and the other in a spiked sarcophagus, with the top half of it cut off and the mummy sticking out.

• Pirate Lab Assistants: They only appear in the Levels with Coco riding her Jet Ski. They sit in crow's nests and swing an anchor around in the pool trying to knock out Coco. They will extend their anchor as Coco gets closer and cannot be defeated. Once they knock Coco off, they can be heard laughing.

• Sailor Lab Assistants: Also appearing in fifteenth century-themed levels, the Sailor Lab Assistants will sail around their boat in a specific path. If Coco hits them in the sides, both the boat and jetski will break, and the Lab Assistant will hit Coco with his oar. Coco can kill them by landing over their boats.

• Some lab assistants appear to be piloting the smaller planes in airplane levels.

• Knight Lab Assistant: Blocking Crash's way dressed as a knight.

• Skier Lab Assistant: Running over Crash and Coco's way on skis.

• Wizard Lab Assistant: Dressing up as a wizard.

• Door Pushing Lab Assistant: Blocking Crash's way using a door.

• Vial Throwing Lab Assistant: Throwing potions at Crash.

• Radioactive Lab Assistant: Spewing toxic acid at Crash while dressed up in a Radioactive Suit.

• Scuba Lab Assistant: Shooting a harpoon gun at Crash underwater.

• Diving Lab Assistant: Blocking Crash's way in a diving suit.

• Ninja Lab Assistant: Dressing up as a ninja.

• Karting Ninja Lab Assistant: Driving a kart intending while dressed up as a Ninja to run over Coco.

• Gong Banging Lab Assistant: Banging gongs with beaters.

• Cyborg Lab Assistant: Shoots a green laser at Crash.

• Dancing Lab Assistant: Dancing with Crash in credits.

• Blowgun Lab Assistant: These lab assistants appear in the level Down The Hole (Level 14) and in the Red Gem path of the level Temple of Boom (Level 3) and shoot poisoned arrows from their blowgun at Crash.

• Welder Lab Assistant: These Lab assistants (already appeared in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back) attack with their welder.

• Lab Assistant with nacelle: These Lab Assistants (Already appeared in Crash Bandicoot: Warped) will try to defeat Crash with their laser.

• Genie Lab Assistant: These Lab Assistants flying in a magic carpet, appear in Arab levels (already appeared in Crash Bandicoot: Warped). There is a variant of this enemy that actually looks like a Genie and attacks by shooting magic balls.

• Mummy Lab Assistant: These Lab assistants (already appeared in Crash Bandicoot: Warped) exists in 3 types: the first is out of the sarcophagus, the second is inside the sarcophagus, the third is inside in the sarcophagus barbed.

• Caveman Lab Assistant: These Lab Assistants exist in 2 types: the first is throwing a lance, the second spits fire.

• Egyptian Lab Assistant: These lab assistants (Already appeared in Crash Bandicoot: Warped) pull a lever which is a giant block, the second type is using the flamethrower.

• Arabic Lab Assistant: These Lab Assistants (Already appeared in Crash Bandicoot: Warped) use a sword, making them only vulnerable when their back is turned.

• Flame Thrower Lab Assistant: These Lab Assistants mainly reside in Fire Mountains. They carry around flamethrowers that shoot out a stream of fire, they usually walk back and forth or just stand in one spot

• Flying Lab Assistant: These Lab Assistants mainly reside in Tech Park. They wear jetpacks and carry around a giant laser cannon to fire at Crash.

The Elementals

 

The Elementals are a group of evil mask spirits who have the power to manipulate the elements of earth, water, fire, and air respectively. Previously, they had done massive damage to the world by causing various natural disasters. For this, they were sealed away by the Ancients. Once released by Uka Uka and Neo Cortex, their goal was to cause chaos across the world. They consist of four members: Rok-Ko, Wa-Wa, Py-Ro, and Lo-Lo. These masks are stated to have the power to destroy cities, crush mountains, and even cause ice ages.

Rok-Ko is a short tempered orange-brown mask of earth who can control earthquakes and landslides. He can grant the ability to turn into a rocky ball. Wa-Wa is the elemental mask of water that can flush the world clean and rebuild it as he remembers. He grants the power to create energy waves, create balls of ice, and turn one’s body into water. Py-Ro is the elemental mask of fire and is stated to be the strongest of the four. He gives the power to throw fiery boulders with little to no effort.  Lo-Lo is the elemental mask of air and has complete control over the weather. He can give the ability to turn into a weather kaiju and to manipulate electricity.

Titans

Titans (also called mutants) are creatures mutated with the mystical substance mojo to become extra powerful. They were created by Cortex by turning innocent creatures into mutants with the newly modified evolvo-ray giving Cortex an army of these mojo fueled behemoths

• Ee-Lectric: Mutated eel with the power of electricity

• Goar: Quadrupedal titan hybrids between a grizzly bear and a boar. It is known to throw tantrums and uproot trees for no reason. Its most prominent features are its long horns and massive tusks, which it uses to attack. It also has a bulky frame, russet-colored fur, and large claws. When jacked, red stripes appear on its body. Goar is vulnerable to small opponents attacking from between its legs, where it cannot reach. 

• Grimly: Grimly is a ghoulish, amorphous titan of unknown origin,it dispatches enemies with ease by slowing down time and pummeling them with its fists

• Magmadon: A pyrokinetic mutant tortoise which can use its shell to roll all over the ground pummeling enemies koopa style.

• Ratcicle: A mutated rat that attacks by freezing enemies solid and raking them with its large, icy claws. It is known to freeze its surroundings to make them more suitable for itself

• RhinoRoller: a Rhino lion and armadillo hybrid that can spin around as a ball to attack opponents.

• Scorporilla: is One of the strongest and largest titans in either series, Scorporilla is a hybrid of a gorilla and a scorpion. She is quadrupedal, walking around on her knuckles as a gorilla does, and attacks with her huge arms and tail.

• Shellephant: A mutated elephant crab hybrid it can knock enemies away and even level buildings with their trunk, tusks, and fists. 

• Sludge: A mutated slimy toxic waste.  Its slimy, elastic body grants it a long attack range by throwing slime, as well as the ability to shapeshift.

• Snipe: A parrot-fox hybrid it attacks from a distance by plucking and throwing its sharp feathers. It may also strike opponents using its claws if they get too close. Snipe vocalizes in short chirps and chitters, and is also known to camouflage itself as a bush to catch unsuspecting prey. 

• Spike: A mutated porcupine with the ability to sharpen itself to impale enemies

• Stench: A mutated vulture/skunk hybrid that can attack by shooting a stink bomb.

• Battler: notable for its powerful melee attacks and the ability to create cyclones

• TK: One of the most versatile mutants, it’s a mutant bird hybrid with TK

• Yuktopus: A mutant octopus/cyborg hybrid

• Polartooth: Polar Bear Sabretooth hybrid that can freeze opponents with it’s breath

• Jawslehoff: A David Hasselhof mutant shark hybrid that can attack with its red board attached to its hand.

• Spot: A jaguar/hippo hybrid that can spin around without any dizziness.

• B. Honda: A sumo mutant bunny hybrid that can create huge shockwaves by body slamming itself into the ground.

• Whalephant: A mutant elephant/whale hybrid that can breathe underwater and attacks by blowing out its blowhole at opponents.

• Plug: A mutant eel hybrid that has electrical abilities.

• Tiki M: Half Mandrill half tiki giant mutant with an ability to like Spot to spin around Crash style without any dizziness.

• Porcurilla: Half Porcupine half Gorilla hybrid with an ability to create a giant creator filled with spikes.

• Phoenix: An eagle/lion hybrid with an ability to release golden energy at the opponent.

• Brat: A mutant bat/rat hybrid with an ability to screech loud enough to damage enemies

• Bouncer: A mutant green grasshopper hybrid that is strong enough to create mini but powerful shockwaves by jumping.

• Piganna: A mutant iguana/pig hybrid with sharp teeth

• Joe Blow: A mutated puffer fish with an ability to blow its head into sharpy spikes to attack enemies. (But it’s drawback is that it can’t even walk on water despite being a  pufferfish hybrid lol)

• K. Modo: A mutated komodo dragon that can stretch its tongue and heat it up to damage enemies.

• Spider-Monkey: Mutant of the same name but it just throws bananas….

• Rhinostrich: A rhino/ostrich hybrid that can shoot out horns out of its body.

• Witch Doctor: A mutant parrot with an ability to breathe fire out of its torch.

• Armydillo: A mutant armadillo that can roll around and damage enemies like RhinoRoller.

• Anubis-Vicious: A desert mythical mutant snake with an ability to slither around quicksands summoning statues and creating clones of itself.

• Psycho-Mandrake: Sentient mutant plant with a power of telekinesis. 

• Chimera: One of the most powerful mutants. It is a combination of the elite Spike.

Mechs/Enhancements

Dr. Zomboss

Zombots

His degree isn’t just in Thanatology, but rather Thanatological technology as well. Made evident front and center by the crowned jewels of his army: the zombots. What started as simply one big burly mech suit forged from literal trash, began an era spanning armada of organic life annihilators. Despite the fact that the neighbor scraps each of these mechs upon defeating them, it has been repeatedly shown and stated multiple times that he still has them at his disposal, repairing them between fights. On top of this, Zomboss has been known to allow imps to pilot the machines for him, allowing him to potentially battle with numerous zombots on the field at once. Each of which being capable of spawning their own units of zombies to the field, whether that be through their connection to Project Paradox, a presupplied amount of them dropped by hand, or just plain ol’ necromancy laced roars.  

Each of these mechs come with their own special abilities:

Zombot 1000: Among the largest of all the zombots, the classic final boss of the first PvZ game is at least three stories tall and strong enough to throw a car with ease. It can also release giant balls of fire and ice from its mouth. Even more impressively, it can fly and shoot lasers.  

Sphinx-inator: For an extra evil touch, this machine was chiseled out of the stonework of cursed tombs. Like many other zombots, this one has targeted homing missiles that it can fire from its mouth. Unlike its peers though, these missiles also create tombstones when they land which can be used to summon more zombies.

Plank Walker: Getting into the pirate theme, this zombot is an entire pirate ship on legs piloted by Captain Zomboss. It is capable of firing hordes of imp zombies from its canons behind enemy lines.

War Wagon: This wild west wagon was designed specifically to terrify any farmers that fall in its path. While other zombots also wield missiles, this one can fire four at a time with improved guidance systems, great for moving targets. It also has a bull on the back.

Tuskmaster 10,000 BC: To fit with the icy landscape, Zomboss designed a mechanical wooly mammoth with real mammoth fur. It can blast ice and snow from its trunk to create large walls of ice for protection, launch blocks of ice as projectiles, or freeze enemies solid with gusts of frigid wind.

Aerostatic Gondola: In a change of pace from his normal massive metal monstrosities, Zomboss opted this time for a light hot air balloon to rain death from above. While floating above the battlefield, the doctor can drop platoons of zombies from the sky or just toss down heavy bags of sand on his enemies.  

Tomorrow-tron: Using the advanced technology of the future, this cranial contraption launches powerful missiles capable of destroying not just enemies, but also the very ground they stand on.  

Dark Dragon: Forged in the heart of a volcano, tempered in the waters of Doom Lake, fueled by coal from the Mines of Morbidity, and with a paint job done by Carl, this dragon brings fiery death to whoever opposes it. Its breath can burn armies to a crisp, it can lob fire balls that hatch imp dragon zombies, and even its mere presence can scorch the ground and make it uninhabitable. However, its massive nose ring does make it vulnerable to strong magnetic pulls, which can temporarily stun it.

Multi-stage Masher: Embracing his angsty impulses, Dr. Zomboss rebels against his enemies through punk rock music. With specially made speakers that can be summoned from the ground or dropped from above, Zomboss attacks with high intensity sound waves which can deal damage or blast his foes off the battlefield entirely.

Dinotronic Mechasaur: Giant robots are awesome. Dinosaurs are awesome.  Naturally, Zomboss thought to combine the two, thus birthing this behemoth. On top of the usual zombie summoning that any zombot is capable of, this one can also summon roaming dinosaurs to feast on foes. For some reason, Zomboss also equipped this thing with laser eyes. Not sure how those fit the theme at all, but they sure are awesome.

Sharktronic Sub: Dr. Zomboss worked for days on end to make this mech appear exactly like your typical zombie shark, allowing this mech to disguise itself before it pops up to attack. It can summon other zombie sharks to blend in with or to send out to gobble up enemies. In addition to simply moving beneath the waves, this zombot also possesses a high powered fan filled with razor-sharp, metal teeth, capable of pulling in and shredding any who get too close. This zombot was later evolved into the Sharktronic Sand Sub, allowing it to now move on land too.

Ox-Demon King: At some point, Zomboss became obsessed with a mythical epic called “Journey to the East” and built this robot based on the story. It possesses many abilities of other zombots such as giant balls of fire, missiles, and laser eyes.  However, it also possesses a giant iron fan which speeds up all nearby zombies when it is being waved.

Dragon King of the East Sea: In the interest of holding complete dominion over both land and sea, Zomboss built another dragon. Rather than wielding fire, this dragon sneezes bubbles to entrap enemies and carry them away and produces whirlpools around itself. It can also create massive fissures in the earth with just a step of its foot.

Vulture Fighter: Bringing his zombie army to the skies, the Vulture Fighter can dive bomb from above the clouds to scoop up victims. Its wings serve the dual purpose of granting lift and creating whirlwinds that blow enemies away. Furthermore, it can fire a hell of bullets that cover a large area or floating electrodes which create a deadly arc of electric current.

Battlecruiser 5000:  Eventually, Zomboss must have decided that not even the sky was the limit for him and so he set out to conquer the stars. This Battlecruiser temporarily shields all zombies including itself from any damage and being destroyed. It appears that this spacecraft has visited several galaxies, as it is not legal in thirty-five.

Mecha Cat: Upon the discovery of the Gnomeverse, a special mech was created to enter it and fight the Gnomes and their leader. Its attacks consist of a mix between powerful AoE lunges and bullet hell. Fun fact, this robot was made in the image of a cat, due to Zomboss specifically wanting to model it after the one thing Crazy Dave hates the most. 

There are even more zombots, but they are mostly just reskins of the aforementioned ones with repeated abilities. 

Dr. Neo Cortex

Mecha Bandicoot

Created by both Cortex and N. Gin, this giant mech wields a different weapon in each arm. Its right has a chainsaw while the left one has a rocket launcher. It also has a plasma ray on its nose that is similar to Cortex’s plasma beam.

N Gin’s Mechs

N. Gin has created many mechs throughout the series with each one having different weapons and designs:

First Mech: N. Gin’s first mech, shown in Crash 2, can shoot lasers from its hands and missiles from out of its shoulders. Its most powerful blast, called the "belly button laser" (very creative name lol), can emit green energy that easily obliterates platforms.
Mech Model 1: N. Gin’s upgrade of the previous form, in Crash Warped. This model started similar to the first one but turned into a robot with eight barrelled machine guns and homing missiles from its shoulders and abdomen.
Mech Model 2: N. Gin’s last resort in Crash Warped. It has four homing missiles on top and one large one at the bottom of it. It can also create two beams that emit balls of energy.

Huge Adventure Mech: Not much different from N. Gin’s other mechs with only two missiles and one homing missile.  However, it also possesses a cannonball at the bottom.
Titans Mech: This organically controlled mech from Titans is armed with a mace in each hand which can detach and smash against the ground.
The W.O.M.P.: This large drumming mech has radios that can fire out disc-shaped plasma beams.  It also possesses the ability to mind control large amounts of people at once.
On the Run Mech: This new mech of N. Gin now has drills that are strong enough to create creator on the ground.

Arachnina

Nina’s giant spider-like titan mech is the largest titan of Crash Bandicoot with a buzzsaw for a hand and eye beams. Can change into a six-legged position where many lasers fire from its eyes for a few seconds. Nina can roll the buzzsaw into a foe, with it rolling back to Nina safely.

Cortexbot

A giant robot about the size of a small island. This robot was used mainly to boogie to get people’s attention.

Crab Mech

 In the DS version, Cortex created this crab/spider-like robot that fights at close range.

Doominator

A massive robot originally built by Neo Cortex and a brainwashed Coco to destroy Wumpa Island, Nina eventually took control of the Doominator instead to carry out its mission. Its true functions are unknown, as Crash was able to defeat Nina just in time to remove Coco’s mind control device so she could disable it, but it can safely be inferred to possess some form of major destructive capabilities, as it threatened to destroy Wumpa Island itself. 

Resistances

Dr. Zomboss

• Fatigue: Zombies do not require sleep and can remain active for long stretches of time without needing to rest.

• Transmutation: Super Brainz is too powerful to be affected by the magic of the plant hero, Rose, cannot affect him with her magic, which can turn enemies into goats.  Other zombies comparable in power, such as fellow hero zombies should have a similar resistance. Garden Warfare zombies are affected by the magic, but transform back after a short time.

• Mind Control: While most zombies can be controlled by the Hypno-shroom, Garden Warfare zombies only experience mild illusions and impaired movement from its influence and still retain free will. Even the Royal Hypno-Flower cannot fully control them.

• Poison/Toxins: Zombies are immune to Dr. Zomboss’s mind numbing chemical cloud. Many zombies are also able to survive the effects of Chili Bean, Toxic Gloom-shroom, and Poison Mushroom.

• High Temperatures: Stronger zombies can survive multiple hits from Jalapeno and being at ground zero of massive explosions. 

• Low Temperatures: Zombies are unaffected by sub-zero winds that can freeze plants solid. They can also recover from being completely frozen by plants such as Iceberg Lettuce.

Dr. Neo Cortex

• Low Temperatures: Cortex can survive being trapped in ice for years

Feats

Dr. Zomboss

Overall

• The unchallenged leader of zombies throughout all of time

• Founded and runs ZCorp, from which he mass produces his creations

• Conquered Suburbia and renamed it Zomburbia

• Invaded the Gnomeverse and defeated Gnomus, the Gnome King

• Landed zombies on the moon and established Moon Base Z and Area 22 

• Conquered the world in an alternate future

• Has a doctorate in Thanatology

Strength

• Gargantuars can carry and swing telephone poles with just one hand (which weigh about 800 pounds).

• Zombies are comparable to plants like the Meteor Flower.

• Super Brainz can pull the street out from under him and blast foes away with a clap

• Super Brainz punched a bean so hard that it collided with Earth and created an explosion visible from space (35 teratons).

• Can harm Grass Knuckles who survived being at the epicenter of a country sized explosion.

• Moon Base Z could change the orbit of Earth to stay in a constant solar eclipse

• Cozmic Brainz builds his muscles by lifting planets

• The Mecha Cat was capable of defeating Gnomus the Gnome King and his gnome army.  The same gnomes are capable of creating black holes with farts and holding time and space in their pockets.

Speed

• All-Stars can move fast enough to catch on fire (Mach 12.17)

• Super Brainz punched a bean to Earth in about 2 seconds (accounting for slow motion) (0.64C).

• Zombies can dodge the blasts from Laser Bean at close range, which are light.

• Many zombies are capable of piloting spacecraft during interstellar and even intergalactic travel in an unclear, but likely short time period.

• Zombies are able to keep up with the gnomes, who can count to infinity and have experienced at least three infinities.

Durability

• Zombies can survive without their heads and just need them to be placed back on.

• Zombies can survive numerous hits from Bonk Choy, which can shatter boulders with a single punch.

• Higher level zombies and all zombots can take multiple hits from meteors (825 tons of TNT).

• The Gargantuar zombies barely flinched after being at the epicenter of a building-sized explosion.

• While in a Zombot, Zomboss survived one of his own missiles exploding. 

• Zomboss shrugged off hitting the cement ground hard enough to break through it.

• Zomboss survived being at the epicenter of the Hero-Tron 5000 exploding, which was visible from space (1.5 petatons of TNT).

• Stronger zombies were able to ride on Meteor Z as it destroyed a planet and survive.

• The Mecha Cat can survive being hit by singularities from the Gnomes.

• Stronger zombies can take multiple hits from plasma peas, which shoot entire universes.

• Zombots are far tougher than all but a few zombies.

Dr. Neo Cortex

Overall

• Fought Crash Bandicoot multiple times

• Mutated numerous Australian animals to serve in his army.

• Created Crunch Bandicoot

• Defeated Emperor Velo XXVII and his champions in a galaxy-spanning racing tournament.

• Aided Crash in defeating the Evil Twins alongside Nina

• Aided in saving Thumpin' Wumpa Islands after Fake Crash screwed up his own machine

• Aided Crash in defeating N. Tropy in Crash 4

• Served in the Vietnam War

Strength 

• Easily pushes away two anthropomorphic chickens larger than himself.

• Carries Nina on his head, who doesn't seem that heavy until you take into account her big metal hands.

• Belly-flops on a giant worm with such force he causes it to borrow away.

• Upscales further with mutagen 

• Can manage to harm Crash Bandicoot and fight on par with him in Twinsanity.

Crash himself:

• Survives being struck by wooden crates over and over.  The level Jaws of Darkness contains 112 crates in total

• Survived 27 crates of TNT exploding at once (17.5 tons of TNT)

• Can withstand being inside a volcano, even when mere inches away from touching lava

• Survived atmospheric reentry while in Cortex’s ship

• Defeated the Elementals who are capable of causing volcanic eruptions, storms, and tidal waves. Uka Uka claims the Elementals were responsible for “a few earthquakes, floods, and that little ice age a couple centuries back” (7.3 gigatons) 

• According to Cortex, when powered up by said Elementals, Crunch Bandicoot would have the power to “crush mountains” and “demolish entire cities”.

• Using the Skylanders crossover, could potentially scale to beings like Spyro and other high level Skylanders.  This could make him comparable to the vehicles that the SuperChargers utilize, which are capable of causing a chain reaction and destroying the universe.

Speed 

• Dodges his own raygun's blasts when it fires uncontrollably.

• Ducks under Uka Uka's energy blast.

• Avoids Uka Uka's energy blasts on a slippery iceberg.

• Outruns a hungry bear for a brief moment.

• Appears to slide past a set of pipes before toxic gas spews out of them.

• Outruns a swarm of hostile bugs multiple times during a level.

• Can dodge Madame Amberly's lightning bolts.

• Outruns Crash's evil counterpart for an extended period.                                          

Comparable to Crash who:

• Reacted to a laser reaching Cortex’s space station in seconds
  Capable of dodging lightning attacks of Crunch empowered by Lo-Lo, voodoo enemies, Ee-Lectric, etc

• Can dodge N. Gin's mech lasers

• Outraced Oxide, who can fly from his spaceship to earth in seconds (1:01) (Mach 1587.72)

Durability

• Gets his head dented by a falling cage.

• Survives the destruction of his castle.

• Tanks his own raygun's energy bolts for a total of five times before he's blasted off his hoverboard.

• Falls from the height of his airship down to a cavern.

• Takes three punches from Crunch's bionic arm before getting attacked by Crash himself until finally being defeated.

• Survives being frozen in the Antarctic.

• Crash can use Cortex to smash reinforced crates by slamming his head against them to no ill effect.

• Not only survives but also retains basic motor functions when his brain is telekinetically extracted and somehow puts it back in.

• Gets used as a snowboard by Crash on two occasions; first on a snowy mountain slope then a rocky one where he had to groin-slide on a metal rail at certain parts during both occasions.

• Gets crushed by a giant metal fist multiple times throughout a boss fight.

• Has the Matrix Chamber explode in his presence (with a blast radius that appears to cover at least a mile of land) which launches him hundreds of feet into the air.

• Upscales further with mutagen

Weaknesses

Dr. Zomboss

As you might imagine from a person who spends their time battling from giant mech suits and waves of undead soldiers, Zomboss’ own physicality typically tends to leave something to be desired. On top of this, while not inherently lethal to him or other zombies, decapitation is an easy incap option for nearly every zombie, Zomboss included. The bad doctor is also quite gullible and naive, allowing him to be easily tricked or manipulated.  Also, despite their undead nature, zombies can still have fatal reactions to allergies, of which Zomboss has allergens to over 74,000 plant species…and mammoth fur.

Dr. Neo Cortex

While Cortex is a genius he is a bit of a comical figure, reckless, and short-tempered. Cortex is not incredibly capable in a fight regarding fisticuffs either, relying almost entirely on his technology. His assistants also do tend to fight amongst each other, sometimes even turning on Cortex himself.

Summary 

Dr. Zomboss

“It’s time to take our positions and then lower the entire city of Neighborville into our grasp. March, my Zombies! March!”

Advantages: 

• Far stronger and tougher with middle ends and has more reliable universal feats

• Faster, especially with infinite speed

• His army is far larger, more varied, and more synergistic 

• Army is unlikely to run out with many methods of summoning and reviving

• Stronger zombies counter almost all of Cortex’s abilities

• Can change the time period, thus the environment of the battle

• With the Zombox and Mr. Stubbins, he can command his armies from afar without having to endanger himself

Disadvantages:

• Is far more vulnerable when on his own

• His units are far less intelligent 

• More niche and less combat applicable gadgets on average

• Hero-Tron 5000 could potentially backfire and empower Cortex’s units

• PVZ 3 is an absolute mess

 

Dr. Neo Cortex

"But best of all... I will use this army to construct a mighty robot! The largest doomsday device I've ever built! I will smash Wumpa Island... then TAKE OVER THE WORLD!"

Advantages:

• Has much more experience and is more capable as an individual fighter outside of a mech 

• His units are far more intelligent, allowing them to aid him in strategy

• Could mind control the weaker zombies to gain a numbers advantage

• Has many different methods of shielding himself from damage

• The Planetary Minimizer can greatly weaken Zomboss’ forces

Disadvantages:

• Generally weaker mechs and minions

• Far slower

• His army is much smaller and easier to deplenish

• Lacks resistances to a lot of the zombies' options

Before the Verdict

Skylanders Scaling

As you saw earlier in his equipment, Dr. Neo Cortex was featured in Skylanders: Imaginators along with Crash Bandicoot himself. This is particularly important because, if taken as canon, it would provide Cortex with his best direct AP scaling. Some Skylanders of the “Dark” element and are powered directly by The Darkness, an ancient evil that once threatened all of Skylands. This is important as The Darkness was capable of conquering the whole universe and could only be defeated using the SuperChargers vehicles, which contain the power to destroy the universe in a chain reaction.  This would be a major boost to Cortex’s stats.

So is the crossover canon? Eh, maybe. 

Crash and Spyro have crossed over a ton of times, including cameos, full games, and even in the official Skylanders cartoon.  The Crash timeline itself has been a topic of debate for years, but fortunately the canonicity of the games was explained in an interview with Crash 4's creative director. This interview basically explained that all previous Crash games are canon, just that only Crash 1, Crash 2, Crash Warped, and Crash 4 happened in the primary universe. The other games happened in other alternate universes.  Now whether this confirms all of these crossovers as canon is still questionable, especially considering that the director only refers to there being eight games, referring to the eight mainline Crash Bandicoot titles (i.e. not spin offs like the cart racers and the crossover game with Spyro). Crash 4 did end up having easter eggs of both Spyro and Skylanders, but these could just be fun nods. Crash 4 also ends with a rather tongue-in-cheek joke about how the series’ canon is subjective.

Ultimately, whether or not this crossover is canon to Crash’s story is unclear. Whether or not it is usable is really up to the individual, however this blog generally agrees that it shouldn't really be usable for scaling.

Verdicts

TheoryCrafter

It’s about time!

Obvious pun/double reference aside, I would like to apologize for how long it took for this blog to come out.  Many of us had real life things to deal with such as exams and spending time with our families over the holidays. These two also had A LOT to go through with their various games, comics, animated shorts, etc.  Nevertheless, the team powered through and I am quite proud of what we have put together. I hope you all find it equal parts informative and entertaining.

Anyways, onto the actual debate. We have given both Zomboss and Cortex their entire arsenals and armies which means there is quite a bit to cover. I have already worked up a reputation amongst our group for long verdicts, primarily because I like to address every possibility, so strap in. As per usual, I have decided to divide this verdict up into sections to deliver my points more concisely. So let us start with…

Stats

Now if you took a casual glimpse at the feats and summary sections then you probably already have a pretty good idea of where I am going with this. Even if we use conservative ends, Zomboss should take stats handily.

That is not to say Cortex is weak by any means. Cortex is able to harm Crash, who by Death Battle’s own calculation can shrug off two million tons of force, and, with the elementals, Cortex could potentially dish out an energy equivalent to upwards of 7.3 gigatons of TNT. He is also able to take quite a beating, as his many direct fights with Crash, Crunch, and other super-powered mutants show. His speed is also no-joke. He can dodge lightning and scales to Crash who was able to process and react to a laser in real time. It is possible he is even faster since he was able to outrace Emperor Velo XXVII, who is implied to regularly move throughout the galaxy, although in unspecified time frames.

Unfortunately for Cortex though, this is all nothing compared to Zomboss. Super Brainz casually punches a plant from the Moon to Earth in seconds, which creates a massive explosion equivalent to about 35 teratons of TNT. That is about 4795 times greater than the highest potential energy output for the elementals’ ice age feat.  And many of the Zombots that Zomboss pilots are comparable to or likely stronger than Super Brainz. But that is not even the tip of the iceberg. Zomboss was at the epicenter of the Hero-Tron 5000’s explosion, which was the size of a country.  Other zombies were able to ride on Meteor Z as it cracked a planet in half and all zombies passively gain power from this same meteor.

What about speed though?  Zomboss has the edge there too. Super Brainz punching that plant to earth in just a few seconds is about 64% the speed of light and much weaker zombies are able to dodge close range lasers (these blasts move in straight lines, burn instead of exploding, as is visible when they hit walls, and are fired from “Laser Beans”). This is all more than enough to match Cortex’s speed. “But what about Cortex racing that one guy who travels throughout the galaxy,” I hear you ask! Well Zomboss’ zombies have also traveled across the galaxy in the PVZ Heroes game. In fact, they have been to many galaxies, so, if anything, Zomboss likely has the advantage.

Alright but onto the real kicker. What about Cortex’s Skylanders scaling? Well whether or not Crash’s many crossovers with Spyro and Skylanders are usable has been a hotly debated topic. While they certainly are consistent, you could make the same argument for the Mario and Sonic crossovers. The debate itself is a whole different matter, based in various theories about the Crash, Spyro, and Skylanders timelines, and is thus beyond the scope of this verdict. Regardless, even if you give Cortex the Skylanders scaling, it does not change much.

The Skylanders universal feat is already somewhat questionable. The line itself refers to a chain reaction that would destroy the universe, not necessarily a single blast. This is important because it means that the SuperCharger vehicles might not necessarily contain the power to destroy the universe. In a similar fashion, splitting a single atom does not cause a nuclear explosion but instead can cause massive chain reactions, splitting countless other atoms which create the explosion. The exact line is vague about the nature of how the universe would be destroyed which makes this even more questionable.

Beyond that, no Skylanders directly scale to this power. The best scaling comes from The Darkness, the main villain of Skylanders: SuperChargers, which can only be defeated by these same vehicles.  Problem is that no Skylander is able to match The Darkness’ power without these vehicles. There are, however, Skylanders of the Dark element, which are powered by the Darkness. Now this does not mean they each have ALL of The Darkness’ power. Instead, they likely each contain a very small percentage of it. This is where the scaling comes from, Skylanders that are only POWERED by The Darkness, not that directly scale.

So that means that Cortex’s universal scaling comes from a questionably usable Skylanders crossover that only leads to, at best, downscaling from a shaky, hypothetical universal feat. But if you buy all of that, which you might (I don’t but that is not the point), then Cortex should be WAY stronger than Zomboss right? Again, nope.

Zomboss has some universal feats of his own and, frankly, they are far more reliable and easy to argue for than Cortex’s. The Garden Warfare troops, and by extension other powerful zombies and zombots, are able to take multiple hits from the Plasma Peashooters, from whom each pea is an entire universe. Seriously read this, it is crazy detailed! Now some disregard this feat, claiming that the universes are merely microverses, drastically scaled down universes with nowhere near the energy and mass a full-sized universe has.  Issue with this complaint is that the scan itself claims that the peas have “enormous nebulae that dwarf you and I,” making it pretty blatant that these are meant to be full universes. Then you might ask, “But why are they so small then?”  Honestly, I don’t know but the in-game text makes it clear they are normal universes nonetheless. Maybe they are like those galaxy marbles from Men in Black.  Regardless, they are universes. And the zombies can take MULTIPLE of these to the face.  

Now some might call this an outlier, just some silly text in an already very silly game franchise that is not really meant to mean anything. There is no other proof that the zombies can fight people that are universal is there? Are these rhetorical questions getting old yet?

Zomboss’ Mecha Cat was able to enter the Gnomeverse and overthrow Gnomus, the gnome king and his gnome army. These gnomes are a hyper-advanced society that travel throughout time and space freely and bend the universe to their will. Yes, all of this actually happens in the games. The gnomes have a ton of statements of their power. The gnomes can blend starlight for breakfast, create black holes with their farts, and use the galaxy as a cushion protector. But most impressively they are able to hold all of space and time in their pockets and destabilize time completely.  Now that is some crazy power. But even this army was no match for Zomboss’ Mecha Cat, which took them all on solo.  As an aside, Zomboss should also likely scale to these gnomes in speed and they can count to infinity.

So yeah, even if you argue some cosmic high ends for Cortex, Zomboss has much more reliable scaling that gets him even higher. But stats are far from the entire debate. Oh no, we are just getting started.  Now we move onto…

Equipment/Mechs

What would mad scientists be without some crazy science-fiction gadgets to point at the heroes? Fitting for these cartoony evil geniuses, they have large arsenals of impressive and wacky weapons. I want to first explain the strengths and weaknesses of both arsenals before comparing them directly.

Let us first start with Zomboss. He has some good close range weapons with his laser, heat ray, and wrenches but overall is rather lacking in the close quarters department because he prefers to avoid fighting himself. Zomboss’ sun vacuum and dream machine are far too situational and will have little to no effect on the outcome of this fight. The chemical cloud and cold crystal both offer methods of incapacitating large groups over a short period of time. The robots could be used as great mounted defenses against encroaching enemies or potentially fool the enemies like they did several times in the comics. The giant space magnet could be used from afar to attack any machines in orbit that become a threat. The Zombox and Boss Mode allow Zomboss to direct his minions, aid them, and attack enemies from safety. Zomboss has some incredible mobility options with his race cars, various zombots (which all contain various powerful weapons) that can traverse land, sea, sky, or space, and his time portals.  The Mecha Cat could even potentially let him enter the Gnomeverse at will. These allow Zomboss to go wherever and whenever he wants during the fight.  Finally, there is the Hero-Tron 5000. It lets Zomboss power up his army immensely by creating more and more hero zombies. However, it comes with the major flaw of potentially empowering enemy units if it goes haywire.

Onto Cortex, he is very well-equipped for fighting by himself. His raygun is extremely versatile with its many different modes of fire, his jetpack, leg rockets, hover scooter, and teleporter all give him great short-term movement options to maneuver around, and his various force fields and methods of invincibility keep him protected. His N. Tropy staff, Rehabilita-laser, and mines are also great for both single-targets and crowd control. His mutagen and invisibility power up temporarily grant him boosts in power and new abilities, making him capable of fighting without even using gadgets. The Planetary Minimizer has amazing range and area of effect and drastically weakens armies in a single blast, giving Cortex a size and potential power advantage. His many carts and various ships give him great movement options and come with many power ups that give it incredible combative potential. The warp orb and static orb are of special note as the first can potentially teleport past defenses to attack a target and the second can temporarily mess with machinery. Cortex has various giant mechs that he and his fellow villains can use to attack. However, these mechs lack much variety in both mobility and arsenal so their versatility is quite low. The exception being the W.O.M.P. which uses sonic waves to attack and can hypnotize entire armies. The rift generator gives Cortex some extra options by letting him travel to parallel dimensions. At last, we reach possibly Cortex’s most iconic weapon, the Evolvo-Ray. It allows Cortex to continuously create new minions with a single blast and potentially causes them to obey him, which, if true, would give it incredible use against enemy units.

Now with that overview we can see that in close quarters, Cortex is far more capable than Zomboss is. He has far more useful weapons and equipment and also has far more experience fighting personally when compared to Zomboss who almost always fights inside a Zombot. On the other hand, Zomboss has far better mechs. The Zombots have abilities that suit almost any situation while Cortex’s mechs are far more standard. Both of them can theoretically have all of their mechs on the battlefield at once by having their units pilot them. But the Zombots’ much greater pool of powers will make them a greater threat. This is doubly true when you consider stats again, which would make the Zombots far stronger than any of Cortex’s mechs.

But how effective will this equipment really be in the fight? Well they all vary and some counter each other in unique ways.  To start, both have reliable methods of crossing dimensions and traveling through time, causing these abilities to somewhat cancel out, although not completely as both have their own strengths and weaknesses here. Cortex’s rift generator allows him to access seemingly any universe while Zomboss only has access to his original universe and the Gnomeverse. Contrarily, Zomboss’ time travel technology is overall better as it is directly connected to all of his Zombots making it easier to access than Cortex’s methods of time travel. Additionally, Zomboss has also frequently used his time portals to summon zombie armies across time and even work with his future self, while Cortex has not used similar tactics.

Onto other parts of their equipment, Zomboss’ chemical cloud would be very useful against Cortex and his organic units such as his fellow scientists, the mutants, and the titans. Although Uka Uka, the lab assistant robots, and the elementals would all likely be unaffected due to their non-organic nature (you could argue the same for the titans since they contain mojo but they did transform from organic beings). Cortex would also likely be able to shield himself from the gas using his force field or just escape it entirely with his jetpack and mechs.

However, the same cannot be said for the cold crystal and the Zombot Tuskmaster 10,000 BC which both could render much of Cortex’s forces and Cortex himself frozen solid in seconds. Cortex’s best counter to this would be the fire elemental, Py-Ro, who could potentially help fight off the blizzards these two would create, although this would likely cost much of Py-Ro’s energy.  

The robots that Zomboss uses could be effective with their many different types of projectiles. However, most of these robots are stationary meaning they could be potentially avoided or just destroyed.  Zomboss’ imposter robots would likely be more successful. They have repeatedly tricked others before and Cortex could easily mistake them as his own units. However, these robots are not very combat-oriented so they have little to actually do even if they do successfully trick Cortex.

Zomboss also has his many race cars which can be operated by himself alongside his zombie hordes. To counter this, Cortex has his own carts. While Zomboss may have far more race cars that come in many different forms, Cortex actually has the edge here via quality over quantity. He may have fewer race cars but they come equipped with plenty of special features and have many power ups that make them extremely dangerous. Cortex can throw potions, TNT, bombs, missiles, and even tornadoes at Zomboss, all while boosting his speed with a super engine.  If this were a Death Race, I would solidly side with Cortex.

Let’s switch back to Cortex for a bit.  Cortex has other power ups that are worth giving special mention.  Cortex’s warp orb and static orb both would be extremely effective against Zomboss. The warp orb could potentially teleport inside a Zombot, bypassing the defenses and hitting Zomboss directly. The static orb could also be used to temporarily immobilize Zomboss’ mechs and other technology. Although they would likely not do any lasting damage since the higher end ZCorp tech can take direct hits from E.M.Peaches and only briefly malfunction. Also, it is completely possible that Zomboss or his mechs could dodge these orbs, given his speed.

For some other methods of powering up, Cortex has invisibility and the mutagen. The invisibility could be useful for Cortex by allowing him to evade enemies for a brief time and set up sneak attacks. However, its short time limit and Zomboss' nature to keep himself protected means that it likely will not be a game changer. Mutagen is a similar story. Despite the great boost in power and new abilities it grants, there is no indication that it is a large enough boost to even the stat advantages Zomboss has.

As I said earlier, Cortex’s mechs are largely the same and lack variety. Fortunately for him, there is an exception: the W.O.M.P. While this machine’s sonic blasts are quite powerful, its more important ability is that it can mind control an army (it is never confirmed that the W.O.M.P. is this mind control device however, based on the similar language N. Gin uses to describe both and the events of Crash 4, this is the most likely explanation). This could be a huge advantage for Cortex. Seasoned PVZ players know of the Hypno-shroom, which is able to mind control any zombie that consumes it. This would seem to mean that this single device can hypnotize all of Zomboss’ forces and even Zomboss himself. Except that this would likely not work. While it is true that weaker zombies are susceptible to mind control, higher end zombies such as the Garden Warfare troops resist it. This would likely also include Zomboss himself. Even more interestingly, if the W.O.M.P. mind controls people through its sound waves, Zomboss could always just drown it out with his own Zombot Multi-Stage Masher (the Neon Mixtape Tour world, where the Multi-Stage Masher was introduced, has an entire mechanic around changing the music). Or, you know, the non-hypnotized zombies could just destroy the machine. Ultimately, while the W.O.M.P. could have a major impact by hypnotizing the weaker members of Zomboss’ army, it would not completely tip the tides in Cortex’s favor.

Another powerful weapon Cortex has for himself is the planetary minimizer. A single blast from this could drastically weaken Zomboss and his army, making them smaller than the eye could see. However, this relies on Cortex getting the blast off without being stopped which is unlikely. Zomboss has numerous methods to stop him. He could use the Zomboss Battlecruiser 5000 or his many zombies stationed in space to take it down. He could even use his Giant Space Magnet to just throw the Planetary Minimizer out of orbit completely. Even if Zomboss fails to reach the Planetary Minimizer, he could always just escape using time travel to avoid the shrinking. And it’s not like Cortex could activate it sneakily and hit Zomboss before he even knows about it. Zomboss has a space station, a moon base, and numerous other methods of noticing it before it gets the chance to fire. So if it got off, the Planetary Minimizer could swing things in Cortex’s favor, but it is unlikely to fire in time.

Now I have deliberately left a few gadgets for the end because I felt they all played a major role in this fight and were worth leaving for the end. These are the Hero-Tron 5000, the Evolvo-Ray, the Zombox, and Boss Mode.  

The Hero-Tron 5000 and the Evolvo-Ray serve very similar purposes in the arsenals of both. They are used to amplify the power of weaker units and transform them into one-creature-armies. But they do have some major differences. Of course, the stat gap between the powers both provide is worth mentioning again, with Zomboss’ heroes clearly being stronger than any of Cortex’s mutants. Another difference is the possibility that the Evolvo-Ray influences the target to serve Cortex. It is not clear if this is how the Evolvo-Ray works as many of these mutants have disobeyed him, the most famous being Crash Bandicoot himself, but it is true that the majority of mutated animals do serve Cortex. On top of this being a good way to make more units during a fight, it also could allow Cortex to mutate zombies to serve him.  Granted, this would still only work on the weaker zombies as stronger zombies tend to resist transmutation, such as Super Brainz and the Garden Warfare troops. Assuming that the Evolvo-Ray makes the target obey Cortex in most circumstances, it could be used against most of the Project Paradox zombies to give himself some more powerful units, but they would still likely not reach the power of the zombie heroes. The Hero-Tron 5000 also has the advantage that it grants more potent abilities to those it affects, while the Evolvo-Ray usually just further amplifies pre-existing genetic traits.

But now we must talk about the Hero-Tron 5000’s greatest weakness, something so important it deserves its own paragraph.  THAT STUPID BUTTON! If the Hero-Tron 5000 were to enter the battlefield, there is a decent chance that Zomboss will accidentally press this button and create a massive explosion that empowers both his troops and Cortex’s. This could be huge for Cortex as it could potentially help even out the stat gap between the opponents. It would also grant the boosted minions with new powers to boost his versatility. If he is lucky, Cortex himself might even get some of this power. However, for all of the possible benefits of this happening, there is one major issue. The Hero-Tron 5000’s explosion will only empower a few units. Despite the size of the explosion, only a small amount of plants and zombies were transformed into heroes. More importantly, while many of these heroes were at ground zero of the explosion, the majority were spread across the entire planet. This means that if any of Cortex’s minions are boosted it will only be a small portion of his available army, with most of this power going to random creatures on Earth. There is also the issue of Cortex’s army needing to survive the blast of the Hero-Tron 5000 “explodonating” which is more powerful than anything they have ever experienced. Maybe the powers granted by the explosion will save some units, but any others on Cortex’s side caught in the blast would likely be annihilated. Besides, this is all ignoring that many of Zomboss’ forces would also be empowered and he does not need to worry about surviving the blast because he already did.

Now we end off equipment with the Zombox and Boss Mode. I am lumping these together because they are essentially just two parts of the same overall device. With these Zomboss is able to cause as much trouble and mayhem as he wants without ever having to touch dirt. This is a major advantage to him because it means that he does not need to endanger himself during the fight. He could simply have some other zombies pilot his zombots, give directions from the Zombox, and rain brains and bombs with Boss Mode.  Now this might seem to some like a cowardly tactic, completely unfair. But Zomboss DOES NOT CARE! He will gladly sit in safety while his army does everything for him. This would mean that for Cortex to get to Zomboss, he would need to first go through everything he has.

Sorry that section was so long, they both have a ton of stuff to mention and I wanted to be thorough. But we are still not done because next we have…

Units

Both have massive armies with countless hordes of minions willing to die for the cause (and some that are not so willing). What advantages do both present and which army is superior?

The main advantage that Zomboss’ army possesses, as any PVZ player knows, is that his hordes never end. In addition to the already long list of different zombies he has available, Zomboss has many methods of summoning new zombies. He can summon them with his zombots, time portals, teleporters, tombstones, tents, magic, fire balls, arcade machines, and so much more. This is all before even mentioning how well his army synergizes with itself. There are countless different buffs, healing options, and other ways that this zombie army works together to make its hordes exponentially stronger. Realistically, this army will never run out.  The army also has an incredible array of different powers and abilities making them unpredictable and incredibly dangerous.  For example, while everyone is busy with the hero zombies and all of their powers, the tiny zombies could sneak past their defenses and attack them from the inside.  They just have so many abilities and so many types of zombies that it is hard to be prepared for all of it. The biggest weakness of these zombies however is how stupid most of them are. Granted there are intelligent ones like Mr. Stubbins and Professor Brainstorm, but they are few and far between. Most zombies are idiots and need the direct command of Zomboss to work efficiently.

Cortex’s army is almost a foil to Zomboss’.  While the zombie hordes largely lack intelligence, Cortex’s army has no such issue. Uka Uka, N. Gin, N. Brio, N. Trance, N. Tropy, Nina, and more are all brilliant and capable of aiding Cortex in strategizing. This means that Cortex can get constant feedback during the fight and does not need to focus as much attention on controlling his minions. Uka Uka and N. Tropy in particular are highly capable on their own as both strategists and fighters.  However, the majority of his army lacks versatility and relies mostly on basic weaponry and fighting up close. Also, while large, the army is not very self-sustaining, with most units focusing on themselves rather than the overall army. The army is also more disorganized, with the enemies preferring to spread themselves out rather than attacking together.

The strengths and weaknesses of both armies are pretty clear. Zomboss has the edge in size, versatility, and sustainability while Cortex has the edge in intelligence.  Not to beat a dead horse, but it is worth reiterating that Zomboss’ forces on average will be far stronger given their consistently higher stats. In the interest of not spending another five pages going over each individual unit both have, I will just address the big question on everyone’s mind.

Could Cortex and his units develop some big brain strategy to turn the tables on Zomboss?

There are a lot of variables to consider here. After all, Cortex and his team of evil geniuses are very skilled at coming up with crazy plans. Maybe they could buy time to construct some super weapon that would perfectly counter the zombies. Maybe they could reverse engineer some of Zomboss’ tech to amplify themselves to match the power of the zombies. Maybe N Tropy could use his mastery of time travel to devise a brilliant plan to stop Zomboss.  For this group of geniuses, there are seemingly no ends to what they could accomplish. Compare all of this to Zomboss’ far dumber army and could this be enough to finally turn the tables?

Probably not. While I do not deny that Cortex’s team is incredible and much better strategists overall, there is only so much they can do against Zomboss. With his far more powerful and numerous zombies, buying time is not a liberty Cortex really has. Besides, keeping his best scientists in protection to devise the perfect plan comes at the cost of keeping them off the battlefield. These are some of his greatest units that would be unable to fight because they are busy strategizing, which would only give them less time before the zombies completely overrun them.  

Readers of the PVZ comics might protest that Zomboss and his forces are routinely defeated by outsmarting them in those stories. However, the comics are nowhere near Zomboss at his best. Those stories take place before his complete domination of time and massive growth in power that we see in the Garden Warfare games and PVZ Heroes. Plus, he is often defeated in large part because of the plants, who are consistently stronger than anything in the Crash Bandicoot universe.

But what about N. Tropy? Surely this master of time travel and cunning manipulator could use his incredible abilities and genius to find a way to beat the more naive Zomboss. Except Zomboss is also a master of time travel, arguably to a greater extent than even N. Tropy. He can traverse time at will through any of his zombots and has contacted future versions of himself to gain advantages. N. Tropy might be brilliant but he still ultimately loses to Crash Bandicoot and his friends which means he is not capable of devising a perfect plan in any scenario.

But if you still have any doubts and believe that team Cortex could work something out to win the day, I have one more piece of evidence for you. The gnomes. These masters of time travel and benders of the universe are truly incredible. Their civilization’s hyper advanced technology allows them to do seemingly anything. They are brilliant scientists and engineers that manipulate all of time and space to their liking for even the most trivial of things. And even they could not stop Zomboss’ invasion. This incredibly advanced society, with technology beyond anything Cortex or his crew have ever seen, was still demolished by the Mecha Cat. This was not a surprise attack either, the gnomes knew they were coming before Earth even formed. But with all that time to prepare and all of their genius, even they could not stop Zomboss. If they couldn’t, what chance does Cortex have?

Conclusion

Alright, we are in the homestretch. If you are still reading all of this: 1. Thanks 2. Hi Ninjamonkey, I hope you know you are a giant nerd. Anyways, I believe I have made my stance on this fight pretty clear. When you put everything together Zomboss just has too many advantages for Cortex to reliably win this. 

Sure there are many possibilities. Maybe Cortex could use the Planetary Minimizer to gain a power advantage. Maybe the Hero-Tron 5000 would explode and power up Cortex’s units enough to give them a fighting chance. Maybe Cortex will devise that he needs burping frogs to shut down Zomboss’ time travel. All of these could happen, but they are not likely.

Compare these to Zomboss’ options. He could rush his zombie hordes through Cortex’s army, sustaining minimal losses and destroying everything Cortex has. He could send in his zombots and hero zombies to just lay waste to Cortex’s mechs and kill him immediately. He could even just destroy the planet and move onto a new galaxy. And he can do all of this without ever having to even step foot on the battlefield.  

By the way, if anyone thinks it is unfair to give Zomboss all of this stuff at once, it is actually far more reasonable than giving Cortex all of his stuff. Zomboss realistically should be able to access this at any time given Project Paradox and how big his empire has grown by the time of PVZ Heroes. Cortex however has never had all of this equipment and all of these units at once and much of it is spread across different timelines. So even when you give Cortex every benefit of the doubt (all of his equipment, all of his units, Skylanders scaling, etc.) he STILL would get overwhelmed by Zomboss.

In conclusion, if these two big Brainzzz were to Crash, then Zomboss would get himself a delicious meal of cerebral Cortex.

Spidey

Hola!

Man it’s been 2 months before we finished the blog huh? Well that really be like that sometimes. But now it’s time to settle this once and for all.

Stats

Both have a lot of good feats and scaling but Cortex falls out in a lot of areas. Sure he can fight Crash who can survive his spaceship crashing (two crashes in a row ha ha) around in the megatons but Zomboss took an explosion that can be seen from space. Elementals can cause ice ages and can destroy mountains and cities which is impressive but stronger zombies can survive a planet bust from riding a meteorite.While you can argue giving Cortex multipliers with mutagen, it still wouldn’t do much since Zomboss’s other crazy scaling such as the planet busting meteorite would still get above him. Zomboss also takes speed pretty easily. While Cortex can scale to some mhs+ to potentially lightspeed biz like Crash reacting to N gin’s lasers and he himself dodging Madame’s lighting bolts, that pales in comparison to Super Brainz punching Super Bean to the planet earth in two seconds. While you can potentially argue MFTL+ Cortex via racing Emperor Velo in a “Galaxy spanning tournament,” Zomboss’s army also can reach around the same speed in that leeway plus that “galaxy spanning” feat could be a hyperbole since we don’t know if it even means traveling the galaxy. So it seems like Cortex is gonna lose in this area BUT there is one way Cortex can turn the tides.

Skylanders scaling! But does Cortex scale?

This one is a little bit debatable but personally no. Yes Crash has a loose canon but that does not mean every single game/movie/tv shows he appeared in is canon. And this is an example of why crossover scaling can sometimes not work at all. It’s like scaling Spongebob to Mawgu who can potentially destroy the Nicktoons multiverse or Sonic scaling to Mario because they have race or boxed with each other before or Crash and Spyro scaling to each other because they appeared in Skylanders and purple and orange. Because at the end of the day, unless it’s confirmed to be canon in any way, it’s still a crossover. Even if we give Cortex uni scaling Zomboss also can scale to plants such as plasma pea which can shoot out peas that can contain universes and the gnomes who can fart out black holes and can hold time and space together. So even if you give Cortex Skylanders scaling he won’t be able to pull through without giving his opponent the same leeway.

Point goes to Zomboss

                                                               Weapons/Mech

This one is pretty close. In a one on one fight without suits,  Cortex definitely has an advantage since Zomboss rarely fights without suits. He has a lot of offensive and defensive weapons such as his versatile ray gun which can paralyze and incinerate foes and he can create force fields. He also has his hover board which gives him mobility while Zomboss mainly relies on his army, mechs or prep in fights and while yes he may have some offensive options such as heat ray and laser gun, they are really nothing to write home about, just regular guns. But since we are including them here since this is an army fight. It’s pretty close with both of them having options to wipe out each team with Hero-Tron and W.O.M.P, both of them have methods of time travel, and both of them have methods to create their armies back. But the one thing that barely gives Zomboss the advantage is his biggest mech, the Mecha-Cat, which can fight off the gnomes that can hold space and time together. While Cortex can potentially shrink them down to a penny, there are a few downsides.

1: shrinking the planet can potentially affect his team

2: Since Zomboss and his zombies are around FTL they can dodge it 

Overall this is very close but imo Zomboss edges out barely with his the Mecha-cat tho you can argue it being 50/50

                                                                

Units

Another close one with both of them adding each enemy into the battlefield but it's a bit more clear cut and ultimately I have to give it to  Zomboss. Cortex’s armies may be smarter and more experienced but the downside is a lot of Cortex’s army lacks versatility (Tiny Tiger , Pinstripe, the Komodo bros, majority of the lab assistants, etc). The only impressive ones in the army with versatility and are a threat are Nina Cortex, the masks, N Tropy, Dingodile, Grimly, N Gin and the Doctor himself, which isn’t looking good for ya if your team is fighting a horde of zombies with plenty of mobility, great AOE guns, long ranged options and zombies that can bfr you with a punch. Worst part on Cortex’s end is that there are a lot of zombies that are capable of doing these things, can fly around MFTL mechs, and have stat advantages. Also Zomboss can always just send out more without even being there and just play Call of duty in his lab while Cortex’s heavy hitters only have Uka Uka, N Tropy, and N Gin helping them. While the W.O.M.P’s hypnotism can affect Zomboss’ team it could only affect the weaker side of it. Even then Zomboss can just summon more and with that huge stat advantage N Gin could only do so much until he gets one shotted. N Tropy also has some methods of hax and mobility and has a better chance with his time precog,  time travel, and dura neg but like with N Gin he can only fend off as many zombies as he can until inevitably he gets one shotted not to mention Zomboss also has time travel options so that option is a mute. Grimly a mutant can slow down time but the downside is it can also affect his team and since the zombies are about 100x stronger than him his punches are literally :Standing_Here: moment so he ain’t gonna do shit here. Cortex’s army may be very impressive and do have a few wincons but zomboss’s vast versatility numbers advantage and add the stat advantages gives him yet another point

Overall

In a one on one fight without any armies nor mechs Cortex may score a win with his vast majority of versatile weapons and mobility but in an all out army fight he lacks a chance to win here. Both may have methods of time travel, similar weapons and mechs and while Cortex’s army may be smarter and more experienced, Zomboss’ huge array of versatile units, stat advantages and more ways of ending the fight sends the N headed doctor away, looks like Cortex won’t have the brainz in this fight. (Terrible pun I know I suck at puns)

『shadow』

Hi!

This is the first G1^2 blog I’ve worked on, but I think this turned out really well! Apologies for the very big wait time, exams and a bunch of other stuff slowed down our work progress a ton. Anyways, both of these two are incredibly cunning scientists, but in my opinion, there’s a clear winner.

Stats

Like what others have said, Cortex is definitely no slouch in the stats department. The elementals could create ice ages, which would be 7.3 gigatons. Additionally, he should scale to Crash, who could dodge lasers and outpace N. Gin, who could move at speeds of Mach 1587.72. 

However, Zomboss is much, much greater in every department. He survived being at the epicenter of a massive explosion, which got to 1.5 petatons. This means that Zomboss can easily shred through all of Cortex’s mechs, and even Cortex himself with just his bare fists. And in terms of speed, Zomboss can react to the lightspeed lasers of Sunflowers, Laser Beans, and Citron. This isn’t even including the fact that the Gnomes could count to infinity, which would be infinite speed.

As for Skylanders, while it could technically be argued for, it’s still very dubious. Additionally honestly it wouldn’t help Cortex a lot anyways. The statement is very vague, and it’s just said to be a chain reaction that could destroy the universe. Anyways, if you argue equal leverage, Zomboss would scale to the Plasma Pea, who could effortlessly shoot out literal universes, which explode on contact. While this too isn’t super concrete, it’s absolutely enough to beat out Cortex anyways. 

Arsenal/Units

This is a bit more close, but in my opinion, Zomboss still triumphs. 

He’s got many more troops, the best of which can easily defeat Cortex’ best troops. For example, the Garden Warfare Troops, which there are tons of, all scale to Zomboss in terms of stats, and Super Brainz even outright has his own country-level feat. And, while N. Gin and N. Trance could hypothetically hypnotize/mind-control Zomboss’ troops, this would only affect the basic weaker zombies, since the Garden Warfare troops and Heroes can resist the effects of Hypno-Shroom. And even then, N. Gin’s WOMP is based on music, meaning Zomboss can recontrol his own troops by simply changing the music like in his bossfight in PvZ 2’s Neon Mixtape Tour. 

And the nail, or rather nails in the coffin are Boss Mode, Zombox, and Mecha Cat. Boss Mode allows Zomboss to control his troops and give orders from a massive blimp in the sky, while also letting him nuke his surroundings with huge AoE. This would effortlessly destroy most, if not all of Cortex’ main troops. Zombox is a remotely controlled computer that Zomboss can use to fight while being far away, giving him a huge advantage in being able to simply relax while the Zombox does everything for him. And finally, the Mecha Cat was created by Zomboss to fight the Gnomes, who can count to infinity, create black holes with their flatulance, and many other cosmic feats. This easily trumps all of Cortex’s units. 

In conclusion, while both of these mad geniuses are formidable foes, Zomboss’ superior stats, abilities, units, and versatility easily gives him the win. Looks like Zomboss will be eating some N. Sane Brainz after this fight.

Ultra27

Hello there, Ultra here

This the first G1^2 blog I’ve worked on as well as being a late addition to the team for this matchup. I’d like to apologize for this blog’s long waiting period, most of the team were dealing with holidays and the unsung “winter tests”. That aside, it’s time to find out which of these mad geniuses will come out on top as the true Brainciac Maniac.

Stats

Starting off with stats, while both possess certainly good ones, and Cortex’s scaling to Crash is pretty impressive; however, Zomboss has quite the advantage in this aspect. The Elementals, which are some of Cortex’s strongest units, with their claim of causing an ice age would get between Large Mountain-Island level, meanwhile Super Brains punching Laser Bean to Earth gets to Country. And that’s not the end of it, as the blast that the Hero-Tron 5000 created got to Continental, and Zomboss survived being at the epicenter of that explosion. So in the unlikely scenario that both doctors were to come into a physical confrontation, Cortex’s physical superiority wouldn’t help against an opponent that is tens of thousands times more durable than you. 

And all of this was without mentioning that ZOMBIES ON METEOR Z SURVIVED SPLITTING A PLANET IN TWO! Cortex can’t match that, not even if the sky itself aligned for him, which gets us to the next point.

SKYLANDERS, and why they won’t help Cortex at all. 

First of all, the validity of the Crash Bandicoot timeline is a deep rabbit hole I won’t dare approach, but the fact that it’s a problem right off the start whether it’s canon or not is certainly a bad sign. 

Secondly, even if we were to go with Crash Bandicoot being canon to SKYLANDERS and cross scaling to that verse, the “universal” statement is really vague, as the quote says “a chain reaction that could destroy the entire universe”, which doesn’t directly imply that the vehicle itself is responsible for the destruction of the universe. Theoretically speaking, a character that could create a sound so loud that they generate a black hole that destroys the entire universe wouldn’t be universal.

Finally, even if we blindly believed that this statement meant that Cortex had universal capabilities, not only does Zomboss match that, but arguably can surpass it, such as by scaling Zombies to the Plasma Pea that’s description of its peas is so specific over it containing Nebulas and millions of stars, or how about the Mecha-Cat defeating the gnomes capable of creating black holes with farts and contain time and space in their pockets. No matter what, Zomboss just outstats by a large margin even using their low ends.

Also, Speed is not an issue for both, as both scale to FTL feats and have incalculable statements of interstellar travel between galaxies in short periods of time, and there’s possible arguments for Zomboss being faster via scaling to the gnomes; but for the sake of debate, I’ll say they’re equal.

Arsenal and Units

Now for the real debate the audience’s been waiting for, their mechs, units and weaponry, since what good is a mad scientist without their countless one-off gadgets and troops?

For starters on their units, while both very powerful on their own, Cortex’s legion scientists and army of mutants might seem like threats on their own right, they pale in comparison to the versatility, power and sheer numbers advantage that the zombies have, as Project Paradox practically gives Zomboss an endless supply of zombies throughout all of time. Still, Neo’s allies are more competent than most of Edgar’s army with only a few exceptions like Mr. Stubbins and all the science zombies, but this time, quantity triumphs quality, although generally speaking their army is also superior in quality.

And as for their arsenal, Cortex possesses much more options if he were to encounter Zomboss face to face, such as his many methods of transportation as well as with offense and defense when close, even his Mutagen would grant him an increased physical. 

However, when looking back at all their weapons, there’s a noticeable gap in favor of Zomboss. Mainly coming from his many mechs he has at his disposal and being able to control them without putting himself at risk through the use of imps, Mr. Stubbins or The Zombox to pilot them, meanwhile Cortex can’t do anything like that and relies on his strongest allies piloting them and possibly getting themselves killed. Also, all of Zomboss’ mechs, aside from the very first one, have access to time travel technologies to summon even more zombies. 

And what about Cortex’s other weapons? The evolvo ray would be useful at turning Zomboss’ endless army against him, however it would only affect weaker zombies. The planet minimizer would help at destroying most of Zomboss’s army, however that’s assuming it gets to fire the shot in the first place, to which Zomboss counters by not only having stations on the moon, but his giant space magnet counters perfectly being able to likely attract it before it has any chance to fire. One last note, but I doubt that Cortex’s karts are going to play that much of a factor even if they have EMPs and abilities that would certainly help him like invincibility and invisibility, as all of the above have a limited time of usage and would only slow down the inevitable.

Miscellaneous

I’ll start covering some individual details over both that I felt I couldn’t rush over my analysis.

Zomboss’ Zombie Heroes have access to a huge variety of different cards with hundreds of unique effects and summons, some noteworthy ones I’d like to point out are:

• Meteor Z: Summons a meteor that boosts the attack of all zombies in that environment.

• Bad Moon Rising: Turns all zombies in the battlefield into Gargantuars.

• Ice Moon: An ice environment that freezes all opponents in it.

• Cone Zone: Opens a rift to another dimension that buffs the durability of all zombies in this environment.

• Teleportation Station: If a zombie is present in this environment, a new zombie will be teleported to here.

• Black Hole: Guess what?

All of these cards, and many more, could very well boost the already superior stats of the zombies; by the way, the Ice Moon environment could be mixed with the Colf Crystal and Chemical Cloud to lower the territory and units of Cortex. Even if Py-Ro tried keeping all of their troops warm, it would eventually tire itself out.

Following then, N. Tropy might be the “Master of Time'', but funnily enough, Zomboss possesses a much wider mastery over time with Project Paradox. And while N. Tropy is likely the best individual member Cortex has at his disposal with his abilities to slow down time, stop time, rewind it, precog, and an insta kill, there’s so much he can do until a single strong zombie gets the individual hit they need to kill him, and while he’s certainly one tough cookie to take down, he’s facing off against an endless army from all of time itself, and no matter how much he may try, eventually his time would run out.

And the final nail in the coffin I’d like to mention, is that Zomboss’ methods of obtaining more troops are much more reliable than Cortex’s ones, which relies on mutagen and the sound potency from the W.O.M.P converting weaker zombies to his side, but it pales in comparison to Zomboss summoning zombies from all of time, infecting Cortex’s organic units from a single bite, or the Zombie Heroes summoning more and more zombies as time goes on; and for the W.O.M.P in particular, it sure would be a shame if Zomboss had a mech that specialized in producing loud music that boosted the effects of its zombies.

Conclusion

For as much as I’d like to lie to everyone and say that this was close, it wasn’t; don’t get me wrong, Dr. Neo Cortex was a formidable opponent, but against Dr. Edgar Zomboss’ unlimited army of the undead with it’s incredible might, swiftness and sheer versatility coming from all of reality, I know this N’saniac won’t best this Braniac.

tmk final words 

This isn't really going to be a verdict as much as it is just me rambling about the g1^2 blog, though for the record I do agree Zomboss wins. Uni Cortex comes from a crossover and a single statement from a mobile game, none of which is substantiated by primary material and isn't really consistent. On that same coin however, I don't think I agree with universal PvZ either, but at that point Zomboss just outstats and carries a lot of important tertiary advantages. Even if Cortex was stronger, Zomboss has infinite speed and can't get tired. Cortex literally can't hit him and nothing is stopping Zomboss from transmutating him or whatever.

Anyways, sorry for the long wait. Currently we have two other blogs in process, Zorro vs Robin Hood and Minecraft vs Terraria, which will come out sometime. This match was voted on by the people in my G1^2 server in a poll, which I'll leave a link to here. I'm honestly kind of surprised by how much traction these blogs get, seeing people talk about it on vsbw and obd and that stuff is kind of bizarre. Thanks for checking out these blogs, originally I wanted to do this as a creative outlet but now I think it is a good way to get other people in the community a chance to work on things like these and put themselves out there. I was kind of hands off on this one, but I'll work more extensively in other blogs, when I have the time. I don't know how to end this, so… watch Better Call Saul.

Team Dr. Zomboss - TheoryCrafter, spidey, shadow, Ultra27

Team Dr. Neo Cortex - None