Zant

Usurper King Zant, usurper to the title of Twilight King, was the ruler of the Twili race in the Twilight Realm during The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Using his powers, he invaded Hyrule and plagued it with matter called Twilight.

Origins
Zant was a candidate to become the Twilight King. However, he was passed over due to his lust for power and violent nature, and Midna, a female Twili, became the Twilight Princess. Zant was sent into a crazed rage. He was approached by the spirit of Ganondorf, sealed in the Twilight Realm after surviving his execution. He posed as a god to Zant, granting him powers, immortality, and a chance to take the Twilit Crown. It was after this incident that Zant started wearing a tall, metal helm that vaguely resembled a gecko (which, incidentally, could retract its mouth, and later, all of the helm) to symbolize his ascension to power. What Zant didn't know was that Ganondorf was just using him to escape imprisonment in the Twilight Realm.

Rise to power
Zant, choiceless about receiving Ganondorf's powers, nonetheless used them to usurp the throne. With his newfound powers, he placed a curse on Midna, which transformed her into an imp. With Midna out of the way, he usurped the throne and proclaimed himself King. Under the rule of Zant, the light of the Sols were sealed away, leaving the land susceptible to darkness. Zant crafted the Twili race into the race of Shadow Beasts, dark beings bent to his will.

Invasion
In conjunction with the remaining monsters of Ganondorf's army, Zant opened a portal to Hyrule and began a conquest of the land. After a series of conquests, Zant's army attacked Hyrule Castle. The Hylian Knights defending the Throne Room were defeated in the ensuing battle, and Princess Zelda was forced to give the throne to Zant, to save her people's lives.

He covered the provinces with Twilight, turning the inhabitants into spirits.

Death
Later in the game, Link successfully infiltrates the Twilight Palace in the Twilight Realm. Zant, the usurper king of all Twilight, then attempts to defeat Link in his throne room. He fails, speaking of his god and how he will revive him over and over. In this period, Zant loses his calm stature and is psychotic with the power to defeat Link. Midna, enraged, is temporarily overwhelmed by the Fused Shadows and her lock of hair splits into three giant spears which proceed to impale Zant before utterly destroying him.

His spirit observes the final boss fight of the game, where Link combats Ganondorf. After the final battle, Ganondorf's Triforce of Power abandons him, and as he dies, he sees Zant's spirit, who then proceeds to snap his ghastly neck at the moment of Ganondorf's apparent death.

(Note: It may be that, since Ganondorf's Triforce of Power left him after the match, the fact that he had put his power in Zant was all that kept him alive, as he still had some power somewhere other than the Triforce's. However, since Zant snapped his own neck after the final battle, the power was lost and Ganondorf died.)

Character
For the most part in the game, Zant is calm, cool and aloof. He's apparently a master tactician, conquering all of Hyrule in the blink of an eye. He stands up straight, and has a cold, sinister voice. But when confronted with the face of defeat, he acts incredibly disturbed, and somewhat psychotic. His voice also changes to a much higher pitch. In combat, he fluctuates between these two voices quickly, as well as the mannerisms involved with each.

When on an insane tangent he can be seen constantly screeching and hopping up and down in battle as well as twisting his body, bending over backwards, hitting his head against the floor, spinning around on one foot like a top and displaying an overall erratic and awkward movement as if insane, as well as doing things such as summoning large versions of his helmet, which he will come out of from the mouthpiece. Whenever Zant appears, a strange chime will accompany him, and during his fight, five different music tracks play, one for each stage of his fight.

Abilities
Zant possesses a wide array of magical abilities from the start of the game. These include the creation of Shadow Beasts, teleportation, and telekinisis. Indeed, Zant showed the ability to defeat one of the sacred spirits and humiliate Midna without even raising his arms. He also showed the ability to corrupt areas with Twilight.

In battle Zant can float and even swim freely through the air or water. He can also manipulate the room he currently stands in, including creating giant versions of his own helmet and making himself change in size. His primary attack comes in the form of various energy balls he fires. Later in the fight, Zant utilizes two cleaver-like blades he flails and hacks manically with, including a high-speed spinning attack. Another skill is his dumbfounding level of flexibility.

Trivia
At the end of the battle with Zant, while in his death throws and before teleporting back to the Palace of Twilight, Zant seems to say "Stupid N&*$#!". The reason this, of all things, is in the game is unknown but it could have been a bad joke on the voice actor's part that no one noticed before the game's release.

Zant