Zs'Skayr

Zs'Skayr (pronounced "Zuh Scare"), also known as Ghostfreak, was the Ectonurite High Ecto-Lord of Anur Phaetos and Anur Transyl in the Anur System. He was originally stuck in the form of Ghostfreak, but after time managed to gain control over it and escape the Omnitrix, becoming one of Ben Tennyson's most dangerous enemies.

Appearance
In the original series, Zs'Skayr's body is gray-purple and he has black nails. He also has lines on his chest which are also black. He has an upside-down head of light brown color, with only one eye.

In Alien Force, Zs'Skayr's body is now purple/blue and he has whiteish-grey nails. His spine is sticking out of his back. his tail is white with black strips and he has spikes on his elbows.

In Omniverse, Zs'Skayr turns his head right-side up. He has two eyes, one on his head and one on his chest. He resembles a traditional Grim Reaper. His second skin is now modified to look like the hood of the Grim Reaper. The Facet Joints on his back are larger and more curved. The skin on his arms now hang down, much like sleeves. His teeth also look more like human incisors instead of fangs.

Personality
Zs'Skayr has a twisted, arrogant and sadistic personality. Anyone whom he considers as inferior is either tormented for his amusement, or is manipulated and later destroyed once his/her usefulness has ended. Zs'Skayr is shown to be a careful and brilliant master planner. Similar to Aggregor, he tends to do the work by himself, though he does use minions such as Viktor, Crüjo, Kuphulu, Yenaldooshi, and The Mummy. He is also a backstabber, as seen when after he told Vilgax what he seeks and then tried to possess him and take over Vilgaxia. Like Malware, he has an obsession with the Omnitrix, (as he believes it will make him complete), as well as a powerful and deep hatred of Ben for getting in the way of his plans.

By the time of the Omniverse series, Zs'Skayr's personality hasn't changed, as his lust for power now drives him to regain his title as High Ecto-Lord of Anur Transyl and revive the Vladats.

Background
The original Zs'Skayr was once the High Ecto-Lord of Anur Phaetos. He learned about the Omnitrix from the data files of one of Vilgax's data probes, which crash-landed on his planet. Not long afterward, he met up with Myaxx while she was scouting the planet for DNA samples, offering his assistance in acquiring samples from the nearby planet of Flors Verdance.

Unbeknownst to Myaxx, Zs'Skayr possessed the Florauna that was being sampled, thereby adding Ectonurite DNA to the Omnitrix as well as Florauna DNA. Since an Ectonurite's consciousness exists even in a single strand of DNA, Zs'Skayr had effectively copied himself into the device. However, his personality remained dormant within the Omnitrix's DNA database for a long time.

Ben 10
Zs'Skayr's mind continued to lie dormant in the Omnitrix when it fell into Ben's possession, with his DNA allowing the young boy to transform into a form dubbed "Ghostfreak". He finally managed to force his way out of the Omnitrix in Ghostfreaked Out. he revealed his true form by ripping his protective skin, he tried to take over Ben's body in order to become whole again. After a failed attempt to possess Ben, he found the Circus Freak Trio (who Ben had been fighting mere minutes before freeing himself) and coerced them to help him by taking over Thumbskull and tossing him about like a ragdoll in the room the three of them were hiding in. He was defeated when he was exposed to sunlight by Ben, causing him to burst into flames. Following this experience, Ben was unable (and unwilling) to turn into Ghostfreak ever again. Zs'Skayr returned as the main antagonist of the third season. In The Return and Be Afraid of the Dark, he was revived by an alien scientist named Dr. Viktor, a Transylian from the Anur System, who had stolen material from Zs'Skayr's clock tower grave to re-animate his deceased master again. Gathering a group of horror-themed aliens as minions, Viktor enacted his plan to resurrect Zs'Skayr, who then planned to plunge the Earth into total darkness for him to control. Zs'Skayr himself was still intent on gaining control of the Omnitrix. Using Corrodium retrieved by the mummy alien in Under Wraps, they set up a Corrodium beam that would block out light from the sun, allowing Zs'Skayr to exist in eternal darkness. Although Zs'Skayr's plan succeeded, allowing him to reach his full potential, Dr. Viktor accidentally rammed Max into the projector during a dogfight, destroying it. In the end, Zs'Skayr is killed aboard a space shuttle, when Max opened the shuttle's roof and exposed him directly to the sun. Ben regained use of the Ghostfreak form during this time, but in his true form.

Alien Force
Zs'Skayr reappeared in Ghost Town. After being removed from the Codon Stream, Zs'Skayr had apparently been imprisoned by the Galvans. Vilgax frees him on the condition that he tell him the secrets of the Omnitrix and the knowledge to defeat Ben, but Zs'Skayr betrays him and takes over Vilgax's home planet of Vilgaxia, possessing the citizens and turning them into his minions that resemble his sun shielded form. Vilgax then enlists the help of Ben, Gwen and Kevin to try to take Vilgaxia back. During the battle, Ben lets Zs'Skayr enter his body, resampling the Ectonurite DNA. Ben transforms into Ghostfreak but the alien soon takes control of him and soon he tries to possess Vilgax, but is defeated by the light of Vilgax's sword and Ben changes back. He is now back in the Omnitrix.

He also appears in the episode Primus when Vilgax has a flashback about the time he freed Zs'Skayr for the secrets of the Omnitrix.

Omniverse
Zs'Skayr makes his return in Mystery, Incorporeal, being seen crawling out of the portal to Ledgerdomain. According to himself, Ben left him trapped there, and Darkstar opening the portal allowed him to escape. Derrick J. Wyatt states that after Ben destroyed/dispersed him in their last battle, Zs'Skayr used the magic of Ledgerdomain to reform himself there.

In Rad Monster Party, he along with Dr. Viktor, Kuphulu and Crüjo attempted to defeat Ben and his team, only to be defeated by NRG. His main objective was to regain his title as High Ecto-Lord.

In Charmed, I'm Sure, he has drained a large portion of energy from the Alpha Rune, that he has stolen from Charmcaster. Though he thinks it is completely powerless and is now useless, that is not the case.

In The Vampire Strikes Back, Zs'Skayr used the power he had drained from the Alpha Rune in order to resurrect Lord Transyl, and create a powerful servant in order to regain his title as High Ecto-Lord. This was against the objections of Dr. Viktor, who remembers how Lord Transyl's race had enslaved his people. Ultimately, Zs'Skayr's plan comes to naught as Viktor betrays him and he is once again burned to ashes. This time by Ben as Atomix while he is seemingly killed, Ben stated that he will return some day, so he leaves a light fusion orb called "Fusion Cuisine" in Zs'Castle Zs'Skayr so Zs'Skayr could not get in.

Powers and Abilities

 * Invisibility and Intangibility
 * Zs'Skayr has intangibility and invisibility (accompanied by an inverted color scheme and transparency).
 * Possession
 * Zs'Skayr can possess life forms and take full control over them. Additionally, he can also use whatever abilities his victim possesses after taking control.
 * Soul Consumption
 * Zs'Skayr can consume the souls of any being, living or dead.
 * Density Manipulation
 * Zs'Skayr can control his density, allowing his body to become either lighter or heavier.
 * Flight
 * Zs'Skayr can hover, float, or fly through the air.
 * Tentacles
 * Zs'Skayr can peel back his skin, which reveals his tentacles.
 * Energy Blast
 * Zs'Skayr can release a powerful blue (purple in the original series) energy beam, if his skin is peeled back.
 * Telekinesis
 * Zs'Skayr possesses powerful telekinetic abilities, the extent of which is still unknown.
 * Power Absorption
 * Once he has possessed someone, Zs'Skayr can absorb the powers of other living things, having already absorbed Ben's powers and planned to absorb Vilgax's as well.
 * Space Survivability
 * Zs'Skayr can withstand the vacuum of space and doesn't seem to need to breathe. In fact, the darkness of space gives Zs'Skayr the ability to use all of his powers at their fullest potential.
 * Transformation Inducement
 * Zs'Skayr is able to transform living creatures into Ectonurite minions (with the appearance of the sun-shielded Ghostfreak).
 * Personality-Implanted DNA
 * All members of his race have their personalities genetically-bonded to their DNA. A piece of DNA is all that is needed to re-create the same being entirely.
 * Zero Mana/Life-Force Energy
 * Since his race does not possess Mana/Life-Energy in the conventional sense, Zs'Skayr is immune to Darkstar's or a Vladat's life-energy absorption powers.
 * Skull Rotation
 * Zs'Skayr, like all Ectonurites can rotate his skull.
 * Second Skin
 * Like all Ectonurites, Zs'Skayr can create a second skin to protect himself from sunlight, however when it does not cover his whole body it is ineffective, as shown in The Vampire Strikes Back. In Omniverse, it has been modified to resemble a stereotypical Grim Reaper's hood.
 * Skilled Scythe User
 * Zs'Skayr can wield a scythe with great skill, as shown in Rad Monster Party.
 * Magical Abilities
 * Due to his experience in Ledgerdomain and absorbing the powers of the Alpha Rune, Zs'Skayr can perform magical feats, such as teleporting Charmcaster away to another location.

Weaknesses
Like all Ectonurites, Zs'Skayr is vulnerable to bright light without his outer skin and sunlight will burn him into ashes. However, if even a single strand of his DNA still exists, he can be resurrected. In Omniverse, his second skin was modified to look like a Grim Reaper's Hood, which affords him limited protection against light. Being exposed to NRG only greatly weakens him rather than kill him. However, it is ineffective against lights as bright as that produced by Atomix's "Fusion Cuisine." This weakness can be negated when he occupies a body that can handle sunlight.

Certain compounds and energy fields can neutralize Zs'Skayr's intangibility and invisibility powers.

Though he is able to fly, Zs'Skayr is not very fast in the air and mostly relies on his intangibility and invisibility to evade attacks.

Zs'Skayr's arrogance can make him underestimate his opponent. His extreme hatred of Ben in particular can make him reckless.

Zs'Skayr cannot merge with Ben while he is in one of his alien forms.

Though his intangibility is normally a useful form of defense, it is only effective when Zs'Skayr consciously activates it.

Ben 10

 * Ghostfreaked Out (first appearance)
 * The Return
 * Be Afraid of the Dark

Ben 10: Alien Force

 * Ghost Town (first re-appearance)
 * Primus (flashback)

Ben 10: Omniverse

 * Mystery, Incorporeal (first re-appearance; cameo)
 * Rad Monster Party
 * Charmed, I'm Sure
 * The Vampire Strikes Back
 * From Hedorium to Eternity (flashback)

Ben 10: Protector of Earth
Zs'Skayr appears as the main antagonist in the Midwest. He frees Vilgax from the Null Void and teams up with him to get revenge on Ben. He also possesses Hex and tries to use his powers to bring an army of his minions from the Anur Realm, but is stopped by Ben. He leaves Hex and then attacks Ben at Chicago. Ben manages to defeat him and then sends him into the Null Void with the help of Grandpa Max.

Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks
After Max sent the team to Anur Phaetos to retrieve the Energy core hidden there the group quickly discovers that Anur Phaetos isn't a planet in the technical sense but in fact a type of Alternate Dimension. Verdona Tennyson arrives and uses her powers to send the group to Anur Phaetos, accidentally splitting them up in the process.

Once there Ben is lured into a fight with Zs'Skayr who is revealed to be alive, in a sense. This doesn't stop Ben from defeating Zs'Skayr using his one weakness, light. Afterwards, Professor Paradox arrives and gets the group out of Anur Phaetos.

Ben 10: Galactic Racing
He is a playable character in the game.

Etymology
Zs'Skayr's name is a corruption of the word "scary". The way it's pronounced is like saying "the scare".

Trivia

 * In both the original series and Ben 10: Alien Force, no one called him Zs'Skayr - they only called him Ghostfreak.
 * He wasn't properly called Zs'Skayr until Rad Monster Party.
 * In Vilgax Attacks, Zs'Skayr implies that he is undead ("Alive? Interesting word choice.", "Ben 10, as I live and breathe... not!"). However, according to Derrick J. Wyatt, Zs'Skayr is a living being - the Ectonurite concept of "life" is just very different from most sentient life forms.
 * According to Derrick J. Wyatt,
 * Zs'Skayr's name was created by Tramm Wigzell.
 * The Ectonurite Twins are Zs'Skayr's nieces.
 * Ben finally learns Zs'Skayr's name in Rad Monster Party.
 * In the same episode, Zs'Skayr stated that he never answers to the name Ghostfreak and prefers to answer to his actual name.
 * Zs'Skayr is able to crack his head either upside down or the right side up, and is able to move his skin to make a hood. He also indicated in Rad Monster Party that it is more comfortable for him when his head is right side up. Though in Charmed, I'm Sure, he was seen rotating his head in a circle, without physically touching it.
 * Zs'Skayr is the first alien to leave the Omnitrx/Ultimatrix followed by Sugillite and the Sentient Ultimate Aliens.