have you ever just looked at Zane’s design and his overall characterization beyond being the goofy drunk irishman? the things he DOESN’T say are almost as interesting as the zany things (ahem) that come out of our favorite operative’s mouth:
his jacket's probably something of his own design, and has what looks to be armor plating lining it (especially around the neck and upper chest; gotta protect your vital areas!) and mesh lining for ventilation around his arms--just a cool detail
the little digistructor (at least I think it is?) mounted on his shoulder for the drone is also armored and heavily padded, because this guy takes good care of his little bud
wouldn't be surprised if that bodysuit he wears under his shirt is something he kept from his black-op days or stole when he was an active operative
said bodysuit also looks reinforced behind the neck and on the shoulders
between the armor in his jacket collar and the armor on the bodysuit, his neck is stupidly well-protected from things like attacks and explosions from behind, because he needs to be prepared for anything at any time
the bodysuit design actually reminds me a lot of the various sneaking suits in the Metal Gear series, where some provide physical augmentation (ie, synthetic muscle tissue), exert pressure to control bleeding from injuries, etc on top of just acting as armor
let's not forget those dope trigger-finger gloves, with the textured tips on the fingers for extra grip, the thinner perforated material over most of the palm for ease of flexing the hand (which also looks well-worn and even has cracking in the texture if you look closely), and the padding on the lower part of the palm because having a very secure grip on a gun is nice
so I'm REALLY reaching a bit here, but you ever wonder about that gun holster on his hip? I mean everyone and their mother has a holster for their shit, but Zane has that nifty high-tech looking one that rivals that of Jack and Lorelei... AND they're all connected to high-tech companies (Hyperion and Atlas respectively). kind of makes you wonder where and how he acquired his gear in general; did he steal these things? keep them from his jobs? get designs for them and/or make them himself otherwise? maybe buy them with the decent amount of money he probably has?
have you SEEN this guy's reflexes, perception, and PHYSICAL STRENGTH? he's obviously not young anymore and past his physical prime--WHEW geEEeeEz and all--but he friggin manhandles a bandit and throws him clean out a window in the opening cinematic, effortlessly tosses a guy into a dumpster in his character trailer, manages to get a guy that’s twice his size and bulk off the edge of the cliff in the same trailer, doesn't even turn around to acknowledge the big mofos coming behind him in the Let's Make Some Mayhem and We Are Mayhem trailers before swapping places with his clone, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...
in the E3 We Are Mayhem trailer, he manages to deploy his drone, quickly swap between two guns, deploy/trade places with his clone, AND kill 5 mechs ALL in the span of FIVE SECONDS (with an extra backstab on the last guy to boot), with extremely precise and controlled movements; i personally think this is probably one of the best demonstrations of the fact that this is a guy who had black-ops/military training on top of having just killed countless people over the last few decades
and sure, maybe that earpiece might enhance his hearing or some crap and you can probably hear those big guys coming from a mile away but STILL!
I’m not gonna touch the Happy Together trailer because that is clearly an acid trip, but if he actually IS shooting guys without even looking at them WHILE DANCING........ I mean jesus christ, no wonder he’s so deadly
"flamboyant spy man" SHOULD be one of his middle names, given his dramatic hands-behind-his-back pose in the opening movie, his chin-on-hand main menu pose, and that James Bond-y pose he has in the character selection menu
now I'm not saying bandits are thirsty for Zane, but I find it hilarious that they're constantly babbling about how THE GEEZER is good-looking (pretty boy!) to the point of even asking what the hell he uses to look so good (the answer is NOTHING of course, he just looks that good), and most of the lower-tier bandits are probably in their 20s and up or something lmao
as far as family resemblances go, Zane and Baron share pretty similar hairlines (AND SIDEBURNS MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL), facial structure (them cheekbones), the squinty-eye deal, and that default stern, perma-grump facial expression (or “sour disposition” as Zane’s in-game description calls it)
AND BONUS SHIT: he has the wildest little ECHO animation of the VHs when you use the Quick Change station, with him swapping to a full length cloak and his wanderer head (the rice hat with a full gas mask) while everyone else gets slightly less dramatic clothing swaps. because even the friggin little pixel animations for him have to be fun!
Bit of a digression, but I always found it funny how his enemies poke fun at him for being old--I personally imagine him to be probably in his 40s at the youngest--when he isn’t super old by most measures (ffs, full head of hair, not a hint of a receding hairline, and still has color in his hair... friggin Wainwright looks comparatively ancient), BUT!
we know he’s 1) a guy who’s probably been in active combat most of his life and we know life tends not to be long for people like him, and 2) actively being hunted down with at least 36 bounties on his head based off his on-down dialogue
the probability of him managing to live long isn’t all that great, and it’s kind of interesting to think about why bandits call him an old guy: he IS an old guy by virtue of life being short in the galaxy, especially for someone still in the fight
I mean most of the older people we see in the BL universe are usually either civilians or people who’ve been out of combat for a while, like Mr. Blake, Dr. Zed, Crazy Earl, etc
Zane’s pretty much a unicorn in the BL universe, and i for one think his longevity is a testament to his skills and ability to survive (with help from Lady Luck of course); even he’s not sure how he’s managed to live as long as he has in another of his cripple quotes
just so you get an idea of how long this guy has stayed alive, he’s outlived older brothers Baron and Captain by 12 (5 years between BL1 /BL2 plus 7 years between BL2/BL3) and and 7 years (from BL2/BL3) respectively
ANYWAYS YEAH, Zane is just a really interesting character both upfront and when you read between the lines, I dunno how you guys feel hahah
in other news, i’m actually going back in for my second playthrough to collect all them tasty Zane deets i missed the first time around and making my way through the DLC... stay tuned for more Zane ramblings!
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