Jérôme, Champignac's policeman, is the only remaining zorglman since the previous album events. He then proceeds to paralyze the whole village. After the Count, Fantasio and Spirou stopped him, they go to Palombia to stop Zorglub as well, as the latter uses his zorglwaves with disastrous effects for the local economy.
Tropes associated with this story include:
- Gas Siphoning: Zorglub flies his group of Zorglcopters from Champignac to Palombia over the Atlantic Ocean. As the copters do not have enough fuel for a non-stop flight, he mind-controls the crew of a United States Navy carrier and steals theirs.
- The Man Behind the Man: Zantafio was engaged by Zorglub, and he uses the confusion generated by his waves to commit hold ups, his ultimate goal being become the dictator of Palombia again.
- Power Perversion Potential: Fantasio uses the Count's own version of the Zorglwave to get some kisses (on the forehead) from a cute air hostess, to the bafflement of Spirou and the Count, and the envy of Spip.
- Spoiler Cover: Although subtle, the cover of Shadow of the Z contains a big clue as to who the Big Bad really is: the shadow behind Zorglub is shaped like Zantafio's emblem when he was ruling Palombia.
