Characters / The Mysterious Cities of Gold

The Heroes

Esteban

Voiced in Japanese by: Masako Nozawa (Season 1)
Voiced in English by: Shiraz Adam (Season 1)
Voiced in French by: Jackie Berger (Season 1), Audrey Pic (Season 2 and beyond)

Twelve year old Esteban was brought up as an orphan in Barcelona by Father Rodriguez, dean of the cathedral. When his guardian dies, he meets Mendoza, the man who claims to have saved him when he was a baby. Mendoza claims that his father might be still alive somewhere in the New World. Esteban leaves with Mendoza to try to find his father there. Esteban is brave and fiercely loyal to his friends, but he is also impulsive and is hampered by his fear of heights

He is known as the Child of the Sun for uncanny ability to make the sun come out. He wears a mysterious medallion, which Mendoza believes holds the key to the cities of gold. But Esteban is only interested in find his father, and has no lust for gold.

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• Ace Pilot: He quickly becomes the pilot of the Grand Condor. His aerial maneuvers against the Olmec flying machine show his true talents.

• Animal Motifs: Esteban is most frequently associated with butterflies.
• Atlantis: Is one of the last surviving Atlanteans
• Cue the Sun: Has the mysterious ability to bring the sun from behind the clouds.
• The Chosen One: Being the Child of the Sun and all.
• Determinator: Swam between two islands while trying to rescue Zia, a feat that impresses both Tao and Mendoza.
• The Hero: The main character of the series whose actions are always heroic and morally good.

• Idiot Hair: Eight of them. (Or seven, depending on the animation)
• Indy Ploy: Esteban always rush forward into action in contrast to Tao who always comes up with a plan.
• Leitmotif: Found here
• Limited Wardrobe: Justified early in the series.
• Missing Mom: It's implied that his mother was an Incan priestess who was sacrificed to appease the god of the sun after it disappeared, while Esteban and his father were exiled.
• Morality Pet: For Mendoza.
• Mysterious Parent: Both of them, actually. His mother is implied to be an Incan high priestess and his father is a man who came from "across the western ocean". It's revealed in season 2 that his father is of Atlantean descent.

• Parental Abandonment: Not by choice. His father was washed away in a storm And was stricken with radiation poisoning and believed to be dead at the end of the first season.
• The Power of the Sun: Can summon the sun.
• 10-Minute Retirement: In the second season, Esteban finally asks Mendoza about his father's fate. Mendoza admits that the High Priest was indeed his father. With his father dead, Esteban has no other reason to pursue the other Cities of Gold. He abandons his friends to return to the monastery and even considers getting himself adopted by a foster family. He gives his medallion to Tao, so that the others can continue their quest. However, he changes his mind when he learns that his sun medallion has turned black in Tao's hands and therefore, can only be worn by him.
• The Quest: His initial goal is to find his parents in the New World. With his father dead or so it seems, he changes his goal to discovering why he was chosen to wear the sun medallion.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Suffered from a terrible fear of heights due to being hoisted above Barcelona on a regular basis since he was a baby. It was mostly cured after he obtained the Condor, but season two shows that he sometimes has relapses. Episodes 14 to 16 of season 4 are especially bad for him on that front, starting with manœuvers on cliffsides battered by very strong winds and culminating in having to cross a deep chasm on an invisible bridge.

Zia

Voiced in Japanese by: Rei Sakuma (Season 1)
Voiced in English by: Janice Chaikelson (Season 1)
Voiced in French by: Isabelle Ganz (Season 1), Adeline Chetail (Season 2 and beyond)

A young Inca girl who was kidnapped by the Spanish and taken to the royal court as a gift to the Princess Marguerita. She is 11 years old when she meets Esteban aboard the Esperanza, and they soon find out they wear similar medallions and are both looking for their fathers.

Quiet and shy, Zia nevertheless develops a close relationship with Esteban and is much more suspicious of Mendoza's motives than her friend. And by refusing Pizarro's order to read the golden quipu, which reveals the secrets of the cities of gold, she demonstrates immense bravery.

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• Character Development: In season 2, Zia receives a good dose of this. While she's not an Action Girl, she no longer shy and is much more confident and courageous. She becomes more trustful to Mendoza, Pedro and Sancho and begin to care for them.
• The Chosen One: Season 2 revealed that along with Esteban, she's destined to find the Cities of Gold since she also has a sun medaillon.
• Damsel in Distress: Very prone to getting captured, more than others anyway.
  • Bound and Gagged: How Esteban found her the first time.
• Disappeared Dad: Zia was kidnapped at young age and was separated from her father. In a cruel twist of fate, she traveled and stayed in the same village where his father had found refuge after his daughter disappeared. Both of them were unaware of each others presence. By the time she found out, he was struck down by an Olmec's arrow. He dies a few hours later.
• Dishing Out Dirt: As revealed in season three, Zia has powers of her own. She can move stones, sense earthquakes, and talk to animals.
• Friend to All Living Things:
  • In season 2, Zia seem to have develop an affinity toward animals. She easily befriend Yang-Yang, a panda. Later, She tamed and calmed a wild horse while Gurban couldn't (Gurban is a Mongul and spent his whole life taming horses.) Zia also calmed a very large dog and a ferocious tiger.
  • This was foreshadowed in season 1 a few times when animals seemed to understand what Zia said. Esteban would usually point out how odd it was.
• Hime Cut; She has long dark hair.
• Leitmotif: Found here
• Limited Wardrobe: Zia wore the same clothes throughout the series. A flashback showed her with a different set of clothes however. She briefly wore winter clothes in Season 2, since she was going in the Himalayan mountains.
• Missing Mom: We never saw her mother.

• Shrinking Violet: She's shy, although she starts to warm up to people around her in the second season.
• The Heart: She's the voice of reason between the brash Esteban and the more cautious Tao, and often ends up solving their arguments or smoothing things over.
• The Medic: Begins to train as one at the Shaolin Monastary. Her skills save Esteban from a scorpion sting.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: Has been shown to understand animals to an incredible degree, from her pet Condor to a wild Mongol horse.
• Spider-Sense: She can sense earthquakes before they happen.
• The Smurfette Principle: The only major female character.
• The Quest: Once back in South America, her goal is to find her father. Unfortunately, it ended on a sour note.
• Unkempt Beauty: Whatever environmental hazard Zia has to go through, she remains pretty as ever.

Tao

Voiced in Japaneseby: Junko Hori (Season 1)
Voiced in English by: Adrian Knight (Season 1)
Voiced in French by: Odile Schmitt (Season 1), Caroline Mozzone (Season 2 and beyond)

Tao is a thirteen-year-old who is the last surviving descendant of technologically-advanced Hiva (Mu) empire, which sank beneath the waves thousands of years ago.

When Esteban and Zia find him, he is living alone on an island, in a large treehouse, with only his pet parrot for company. He is very intelligent and is so proud of his heritage that he can often appear haughty.

Although he is clumsy, he comes up with ingenious inventions which get his friends out of a number of tight spots. He carries an encyclopedia containing all the knowledge of the Hiva people and a mysterious golden jar, whose importance only becomes apparent much later.

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• Ambiguously Brown: While geographically he could be seen as a Pacific Islander or an Inca, his features are more evocative of Maghrebine/African people. As the last of the Hevans, he is probably from a different ethnicity altogether.
• Broken Pedestal: Tao consider Ambrosius his greatest idol, the only adult who respected him and treated him well. When it's revealed that Ambrosius and Zares are one and the same, he feels terribly betrayed and ashamed for defending him.
• Cultural Posturing: Holds his ancestors in VERY high regard because of their highly advanced technology, thinking them to be superior to other civilizations.
• Fantastic Racism: Gets a temporary case of this towards Esteban when he learns that his friend is an Atlantean
• Gadgeteer Genius: Tao's is always the one that comes up with an inventive solution to the gang's problems.
• Great Big Book of Everything: His encyclopedia is filled all manner of information regarding his people's technology.
• Hates Baths: As revealed in episode 13 of season one, he's not too keen on the idea of taking a bath. Esteban ends up having to drag him off-screen just to get him to wash up.
• Idiot Hair: Has four thin strands of 'em.
• Insufferable Genius: Has elements of this. Though not a total jerk, he can come off as snarky and prideful when anything having to do with his people comes into play.

• Last of His Kind: Tao is the last of his people. When the gang meet him, he lives all alone in his empty island.
• Leitmotif: Found here
• Limited Wardrobe: Tao wears the same clothes as he did throughout the series. He briefly wore winter clothes in Season 2, when heading for the second City of Gold.

• Parental Abandonment: Tao's parents were gone by the time the gang meet him.
• Proud Scholar Race Guy: Can and will go on and on about his people the Mu (Hiva) and their accomplishments.
• Shorter Means Smarter: Is the smallest of the gang in season one.

Kokapetl

Voiced in English by: Vlasta Vrana (Season 1)
Voiced in French by: Hubert Noël (Season 1), Martial Le Minoux (Season 2 and beyond)

Tao's parrot. He is quite intelligent and capable of limited speech.

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• Amplified Animal Aptitude
• Cute, but Cacophonic: Especially in the sequel series.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Believe or not, Kokapetl saved the children by plunging into Zares' hood and pecking his face.
• Team Pet: Though he officially belongs to Tao.

Mendoza

Voiced in Japanese by: Isao Sasaki (Season 1)
Voiced in English by: Howard Ryshpan (Season 1)
Voiced in French by: Jean-Claude Balard (Season 1), Bruno Magne (Season 2 and beyond)

Mendoza is a Spanish navigator who was a part of Magellan's expedition. He is able to read the stars and especially skilled at negotiating the fierce Straits of Magellan. He jumped into that sea to save the baby Esteban after he and his father were caught up in a storm. He has the sun part of Esteban's medallion and keeps it to ensure he stays close.

When he sets off on his adventure, wealth is all that interests him, and he see the children merely as a means to an end to find the cities of gold. However, he eventually becomes fond of them and starts putting their interests ahead of his own.

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• Anti-Hero: He does questionable actions like flooding a village to steal their gems and gold or gaining people's trust to only further his agenda. However, he does have a sense of honor and is not outright evil.
• Badass Cape: Mendoza wears a cape and is by far the most competent fighter of the gang.
• Character Development: See the children as pawns to get to the Cities of Gold, but he eventually get attached to them.
• Competence Zone: While a Hypercompetent Sidekick, he tends to be really bad at avoiding the traps left by precusors and solving their riddles (which is the bulk of the plot), something the kids are far better than him at. He grows to recognize this and leaves that up to them.
• Dating Catwoman: Mendoza has an attraction toward LaGuerra.
• Dramatic Wind: So his cape can flow in the wind.

• Fake Defector: He pretended leaving the children to team up with Gomez and Gaspard. This was just a ploy to steal their cannon and black powder which he delivered to the Incas.
• Gold Fever: Like all the Conquistadors, he's in the New World to find gold and will no settle for anything less than a whole city of it.
• Guile Hero: Being the oldest and most experienced member of the gang, Mendoza is the one who does the talking and leads the group.
  • Subverted in that he's also a master swordsman, and he's not afraid to show it.
• Herald: He's the one who set Esteban on the quest to find his father.
• Historical In-Joke
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: He's easily the most competent fighter in season 1, holding his own against entire squads of Olmecs and Spaniards, and rarely takes an injury. He's also the only level-headed adult in the group (which isn't hard when you consider Sancho and Pancho are dumber than rocks), and both a famously skilled navigator, knowledgeable about survival, a cunning strategist and quick thinker. He's half the reasons the three kids survive season 1. As part of his character development he seems to become aware of his sidekick status, becoming far more invested in helping the children and protecting them than his own goal of becoming rich.
• Last-Name Basis: Season 3 reveals his full name: Juan Carlos Mendoza
• Limited Wardrobe: He hasn't changed his clothes since the beginning of the series.

• Master Swordsman: Mendoza is very good with the sword. Later seasons ramp this up to eleven.
• Older Sidekick: He is the oldest member of the main characters while Esteban is the hero.
• Papa Wolf: Do not harm the children or Mendoza will kick your ass.

• Trickster Mentor
• What the Hell, Hero?: After Zia's father revealed the location of the Cities of Gold, he dies from his injuries. Mendoza's first action is to calculate the Cities position. Esteban and Tao call him out for being insensitive to Zia and Myeena. Realizing this, he decides that their next course of action is to help the Mayans fight against the Olmecs.
• Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Mendoza refuse to fight LaGuerra because she is a woman. When she calls him a coward for doing this, he feels insulted and all bets are off.
  • That said, he had no qualms in kicking some Amazon butt in season 1.

Sancho and Pedro

Voiced in Japanese by: Takeshi Aono (Sancho, season 1), Kanera Kimotsuki (Pedro, season 1)
Voiced in English by: Terrence Labrosse (Sancho, season 1), Michael Rudder (Pedro, season 1)
Voiced in French by: Francis Lax (Sancho, season 1), Jacques Ferrière (Pedro, season 1), Jérémy Prevost (Both, season 2 and beyond)

Sidekicks to Mendoza, obsessed with finding gold (the mention of which makes them rather manic). Their role is strictly comic relief, as they prove to be klutzes and generally lacking in almost any skill.

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• Butt-Monkey: They serve as comic relief and are the butt-end of pranks, jokes and slapstick.
• Changed My Mind, Kid: In season 3, with the emeralds they received, the duo want open a tavern and start a new life back in Spain. They say that their adventures were unrewarding and working for Mendoza wasn't always pleasant. Then, they started to miss Mendoza and the kids and went back to find them.
• The Determinator: When separated from Mendoza and the children, they left their ship and trekked into the desert with only vague directions where to find them. They eventually do, although with a bit of luck.
• Fat and Skinny: Pedro is skinny one, while Sancho is the fat one.
• Gold Fever: Like the rest of the Spaniards, all they care is gold and they can't get enough of it.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: When forced to fight they actually account for themselves pretty decently.
• Limited Wardrobe: The pair never had any other clothes but their sailor grabs.
• The Load: They do have one useful talent that prevents them from sinking to Millstone-level incompetence — they give the villains somebody else to aim at.
• Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds: They have a nasty habit of setting off obvious traps that cause the buildings they're standing in to self-destruct.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Sancho kept a crown from one of the City of Gold. Ambrosius take it and through research, he realized it can mentally control any form of Orichalcum. He then create black suns, which are essentially Attack Drone that shoot sunbeams.
• Obsessed with Food: In season 2, they start craving for food as part of their Plucky Comic Relief act. It's dropped in season 3.
• Older Sidekick: They are older than the Esteban, Zia and Tao, the main characters.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Their only purpose is to make the audience laugh and it get amplified in later seasons.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Decide this on a fairly regular basis, particularly toward the end of the series. Mendoza slaps 'em back into line fairly easily.
• Those Two Guys: They're always seen together.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After the India Story Arc, some small children gave bits of emeralds. They burst down crying because this is the first time someone ever gave them anything and they are finally rewarded after so many failures at securing valuables since season 1.
• Verbal Tic: Sancho has a massive stutter that makes him occasionally sound like Porky Pig.

The Prophet Traveler

Voiced in French by: Robert Party(Season 1), Martial Le Minoux (Season 2 and beyond)

The mysterious guardian of th first City of Gold. Very wise, he provide much exposition regarding the history of the Cities of gold.

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• Cool Mask: He wears a golden mask that conceal a portion of his face, except for his lower jaw. His new leather mask is far from cool however. It's to keep his radiation from spreading.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": His real name is unrevealed. At least until the later seasons. His name is revealed to be Athanaos.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Esteban's father, who dies in his attempt to prevent a Phlebotinum Overload that could threaten the entire world. According to Word of God, he somehow survives and meets Esteban again. We'll count it: onscreen he's (literally) toast.
• High Priest: He lead a cast of priests that guard the City of Gold. In reality, he's not the true high priest. He only took the position to await the return of his son Esteban.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: When they meet, the Prophet Traveler never revealed to Esteban he was his father. Since he was about to sacrifice himself to save the entire planet, he kept his mouth shut. Mendoza correctly guessed he was Esteban's father when he talked to the other priests. Esteban will figure it out by himself early in season 2.
• No One Could Survive That!: He turn out to be alive in season 2, but gravely irradiated. How the hell did this guy survived being exposed to a nuclear reactor without any protection? Even if you discount the radiation, the scorching heat should have melted his body. Not to mention the toxic fumes coming from the Earth's core (which killed all the animals in the area) didn't had any effect on him.
• Walking Spoiler: Hard to say anything about this guy without revealing too much.

Season 1 Villains

The Spaniards

Commander Gomez

Voiced in Japanese by: Goro Naya
Voiced in English by: Matt Berman
Voiced in French by: Pierre Hatet

Commander Gomez is a senior figure in Pizarro's army. He is entrusted by Governor with the task of bringing Zia back to Peru to read the golden quipu. Ruthless and suave, it seems like if anyone is going to get job done, it is him. However his failure to recapture her means he soon parts company from Pizarro and sets out to seek the cities of gold for himself.

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• Beard of Evil: He has a beard and is very cruel to the Incas.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: They Extend all the way to his sideburns/mutton chops.
• The Bus Came Back: He reappears for 3 episodes in season 4, his fate by the end of the series once again unknown.
• Determinator: No matter how much crap gets thrown at him, no matter how hopeless it seems, he's not going to give up on getting his hands on the Cities of Gold.
• The Dragon: To Pizarro.
• Frontline General: Though he tends to plan his attacks carefully beforehand, the Season 1 episodes around the Fort of the Black Eagle show that he never hesitates going first into the fray.
• Gold Fever: Like all the Conquistadors, he crave for gold and doesn't let anything get in his way.
• Goldfish Poop Gang
• Light Is Not Good: Dresses in white and has silver hair, but is definitely not one of the good guys.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Realizing that his failure to capture the children will at best get him sent to jail, and executed at worst, he chooses to desert along with Gaspard rather than go back empty-handed to Pizarro.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: The last time we saw him, he was carrying gold in a boat with Gaspard. An earthquake sank their boat with both of them onboard. Considering that Gaspard turned up alive in season 3 and Gomez never showed up again, one can only wonder what was his final fate. In season 4 it happens again, after Esteban and Mendoza meet with him in Africa, working for Portugal, when he triffles with a magical artifact that does not like his interference and causes him to drop unconscious.

Captain Gaspard

Voiced in English by: A.J. Henderson (Season 1)
Voiced in French by: Pierre Garin (Season 1), Frédéric Souterelle (Season 3 and beyond)

Gaspard, Captain of the Guard, is charge of a contingent of soldiers sent across the sea to the New World. Brutish and unintelligent, he delegates to the authority of the more refined Commander Gomez. He considers Mendoza to be his rival.

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• Beard of Evil: He has a beard and is up to no good.
• The Brute: Prefers action and violence over an intellectual approach.
• The Bus Came Back: A quickly-removed demo reel posted in September 2016 spoiled his return to the series.
• Butt-Monkey: His new status in season 3. No end of misfortunes afflict Gaspard, including getting his ass kicked by Esteban who isn't afraid of him anymore.
• Didn't Think This Through: After finally finding the City of Gold, he and commander Gomez start putting all chunks of gold on their small boat. Gaspard then realized how futile all this is, since there's so much gold to carry and there's no way they can haul it all the way back to Spain.
• Fantastic Racism: He really doesn't like the Olmecs, often calling them squid-faces in season 4.
• Gold Fever: Like all the Conquistadors, he crave for gold and doesn't let anything get in his way.
• Goldfish Poop Gang: Gaspard and Gomez are the most frequent villains our heroes run into from the beginning to the end of the series. They are always outwitted at every turn.

• Hopeless Suitor: Gaspard flirt non stop with LaGuerra, much to her exasperation as she clearly isn't interested in him.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When the Daimyo and his army is being ambushed by the children and Mendoza, he ran away rather than fight. He then leaves Japan entirely because this new failure will guarantee his death sentence at the Daimyo's hands.
• Sidekick: Gaspard serve as Gomez' henchman as he can't do anything on his own. He becomes Isabella LaGuerra's sidekick after Ambrosius' apparent death in season 4, following her lead in everything.
• Unwitting Pawn: Ambrosius incite Gaspard into killing their common enemy: Mendoza. Gaspard very much like the idea. However, he quickly realized that this will go against the Daimyo's orders as Mendoza is to be kept prisoner, but well treated. He refused do it, but failed to realize that Ambrosius set him up to get rid of them both.
• Yes-Man: Gaspard agree with everything Gomez tells him and never try to contradict him.

Governor Francisco Pizarro

Voiced in French by: William Sabatier

• Beard of Evil: A deep blueish black, extends all the way to his chest.
• Knight of Cerebus: He's a ruthless monster in comparison to the previous more comedic villains.

The Olmecs

Menator

Voiced in English by: Richard Dumont (English)
Voiced in French by: René Bériard (French)

Leader of the mysterious Olmecs, who live in the Mountain of the Burning Shield. With the help of a medicine of his own devising he claims to have lived for hundreds of years. He is more concerned with harnessing the massive power of the cities of gold to keep his dying race alive, than he is with the gold. But he will stop at nothing to get what he wants, viewing the Mayans as an inferior race.

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• Bald of Evil: Like all the Olmecs, he has no hair.

• Card-Carrying Villain: His response to Tao angrily calling out his atrocities is a cheerful "he is right—we are dreadful!"
• Immortality Immorality: He's willing to do anything to anything to get the secrets to assuring immortality to the Olmecs, including mass murder and harvesting children. A point's even made to undermine his apparent care for his own race: he'll preserve the Olmecs, but only those he deems as "worthy" (which comes down to a select few in a large race).
• Not So Above It All: He rather enjoys using his hologram on Gaspar, who cluelessly tries to catch it as it was real Menator.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Menator is far less concerned with saving his species than he is his power and by the end, it becomes quite clear how little the Olmecs actually mean to him.
• Was Once a Man: He and the other Olmecs are indicated to have once been men who changed as a result of staying underground for so long.
• Would Hurt a Child: He is willing to kidnap children in order to make use of their cells and tissue, and even kept a young Mayan girl as a slave.

Kalmec

Voiced in Japanese by: Hideyuki Umezu
Voiced in English by: Dean Hagopian
Voiced in French by: Hervé Jolly

Kalmec is the Olmec's second in command, chief of the army and organizer of the defense of the Mountain of the Burning Shield. He is deeply loyal to Menator and bows down to his superior intelligence. Like Menator, he believes the Mayans to be inferior to the Olmecs.

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• Yes-Man: He never contradicts or disobeys his master.
• Undying Loyalty: Kalmec is insanely loyal to Menator, to the point of death.

Other Villains

Marinche

Voiced in Japanese by: Rihoko Yoshida
Voiced in English by: Jane Woods
Voiced in French by: Anne Rochand / Régine Blaess

An Aztec who is looking for gold. She travels with The Doctor and Tetiola, in search of gold.

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• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Is killed in the collapsing Olmec base
• Goldfish Poop Gang: Marinche and her gang are villains introduced later in the series. Like Gomez and Gaspard before them, they just can't compete with our heroes.
• Historical In-Joke: She is named after an actual person.
• Would Hurt a Child: She sees absolutely nothing wrong with commanding the doctor to poison an entire village's water supply. (An act which shocks him)

The Doctor (Fernando LaGuerra)

Voiced in Japanese by: Shunsuke Shima
Voiced in English by: Walter Massey
Voiced in French by: Michel Gudin

• Beard of Evil: He has goatee beard with a mustache.

• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Is killed in the collapsing Olmec base.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Marinche orders the doctor to poison the village's water supply so they could steal their gold. He is stunned and only mixes the poison, talking about how much he hates it, but all it takes for him to get over it is Marinche reminding him of all the gold.
• Goldfish Poop Gang: Marinche and her gang are villains introduced later in the series. Like Gomez and Gaspard before them, they just can't compete with our heroes.
• Secret Circle of Secrets: Is revealed in Season 3 to be a founding member of the Order of the Hourglass.
• Weapon Specialization: Along with a sword, he fights with a whip.

Tetiola

Voiced in French by: Hubert Noël

• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Is killed in the collapsing Olmec base
• Giant Mook: Is by far one of the largest mook in the series, aside from the Urubus giants that is.
• Goldfish Poop Gang: Marinche and her gang are villains introduced later in the series. Like Gomez and Gaspard before them, they just can't compete with our heroes.
• The Quiet One: Hardly say a word, or anything at all.

Season 2 and Beyond Villains

Zares

Voiced in French by: Pierre-Alain de Garrigues

An ominous hooded figure who begins chasing the children shortly after they discover the first City of Gold. Ruthless and cunning, he will stop at nothing to find the cities.

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• Attack Drone: With a Heva crown and his own research, he crafted two floating spheres that he control mentally. These black suns can shoot sunbeams and incinerate anything.
• Bald of Evil: He has no hair and is up to no good.
• Beard of Evil: He has beard and is up to no good.

• Blade Across The Shoulder: Zares's blades. They can also be launched like a kunai.
• The Charmer: He's very good at getting on people's good side. It make it easier for him to manipulate them.
• The Chessmaster: As Tao point out, he's always one step ahead of everyone. He can anticipate everyone's moves and have backup plans when things don't work out.
  • And just to bring the point home, the first episode of season 4 has Tao himself fall into a trap set up by Ambrosius, a trap that only Tao could have triggered.
• Consummate Liar: Ambrosius can feed lies to anyone and use his charm to make them convincing.
• The Determinator: When Ambrosius tempered with one of the device in second City of Gold, he accidentally swallowed some liquid orichalcum. He was intoxicated and was coughing. Somehow, he escaped the destroyed city, made his way outside, trekked through the mountains in a snow storm without his parka and made it to his airship to take a cure. This is actually another trait of his that is explicitely pointed out by Tao, similar to the Chessmater above.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: He is really the affable and helpful alchemist Ambrosius.
• Establishing Character Moment: Locks Mayuca, the Inca from the City of the High Peak who told Esteban about his parents, in a temple to starve to death.

• Evil All Along: Behind his eccentric charm and friendly demeanor, Ambrosius is nothing but a manipulative and evil man.
• Evil Former Friend: In season 3, he reveals that he, Dr. LaGuerra and Athanaos created the Order of the Hourglass. Athanaos left for some unexplained reasons and he doesn't consider Ambrosius his friend anymore.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Zares's voice is deep. He's actually Ambrosius using a voice changer.

• Evil Uncle: Ambrosius act as a foster uncle for LaGuerra, because her father was best friend with him.
• Faux Affably Evil: As Ambrosius
• False Friend: To the children, to the point of trying to kill off Mendoza multiple times in order to get closer to them.
• Ground Punch: Ambrosius in his Powered Armor. A single leap in the air and a blow on the ground is enough to break the ice that imprisoned the Nef.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: While seeming to work for the King of Spain, season 3 hints that there is more going on.
• It's All About Me: Ambrosius couldn't care less about anyone, but himself. All of his goals are aim at making himself more powerful and people are nothing but tools to be used.
• In the Hood: He wears a hood and no has ever seen his face.
• Karma Houdini: After every horrible thing he's done, he ends the series free, with a flying machine and eternal life.
• Kill It with Fire: With the black suns, he can incinerate anything with sunbeams.
• Lack of Empathy: Ambrosius doesn't know the meaning of the word. When the slaves were too tired and they needed more workers, Helvetius casually suggested they might as well put their children to work. Ambrosius immediately agreed with the idea and say the slaves will be reunited with their children. Helvetius was taken aback by his statement.
• Large and in Charge: Zares is the leader and tallest member of the Order of the Hourglass. Without his Power Armor, he's really Mister Big.
• Large Ham: He is very expressive and extravagant. It's part of his charm.
• Lightning Bruiser: Zares is very strong, highly durable and lightning fast. He's also agile enough to leap on rooftops silently.

• Make Way for the New Villains: Replaces the villains from season one.
• Manipulative Bastard: Ambrosius is very good at manipulating others. He's very charismatic, friendly and skilled at feeding lies in people's throats. Mendoza is the only person he couldn't fool, so he tried to kill him many times.
• The Napoleon: As Ambrosius, he is a diminutive figure and has a very bad temper when things go south.
• Powered Armor: Concealed in a cloak and robe, Zares is truly Ambrosius wearing a two-meter tall exosuit made of unknown technology.

• The Sociopath: Ambrosius craves the lost technology of Heva. It's not for the sake of science or discovery as he likea to claim, but a tool to his selfish ends. He will stop at nothing to reach his goals, including manipulating others, lying and destroying other lives.
• Take Over the World: Seem to be one of his long term goals.
• Walking Spoiler: Describe anything about this guy is hard without revealing spoilers.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He lets the Incan Mayuca starve to death after using him to open a temple.
• Villainous Breakdown: In season 2, when he realizes that Mendoza stole his pyramid, he lets out a Big "NO!" and screams Menzo's name. In season 3, when Mendoza steals his compass, he throws violent tantrums at Gaspard.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: When the Raja snapped out of his drugged state, he ordered the guards to arrest Ambrosius. Knowing the battle is lost, he set the palace on fire and escape on the Nef with LaGuerra.
• We Can Rule Together: Ambrosius gave one to Tao, saying that Esteban and Zia are the Chosen One, but he is nothing. Ambrosius point out that he and Tao both share a common passion for ancient technology and knowledge. Tao will be his son and heir to this newly conquered world. Tao rejected his offer, but he couldn't help himself being tempted.

LaGuerra

Voiced in French by: Céline Melloul

She is part of the Order of the Hourglass and serve as Zares' top enforcer.

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• Anti-Villain: She dislike many of Ambrosius' more immoral actions and helps the heroes on more than one occasion. However, she refuse to betray him and remain at his side.
• Daddy's Little Villain: She is the daughter of Dr. Fernando LaGuerra, a villain from the first season.
• Dating Catwoman: Mendoza has an attraction toward LaGuerra.

• Even Evil Has Standards: While she remain loyal to her master, she will not enslave children.
• Gender Reveal: When fighting Mendoza, LaGuerra remove her robe and reveal she's a woman, much his consternation. Like the feminine voice wasn't a give away...
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: LaGuerra keep switching side between Zares and the gang. She's clearly conflicted about it.
• In the Hood: She wears a robe and a cloak like all members of the order, but she removes it later.
• Master Swordsman: Holy crap! She's not only an amazing rapier user, but she can keep up with Mendoza's skill level.
• Parental Abandonment: Her mother died giving birth to her and with his father dead at the end of season 1, all she has is her surrogate uncle, Ambrosius.

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