Li Zu

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Li Zu (李祖)
Alias(es)	Toyman; Professor Li; Teacher Li
Species/Race	Human transmigrator; later identified as an Asgardian from another time and space 2 514
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Former associate of Joker Lady; later a Hogwarts professor and an ally of Professor X's young X-Men 13 408 567
Occupation/Role	Interdimensional explorer, toy collector/controller, teacher
Status	Alive 571
First Appearance	Chapter 1: “The Batman Who Shoots” 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Toyfication — Mastery (19%)	2	His initial panel records 10% World Exploration Progress, a cooling Space-Time Portal, and Toyfication at 19% mastery.
Toyfication — Mastery (21%)	8	Improves through use in Gotham; reaching 20% World Exploration grants an item-box reward, later revealed as Thomas Wayne Batman’s gun.
Aura: Influencer	33	Reverse-Flash’s appearance raises exploration progress to 57%, unlocking a spiritual influence aura.
Prop Box / Acrobatics / Resurrection recorded	58	His panel lists Summon Prop Box at Basic (1%), Acrobatics at Mastered (0%), Aura: Influencer, and one Resurrection.
Blood of the Old Gods; Prop Box — Mastery (1%)	103	Contact with an Old God-associated stone raises exploration to 34%, grants the Blood of the Old Gods, and improves the Prop Box.
Dreamscape	129	Gains the ability to construct and enter dream worlds.
Dreamscape — Mastery; Beastification	148	Forced fusion with the Blood of the Old Gods upgrades Dreamscape and unlocks Beastification.
Toyfication — Master (1%)	240	Reaches Master rank after Resident Evil-world exploration and Tyrant experimentation.
Second Dreamscape: Raccoon City	307	Achieving 100% exploration of the Resident Evil world grants a complete nightmare realm in his mind.
Toyfication — Master (99%)	392	Absorbs ownerless energy from toyified Gotham, restoring much of the city and approaching a breakthrough.
Gunfighting and Acrobatics — Master	497	Uses the Time Stone to bypass training time; gains curved bullets, refined body control, organ shifting, and faster healing.
Asgardian — Basic (1%)	514	Reaching 50% exploration in the Marvel world grants an Asgardian passive that triples his strength and recovery; 80% grants an extra life and two coins.
Marvel Dreamscape; six Infinity Stones	515	Marvel exploration reaches 100%, then anomalously 130%; he obtains a second Dreamscape based on the Marvel universe and gathers all six Stones.
Evolution Chapter	531 532	Learns that his “panel” is an evolving higher civilization and receives an offline enhancement path toward higher-order life.

Background

Li Zu is a transmigrator who inherited Toyman’s body and name without receiving a complete history of its previous owner. Early on, he recognizes that his instincts, combat knowledge, and personality do not always fit the identity he carries, eventually concluding: “I’m not Li Zu!” 2 217

He first appears in Flashpoint Gotham, where Batman apprehends him on a rooftop. Cyborg subsequently delivers him to Arkham Asylum, where Quill Arkham imprisons him in an isolation cell, suppresses his hands with rubber gloves, and subjects him to electroshock torture. 1 2 3

Appearance

Li Zu is initially depicted as a thin young man with messy black bangs, often looking physically worn down after using his abilities. After escaping Arkham, he abandons a bloodstained white lab coat for a green suit, trousers, and yellow Oxford shoes. 8

• Frequently wears a green suit and yellow Oxford shoes after his first Gotham escape. 8
• Has dark circles beneath his eyes during his Hogwarts period, even after his hallucinations begin easing. 414
• His hair can whiten after severe Toyfication overuse. 112
• Beastification can cause black hair to grow across his arms, nosebleeds, and escalating bloodlust. 150
• His advanced Beastification form manifests as a light-devouring black cloak with pale cracked limbs, scarlet light beneath its hood, and octopus-like tentacles. 189

Personality

Li Zu is flippant, provocative, and casually disrespectful even when threatened. While being transported to Arkham by Cyborg, he asks what brand of lubricant Cyborg uses; while restrained for electroshock treatment, he continues making jokes at Quill Arkham. 2 3

His behavior is frequently erratic, but he is not merely impulsive. He studies systems, tests ability limits, exploits people’s expectations, and treats danger as an experiment. He deliberately creates panic in Gotham to determine how World Exploration Progress works, later uses repeated deaths in his Second Dreamscape as tactical information, and turns pain into a method of distinguishing reality from hallucination. 8 51 307

Li Zu values autonomy and rejects being reduced to another villain’s subordinate. He distinguishes himself from Joker by claiming that Joker is chaos, whereas he merely experiences it; after Blackgate’s riot, he explicitly tells Batman that he now works alone. 36 51

Despite his cruelty, he is capable of restraint when it serves a larger purpose. He spares Kingpin after venting his anger, stops the Avengers from slaughtering retreating alien soldiers, and later chooses to cooperate with Professor X’s X-Men rather than remain on a purely villainous path. 150 514 567

Abilities & Skills

Toyfication

Li Zu’s core ability transforms touched targets into toy-like forms. It can affect objects, living creatures, portions of bodies, air, wind, and Li Zu himself. 4 6 568

• Converts metal doors, locks, restraints, weapons, and armor into harmless plastic or toy materials. 4 50 165
• Can transform only part of a living body; toyifying an arm can disrupt circulation and cause lethal swelling. 6
• Can turn living targets into controllable toys, then restore them while retaining their original abilities. 154 417
• Can switch objects and creatures between “real” and “toy” states, allowing disguised ambushes and monster deployment. 26 33
• Can toyify himself for defense, including surviving explosions by becoming rubber-like or avoiding attacks with toy substitutes. 149 569
• At high precision, can alter individual properties rather than fully transform a target, such as making a limb rubbery. 400
• Can imitate another person’s appearance by independently reshaping his skin and outer body. 535
• Requires physical contact and sufficient reaction time; attacks that strike before he can react, such as lightning, remain dangerous. 568
• Heavy use causes dizziness, headaches, exhaustion, nosebleeds, accelerated aging, and involuntary transformation of his own body into toy material. 8 99 112

Dreamscape

Dreamscape allows Li Zu to construct, enter, and manipulate dream worlds. Effects inflicted within some dreams can manifest physically after waking. 133

• Pulls other people into dreams, initially through proximity or contact; after his Blood fusion, its range appears to expand beyond physical contact. 133 149
• Can trap enemies in nightmares and use them as test subjects. 133 154
• Dream construction becomes unstable when outsiders intrude and drains his mental and physical energy. 133
• His second Dreamscape recreates Raccoon City as a lethal nightmare realm where he loses access to his normal abilities and repeatedly dies against zombies. 307
• A Marvel-based Dreamscape later allows him to control a 2008-era Marvel world with the Infinity Gauntlet. 519

Beastification

Beastification emerged after Li Zu’s forced fusion with the Blood of the Old Gods. It grants monstrous transformations, regeneration, and access to forms based on collected beings. 148 149

• Manifests a black cloaked form with tentacles that can withstand and restrain powerful monsters. 189
• Enables transformations into forms such as Abomination and Sherry Birkin. 276
• Sherry Birkin’s form can rapidly regenerate extreme burns and internal damage. 276
• Allows him to extract a miniature bomb implanted in his brain by the Black Sphere. 519
• Risks uncontrollable bloodlust, physical mutation, and loss of restraint. 150 189

Aura and Halo Abilities

Li Zu’s aura abilities exert spiritual and psychological pressure on others. 33

• Influencer subtly affects emotions and behavior; he uses it to calm or stabilize distressed people. 98 99
• Laughing One forces victims into uncontrollable smiles, affecting an entire classroom and its principal; Kurono Kei and Shion Izumi partially resist it. 523
• His Halo Ability can project overwhelming dread, reducing Dolores Umbridge to a trembling wreck with a single look. 413
• Strong-minded or significant targets can resist or mitigate his influence. 523

Combat Skills

Li Zu’s baseline physique is comparatively modest without powers, but he possesses highly refined skills and supplements them with transformations. 497

• Acrobatics grants balance, extreme flexibility, aerial control, muscle manipulation, organ shifting, and enhanced recovery. 497
• Gunfighting allows bullets to curve toward chosen angles without conventional aiming. 497
• Telekinesis permits flight and has reached Mastery (80%) through dream training. 370
• His Asgardian passive triples his physical strength and recovery. 514
• He is capable of overpowering Kingpin, punching through Magneto’s metal defenses, and defeating young Apocalypse with Toyfication. 150 568 571

Resurrection and Extra Lives

Li Zu possesses extra lives obtained through exploration rewards and has repeatedly weaponized that fact. 58 112

• Survived self-inflicted decapitation after Toyfication overload by expending an extra life. 112
• Uses repeated deaths in Dreamscape as a learning mechanism rather than an absolute failure state. 307
• His available lives can be lost through specific circumstances, making the resource finite. 240

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Prop Box — Stores toyified people, weapons, creatures, and large objects; can deploy toys as living beings or monsters. 33 149
• Toy meat saw — A recurring close-combat weapon, later used as part of his Blackgate riot arsenal. 38 50
• Skull-headed cane — A metal-tipped cane that can transform into a chain sword. 105 112
• Thomas Wayne Batman’s gun — His reward for reaching 20% exploration in Flashpoint Gotham; it contains four bullets. 13
• Blood of the Old Gods — A dangerous artifact and source of his later Beastification and regeneration. 103 148 149
• Eye of Agamotto / Time Stone — Used to rewind time, accelerate skill training, and reverse fatal injuries; its use causes visible aging. 493 497
• Infinity Gauntlet and six Infinity Stones — Obtained in the Marvel world; the Stones become powerless outside their native universe. 515 516
• Black Sphere — A Gantz-system sphere awarded through Marvel exploration; provides missions, equipment, points, and resurrection functions. 517 519
• Gravity Gun — Chosen as a 100-point Gantz reward; can crush targets through repeated gravity manipulation. 519

Relationships

• Batman / Thomas Wayne — Initial captor and recurring adversary in Flashpoint Gotham; Li Zu later escapes Blackgate before Batman can arrest him. 1 51
• Joker Lady — Former boss who gives Li Zu chaos-oriented assignments; Li Zu distrusts her instability and cruelty. 13 15
• Dick Grayson — Uneasy temporary ally during the conflict over the Helmet of Nabu; Dick follows Li Zu’s strategy out of necessity despite condemning its cost. 26
• Harley Quinn — Companion during the Oakmont monster investigation; she jokes that Li Zu is becoming like Batman. 78
• Professor Curt Connors — Scientist coerced into assisting Li Zu’s Blood fusion research; later revealed to have long been one of Li Zu’s toys. 139 154
• Alice — Powerful associate who assists in restraining Apocalypse with the Lasso of Truth and remains at Li Zu’s side through altered timelines. 514 571
• Albus Dumbledore — Began as Li Zu’s Hogwarts contact and ally; Li Zu later toyifies, revives, and enslaves him with the Imperius Curse and a Horcrux-bound Cloak of Levitation. 408 417 493
• Voldemort — Enemy turned controlled asset after Li Zu overwhelms him with eleven Dumbledores and places him under the Imperius Curse. 417
• Ebony Maw and Black Dwarf — Former Children of Thanos who submit to Li Zu and serve as his agents across worlds. 515 516
• Kurono Kei — Gantz player, repeated opponent, and target of Li Zu’s observation; Li Zu revives him despite having killed him before. 519 523 532
• Professor X — Initially connected to Li Zu through time displacement; recruits him into the young X-Men after Li Zu decides to pursue a heroic route. 567
• Magneto — First sparring opponent among the young X-Men; Li Zu defeats him by turning his metal defense into plastic balls. 568
• Apocalypse — Defeated, toyified, and forcibly recruited into Li Zu’s wider group. 571

Story Role / Major Arcs

Flashpoint Gotham

Li Zu begins as a newly awakened Toyman in Flashpoint Gotham. Batman captures him, Cyborg transfers him to Arkham, and Quill Arkham tortures him with an electric chair. Li Zu escapes by toyifying his restraints, cell door, and Arkham personnel, then begins testing the relationship between Gotham’s chaos and his World Exploration system. 1 4 6 8

After joining Joker Lady’s side for practical reasons, he helps create disorder around Harvey Dent. He obtains Thomas Wayne Batman’s gun as his first exploration reward, but his ability’s exhausting cost leaves him physically weakened and vulnerable. 13 15

Old Gods and Oakmont

In Oakmont, Li Zu confronts cosmic horrors, madness-inducing substances, the Innsmouthers, and the Yellow-Robed Organization. He discovers the Blood of the Old Gods, endures time loops lasting more than 7,000 hours, and becomes associated with the “Seed” prophecy. 92 103 105

His battle with Usha reveals a blood-based sorcery capable of transforming her into a doll, but it ages him dramatically. He later gains Dreamscape and begins using it to confront increasingly dangerous entities and reconstruct reality through repeated loops. 99 129

Marvel Escalation

Li Zu enters the Marvel world, coerces Connors into fusing Old God blood into him, and gains Beastification and accelerated healing. He subsequently defeats Kingpin’s forces, survives the Green Goblin’s assault, acquires the Time Stone, and uses its temporal manipulation to rapidly improve his skills. 148 150 189 497

During the conflict with Thanos, he gains the Asgardian passive, gathers all six Infinity Stones, and reaches 130% World Exploration due to an apparent system error. He takes command of Thanos’s surviving subordinates but refuses to immediately turn on the weakened Avengers. 514 515

Wizarding World

Li Zu enters the wizarding world as a Muggle outsider and becomes a Hogwarts professor through an arrangement with Dumbledore. He intimidates Umbridge, aids Dumbledore’s early Horcrux hunt indirectly, and remains wary of committing himself to Harry’s side. 408 413 414

After Dumbledore’s death, Li Zu turns him into a controllable magical toy and uses eleven Dumbledores to defeat Voldemort. He later rewinds Dumbledore’s death with the Time Stone, revives him, and enslaves him as a magical asset. 417 493

Gantz and the House of Truth

After arriving in Japan, Li Zu discovers the Gantz death-game system and receives his own Black Sphere. He defeats Gantz players and aliens with overwhelming force, survives the sphere’s attempt to erase him with a brain bomb, and acquires a Gravity Gun rather than using 100 points to leave. 517 519

He becomes an English teacher at Kurono Kei’s school to observe him, then investigates the Black Spheres with Loki. In the House of Truth, higher-dimensional beings reveal that Li Zu’s panel is an evolving civilization rather than a benign system; all other Black Spheres are destroyed, leaving only his offline sphere and the Evolution Chapter. 523 531 532

Containment and Mutant Timeline

Li Zu becomes a feared figure within a containment organization after defeating a Class A monster without injury. Even an S-Class god-like entity chooses to leave Earth after sensing Li Zu’s Old God blood and potential for higher evolution. 544 547

In an altered X-Men timeline, Li Zu joins Professor X’s young team rather than opposing it. He defeats Magneto in sparring, devastates Sebastian Shaw’s submarine force, captures Apocalypse, and cooperates with Xavier’s school and Magneto’s Brotherhood in a rewritten future designed to avoid a catastrophic war with Phoenix. 567 568 571

Notable Quotes

“Forget it. You’re under arrest!” 276

“Then that would be boring.” 531

“Tell me where they are.” 568

Trivia

• Li Zu’s early exploration progress rises when he causes panic in Gotham, leading him to treat public chaos as a testable system mechanic. 8
• He considers Joker his “old boss,” but insists that he is not Joker’s subordinate and works alone. 36 51
• He can see Thestrals, indicating that he has witnessed death. 413
• The Infinity Stones cease functioning when he leaves the Marvel universe. 516
• Li Zu rejects becoming a fully emotionless higher-order being because he considers a godhood without desires or enjoyment “boring.” 531