ZERG:
The Overmind the Overmind is the center of the Zerg Swarm's hive mind society, created by the Xel'Naga as a single consciousness for their experiments on the Zerg. It is the antagonist of StarCraft, where it is voiced by Jack Ritschel; Paul Eiding voices the character in Wings of Liberty. At some point during its creation, it was secretly enslaved by the Dark Voice, who implanted it with a directive to destroy the protoss. The Overmind becomes aware of Xel'Naga, attacking and assimilating its masters. Through this, the Overmind learns of the existence of the Protoss and is determined to assimilate the fellow Xel'Naga-empowered species, believing this will result in perfection. To provide the necessary force to overcome the Protoss, the Overmind targets the psionic potential of the Terrans for assimilation. He also assimilated Sarah Kerrigan so as to create a weapon to free the Zerg from the control of his Dark Master. The Zerg and Protoss clash on various Terran worlds, eventually leading to Zeratul assassinating the cerebrate Zasz. Zasz's death momentarily links the minds of the Overmind and Zeratul, allowing Overmind to learn the location of the Protoss homeworld Aiur. The Overmind quickly launches an invasion of Aiur and manifests itself on the planet's surface. Following a lengthy and costly campaign on Aiur, Tassadar harnesses the energies of the dark templar to strike at the Overmind directly, disintegrating it.
A second Overmind is created in Brood War, formed from the merging of several cerebrates. This second Overmind never reaches full maturity, and thus lacks the power and intelligence of the original and is much weaker; attacks that were superficial to the first Overmind send the second into remission, although dark templar energies are still needed to kill it. The second Overmind is captured and drugged by the United Earth Directorate, who use its control of the Swarm to bolster its own forces in the Koprulu Sector, but it is ultimately slain by Zeratul. Alongside Kerrigan, the Overmind was rated the eighth most diabolical video game villain by GamePro.
Cerebrates:
Cerebrates are secondary agents in the Zerg Swarm, each of which commands an individual brood of Zerg that possesses a distinct tactical role within the hierarchy. Alongside the Overmind, the cerebrates are the only Zerg with full sapience, each with its own personality and methods, although they are genetically incapable of disobeying the Overmind. Cerebrates can be reincarnated by the Overmind upon death, though dark templar energies are capable of preventing this. The death of a cerebrate causes the Overmind to lose control of its respective brood, which will then run amok. The highest ranking cerebrate is Daggoth, commander of the Tiamat Brood, the largest and most powerful brood in the Zerg Swarm. Voiced by Micky Neilson, Daggoth is the most strong-willed and ferocious of the cerebrates. It trains the player character in the Zerg campaign of StarCraft and dispenses forces to protect Kerrigan following her transformation. Daggoth is also charged with protecting the Overmind itself. In the wake of the Overmind's death, Daggoth takes command of one faction of Zerg, ordering several cerebrates to merge to form a new Overmind.
The second most prominent cerebrate is Zasz, who commands the first strike Garm Brood. A clever but somewhat questioning leader, Zasz is voiced by Bill Roper in StarCraft. Kerrigan often argues with Zasz over her impulsive and seemingly rebellious actions; despite the Overmind's assurance that Kerrigan is loyal, Zasz remains untrusting. However, while Tassadar distracts the attention of Kerrigan's forces, Zasz is assassinated by Zeratul. Its death gives the Overmind and Zeratul a temporary mental link, allowing the Overmind to find Aiur and Zeratul to learn the origins of the Zerg. Zasz's final words to Kerrigan proclaim her to be "the doom of us all"; following Kerrigan's rise to power at the culmination of Brood War, Zasz is proven correct.
Insurrection features two further cerebrates, Nargil and Auza. Commander of the Fenris Brood and with the directive of search and destroy, Nargil itself is capable of intercepting enemy transmissions and provides tactical support for the player in Insurrection's Zerg campaign. Auza, who commands the Incubus Brood and is responsible for reconnaissance, attempts to personally assimilate a rebel Terran psychic, but is overwhelmed as the psychic's mind overcomes its own. As a result, the Overmind is forced to kill Auza. Retribution introduces Zargil of the Sennith Brood, who relays the Overmind's directives to the player. Various other cerebrates are also featured throughout the series, though following the death of the second Overmind, Metzen explained that all remaining extant cerebrates died, as they were not designed to live without their creator.
Sarah KerriganMain:
Sarah Kerrigan is the leader of the Zerg Swarm, styling herself as the Queen of Blades. Voiced by Glynnis Talken Campbell in StarCraft and Brood War and by Tricia Helfer in Wings of Liberty, Kerrigan is the predominant antagonist of the series. Originally a Terran ghost agent for Arcturus Mengsk, she is betrayed and abandoned to the Zerg, who transform her into a Terran/Zerg hybrid with vast psionic powers. Following the death of the Overmind, Kerrigan asserts her independence, striking out at those who betrayed her and who seek to contain her, eventually taking control of the entire Zerg Swarm. Four years later, Kerrigan invades the Dominion in search for a number of Xel'Naga artifacts; these artifacts are instead retrieved by Raynor, who uses them to revert Kerrigan to a human. Though originally intended as a throwaway character, Kerrigan grew on the developers, who gave her a greater role in the series. Talken Campbell described Kerrigan's transformation as "going from good girl to bad girl"; many of the aspects of Kerrigan's infested character design are inspired by the Greek gorgon Medusa. IGN rated Kerrigan as the fifth most memorable video game villain, while readers of GameSpot put Kerrigan as the most evil video game villain.
