Zankou

Zankou was an ancient, ruthless and extremely powerful Upper-Level demon who had been the scourge of both Earth and the Underworld. Various Sources have had to deal with him for several centuries. He has an exceptional power of cogniscience and seems to sense the weaknesses of his opponents. Zankou contributed to the events surrounding the Crusades, the September Massacres and the Black Plague.

Believed to be a serious threat to the demonic hierarchy because of his powers and evil ways, Zankou was imprisoned in the Underworld by one of the last Sources, for contesting him in a powerful battle and trying to overtake the Underworld; he was recently released to wreak havoc upon the world again and destroy all that is good. He is able to take over other magical beings and demons' powers simply by killing them. His powers are hands down greater than any other demon, bar none, because the destruction he causes is comparable only to Shax but on a much grander scale.

The most intelligent, devious, cunning and crafty demon the Charmed Ones have ever faced, Zankou will do whatever it takes to get what he desires. He was able to use his expert-like understanding of human nature to successfully attack the Halliwell sisters psychologically.

Zankou was released from his prison by a group of demons who believed he was the only one who could prevent the impending attack of the Avatars. Albeit, several demons were opposed to his release, it was decided that he must be released because he was their only hope. Reluctantly, various demons stood watching while an [Alchemists|Alchemist]] chanted a spell and freed Zankou from his prison.

Originally, he helped the Charmed Ones in their fight with the Avatars along with Leo Wyatt and Kyle Brody, realizing that their Utopia threatened the very survival of demonic existence (as well as the free will of all others, which he used to gain allies). After the threat of the Avatars had passed, Zankou began to mobilize the Underworld in hopes to control it. He attempted to steal the Book of Shadows on various occasions. He even hired a demonic alchemist to brainwash resurrected zombie innocents that the Charmed Ones were previously unable to save into attacking them (two of which he had killed that same week, one by his own hand, just for the occasion).

Because their emotions are tied to the Book of Shadows, when they became vulnerable, so did the Book, allowing Zankou to steal it during their battle with the zombified innocents. Using the potions in the Book of Shadows, Zankou stole Phoebe's power of premonition so that he could anticipate their attacks and see what they were doing to try to stop him. He then uses that to fool the sisters and is able to steal Piper's powers as well.

He was vanquished in the episode "Something Wicca This Way Goes" when he absorbed the Nexus into his body and the Charmed Ones cast a banishing spell to destroy it, thus destroying Zankou in the process.

Powers and Abilities
Zankou possessed many powers and abilities specifically unique to him which was why The Source of All Evil viewed him as such as threat. Zankou had the most powers of any other demon ever faced by the Charmed Ones and could sense their next move before they even knew what it would be. His level of Prescience was immensely greater than any other being who possessed the power. Zankou's most notable powers included:
 * Power Absorption
 * Sensing - advanced form
 * Adjusting
 * High Resistance
 * Energy Blasts
 * Energy Balls
 * Fire Balls
 * Teleportation - Flaming and Fading
 * Prescience
 * Super Strength
 * Regeneration
 * Shapeshifting

Acquisition of the Charmed Ones Powers
After breaking through the protective barrier that the Book of Shadows wields due to weakening the sister's bond as well as their confidence in themselves and in their magic, Zankou retrieved the Book and created the potion To Separate a Witch from Her Powers in a diabolical plan to steal the Charmed One's powers. He then attacked the sisters in the Attic and distracted the girls by firing an energy ball at Piper Halliwell, who Paige and Phoebe then tended to. With their backs turned toward Zankou, he threw the potion at Phoebe and absorbed her power of Premonition. After the acquisition of this power, he was able to foresee the sisters going to seek help from the Vampire Queen and he got to her first. The power also enhanced his prescience and sensing abilities.

The sisters went to the Queen for assistance and she feigned being on the girls' side. Thinking the Queen was on their side, they then orbed to the Manor where Zankou was waiting for them; he told them he got to the Queen first. He attacked and threw the potion at Piper and absorbed her powers of Molecular Immobilization and Combustion. Zankou then used the Combustion power on Piper sending her flying backwards. The only power he wasn't able to absorb from the sisters was Paige's Telekinetic Orbing ability.

The Charmed One's managed to trick Zankou with their Astral selves thus keeping him from absorbing Paige's power.

Appendices

 * (Book of Shadows text:)

Zankou
 * One of the
 * most powerful Demons of
 * the Underworld,
 * Zankou is a threat
 * to all that is good
 * and feared even by his
 * own kind. So great
 * were his abilities
 * and ambitions, he
 * once contested
 * The Source for
 * control of the
 * Underworld.


 * (text unfinished.)

Trivia

 * Zankou Chicken is a small, family-owned chain of Middle-Eastern fast casual restaurants within the Los Angeles area that is specialized in rotisserie chicken. In "Charmageddon", Phoebe makes a reference to the restaurant by saying to Zankou, "What's the matter Zankou, chicken?"
 * In "Charmageddon", Zankou mentions Anubis. The jackal-headed god was also referenced in The Mummy Returns, which co-starred Oded Fehr.
 * It's possible that Zankou originally wasn't as powerful as he is now and got some of his powers from stealing them from other demons, like how he took his shapeshifting ability. He could have used that ability to steal multiple powers and eventually amassed all of the powers he possessed at the time of his death. This would actually justify the Source's need to imprison him in the past even more, via the implication that an already credible threat to his reign could drastically grow in power at any given time. This also suggests that if Zankou had been able to overthrow and become the Source, he would be truly invincible and the entire world possibly would've been covered in the dominance of evil centuries ago.
 * In the episode "Death Becomes Them", he gets an Alchemist to use deceased former innocents to take away their confidence. Coincidentally, they're like zombies, and Oded Fehr was in the Resident Evil films (Apocalypse & Extinction)
 * It is hinted in "Witchness Protection" that Zankou and the seer Kyra had a relationship.
 * Zankou is the only demon who successfully managed to gain control of Halliwell Manor and the Nexus; the only other time evil had control of the Manor was when Phoebe was possessed by the Woogyman.

Notes and References

 * It is stated Zankou contributed to the Crusades, the September Massacres and the Black Plague; This places Zankou's existence as far back as the 11th century.

Appearances
Zankou appeared in a total of 7 episodes throughout the course of the series.
 * Season 7 -
 * Witchness Protection
 * Ordinary Witches
 * Extreme Makeover: World Edition
 * Charmageddon
 * Scry Hard
 * Death Becomes Them
 * Something Wicca This Way Goes