Lazlo Zand

Dr. Lazlo Zand is a fictional character appearing in the "Robotech" universe.

Dr. Lazlo Zand was a protégé of Dr. Emil Lang and helped in developing many of the second generation Robotech mecha such as Alpha and Beta fighters and Hovertanks.

Zand concealed his jealousy for the charismatic and popular Dr. Lang. He is one of the few people to know of the accident that caused Lang to gain affinity with protoculture. Zand intended to re-create the accident to give himself similar abilities. He became obsessed with Dana Sterling, the half Zentraedi daughter of Max Sterling and Miriya Parina Sterling. He believed that she was a key to the Shapings of Protoculture. While the Sterlings entrusted their child to Zand for what he claimed were medical tests, Zand gained a blood sample from her and mixed it with blood samples from other Zentraedi and the nutrient solution from an Invid battle armor discovered in the original crashed SDF-1. Zand injected himself with the concoction.

Unwilling to listen to Lang's reasoning, Zand now wished to go his separate way and prove that he is as good as, if not better than his teacher. Also, Rolf Emerson, a friend of the Sterlings, physically attacked Zand accusing him of pedophilic infatuation with Dana. Zand declined to join Dr. Lang in the Robotech Expeditionary Force but remained on Earth and served behind the scenes for the United Earth Forces in their battle against the Robotech Masters. One account reported Zand having died on Earth during the final days of the Second Robotech War, apparently having fallen victim to a life-energy sucking device that he attempted to use on Dana Sterling. Zand was inexplicably transformed into a giant Invid flower of Life.

In the Wildstorm comics series Prelude to Shadow Chronicles, Zand shows up on Optera as scientific advisor to General T.R. Edwards. Although the Wildstorm comics relegates everything other than the original TV animated series to secondary canon, Admiral Rick Hunter does note that "rumours of [Zand's] untimely demise were highly inaccurate", a possible reference to Zand's fate as depicted in the Jack McKinney novels as well as being a paraphrased reference of the classic Mark Twain quote.

After Edwards' defeat, Zand along with Edwards' surviving Ghost Squadron was taken captive by REF soldiers under the command of Hunter. He is presumed to be in REF custody facing criminal charges of conspiracy and treason.

The two authors who wrote the "Robotech" novels under the penname Jack McKinney based this character on an unnamed character in episode 29 of the 1985 "Robotech" adaptation. This character was only known as "Researcher A" in "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross", the Japanese animated series that "Robotech" adapted for its first 36 episodes. this character had the same all-black eyes that Dr. Lang was earlier seen with, thus the connection. Though in the original Macross, this is nothing more than a familiar quirk of Haruhiko Mikimoto's character designs. The character was not named in either the original Macross series or the 1985 "Robotech" adaptation, but was named in the "Robotech" novels and subsequent comic books.

The McKinney Novel The Zentraedi Rebellion mentions that Zand acquired the black marble eyes only after he injected himself with his concoction. However, these events take place about five years after his appearance in episode 29 of the series.

In Prelude to Shadow Chronicles, an older Zand appeared wearing glowing red eyepieces that were either cybernetic implants or simply hi-tech goggles similar to those worn by Louie Nichols.