Zweihänder

"Wow! That's some pretty classy gear!"

–William admiring his sword in Final Round.

Zweihänder
First appearance	Final Round (original look) William Returns (X.A.N.A.'s darker version)
Channeled through	Hands
User	William

Zweihänder is a common fan term for William's sword, his main weapon on Lyoko and the Cortex in Code Lyoko and Code Lyoko Evolution. It comes from the variety of German great sword bearing the same name.

Use

William generally fights by using the Zweihänder's unusual size to his advantage, as it is capable of slicing two monsters all at once with one swing, unlike Ulrich's sabers.

Season Three

In the episode Final Round, William primarily uses the Zweihänder to deliver slow but powerful blows, defeating several Creepers with a single hit. For defense, William is able to deflect lasers at monsters by using the sword.

Season Four

Since being possessed by X.A.N.A., the Zweihänder gains the ability to charge up and then release energy in the form of silver waves, which are also rather slow to execute, but deals a great amount of damage upon hit, often results in an instant death.

Code Lyoko Evolution

After being released from X.A.N.A.'s control one year ago, the Zweihänder receives several upgrades from X.A.N.A. (which also includes the ability of Super Smoke). With William's increased physical strength, the sword is easier to handle, increasing his dexterity with the weapon. The Zweihänder is also heavily integrated with William's Super Smoke ability, and he is able to use the ability to make the sword vanish when not using it, or summon it directly to him if he is separated from it.

Appearance

The Zweihänder is a massive sword, longer than William is tall. It has a wide, single-edged cleaver-like blade and a long, thin handle. The blade is silver in color with lighter splotch-marks and glows white when being used in combat, including while charging a wave attack. Apart from these general features, the Zweihänder goes through several appearance changes throughout the series.

In Final Round, the only episode during which William has his original avatar, the Zweihänder has a red handle and a triangular insignia on its hilt.

While William is under X.A.N.A.'s control, the Zweihänder's handle changes from red to black, and black, root-like structures similar to Lyoko's Towersdecorate the blade. There is also an Eye of X.A.N.A. near the sword's hilt, replacing the triangular insignia. While on Earth as a spectre, the Zweihänder blade is narrower, a darker shape of grey, and the roots on the blade are red instead of black, as shown in Cold Sweat.

In Code Lyoko Evolution, the Zweihänder's appearance changes again. The handle is black with orange stripes, and there is an orange, circuit-like design on the blade. The sword is also noticeably smaller than it is in the original series.

Trivia

• A Zweihänder is a traditional German sword used primarily during the early 16th century. The name translates into English as "two-hander", and like William's weapon, real-world Zweihänders are known for their exceptional size and weighing 15-45 kilograms. As such, they must be handled with both hands.
  • The zweihander existed in all kinds of different signatures and weights. Traditional zweihanders resemble broad swords, having long narrow double-edged blades with tusk-like protrusions extending out of both sides positioned about 6 inches away from the hilt. These tusks were the starting point for the blade's serrations so as to allow the wielder to hoist them over the shoulder without them being at risk of cutting themselves while handling them. William's Zweihander is a very specific type known as the "Schweren Schlag" (literally "Heavy Blow" in German), which has a heavier bass blade, spanning the entire hilt and weighs 30 and 45 kg.
• The Zweihänder was the weapon that succeeded in destroying the Core of Lyoko, and thus all of Lyoko, in the Season 3 finale.
• If one of Aelita's Energy Fields hits the eye of X.A.N.A. on the Zweihänder, its blade will glow pink instead of white, and William will be able to redirect the attack in the form of a wave; this can be seen in Dog Day Afternoon.
• The Zweihänder's initial design appears to be based on the Buster Sword from the Final Fantasy series.
  • Meanwhile, the corrupted version of the Zweihänder resembles the Soul Edge from the Soulcalibur series, particularly its appearance in the first, second, and third games due to X.A.N.A.'s eye.

Gallery

Code Lyoko

In Season 3.

In Season 4.

On earth, held by X.A.N.A. William as a spectre.

Held by William.

The evil Zweihander's first appearance in William Returns.

William levitating using the sword.

Stuck in the ground.

Battling Ulrich in the Desert Sector.

Defending against an Energy Field.

Close up

William examines his weapon closely in Final Round.

Swinging it to release an Energy Slash.

Holding it when using Levitation.

Holding the weapon, ready to fight in "Double Take".

Using it as a Spectre on earth overpowering Yumi.

Using it to slice through Creepers.

The sword's appearance in Final Round.

The sword when William is possessed by X.A.N.A.

Holding it up to deflect an attack.

About to fire energy at Aelita after absorbing her Energy Field.

Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi see William's Zweihander as he tosses it at the ground.

The Zweihänder getting tossed by William in Final Round.

The Eye glows as it lands into the ground, with smoke surrounding it.

Odd dodging the Zweihänder with ease in Replika.

William holding his Zweihander in real world in "Cold Sweat".

Using it to deflect a Laser Arrow.

Deflecting rapid-fire Arrow with the sword.

Striking Yumi in the air in Crash Course.

The Zweihander is seen in the right corner as Yumi is being devirtualized.

The Force of the hit sends Odd flying back.

Evolution

Holding it over his shoulder.

Putting it away in Evolution.

The weapon has changed size in Evolution.

About to slice through a monster.

Holding it close for combat.

Holding onto it while in the Cortex.

Attacking a Blok, ready to slice it.

Blocking a laser.

His Zweihänder can handle a few Kankrelats.

The Zweihänder almost hitting Yumi.

William Clone with his Zweihander about to attack Yumi in The Codeless.

William threating Odd with Zweihänder in False Pretenses.

X.A.N.A.-William with his Zweihander fight Ulrich in Mutiny.