Mozenrath

Lord Mozenrath is a fictional character, voiced by the late Jonathan Brandis, in the Disney animated television series Aladdin. He is always accompanied by his flying eel, Xerxes.

Mozenrath is a young evil sorcerer and necromancer, often compared to the villain of the movie, Jafar. His exact age is unknown, but it is said that he's around 21.

Background
Mozenrath is a power hungry young sorcerer and is quite open and accepting about his own cruelty; in his first appearance, he talks about his sadistic and ruthless master Destane, who Mozenrath sarcastically referred to as "like a father". Mozenrath boasted about using that to betray Destane and seize his power, then going on to single handedly conquer the Land of the Black Sands and its undead population. He brags that he turned Destane into one of the shambling undead Mamluks that serve him. Even Jafar avoided Destane (before he became the world's most powerful sorcerer). His floating Eel familiar Xerxes (voiced by Frank Welker) and his "shambling half-dead" Mamluks are loyal to him and will follow any of his orders.

One day, Mozenrath's lust for power led him to Agrabah where he tried to compel Aladdin into helping him capture a creature he had brought from another world, a beast that devoured magic. Once Aladdin subdued it and placed Mozenrath's magical collar upon it, Mozenrath intended to use it to defeat the magical defenses of every other kingdom of the Seven Deserts (and quite possibly beyond) in order to conquer them (including Agrabah, even though he acknowledged that it was "not a particularly magical kingdom"; he wanted it "because it's there!"). Mozenrath seemed rather surprised that Aladdin would risk his life for "people, but not gold." Aladdin, however, bested Mozenrath by freeing the beast, which turned immediately upon Mozenrath, seeking both to devour his magic for food and revenge for Mozenrath's attempt to enslave it forcing Mozenrath to send it back to its own world. From that day on, Mozenrath vowed he would destroy his new nemesis, Aladdin, and his loved ones. Through the course of the series he tried to kill Aladdin and his friends, nearly succeeding on several occasions, only to be defeated in the end. He also attempted several times to capture Genie so that he could tap his magical energies and use them for his own purposes. In Mozenrath's debut episode (Episode 37 - "The Citadel"), Iago referred to the sorcerer as "Jafar Jr." It was an apt comparison, as Mozenrath demonstrated Jafar's power-hunger and cruelty. It was not proven whether or not Mozenrath was related to Jafar. In one episode, Mozenrath was in Jafar's old room doing research, and in another episode, Iago asked him if he knew Jafar.

Powers
He is very powerful, unscrupulous and deceptive. Mozenrath possesses a fairly extensive array of magical artifacts (most were probably acquired from Destane), which is shown when he offers many of them to Amin Damoolah in exchange for his services in capturing Agrabah's sultan. His most powerful and treasured artifact is a magical gauntlet that gives him tremendous magical power, which he always wears upon his right hand. This power comes at a price though, as the flesh beneath the gauntlet has rotted away, leaving only bones (he can still manipulate his motions of the skinless hand and fingers.) While he possesses an extensive knowledge of magic (spells, potions, etc.,) he is powerless without the gauntlet or his other artifacts. Despite Mozenrath's young age, his body is physically weak and was not going to live much longer. His physical weakness may possibly be a side effect of his gauntlet, though he still proved to be spry enough to fight Aladdin in hand-to-hand combat on a few occasions. In one episode, Mozenrath attempted to switch bodies with Aladdin to survive in his strong body while Aladdin would end up dying in the villain's weak body. However, things didn't work as planed and both souls ended up struggling in Aladdin's body, leading to a spiritual fight between the two in Aladdin's mind. In the end, Aladdin's spirit was much more powerful than Mozenrath's magic. However, the Elixir of Life that Aladdin had to drink to begin this fight had the side effect of restoring Mozenrath's body, although not his hand. Therefore, he now will live much longer than he would have.

Personality
Like Jafar, Mozenrath is a psychopathic villain whose primary concerns are the accumulation of power and the destruction of the world. He is calm and calculating and will step on anyone to achieve his goals. Mozenrath is refined and sophisticated and possessed of a dry, cynical sense of humour.

Mozenrath's appearance is practically the inverse of Aladdin. He dresses richly and is very pale, as opposed to the tanned and poorly outfitted Aladdin. Another opposite is in method, with the physically weak but highly intelligent Mozenrath employing magic and extensive arcane knowledge as opposed to Aladdin's physical prowess and ability to cleverly adapt. These factors all suggest that Mozenrath is likely meant to be a foil for Aladdin: both are young, clever, resourceful and determined but are also very different in personality.

Miscellanea

 * The first idea for the Aladdin and the King of Thieves story line involved Mozenrath. The plot was that the hero and villain would turn out to be brothers. However (according to one of the writers) everyone thought they should steer away from the TV show. That and the fact that they couldn't get in touch with Jonathan Brandis prompted them to move on to another relative of Aladdin's - his father.
 * Disney studied Jonathan Brandis's appearance and movements, and incorporated them into Mozenrath's character.
 * Mozenrath's name comes from the producers Bill Motz and Bob Roth.
 * Mozenrath is the second most recurring villain (next to Abis Mal) in the Aladdin TV Series, appearing in nine episodes.
 * Mozenrath's mamluks are a magical equivalent of the slave soldiers who served the Muslim rulers during the Middle Ages.