Zealot of the Lady

"And so, the Prophet led us into Peking, where we demonstrated to the Sodom Below the true mission our Founders had given us. And when the Mandarins and hypocrites of Washington betrayed him, our Prophet did not heel. He did not come crawling for their forgiveness... Like our fathers broke from the Great Apostate, our Prophet broke with these so-called "patriots"... and today is the day we celebrate the secession..."

- Zealot of the Lady, during a meeting

The Zealot of the Lady, also referred to as the Crow, is a Heavy Hitter enemy featured in BioShock Infinite. Elite members of the Fraternal Order of the Raven and former devotees of the sainted Lady Comstock, Zealots are encountered occasionally in the game and fought alone or with several other regular enemies.

Appearance
Dressed entirely in soot-black robes, and pointed black hoods concealing their faces, Zealots primarily resemble the birds which their order worships, namely ravens and crows. Chained to their backs are large coffins which represent their failure at preventing the death of Lady Comstock. A sword is detailed onto the front of their masks, symbolizing their role as soldiers and purifiers for the Founders, as well as representing the swords which they wield in combat. In combat, Zealots will usually be seen as a moving flock of black birds as they rarely remain in one place unless stunned or unaware of the player's presence, making them indistinct and more difficult to focus on than their slower Fireman counterparts.

Gameplay
Zealots are encountered across Columbia, becoming rarer towards the end of the game. Booker first encounters one in a temple dedicated to the Fraternal Order of the Raven early in the game, accompanied initially by regular cultists. They fight exclusively with melee attacks, their swords causing a lot of damage if they connect. They are capable of breaking through lower shields in one hit. To offset their relatively low health compared to certain other Heavy Hitters, Crows teleport short distances frequently in combat, usually aiming to move behind the player to land a melee attack. They usually remain as a flock of crows unless stunned by Booker or attacking, making them immune to damage but unable to attack until solidified again. They are completely immune to the Murder of Crows Vigor, of which they have mastered the use without using them to stun their enemies.

When fighting Zealots, the player's main concern will be avoiding being caught off-guard and allowing them to move behind them, and land a powerful blow. It is advised to use stun them with an appropriate Vigor, such as Shock Jockey and Bucking Bronco, to stop them from dematerializing and to allow the player to cause a lot of damage while they are defenseless. Additionally, close range weapons such as the Shotgun can be very effective against Zealots, since they are usually encountered in close-quarter environments, and are rarely in human form at a distance, forcing the player to time their shots once they materialize, usually at point-blank range. It is also heavily advised to use the trap functions of various Vigors due to the difficulty to land shots on them, as suggested in the gameplay tutorial when the player is instructed to use Devil's Kiss traps. When defeated for the first time, Booker can acquire the Murder of Crows Vigor from this enemy. Health kits and Salts can also be commonly found on defeated Crows later in the game.

Attacking the Player

 * "I shall not fail again!"
 * "Failure, failure, failure!"
 * "Enough of your lies!"
 * "She tests us!"
 * "No trespass is forgiven!"
 * "She whispers in my ears!"
 * "You reek of deception!"
 * "She watches me, even from the grave! Her eyes, her eyes!"
 * "Guide me, Lady Comstock!"
 * "Lies! Lies! Lies!"
 * "I won't fail her!"
 * "I will shine my light on you!"
 * "You defile her name!"
 * "My blood is dying!"

Chasing the Player

 * "Do not torment me!"
 * "Come on, don't make me fail her again!"
 * "Lady, end him!"
 * "Our purpose is vengeance!"
 * "We're sinners! All of us!"
 * "Run from your lies!"
 * "You cannot run!"
 * "No mercy for us or you!"
 * "Away!"
 * "You won't hide long from her! She knows no blindness!"
 * "No mercy for anybody!"

Lost the Player

 * "I don't see you, but she does! She does!"
 * "Goddamn deceivers!"
 * "Coward! Coward!"
 * "Show yourself!"
 * "Reveal yourself!"
 * "Only cowards hide!"
 * "Face the truth!"

Spots the Player

 * "Expose what is concealed!"
 * "She sees in channels! Yes, she does!"

Attacking the Player

 * "Surround him, quick!"
 * "I'll clean your clock."
 * "Bash his brains out!"
 * "I will kill you."
 * "Kill you."
 * "Come on then."
 * "Die!"
 * "Beware!"
 * "Take off his head!"

Chasing the Player

 * "You won't get far."
 * "You won't escape."
 * "There's no escape!"
 * "Coward!"
 * "Coward! Run and hide!"
 * "Surrender."
 * "You're no match."
 * "This won't go easy."
 * "Gonna put you in the ground!"
 * "I said halt!"
 * "Any last words?"
 * "Don't make me hurt you."
 * "You'll die here."
 * "You forced my hand."
 * "This is your fault."
 * "You can't hide!"

Lost the Player

 * "He's gone!"
 * "Ran away."
 * "Where is he?"
 * "Where'd he go?"
 * "Lost him!"
 * "He was just there!"
 * "I've lost sight of him."

Spots the Player

 * "I see him!"
 * "There he is!"

Reloading

 * "I'm out."
 * "Keep shooting!"
 * "Gotta reload."

Idle

 * "My back! Please relieve my burden!"

Suicide (Possession)

 * "What'd you do to me!?"
 * "Shield my mind."
 * "My sorrow!"
 * "You knew all along!"
 * "I can't see my soul!"

Behind the Scenes

 * Although the Zealots of the Lady predominantly wear soot-black robes, there are several instances where this is not the case. The first example is in the Hall of Heroes, in which a couple of Slate's Soldiers exhibit the abilities of a Crow, with the addition of black chains painted all around them. The second instance of changed attire appears in the Bank of the Prophet, with a Zealot of the Lady in red robes and red marks on his coffin (possibly a Vox-aligned Zealot) appearing once the player approaches the Tear. The third instance is at Comstock House, where a Zealot can be found wearing white robes.
 * A bug occurs in which the player kills a Zealot of the Lady with the Sky-Hook. Should the player finish off the Zealot with the Sky-Hook, the game will not register the Zealot as dead and will act as if it is still alive.
 * In the Art of BioShock Infinite, the Crow's Zealot of the Lady appearance was one of three concepts for the Splicer-equivalent "Vigor Junkies". The other two concepts were versions of Charles.
 * Using "teleportation", the Zealots of the Lady served as the Columbia equivalent to Rapture's Houdini Splicers.
 * The caskets worn by the Zealots of the Lady have Lady Comstock's image on them, along with the words, "First Lady - Mrs. Comstock".