Flag Zombie

''For the similar zombie in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, see Flag Zombie (Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare) Flag Zombies and their time-themed variants in Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time are zombies that announce a big wave of zombies. It is shown on the level progress bar as a red flag with a brain picture on it. They have the same health as a regular zombie, but move slightly faster. They can appear on both land and water with a Ducky Tube. It is the second zombie the player encounters in Plants vs. Zombies and Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time and is also the second zombie in the Suburban Almanac.

Plants vs. Zombies
 FLAG ZOMBIE 

Flag Zombie marks the arrival of a huge pile or "wave" of zombies.

Toughness: low

Make no mistake, Flag Zombie loves brains. But somewhere down the line he also picked up a fascination with flags. Maybe it's because the flags always have brains on them. Hard to say.

Flag Zombie
TOUGHNESS: Average

SPEED: Basic

His flag marks the arrival of a huge pile or "wave" of zombies.

A spelling impaired zombie named "Brian," Flag Zombie keeps thinking the rest of the zombies are talking to him. At least he feels important.

Flag Mummy Zombie
TOUGHNESS: Average

SPEED: Basic

Marks the arrival of a huge sandy "wave" of zombies.

Egyptian Flag Zombie is so far behind he thinks he's in first place. He's clearly living in de-Nile.

Flag Pirate Zombie
TOUGHNESS: Average

SPEED: Hungry

Marks the arrival of a huge salty "wave" of zombies.

A zombie that needs no introduction.

Flag Cowboy Zombie
TOUGHNESS: Solid

SPEED: Basic

Marks the arrival of a huge dusty "wave" of zombies.

The Lone Brainer leads the way.

Future Flag Zombie
TOUGHNESS: Average

SPEED: Basic

Marks the arrival of a huge future-proof "wave" of zombies.

Sometimes Future Flag Zombie regrets having to be at the bleeding edge of zombie wave advancement technology.

Peasant Flag Zombie
TOUGHNESS: Average

SPEED: Basic

Marks the arrival of a huge dark "wave" of zombies.

They keep telling Peasant Zombie that there is no greater reward than being granted the banner to carry into battle. But when he sees other Peasant Zombies being granted cones, buckets, and even helms, he thinks maybe they're making that up so they don't hurt his feelings.

Beach Flag Zombie
TOUGHNESS: Average

SPEED: Basic

Marks the arrival of a huge wet "wave" of zombies.

Talk about a disgruntled zombie. Beach Flag Zombie is fed up. None of the other zombies seem to appreciate just how difficult it is for him to swim while holding a flag. Not once have they thanked him for doing the hard work that needs to be done. So it shouldn't come as a surprise: He's been interviewing for jobs somewhere else.

Cave Flag Zombie
TOUGHNESS: Average

SPEED: Basic

Marks the arrival of a huge frosty "wave" of zombies.

Cave Flag Zombie has been in the flag-carrying business for a long time. It's been his life's work. He's good at it. But sometimes, just sometimes, he longs for a change. He wonders if he could be good at something else. He wonders if he could leave it all behind and start fresh. He's pretty sure he's having a mid-life crisis.

Overview
The Flag Zombie absorbs 9.5 normal damage shots, and its appearance changes upon an absorption of 4.75 normal damage shots before dying at 9.5 normal damage shots. It moves at a slightly faster speed than a normal zombie.

Strategies
Like regular zombies, a Flag Zombie can be easily killed by Peashooters and other offensive plants. They are only holding the flags, so there is no effect on its health. Flag Zombies move faster than ordinary zombies, so they may be able to get a slightly longer distance, so two or three Peashooters work better than one.

Versus Mode
In Versus Mode, Flag Zombies cost 300 brains, but when placed, the message "A Huge Wave of Zombies is Approaching!" will appear, meaning a huge wave will come out of the bushes. This can be very strategic at the beginning of a match by quickly collecting 300 brains and rushing it against your enemy; it could also help to support the player's forces with additional zombies if their rival already has strong defenses.

Specific to Plants vs. Zombies

 * In the Game of the Year version, customized zombies can be made in-game, and will appear as Flag Zombies.
 * In Survival Mode (Hard), the player gets credit for completing a mid-level huge wave when the Flag Zombie dies.
 * If the player makes multiple Zombatars, the Flag Zombie will have random appearances.
 * A Zombatar Flag Zombie's jaw will not move.
 * When the player freezes or kills a Zombatar Flag Zombie, all the accessories on it will turn white and fall off it.
 * The Flag Zombie, the Backup Dancer, the Zombie Yeti (except in Level 4-10 after the first time), and the Zombie Bobsled Team (except in Bobsled Bonanza) are the only zombies that can appear in a level without being shown in the seed selection (not counting the zombies dropped by Dr. Zomboss's Zombot and the ones from Invisi-ghoul).
 * Flag Zombies can appear as Ducky Tube Zombies during the pool and fog levels.
 * They can also have the Zombatar effect.
 * The Flag Zombie is one of the zombies that didn't appear in Level 5-10. The others are the Balloon Zombie, Zombie Bobsled Team, Digger Zombie, Dancing Zombie, Backup Dancer, and the aquatic zombies.
 * Flag Zombie's clothes and skin color are not edited. They are just like the regular zombie except for a speed boost.
 * The Flag Zombie is the most expensive zombie in Versus Mode, due to it representing a huge wave. When the Flag Zombie is planted, seven zombies will appear: four regular zombies, two Conehead Zombies, and one Buckethead Zombie, although in the DS version of Versus Mode, the zombies that appear are more random and may not contain Buckethead Zombies.
 * The Flag Zombie appears in every level (except in 1-1 the first time, 2-5, 3-5 (DS, DSiWare), 4-5, 5-10, Whack a Zombie, Dr. Zomboss's Revenge, ZomBotany, ZomBotany 2, Zombiquarium, Heat Wave, BOMB All Together!, Homerun Derby, Zombie Trap, Air Raid, Ice Level, and Squirrel).
 * After five normal damage shots, not only will its arm fall off, but its flag will also be damaged with several holes, and when the player kills it, it will drop the flag and fall like a normal zombie does.
 * If it has no arm and it is eating a plant, it will look like it's eating without using its arms.

Specific to Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time

 * Flag Zombie's flag is a lot bigger in this game.
 * The Flag Mummy Zombie's Almanac entry says "Egyptian Flag Zombie" instead of "Flag Mummy Zombie".
 * Flag Mummy Zombie and Beach Flag Zombie have a different animation style than that area's regular zombie. Flag Mummy Zombie uses the animation style from the Cowboy Zombie, while Beach Flag Zombie uses the animation style from the Pirate Zombie.
 * Beach Flag Zombie is the first Flag Zombie to have a different look than that area's regular zombie.
 * Sometimes when the Flag Pirate Zombie dies, it will stand up headless before it disappears.
 * The flag the Flag Cowboy Zombie has is the "Lone Star" flag of Texas, with the white star changed to a brain.
 * In the Cowboy Flag Zombie's almanac entry it says "The Lone Brainer leads the way", which is a pun on "The Lone Ranger".
 * The Flag Mummy Zombie says that he's living in "de-Nile". This is a pun of the Nile River, a river in Egypt, and the phrase "living in denial".
 * The Flag Zombie is the only zombie with a human name, which is "Brian." and "Brain" is similar to "Brian".
 * Unlike the one-lane level of the original game (Level 1-1), a Flag Zombie will appear on the final wave of Day 1 of the tutorial levels.
 * In Kung-Fu World, Flag Kung-Fu Zombies can appear anytime even if the huge wave has not yet arrived. This is because there might be a weapon stand that contains a flag that can transform a Kung-Fu Zombie into a Flag Kung-Fu Zombie. This can also happen to its Monk variant but the Monk variant can appear even if the wave has not been triggered.
 * The Future Flag Zombie's flag is holographic and unlike the other flags, the holographic flag does not deteriorate. When the Future Flag Zombie dies, the flag simply disappears, leaving only the pole.
 * If the player looks closely, he or she can see through the holographic flag.
 * This effect also applies to the Infi-nut and the Dr. Zomboss hologram above in every Day 25 (excluding Dark Ages).
 * Also the "brain" icon is blue, which is different than the other variants.
 * In the almanac, the Peasant Flag Zombie had a bone sticking out from its arm prior to the 2.5.1 update.
 * The Peasant Flag Zombie's flag is the only one to not be rectangular in shape.
 * The Pirate and Beach variants share the same speed.
 * The Halloween Flag Zombie resembles the Scarecrow from the movie "The Wizard of Oz", who, like the zombies, desired brains. Its flag also features Pumpkin instead of a brain.

Specific to Plants vs. Zombies Online

 * The Terracota variant is a zombie holding a token with a Chinese word written on it instead of a flag.