Flag Zombie

The Flag Zombie is a zombie that announces a large wave of zombies. He 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 moves slightly faster. They can appear on both land and water (with a ducky tube). It is the second zombie the player encounters and is also the second zombie in the Suburban Almanac.

Suburban Almanac Entry
 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.

Overview
Absorbs 10 normal damage shots; appearance changes upon absorption of 5 normal damage shots before dying at 10 normal damage shots. He is as strong as a regular zombie and also moves at a fast speed.

Strategy
Like regular Zombies, 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 his or her rival already has strong defenses.

Appearances
All levels except 1-1 the first time, 2-5, 4-5, 5-10

Trivia

 * In the 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, Flag Zombie will have random appearances.
 * A Zombatar Flag Zombie's jaw will not move; this also happens when a Flag Zombie eats Plants.
 * When the player freezes or kills a Zombatar Flag Zombie, all the accessories on it will turn white and fall off.
 * 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).
 * However, the Zombie Bobsled Team appears on the Seed Selection of Bobsled Bonanza.
 * Flag Zombies can appear as Ducky Tube Zombies during the Pool and Fog Levels.
 * 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 colour are not edited. They are only 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 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 his arm fall off, but his flag will also be damaged with several holes, and when the player kills him, he will drop the flag and fall like a normal zombie does.
 * If he has no arm and he is eating a plant, it will look like he's eating without using his arms.