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4 times Zack Morris had superpowers in 'Saved by the Bell,' from freezing time to impenetrable plot armor
Imagine having the power to change the world, but using it for dates that never work out instead.
By Andre Mathis
It’s been some time since the original run of Saved By The Bell was on TV, but with the two-season revival on Peacock (and with the help of videos like “Zack Morris is Trash” digging back into the series' legacy) the show is still very much in the public consciousness. With the popularity of superhero movies and shows, we can’t help but notice another relevant element of the show… the fact that Zack Morris kinda sorta has superpowers.
Almost every episode, Zack displays some level of power. Freezing time, breaking the fourth wall, manipulating events around him to ensure a positive outcome for himself, and always seeming to get away with it. Forget Zemo, Thanos, and the Joker – Zack Morris may well be the greatest threat our society has ever faced.
And we have the receipts to prove it. If you want to see for yourself, the entire original run of Saved By the Bell, as well as the two-season revival series, is streaming now on Peacock.
Zack Always Freezes Time
The most prevalent, noticeable power that Zack has is the ability to stop time. Almost every episode, Zack stops the flow of time to address the audience with some mundane teenage musing, but how often does he actually use that power for good? There are plenty of times that Zack could use that power to do something useful.
He could be saving people from burning buildings, moving bullets out of the way from gunshots, or helping people from car wrecks. Instead, he uses his talents to actively cause chaos – like in Season 3, Episode 4 “Driver’s Education” where Zack actually decides to cause Slater and Kelly to have a car wreck because his jealousy gets the best of him.
Zack Somehow Manipulates Reality Around Him For A Kiss
In Season 1, Episode 11 “Stevie,” Zack makes a bet with his friend Nikki. In the episode, pop sensation Stevie does a final performance at JFK Junior High before retiring and going off to college. For his bet with Nikki, Zack guarantees that he can get a kiss from Stevie while she’s performing. In order to pull off this scheme, Zack fakes a terminal illness to gain sympathy from Stevie and get the kiss.
Zack manages to trick the entire school, with the only person able to see past his shenanigans being his teacher, Ms. Bliss. Zack actually feels bad, and goes to confess, but ends up getting the kiss from Stevie (in disguise) after she feels moved that a kid would want to meet her so bad.
Zack Uses Mind Control To Get A Date
In season 2, episode 14 Zack learns about subliminal messaging in class. He then decides to put his brainwashing abilities into practice by recording his voice over music tapes and having Screech sneak the tapes into the girls’ belongings. The only reason Zack gets caught is because his plan ends up working too well.
The girls started putting the pieces together once they realized they dumped perfectly good dates for…Zack. Rightly so, they devise their revenge plan which involves every girl pretending to act as crazed as possible for Zack’s love. He quickly becomes overwhelmed and admits defeat, but he lives to see another day. Which brings us to…
Zack Has Crazy Strong Plot Armor
Similar to his ability to freeze time, it’s hard to narrow down one specific instance of him using this power because he uses it pretty much all the time. Like in Season 5, Episode 10, “Drunk Driving,” when Zack totals a car, and gets his friends hurt in the process (after ignoring Screech’s offer to drive as the only sober member of the group). He does get grounded at the end of the episode, but he faces no real repercussions for his actions.
These are just a few instances in a series-long escapade of Zack Morris reigning terror over the innocents of Bayside. Call us crazy, but in the event of an apocalyptic event taking place, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for some of Zack’s signature moves.
The entire original run of Saved By the Bell, as well as the two-season revival series, is streaming now on Peacock.
