This might differ from your understanding, but: I rarely view Zontik as a character who lacks power; more often than not, I portray him as the one dominating mentally (or morally idk).
And I wouldn’t use words like “merciful” to describe him.
Maybe it’s just my preconceptions. When I first saw his card art, he was wielding a weapon that looked more exaggerated and heavy than any other jacks—to me, that symbolizes the expansion of power and violence
Maybe I should wait until my thoughts are a bit clearer before writing this. It’s already 3 a.m. in my time zone, and I’m busy with commissions.