Zé Pequeno

Zé Pequeno (translated as Li'l Zé) was a drug dealer in Rio de Janeiro during the 70's and 80's. He appears in a semi-fictional fashion in the film "Cidade de Deus" ("City of God"), where he is played by Brazilian actor Leandro Firmino as an adult, and by Douglas Silva as a child. There is no character in the book called Li'l Dice/Zé; there is, however, a character called Tiny (known as Pipsqueek in his younger years) on whom Li'l Zé is clearly and heavily based.

Movie character progression

Childhood

Li'l Zé's real name is never mentioned in the movie; as a child, he is known as Li'l Dice (Dadinho). He grows up in the titular Rio de Janeiro slum, also known as a favela. As a child, Dice wishes to be the boss of bosses in the City of God when he grows up. He and his best friend, Benny, hang around the Tender Trio, which consists of Goose (Marreco), Rocket's (Buscapé) brother, Clipper (Alicate), and Shaggy (Cabeliera).

The Motel Miami Incident

Even though Goose and Clipper dislike Dice, Shaggy vouches for him, claiming that Dice is smarter than the both of them combined. Dice proposes that the Trio rob the Motel Miami, a known brothel in the city.

Outside the hotel, Shaggy hands Dice a revolver and orders him to watch out for the police. While the Trio is inside robbing the brothel, Dice shoots out one of the windows. As the Trio make their escape, Dice enters the brothel and guns down everyone inside in cold blood. The Trio is framed for the murder, while Dice gets away scot free.

Knowing that Shaggy would never forgive him for this offense, both Dice and Benny leave the City of God. They return months later, where they run into Goose, who takes their money. As he is leaving, however, Dice kills him.

As Li'l Zé

Over the years, Li'l Dice robs and kills countless people. By the time they are 18, he and Benny are respected and feared in the community. However, Zé dreams of bigger things: he plans to take over the drug trade. Dice puts his plan into effect by killing off the opposition. He also crosses paths with a man named Knockout Ned (Mané Galinha).

Dice visits a pai-de-santo, who christens him as Li'l Zé and gives him a talisman, saying that he will die if he wears it during sex.

Zé and his gang seize control of all of the rackets inside the City of God, killing off the drug dealers; he spares Carrot, however, because he is Benny's friend. Zé shakes down a local drug dealer named Blacky, who is a friend of Rocket, the story's protagonist. There, he tells Blacky and Rocket that he is no longer Li'l Dice, but Li'l Zé.

Zé spares Blacky's life, but forces him into the gang. Rocket tries to escape, but is stopped by Zé's gang. Benny tells Zé that he is the brother of 'the late Goose,' and Zé lets him go, saying that he will also be selling cocaine. Zé sets up Blacky's apartment as his base of operations.

With no rivals or infighting, Zé grows rich. He even pays off the local police, allowing him to run his business without interference. It is here that both Zé and Benny's lives take different paths; Benny becomes a playboy and begins to date Angelica, Rocket's crush, while Zé expands his empire, becoming increasingly vicious.

A local grocer comes to Zé, telling him that The Runts, a gang full of kids, continuously rob him and steal his food. In the ensuing gunfight, Zé recruits one of the Runts, Steak and Fries, by making him shoot one of his friends.

Benny, in the meantime, has decided to get out of the drug business and leave the City of God with Angelica. At his going-away party, Zé finds a girl and asks her to dance, only to be refused. Zé is even more furious to find out that she is Knockout Ned's girlfriend, and forces Ned to strip naked at gunpoint. During a later turf battle, Zé and his boys assault Ned while Zé rapes his girlfriend, forcing Ned to watch.

Putting Carrot on hold, Zé goes over to Ned's house and demands that he come outside. Ned's younger brother, Gerson, goes outside to try and reason with him, but it's no use. Zé demands that Ned comes outside or else. Gerson turns back to the house, then lashes at Zé with a knife he hid before going outside (his family had restrained Ned beforehand). Zé is wounded, but is able to gun down Gerson. In retaliation, he and his boys fire on the house, also killing another relative inside before departing.

While Zé is getting his arm bandaged, Ned appears. Armed with a revolver, Ned kills one of Zé's followers and forces him to retreat. Blind with rage, Zé kills one of his own men. The next day, Zé sends Steak-and-Fries over to Carrot's with a message: if Carrot kills Knockout Ned, then he will leave Carrot in peace. Ned and Carrot, however, decide to join forces, sparking a gang war that leaves many children dead.

In one of the shootouts, Ned himself is injured and gets his face in the newspaper, which infuriates Zé. He finds the camera and decides to have some pictures of himself taken to show the world that he is the true boss of the City of God.

Death

In his war against Carrot and Ned, Zé begins investing in firearms. When he doesn't get the weapons he wants from the arms dealer, he throws him out, but keeps his guns. Unbeknown to Zé, however, the arms dealer is working for the police.

At a cookout, Zé runs into the Runts once again. This time, he gives them guns, telling them that "we'll eat some chicken and have Carrot for dessert."

As the cookout carries on, one of the live chickens escapes. Zé sees it running off and a chase ensues. Zé and his boys follow it down the side streets of the City of God, only to run into Rocket and Stringy.

The police also show up, resulting in a standoff. Zé has more guns, so the cops back off. Zé orders Rocket to take another photo of them. When Rocket does so, Ned, Carrot and their boys show up, guns blazing. Rocket and Stringy, as well as other innocents, take cover while the gunfight erupts. Tiago and Knockout Ned are killed, while Zé and Carrot are captured by the police.

The police take all of Ze's money for the weapons he stole from the dealer, and tell him he will owe them the rest. The Runts show up and Zé tells them that they may need to rob some people in order to get his business back to normal. However, the Runts knock Zé to the ground and kill him in retribution for their fallen friend. Rocket alone witnesses his death.