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| Zsasz | |
 Zsasz and his many self-inflicted scars. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 (1992) |
| Created by | Alan Grant Norm Breyfogle |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Victor Zsasz |
| Team affiliations | Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Notable aliases | Mr. Zsasz |
| Abilities | Extreme cunning Biological strength and agility Unpredictability |
Victor Zsasz (referred to as Zsasz or Mr. Zsasz) is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. He is essentially a serial killer (despite not adhering to any solid pattern, sex or strain when he kills)1 and is a nemesis of Batman. He usually kills with a knife and carves a tally mark somewhere on himself whenever he kills someone.
Contents |
History
Zsasz first appeared in Shadow of the Bat #1 (1992) as part of the Batman: The Last Arkham four-parter story arc, and his origin story was told in Batman Chronicles #3 (1996); both stories were written by Alan Grant and drawn by Norm Breyfogle. As revealed in the foreword to the TPB form of The Last Arkham, Zsasz's name is derived from that of psychiatrist Thomas Szasz when Grant saw the name while visiting his girlfriend in her university library.2
Origin story
Zsasz was the head of his own intergovernmental company and had amassed a large personal fortune in addition to his family's wealth. At the age of 25 his parents died in a boating accident, sending him into a deep depression. He turned to gambling, losing money in competitions around the world. One night, he ended up in a Gotham City casino, where he gambled everything he owned and ended up losing it all to the Penguin; afterwards he saw that his life was empty, driven by desire, and there was no point to his existence. While he was attempting to commit suicide by jumping from Gotham Bridge, a homeless man tried to assault him with a knife after he refused to give him money. Instinctively grabbing the knife, Zsasz saw in the man's eyes that all life is meaningless and that nothing nor anyone matters. He then proceeded to stab the man to death as a "gift" for saving his life. From then on, he dedicated himself to "liberating" others from their pointless existence (Zsasz often refers to victims as "zombies"). He usually preys on young women, but has no qualms over whom he murders. He slits his victims' throats and leaves them in lifelike poses, adding a tally mark to himself each time. He has been diagnosed as insane and is regularly incarcerated in Arkham Asylum courtesy of Batman, breaking out on occasion to carry on killing.
Later story arcs
During his debut appearance in Shadow of the Bat's opening story arc, Batman: The Last Arkham, Zsasz bribed a contractor to include a secret passage leading out from his cell during the asylum's reconstruction under its new head, Jeremiah Arkham, who inherited the asylum from his uncle, Amadeus Arkham. Although Zsasz is restrained during the daytime when he is being treated personally by Jeremiah Arkham, he is brought back to his cell at night where he would leave the asylum through the secret passage, unbeknown to the night guards. After murders fitting his modus operandi begin surfacing, Batman and Commissioner James Gordon fake Batman's insanity in order to get him inside the asylum and investigate Zsasz. Jeremiah Arkham is exceptionally brutal towards Batman, who had supposedly murdered a police officer; over the course of the "treatment", Zsasz had warped Jeremiah's mind and turned him into a mere henchman. Due to these continuous conversations with Jeremiah Arkham, Zsasz realises Batman is a plant and subsequently murders both the contractor and another inmate at Arkham who knows of Zsasz's ploy. However, both Nightwing and Batman catch up to Zsasz when he tries to escape for the final time and put him back in Arkham.2
Zsasz later appears in Part 3 and 4 of the Knightfall saga, which also sees characters who debuted in The Last Arkham return to the Batman comic; most notably Jeremiah Arkham and Amygdala. In Part 3 of Knightfall, Zsasz takes an all girl's college hostage and holds the students at knife point until Batman arrives, briefly leaving to kill two police officers who were sent to arrest him. Though weakened both physically and mentally, Batman fights with Zsasz and tries to ignore the lunatic's mockery. He finally snaps, however, after Zsasz says that they are really one and the same, prompting Batman to beat on him with an added viciousness. Batman most likely would have killed Zsasz with his bare hands had the police not stopped him.34
Zsasz later appears in Detective Comics #796, where he fights Stephanie Brown in her role as Robin. Attempting to slit her throat, he is distracted by her unexpected ferocity and falls back, where he attacks and attempts to kill Batman. However, Stephanie eventually defeats him.
Zsasz makes a brief appearance in Infinite Crisis #7. He is part of the Secret Society of Supervillains and is one of the many of their members sent to attack the city of Metropolis. The Society loses.
Zsasz is not seen in any major villainous role again until Detective Comics #815, released in March 2006, entitled "Victims". Before a quarterly psychiatric review, Zsasz kills his guards with metal poles attached to his neck bracket and escapes to kill again. Batman hunts for Zsasz, which proves unsuccessful until Zsasz gains access to a charity event (attended by Bruce Wayne) and stabs his beloved butler, Alfred Pennyworth, in the stomach. However, Wayne saves Alfred's life by driving him to a hospital. To lure Zsasz to him, Wayne holds a press conference in which he announces that Alfred is still alive. Having already made a scar for Alfred, Zsasz realises that his tally is off by one (Zsasz remarks: "My skin... it's crawling... every inch of it feels... wrong.") During the second part of "Victims" (Detective Comics #816), after a fight with Batman, Zsasz proceeds to the hospital to finish off Alfred. Batman catches him off-guard and knocks him unconscious, thus saving Alfred's life and sending Zsasz back to Arkham.
Zsasz is later seen again the Gotham Underground story arc where in issue 3 he appears in a disguised Batman's cell at Blackgate Prison and attempts to kill him with a knife. He ends up cutting Batman's arm just as he was waking up and the resulting fight ends with Zsasz being knocked unconscious and Batman being rushed to the hospital.
He most recently appeared in the first issue of Batman: Cacophony (2008), written by famed film director Kevin Smith, killing a young couple and threatening their children before Batman subdues him. In the issue, Batman says that of all his villains, Zsasz is the one he hates the most.
Batman Begins
Most likely due to the nature of his crimes, Zsasz does not appear in any of the Batman cartoons. He does, however, appear as a minor character in the 2005 film Batman Begins and is portrayed by Tim Booth, the vocalist of British band James.5 In the movie, Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes states that Zsasz butchers citizens for the mob and is one of Carmine Falcone's thugs, implying that he is a hitman instead of a serial killer. He is sent to Arkham Asylum along with many assassins who work for Falcone due to the testimony of Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka the Scarecrow). Nevertheless, when he is let loose from the asylum during Ra's al Ghul's attack on Gotham, tally marks on his neck are clearly visible. Later, Zsasz, along with other inmates under the influence of the fear toxin, attempts to kill Dawes but fails as Batman saves her. Zsasz is revealed to have remained at large in one of the promotional websites for The Dark Knight. 6
The tie-in book featuring the development art, and the visual guide to the film, also feature a shot of Booth in costume, referring to Zsasz as a serial killer. In the credits and script for the film, as well as all the books and the graphic novelisation, his name is spelled "Zsaz". Only the novelisation of Batman Begins, refers to him as "Victor Zsasz".
Video games
In the Batman Begins video game, Zsasz appears chained to a wall while Detective Flass asks him what Dr. Jonathan Crane is planning. When Booth reprised his role as Zsasz, it seems to make it clear that, at least in the game, Zsasz is genuinely insane. Zsasz later threatens Rachel, as in the movie, but she takes advantage of Batman's appearance to taser him while he is distracted. The game explains his trademark scars and says that he's "running out of room."
Zsasz also appears as a boss in the Batman: Dark Tomorrow game.
Zsasz appears in Nintendo DS version of Lego Batman: The Video Game as an enemy bounty in the "Villain Hunt" minigame.
Mr. Zsasz is set to appear in the upcoming video game DC Universe Online.
Batman: Arkham Asylum will feature Batman's most twisted and fearsome villains, including Zsasz.
Footnotes
- ^ Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1.
- ^ a b Breyfogle, N. & Grant, A. (1996). Batman: The Last Arkham. DC comics. ISBN 1563891905.
- ^ Batman #492.
- ^ Batman #493
- ^ http://music.ign.com/articles/580/580886p1.html.
- ^ http://www.thehahahatimes.com/issue2/page4.htm
References
- Breyfogle, N. & Grant, A. (1996). Batman: The Last Arkham. DC comics. ISBN 1563891905.
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- This page was last modified on 26 November 2008, at 04:24.
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