Zsasz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Zsasz | |
 Zsasz and his many self-inflicted scars. |
|
| 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 intelligence Physical 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, gender or race when he kills)[1] and is a nemesis of Batman. He usually kills with a knife and carves a tally mark somewhere on his body whenever he kills someone.
Contents |
[edit] 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 Batman: The Last Arkham, Zsasz's name is derived from that of psychiatrist Thomas Szasz when writer Alan Grant saw the name whilst visiting his girlfriend in her university library.[2]
[edit] Early history
Zsasz was the head of his own international 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 his body 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.
[edit] 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. Jeremiah had inherited the asylum after his uncle had gone mad and died. Although Zsasz was restrained during the daytime when he was being treated personally by Jeremiah Arkham, he was 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 began surfacing, Batman and Commissioner James Gordon faked Batman's insanity in order to get him inside the asylum and investigate Zsasz. Jeremiah Arkham was exceptionally brutal towards Batman, who had supposedly murdered a police officer, which was the result of Zsasz's influence on the doctor. Due to these continuous conversations with Jeremiah Arkham, Zsasz was able to realise Batman was a plant and subsequently murdered both the contractor and another inmate at Arkham who knew of Zsasz's ploy. However, both Nightwing and Batman caught up to Zsasz when he tried to escape for the final time and reimprisoned him in Arkham.[2]
Zsasz later appeared in Part 3 and 4 of the Knightfall saga, which also saw characters who debuted in Batman: The Last Arkham storyline return to the Batman comic; most notably Jeremiah Arkham and Amygdala. In Part 3 of Knightfall, Zsasz took an all girl's college hostage and held the students at knife point until Batman arrived. Though weakened both physically and mentally, Batman fought with Zsasz and tried to ignore the lunatic's mockery. He finally snapped, however, after Zsasz said that they were 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. The comic was dubbed in as one of the most psychological comic issues from Batman in a long time.[3][4]
Zsasz later appeared in Detective Comics #796, where he fought Stephanie Brown in her role as Robin. Attempting to slit her throat, he was distracted by her unexpected ferocity and fell back, where he attacked and attempted to kill Batman. However, Stephanie eventually defeats him.
Zsasz makes a brief appereance 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 was not seen in any major villainous role again until Detective Comics #815, released in March 2006, entitled Victims. Before a quarterly psychiatric review, Zsasz killed his guards with metal poles attached to his neck bracket and escaped to kill again. Batman went on a hunt for Zsasz, which proved unsuccessful until Zsasz gained access to a charity event (attended by Bruce Wayne) and stabbed his beloved butler, Alfred Pennyworth, in the stomach. However, Wayne saved Alfred's life by driving him to a hospital. To lure Zsasz to him, Wayne held a press conference in which he announced that Alfred was still alive. Having already made a scar for Alfred, Zsasz realised that his tally was 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 proceeded to the hospital to finish off Alfred. Batman caught him off-guard and knocked him unconscious, thus saving Alfred's life and sending Zsasz back to Arkham.
[edit] Other media
[edit] 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 in the 2005 film Batman Begins, played by Tim Booth, who is a singer with the British band James.[5] In the movie, it is unclear whether Zsasz is supposed to be a serial killer; he is sent to Arkham Asylum along with many assassins who work for Mob boss Carmine Falcone due to the testimony of Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka the Scarecrow). However, when he is let loose from the asylum by the barrage from Ra's Al Ghul, he looks away from the camera and there are clear tally marks on his neck. He later attempts to kill Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes with his knife. Batman saves her by punching Zsasz in the head, but he is still at large by the end of the film. It is unknown whether Booth will reprise his role in the sequel.
Despite being a more prominent character in the Batman graphic novels, Zsasz has a relatively small part in the film and is the only named villain in the movie not to speak, although he does so in the graphic novelisation of the movie and its tie-in video game.
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".
[edit] Video Game Appearances
In the Batman Begins video game, Zsasz appears chained to a wall while Detective Flass asks him what Dr. Jonathan Crane is planning. The dialogue here (provided by Booth) 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] References
- Breyfogle, N. & Grant, A. (1996). Batman: The Last Arkham. DC comics. ISBN 1563891905.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
