Zeiss (comics)

Zeiss is a DC Comics villain, primarily an enemy of the Batman. He first appeared in Batman issue #582.

Fictional character biography

After the death of his parents, Philo Zeiss was taken in by his uncle Victor, the gardener of a Sicilian mafia lord. When his Uncle died soon after, the Sicilian took the young Zeiss in and, seeing something in the youth, prepared him for life as a killer for the mob. At first the young Philo was brought to watch mob enforcers work, then later was trained him as a mob enforcer himself. Feeling a debt to the Sicilian, Zeiss agreed to have surgery performed on his spinal column and optic nerves to enhance his perception and reflexes to superhuman levels. As an adult, Zeiss relocated to Gotham City and became the bodyguard of Gotham mob boss Lew Moxon.

After a falling out with Moxon following Deadshot's assassination attempt, he took up an offer to work for "Junior" Galante. He fought against Catwoman when she impeded Junior's efforts to expand into Gotham's East Side, nearly killing her in single combat and threatening those around her. When she fought him a second time, during the War Games incident, she defeated him after he killed Lew Moxon and his bodyguard Hellhound.

Zeiss' Vendetta

Zeiss harbors a personal vendetta against the Batman, and considers himself a superior combatant and strategist in comparison to the Dark Knight. His single-mindedness for defeating Batman in single combat has interfered with Zeiss' success on at least two occasions:

• Zeiss allowed his employer Lew Moxon to be critically injured by the assassin Deadshot when (instead of focusing on protection) Zeiss was trying to kill Batman hand-to-hand. Zeiss was subsequently relieved of his protection duties and thrown out of Moxon's mob.

• After repairing his goggles (which were damaged by a batarang) and reviewing the information he had gathered with them about Batman's combat style, Zeiss fought Batman to a standstill, boasting that he knew every move Batman would make before he made it. Batman sought help to defeat Zeiss, and was aided by the second Batgirl. Batgirl had never been "recorded" by Zeiss, and was a hand-to-hand fighter comparable (if not superior) to Batman himself. Thus, Zeiss was quickly defeated and imprisoned.

Powers and abilities

Zeiss has cybernetically accelerated reflexes and his eyes and optic nerves have been altered to maximize his abilities. To this end, he wears a pair of high-tech goggles, which are wired directly to his frontal lobe. The goggles allow him to record and analyze with great detail the movements and tactics of the enemies he faces and to anticipate or emulate those tactics to a degree. This system, combined with his extensive martial-arts training, makes him a formidable hand-to-hand combatant.

See also

• List of Batman Family enemies