Electrocutioner

The Electrocutioner is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe. The current version first appeared in Detective Comics #644, (May 1992), and was created by Chuck Dixon, Tom Lyle and Scott Hanna.

Fictional character biography

Unnamed Buchinsky

Lester Buchinsky's unnamed brother was the first Electrocutioner. He was eventually killed by Vigilante (Adrian Chase).^[1] An undead version of him was called forth by Circe during a battle between her and Earth's heroes.^[2]

Unrevealed

The second Electrocutioner used a costume rigged to generate a lethal electrical shock against criminals (including Cannon and Saber), and ran afoul of Batman, who disapproved of his extreme justice.

Lester Buchinsky

Initially working in the cause of justice just like the first Electrocutioner, Lester Buchinsky became a criminal and mercenary. Overly reliant on his ability to generate electricity, the Electrocutioner has faced (and been defeated by) Batman, Robin, and Nightwing.

In at least one scheme, working with the Cluemaster to steal an armored car full of money, Spoiler works to oppose him. Ironically, Spoiler would prove to be Cluemaster's daughter. The stupidity of Lester's second partner, a hulking brute with delusions of intelligence calling himself Czonk The Baffler, would also hamper their plans.^[3]

For a time, Lester was frequently seen in the employ of Blüdhaven crime boss Blockbuster.

In Infinite Crisis, Lester became a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains.^[4]

During the 34th week of the series 52, Electrocutioner appear as part of a Suicide Squad operation against Black Adam.^[5]

In the Rise and Fall storyline, Green Arrow is still hunting Electrocutioner and those who worked with Prometheus; keeping secret his murder of the man as the rest of the JLA tries to track him down. Green Arrow confronts the Electrocutioner, who set off the device that devastated Star City in Justice League: Cry for Justice. He was close to killing the man when Black Canary stops him during their argument. Black Canary then realizes what Green Arrow did, thus Electrocutioner escapes from Green Arrow's attempt to bring Electrocutioner down.^[6] Although Electrocutioner was defeated and horrifically injured by Speedy.^[7] Green Arrow's arrival convinces Speedy that killing is not the answer, and the two archers take him into custody.^[8] Once Electrocutioner awoke from his coma, Roy Harper vowed revenge. He broke into the jail and killed Electrocutioner despite Green Arrow's protests to the contrary.^[9]

Powers and abilities

The Electrocutioner’s costume possesses circuitry that allows him to either stun or kill his victims at will with a bolt of electricity.

Other versions

Batman: Arkham Knight prequel

• A second Electrocutioner appeared briefly in the Batman: Arkham Knight prequel comic. The new unnamed Electrocutioner claims to be an underling of Lester Buchinsky and had acquired several of Buchinsky's prototypes and modified it using Wayne Industries technology. Electrocutioner attacks Batman shortly after the ending of Arkham City, but is quickly defeated due to his arrogance, which Batman notes as the "exact problem with [his] old boss". He is then left there for the GCPD to find, but the Arkham Knight appears and kills him with a shotgun.

In other media

Television

• Electrocutioner appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Cat and the Canary." Electrocutioner was seen at Roulette's Meta-Brawl fighting Bloodsport in a match. He was later seen as a member of the Secret Society.

• Electrocutioner appears in the Gotham episode "Rogues' Gallery", portrayed by Christopher Heyerdahl.^[10] The episode features Jack Gruber, an inmate in Arkham Asylum charged with rape and murder and declared a "grade-A sociopath", experimenting on other inmates with electroconvulsive therapy. After his accomplice, Aaron Danzing (whom he experimented on and now controls as a result), kills at least two guards and the Asylum Director Gerry Lang, Gruber escapes from Arkham. In "What the Little Bird Told Him," Edward Nygma discovers that Jack Gruber is an alias of Jack Buchinsky and gives this info to James Gordon and Harvey Bullock where he allowed himself to get sent to Arkham Asylum. Buchinsky later does an unexpected attack on Sal Maroni's restaurant and zaps Oswald Cobblepot unconscious. After Maroni and his men are placed in protective custody Buchinsky begins his attack on the Gotham City Police Department headquarters, knocking everyone unconscious. As Danzing starts to grab Maroni, James Gordon arrives (having been protected by wearing rubber shoes) to fight them. Buchinsky claims Maroni is a false friend and that Gordon is simply satisfying his ego. Gordon uses a nearby beverage to shorten out Electrocutioner's gear. Electrocutioner and Danzing are then arrested.

Video games

• In Batman for the Nintendo, Electrocutioner was the boss of stage 3. He had an electric sword-arm that was used to fling arcing high-voltage projectiles. Along with Killer Moth and Firebug, he was a supervillain working for The Joker.

• The Lester Buchinsky version of Electrocutioner appears in Batman: Arkham Origins, voiced by Steven Blum. He appears as one of the assassins hired by Black Mask to kill Batman.^[11] He is the second assassin to face Batman, first appearing as a pit fighter on Penguin's ship. He starts boasting before fighting Batman, which allows him to knock out Electrocutioner with one kick to the face. However, he is able to escape after Batman leaves the pit, promising Batman he'll fight him again. Batman later tracks the electromagnetic pulse given off by his gloves to the meeting at the Royal Hotel with the remaining assassins. The Joker sheds his Black Mask disguise when he disrupts Electrocutioner's game on his phone during the meeting. Electrocutioner demands to know who the Joker is and the clown fires his gun near him as a warning. Electrocutioner is pushed out a window by Joker (who claimed that Electrocutioner has nothing else to contribute) and crashes onto a chandelier in the lobby of the hotel killing him. Batman takes Electrocutioner's gloves for himself as a gadget which become a key tool for the remainder of the game. Batman uses them to revive Alfred as a defibrillator, then does the same to Bane after remembering the Electrocutioner's threat to "jump-start his heart, and then kill him again". A strange fact after the game is completed is that Buchinsky's corpse is still on the chandelier in the Royal Hotel's lobby.

See also

• List of Batman Family adversaries

References

External links

• DCU Gude: Electrocutioner I
• DCU Gude: Electrocutioner III