Evolution of Mr. Zsasz In Tv Shows & Movies (2023)

Описание: Victor Zsasz is the most unrepentant of sociopaths, a serial killer who marks the death of his victims on his skin with tally marks. He believes that human beings are mindless 'robots' who attempt to give themselves purpose and meaning by materialistic and shallow means. He is very intelligent and deceptively cunning, often trying to manipulate or intimidate his victims before killing them and arranging them in lifelike poses for the police and Batman to find.

Zsasz has been busy
Zsasz has been busy
Mr. Zsasz lived a privileged existence. He had a loving, wealthy family and graduated top of his class in college, later going on to amass his own fortune of his own through various companies. At the age of 25, his parents tragically died in a boating accident, and while he accepted what had happened, Zsasz could not help but feel depressed at their loss. In an attempt to distract himself from his growing depression, Zsasz became swept up in high stakes gambling. He neglected his companies while gaining, and just as often losing, huge sums of money in card games. It all came to a head in one game, in which Zsasz bet everything to his name in a game against the Penguin and lost. It was then that Zsasz realized that no amount of wealth could change the hollow person he had become or give any meaning to his life, and he fled the casino to attempt suicide at the Gotham Bridge. Before he could jump, a transient threatened him with a knife for whatever he had on him. Zsasz fought back and, upon looking into the homeless man's eyes, realized he was just as empty as he himself was. He killed the man and decided to free 'zombies' of their mortal coils, cutting a notch in himself for each one to remind himself that he too was a human like them; a choice that has caused him to have numerous run-ins with Batman and landed him in Arkham Asylum and Blackgate almost as many times.

Story Arcs
The Last Arkham

In The Last Arkham, his first original appearence, he has already 47 known victims. Jeremiah Arkham describes him as serial killer without aparent motif, too clever and dangerous that seems unconcerned. A challenge for psychiatry. Zsasz uses hidden tunels to escape from Arkham and kills a family, two students and one pedestrian, each murder was carried out with a knife, his favorite weapon, and putting them as if they were still alive. Batman pretend to kill an officer and get caught in Arkham so he can be near Zsasz and expose him. While Batman was in the asylum, Zsasz convinces Jeremiah to reunite all the inmates and confront them against Batman. After that, Victor kills Zolly Hiram, architect in charge of recostruction of asylum and designer of the tunnels offered to the highest bidder, making it appear like he had committed suicide and Everard Mallitt, the only inmate who knew about the existence of the tunnels. With the help of Nightwing, Batman solved the mistery of his crimes. At the end Zsasz almost kills Nightwing but is beaten by Batman and returned to his cell.

Knightfall

Toying with his victims
Toying with his victims
During Knightfall, he held a school of girls hostage. Batman came on scene and promptly engaged the villain. During the fight, Zsasz injured Batman and taunted him with the notion that they were more alike than Batman could like to think, relating their method of hunting down others and insinuating that Batman got just as much enjoyment over attacking the guilty as Zsasz did the innocent. This threw Batman into an almost uncontrolled rage, causing him to viciously beat Zsasz almost to the point of death before he was stopped by the police and Zsasz was properly apprehended.

When he escaped prison some time later, he attacked Alfred Pennyworth while Bruce Wayne was at a charity event. However, because Alfred was rushed to a hospital before he could die and after a mark had already been carved for him, Zsasz became hellbent on finishing the job and killing the butler. Batman fought with the killer, losing him when the police, who were at the time also trying to apprehend Batman, intervened in their fight and inadvertently allowed Zsasz to escape. In a risky move, he lured Zsasz to Alfred's location and managed to subdue and capture him seconds before he could kill Alfred.

No Man's Land

In the No Man's Land storyline, Mr. Zsasz is the leader of a gang. He is severely injured and ends up being treated by Leslie Thomkins. Even while he is unconscious he is heavily restrained, although it is not enough to stop him from attacking Leslie's assistant with only his fingernails in his sleep. He is later almost killed by Killer Croc, as he was responsible for the death of his best friend and right-hand man. Upon finally waking, he threatens and almost kills Leslie, but is swiftly stopped and captured by Batman, Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), and Huntress.