When it comes to the world of DC Comics, there are a few heroes who have a pretty memorable roster of rogues, aka villains. While Superman and the Scarlet Speedster himself, The Flash, have impressive ones, no one can compete with the Rogues Gallery of the hero Batman.
While The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy and Penguin are classic foes, there is one villain that is incredibly twisted, cruel and terrifying to see come to life. That foe is Victor Zsasz, a serial killer. With that in mind, here are ten things fans always forget about Victor Zsasz.
10 Owned His Own International Company
Believe it or not, but in the villain's origin story, fans learned that Victor was actually a very successful international businessman. Before he began his reign of terror on Gotham and the world at large and became one of Batman’s most haunting foes, he had amassed a large fortune that he added to the money he had inherited from his parents.
Sadly, his parents both perished in a boating accident, sending Victor into a tailspin that included a gambling addiction that fueled his deep depression. This led to him losing several competitions that he bet money on, fueling his addiction.
9 Lost Everything To The Penguin
If one villain or individual can be said to have had the biggest impact on changing Victor into the serial killer he became, it has to be The Penguin. While it was Victor’s addiction to gambling and his own emptiness that came with the loss of his parents, it was Penguin who jump-started everything.
Victor went to the Iceberg Lounge Casino, gambling everything he had and eventually losing it all to the Penguin himself. Broke, alone and depressed, he was about to end it all when a homeless man attacked him. He ended the man and found his calling.
8 Built Escape Tunnel From Arkham Asylum
In his first appearance, he appeared in the story arc Batman: The Last Arkham. There, he was an inmate of Arkham Asylum, who had built a secret tunnel in his cell that would allow him to escape at night, free to commit crimes before returning to his cell, with no one the wiser.
Suspecting Zsasz, Batman and Jim Gordon arrange for Batman to go undercover in Arkham, where Jeremiah Arkham proves to be cruel to patients. However, it's shown Zsasz brainwashed Arkham and turned him into a henchman. It takes Batman and Nightwing to bring Zsasz in and stop him.
7 Questions Himself Facing Leslie Tompkins
During the iconic Batman story No Man’s Land, in which Gotham was isolated from the rest of the country and Batman’s villains began dividing the city up into territories, Victor Zsasz became a patient of Batman ally Leslie Tompkins at her field hospital within the city.
She proved to be one of his greatest challenges, as her positivity and heartfelt, selfless charity was an affront to the emptiness he believed all humanity had, which led to his crimes themselves. She managed to give the villain pause, but eventually, even she could not dissuade him and he succumbed to his evil.
6 Joined Secret Society Of Super-Villains
Interestingly enough, Victor was a part of the iconic DC Crossover event Infinite Crisis. In this story, Superboy-Prime, Alexander Luthor of Earth 3, and Kal-L escape alongside Earth-2 Lois Lane to the Post-Crisis universe. Having gone mad inside the pocket dimension they created, Alexander and Superboy-Prime lead attacks on the DC Universe, determined to create a perfect reality.
In the midst of this major storyline, Victor Zsasz made a surprising appearance in issue #7 of the Infinite Crisis series, as one of the villains chosen to attack Metropolis for the Secret Society of Super-Villains.
5 Nearly Took Alfred’s Life
Victor stayed pretty absent for a long time after Infinite Crisis, reappearing in Detective Comics #815. After escaping his imprisonment, he goes on another spree taking out victims, until he arrives at a charity event. Once there, he finds it being hosted by Bruce Wayne, and in the chaos he stabs Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce’s ally and only family.
Surviving the attack, Bruce makes an announcement of Alfred’s survival, knowing Victor would have already made a tally mark on his body. Needing to feel complete, he goes after Alfred in the hospital, but is quickly stopped and imprisoned by the Batman.
4 Went To Work For Black Mask
One of the most unique turns of events happens during the famous storyline Battle for the Cowl, where he is recruited by none other than Black Mask. This Black Mask is new, not Roman Sionis, and it is revealed he offers to make Zsasz’s dreams come true after Victor saves Black Mask from former employee Firefly.
It turns out later that the identity of the new Black Mask is none other than Jeremiah Arkham, the former doctor turned henchman of Victor who had his mind altered by chemicals used by several villains of Batman’s Rogues Gallery, driving him to madness.
3 Nearly Lost Life To Damian Wayne
Taking Black Mask’s offer, Victor begins dressing in Armani suits and begins building a financial empire. This leads to an investigation by Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and the new Robin. Damian learns that Victor has had children kidnapped to form a fighting arena, where each child has to fight to end the life of another child until finally facing Victor.
Enraged at this revelation after being captured by one of Victor’s associates, Damian subdues Victor and hurts the villain badly. Keeping his father’s moral code, he purposely misses Victor’s spine with his sword, keeping the villain barely alive.
2 Turned Into A Man-Bat
In the New 52 era of DC Comics, Victor makes several appearances. After being released by The Joker during the Death of the Family storyline, Victor is hired by Ignatius Ogilvy, aka Emperor Penguin, to “leave his mark” on Gotham, handing Victor a knife with Emperor Penguin’s insignia on it and coated with the Man-Bat serum in an attempt to turn Gotham citizens into monsters.
Knowing Victor’s obsession with the hunt for victims will lead to an outbreak of Man-Bat creatures destroying the city, Emperor Penguin unleashes the serial killer, who eventually temporarily becomes a Man-Bat himself.
1 Joined Riddler’s Army Of Villains
Victor has made a handful of appearances in the DC Rebirth era of comics. The first appearance found Batman and new ally Duke Thomas hunting down Victor through the streets of Gotham after a series of victims are linked to the serial killer. However, his most memorable appearance to date happens to be during a memorable Batman Rebirth era storyline.
In the War of Jokes And Riddles, Victor joined the Riddler in his war against the Joker and his allies. Joining forces with a gang of villains lead by Killer Moth, Victor went on a crime spree that fueled war.