The Arrowverses Victor Zsasz Is The Best Version So Far

The Arrowverse’s Victor Zsasz Is The Best Version So Far

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Zsasz is one of of Batman’s most frequently adapted enemies, yet the Arrowverse version introduced in Batwoman may be the most comics-accurate yet.

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The Arrowverses Victor Zsasz Is The Best Version So Far

Warning: The following feature contains SPOILERS for Batwoman Season 2, Episode 3 “Bat Girl Magic!”

Victor Zsasz has been formally introduced into the Arrowverse by the latest episode of Batwoman. Played by Alex Morf (whom superhero fans may recognize from his earlier appearances in Daredevil and Gotham) the show’s take on the infamous serial killer has proven itself to be the best live-action incarnation of Zsasz to date.

Now that the new Batwoman Ryan Wilder has been established and the mystery of Kate Kane’s disappearance introduced, Season 2 of Batwoman seems to be addressing one major complaint about its first season head-on; why aren’t more classic villains running wild in Gotham City in Batman’s absence? While Batwoman Season 1 made reference to the existence of several major members of Batman’s rogues gallery (including Joker and The Riddler), none of them made an appearance on-camera with the notable exception of Hush. To that end, Batwoman Season 2 has teased the appearance of Victor Zsasz along with the Scarecrow, and Black Mask as one of the season’s chief villains.

This is not Zsasz’s first time appearing in a live-action DC Comics’ adaptation. In fact, Zsasz has appeared in film and television a surprising number of times given he’s only been around for the better part of three decades in the comics. Here’s a rundown of the character’s history, where he’s been seen before his appearance in Batwoman, and what makes the Arrowverse take on the character the best one yet.

Zsasz’s Origins & History In The Comics

The Arrowverses Victor Zsasz Is The Best Version So Far

Created by writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle, Victor Zsasz first appeared in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 (June 1992) and quickly became one of the most popular Batman villains introduced during the Dark Age of comics. A four-part storyline titled “The Last Arkham” established Zsasz as a serial killer whose keen intellect was matched only by his sadism. Zsasz was distinguished by two peculiar traits; a compulsive need to cut tally marks into his own flesh to keep track of how many people he had killed and a tendency to pose his victims in idyllic scenes after their deaths, such as propping up a family as if they were watching television together. “The Last Arkham” also revealed Zsasz to be charming, witty, and a master manipulator akin to Hannibal Lecter, who warped the mind of Arkham Asylum’s new chief administrator with some well-chosen words during their sessions together.

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Alan Grant later revealed Victor Zsasz’s origins in a story titled “The First Cut is The Deepest,” which ran in The Batman Chronicles #3 in December 1995. The story centered around Zsasz’s conversation with a new psychiatrist, who asked why he killed when he didn’t exhibit the usual dementia that drove other Arkham Asylum patients or have a traumatic history. Zsasz agreed that he came from an affluent Gotham City family and had been loved well, educated extensively, and had a successful career as a businessman before losing everything he had in one high-stakes poker game against The Penguin. Zsasz was on the verge of committing suicide and jumping off a bridge when he was attacked by a mugger with a knife. The struggle awakened something in Zsasz, who saw the same emptiness in the eyes of the mugger that he saw in his own reflection. Inspired by the revelation that most people wasted their lives and were “robots — zombies enslaved by their own desires,” Zsasz resolved to bring peace to as many poor souls as possible by offering them the release of death, and cut himself as a reminder that “I too, am human just like them.”

It should be noted that while Zsasz prefers knives above all weapons, he is not above using guns or whatever else may be at hand to get the job done. In this Zsasz was unusually practical for a Batman villain, with his only psychological hang-up (apart from being a merciless killer) being that he only lost his cool if someone or something else cut his flesh and “ruined his count.” Zsasz also had surprisingly little ego and no issue with acting as muscle for other Gotham City villains (including Black Mask and The Riddler) or working as a hired killer, so long as he was allowed to continue his work and put more “zombies” to rest.

Zsasz In The Arrowverse

The Arrowverses Victor Zsasz Is The Best Version So Far

The opening scene of “Bat Girl Magic!” showed the Arrowverse version of Zsasz in action, as he entered into a ritzy Gotham City hotel room disguised as a waiter delivering a bottle of champagne and proceeded to set about killing a wealthy businessman and his mistress. Victor Zsasz easily handled the businessman using the champagne bottle as a club, dragging him into the bathroom where his “sudsy paramour” was enjoying a bubble bath. After half-drowning the male victim and commenting that he could have sprung for the room with a tub for two, Zsasz revealed that he had been hired by the man’s wife and nonchalantly noted to the horrified mistress that he did not work cheap. To that end, Zsasz showed her the label of the champagne he’d chosen with a grin and noted that he could have bought something cheaper but that his client “insisted on the finer vintage, because she wanted you to know that she was willing to spend more on you than her husband was.” The scene ended with Zsasz posing the two adulterers in bed together holding hands, before stripping down to his boxer shorts to carve two more marks into his scarred skin.

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While the Arrowverse version of Zsasz doesn’t get a chance to discuss his philosophy or the beliefs that drive him to kill, Alex Morf’s performance perfectly captures the wit and dark humor of the character from the comics. This Zsasz is a joking trickster, who takes pride in his work and joy in what he does. He clearly enjoys the finer things, having a knowledge of fine wines and importing an expensive French skincare lotion to treat his scars despite living on the seedy side of Gotham City, and being a well-known fixer among the circles Ryan Wilder once inhabited. He also has a keen intellect, deducing instantly that the new Batwoman is uncomfortable in her costume when he first meets her and immediately noticing the difference when Ryan Wilder confronts him in a tailor-made Bat-Suit later in the episode.

Why Earlier Zsasz Adaptations Didn’t Make The Cut

Despite his relative youth and obscurity, Zsasz has become one of the most frequently adapted villains of the Batman mythos. He was a reoccurring presence in the Arkham Trilogy of Batman video games and had a minor role (played by Tim Booth) in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, where he was said to be an enforcer for crime boss Carmine Falcone. This idea also informed the version of Victor Zsasz played by Anthony Carrigan in the television series Gotham, who also started out working for Falcone but came to be employed by the Penguin. Zsasz was also a minor villain in the Birds of Prey movie, where he was the right-hand man of Black Mask and played by Chris Messina as a vicious thug who was not overly bright.

Of the three live-action interpretations that preceded the Arrowverse take on Zsasz, Anthony Carrigan’s is probably the closest to the comics, having come to display Zsasz’s trademark dark humor in the later seasons of Gotham. However, the Arrowverse version just edges out the Gotham one for two simple reasons; it presents Zsasz as his own man and it showcases his practicality even as he is cracking wise. Hopefully, Zsasz’s first appearance on Batwoman will not be his last, as this take on the character has proven to be the best live-action adaptation yet.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/batwoman-arrowverse-zsasz-best-comics-why/

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