Victor Zsasz

Victor Zsasz
Zsasz on the cover of Batman: Streets of Gotham #4 (November 2009). Art by Dustin Nguyen.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 (June 1992)
Created by	Alan Grant Norm Breyfogle
In-story information
Team affiliations	Secret Society of Super Villains
Notable aliases	Mr. Zsasz
Abilities	Extremely cunning Strength and agility typical of a dedicated athlete Unpredictability

Victor Zsasz (/ˈʒæʃ/ or /ˈzæz/) or (/ˈʒɒs/ is a fictional supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as an enemy of Batman. He is a serial killer who usually kills with a knife and carves a tally mark somewhere on himself for every victim.

Zsasz first appeared in Shadow of the Bat #1 (1992) as part of the Batman: The Last Arkham four-part story arc, and his origin story was told in Batman Chronicles #3 (1996); both stories were written by Alan Grant and drawn by Norm Breyfogle. As revealed in the foreword to the trade paperback form of The Last Arkham, Zsasz's name is derived from that of psychiatrist Thomas Szasz; Grant saw the name while visiting a library.

In Batman Chronicles #3, told by Zsasz himself, it is learned that Victor Zsasz was the head of his own international company and had amassed a large personal fortune in addition to his family's wealth. At the age of 25 his parents died in a boating accident, sending him into a deep depression. He turned to gambling, losing money in competitions around the world. One night, he ended up in a Gotham City casino known as the Iceberg Lounge, where he gambled everything he owned and ended up losing it all to the Penguin; afterwards he saw that his life was empty, driven by desire, and there was no point to his existence. While he was attempting to commit suicide by jumping from Gotham Bridge, a homeless man tried to assault him with a knife after he refused to give him money. Instinctively grabbing the knife, Zsasz saw in the man's eyes that all life is meaningless and that nothing nor anyone matters. He then proceeded to stab the man to death as a "gift" for saving his life. From then on, he dedicated himself to "liberating" others from their pointless existence (Zsasz often refers to victims as "zombies"). He usually preys on young women, but has no qualms over whom he murders. He slits his victims' throats and leaves them in lifelike poses, adding a tally mark to himself each time. He has been diagnosed as insane and is regularly incarcerated in Arkham Asylum courtesy of Batman, breaking out on occasion to carry on killing.