Kill Count: Exploring Zsasz’ Body Count in “Detective Comics: Victims”
Gotham City has been known for its population of characters who can be described as anything from anomalous to zany. One of those is the notorious serial killer Zsasz, who debuted in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1. Also known as Mr. Zsasz, he possesses a unique character trait. For each of his victims, he carves a tally into his skin. No one’s ever said he didn’t have a sentimental side.
I find Zsasz to be interesting for multiple reasons. One of those is his aforementioned tally system. Another is being a character so far along the spectrum of morality, especially within a world of superheroes, that it offers limitless opportunities for exploration and storytelling. Needless to say, Zsasz is a character with severely untapped potential.
The creative team of Shane McCarthy, Cliff Chiang, David Baron and Nick J. Napolitano get an opportunity to dig into that in the Detective Comics: Victims storyline. Taking place in issues #815 & #816, his antics hit close to Wayne Manor as he attempts to kill Alfred Pennyworth during a charity event. Being a Zsasz fan and for the fun of it, I wanted to highlight the kill count of our resident murderer in this two issue arc.
Prison escapes are a well known trope in fiction. Sometimes they don’t even involve any killing. That’s certainly not Zsasz’ philosophy, though. He starts off with a bang here by dropping four security guards on his way out as a parting gift. How thoughtful.
Kill count: 4.
Shortly after his escape, the G.C.P.D. have caught up with him. Although they managed to save a young hostage, it cost them their lives. Down goes two police officers and one detective.
Kill count: 7.
He then visited this unlucky couple having dinner in their apartment. Were they watching that channel, or did he need a different soundtrack as he added the new tallies? I guess we’ll never know.
Kill count: 9.
This fellow driving the sports car was clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the two police officers at the hospital? What can you say? Zsasz might SERIOUSLY dislike cops.
Final kill count: 12.
Zsasz’ failure to finish off Alfred stops him just shy of a baker’s dozen worth of tallies. There was also potential for at least two more kills. Those being the kid and another cop. He still managed to keep himself busy in his short stint of freedom.
What adds to the storytelling is that the number of kills wasn’t some high, abstract amount. Not that those don’t have their time and place. The same can be said with deaths that occur completely off panel. When done well, those are fine. But there’s something to be said about seeing the kills and/or aftermath on the page. It’s more intimate. With so many adventures continuing to expand throughout the universe, it’s nice to still have more grounded stories.
This is just an example of the potential for not only Zsasz as a character, but also his place within the wider D.C.U. Here’s hoping DC decides to tap into that and explore his character further. Here’s a new bundle deal: Create more Zsasz stories, get additional dead bodies for free.