DC Comics' Absolute Victor Zsasz Confirmed

The manner in which the Absolute Universe has treated DC villains, for the most part, is based on a pretty simple mantra: make them scarier. That has been especially true for Absolute Batman's rogues gallery, which makes Absolute Joker a demon posing as an aristocrat.

Among the more recent character introductions to writer Scott Snyder's smash hit series is supposedly Victor Zsasz, whom fans would normally recognize by his unsettling appearance. However, his debut seems to be rooted in a reversal of the more common goal of the comic.

Absolute Victor Zsasz Is Not What Batman Fans Might Have Expected

In Absolute Batman #21, Harvey Dent recalls to his childhood friends a recent encounter he had with a former acquaintance​​​​​​, if you will, named "Victor." The former Assistant District Attorney explains that he had sent this serial killer to jail, but after his association with Batman was discovered, the criminals he sent away were released, including this psychopath.

The disgraced lawyer, otherwise known as Absolute Two-Face for his disfigured left side, admits to following Victor and watching him stroll down a Gotham City sidewalk with a woman under each arm. He then describes the killer's stomach-churning MO, which involves slowly carving his victims from foot to face, and imagines giving the convict a taste of his own medicine.

It should be noted that Nick Dragotta's artwork only shows Victor in one panel and from the back, but one can assume that he is gifted with good looks if he managed to walk home with more than one woman to keep him company. If that is the case and if this Victor does indeed have the last name "Zsasz," this would be far cry from the version of the character fans know best.

Zsasz Is One Of The Most Visually Frightening Batman Villains

Created by writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle, Victor Zsasz made his DC Comics debut in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 in 1992. He is a sadomasochistic serial murderer identified by the tally marks he carves on his skin to keep track of how many victims he has claimed.

Needless to say, Zsasz is not exactly pretty to look at, at least not nearly as much as one might imagine Absolute Batman's Victor to be. Therein lies the question of how the series intends to bring his origin story up to speed. Might he be hiding his tally marks under his clothes, or will it be Absolute Two-Face who initiates the carvings himself as a form of punishment?

Many of Zsasz's appearances outside of DC Comics have been relatively subdued, especially in the visual sense, such as Tim Booth's brief portrayal as an enforcer in Carmine Falcone's mob in 2005's Batman Begins. A similar version of the role appeared on the live-action series Gotham, as played by Anthony Carrigan, more recently known as Metamorpho in 2025's Superman.

In the 2020 DC Extended Universe film Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), Victor Zsasz is once depicted as a sidekick to another antagonist, in this case Ewan McGregor as Roman "Black Mask" Sinonis. At least Chris Messina's portrayal is not without his scars, which look less like deliberate tally marks and more like tattoos without the ink.

Absolute Batman #21 is now available where comic books are sold.