Zsasz

Biodata

Background / History

Early killings and Batman’s disappearance

Zsasz committed his first murder at twenty-five, killing a homeless man with a blade in the rain. He remembers the experience as the moment he became the “true Victor Zsasz” 4.

About a year before meeting William, Zsasz attacked an orphan girl at the Port. She nearly put out his eye with a Batarang, then explained that homeless people had pulled an unconscious Batman from the Gotham River and divided up his equipment. Although Zsasz promised to spare her in exchange for information, he slit her windpipe afterward 4.

Escape and capture

Police traced Zsasz’s abandoned vehicle to a disused sugar factory in the Pauli District. Wounded during the operation, he posed as an injured officer and seized William when the rookie approached to help. William drove him through a police checkpoint while Zsasz maintained the disguise and held him at gunpoint 2 3.

Zsasz took William to an abandoned apartment near the harbor, where he maintained a spotless living area and a windowless holding cell. William survived by pretending to share his fascination with death and demonstrating his skill at dissecting Lina’s body. Zsasz began treating him as a friend, but secretly put a pill into his coffee, intending to keep him permanently 3 4 5.

William avoided the coffee by offering to treat Zsasz’s bullet wound, then covertly injected him with lidocaine. Unable to move but still conscious, Zsasz conceded that William’s performance had fooled him. William considered killing him, but relented after the system warned that doing so would reset his accumulated experience and remove his system items 5 6.

When police arrived, Zsasz took responsibility for the dissections rather than implicating William. Officers also recovered the bodies of his father, mother, and younger brother from the freezer. His arrest ended a record of more than a dozen failed capture attempts and prompted a celebration at the police station 6 16.

Confinement in Arkham

William’s tracking system confirmed Zsasz’s placement in Arkham Asylum. Later, Zsasz refused to sign his statement unless William visited him 8 41.

During their meeting, Zsasz claimed that his medication had not reduced his urge to kill and was instead making him “stranger and stranger.” Restrained by his neck and wrists to an iron chair, he begged William to rescue him. William refused to free him but considered the allegation worth investigating. Hugo Strange subsequently dismissed Zsasz’s account as hallucination and defended the treatment 42.

Appearance

Zsasz has a scrawny build, a heavily scarred face, and a surprisingly pleasant, raspy voice 3.

• Knife scars: Straight scars cover his face, with additional scars scattered across his exposed body 3 4.
• Facial expression: His scars twist together when he smiles, resembling centipedes 4.
• Injuries during the hostage incident: Gunshot wounds affect his waist and leg; blood loss leaves him pale and trembling 3 4.

Personality

Zsasz takes pleasure in fear, suffering, and the details of violent death. He prefers blades and regards firearms with contempt, although he will use a gun when necessary. William’s anatomical description of a knife killing immediately captures his interest 4.

His attachment to preserved bodies is possessive and reverential. Calling Lina a “corpse” provokes him into pressing a gun against William’s forehead, while assurances that she is his private collection earn his approval. He is also meticulous about his home, threatening to kill William if he dirties the carpet 3 4 5.

Friendship does not make him safe. Even after declaring William his best friend, Zsasz plans to keep him forever “just like Lina” and continues watching for betrayal. Nevertheless, he protects William from police scrutiny after being captured, insisting internally that he will not betray a friend who betrayed him first 5 6.

Abilities & Skills

Physical strength and close combat

Zsasz possesses strength far beyond what his thin appearance suggests 3.

• Seizes William by the throat, twists his wrist, and takes his service pistol before he can resist 3.
• Has killed three armed officers with his bare hands, according to Gordon’s recollection 6.
• Can still be incapacitated by drugs: William’s lidocaine injection leaves him conscious but unable to move 6.

Bladed weapons

Blades are Zsasz’s preferred instruments of killing 4.

• Uses a dagger to cut victims’ throats and owns a collection of bladed weapons 4.
• Claims he could have thrown a knife through William’s throat when the rookie left cover 3.
• His injuries prevent him from carrying out the bladed killing he initially intends for William 4.

Deception and vigilance

Zsasz exploits other people’s expectations while remaining suspicious of their intentions 3 5.

• Uses an injured-officer disguise to lure William close and escape the police cordon 3.
• Secretly adds a pill to William’s coffee while promising to let him leave 5.
• Checks a drug vial for punctures and signs of opening, but misses William’s concealed syringe 5.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Blade collection — A box containing assorted weapons, including the Miniature Dagger William uses for dissection 4.
• Batarang — Taken from the orphan girl who attacked him; becomes a lead in William’s search for Batman 4 7.
• William’s service pistol — Stolen during the factory encounter and used to control his hostage 3 4 5.
• Medical kit — Contains forceps, suturing supplies, lidocaine, and atracurium; William uses its contents to treat and incapacitate him 5 6.
• Freezer and preservation supplies — Keeps bodies in a freezer and has formalin available for preserving Lina’s organs 4 5 6.

Relationships

• William Hans — Hostage turned self-proclaimed best friend. Zsasz remains attached after William captures him, protects him during questioning, and later appeals to him for rescue 3 5 6 42.
• Lina — A deceased woman whose body Zsasz treats as a treasured private collection. He commissions William to remove and preserve her organs 4 5.
• James Gordon — Police pursuer whom Zsasz compares to an “extra-strength glue trap.” William’s feigned dislike of Gordon helps secure Zsasz’s cooperation during the escape 3.
• The orphan girl at the Port — Victim who supplied information about Batman’s recovery from the river. Zsasz killed her despite promising otherwise 4.

System Role

Zsasz is presented by Little A as a wealthy heir escaping a family wedding and is included among the system’s “romanceable girls,” despite being a male serial killer fleeing police 3.

• Escape quest rewards: William receives a High-Society Party Invitation and a Marking Beacon. The invitation later grants VIP treatment at Falcone’s party 3 22.
• Batman investigation: Zsasz’s account directs William toward the people who recovered Batman’s equipment from the river 4 7 12.
• Shop unlock: Winning over Zsasz counts toward the three completed missions that eventually unlock the system Shop 50.

Notable Quotes

“Thank the gods. Praise death. You make me feel I'm not alone.” 5

“Just watch. I won't betray a friend, even if that friend betrayed me first.” — Zsasz’s thoughts after his capture 6