Maxie Zeus

Maxie Zeus

Maxie Zeus
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Detective Comics #483 (May 1979)
Created by Denny O'Neil
Don Newton
In-story information
Alter ego Maximilian "Maxie" Zeus
Team affiliations The New Olympians

Maximilian "Maxie" Zeus is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a criminal mastermind who believes that he is the god Zeus. He is an occasional enemy of Batman. He first appeared in Detective Comics #483 (April–May 1979).

Fictional character biography

Maxie Zeus is a former history teacher who lost his mind when his wife left him. He became a gangster and used his cunning and intelligence to rise to power amidst the chaos in Gotham City's underworld. He has fought Batman on several occasions before being committed to Arkham Asylum.

Because Maxie seemed less dangerous than the Joker, Two-Face, and other notorious Arkham inmates, Arkham's administrators did not commit him in the maximum security wing, despite repeated recommendations from Batman to do so (Batman and the Outsiders #14). Batman's concern was vindicated when Maxie escaped to form a team of Greek Mythology-based superhuman agents called the New Olympians. He attempted to kidnap Olympic athlete Lacinia Nitocris and force her to marry him and become a mother to his daughter Medea. This plot was foiled by Batman and the Outsiders, who bested the Olympians in a series of Olympic-style games.[1]

Maxie was one of the villains that escaped Arkham when Bane brought down the walls of Arkham Asylum in the Knightfall storyline. Maxie's escape attempt was disrupted when he collided with a tree.[2]

Some time later, however, he was drawn into a plot engineered by the children of Ares—Deimos, Phobos—and Eris (Ares' sister) to merge Gotham City with Ares' throne capital, the Aeropagus. The intent was to re-establish Ares' rule on earth. Maxie was killed as a result of that plot, and his sacrifice brought about Ares' return. However, their scheme was foiled by Wonder Woman, Batman and their allies, and Ares himself banished his children back to Tartarus.

In issues of Robin, a vigilante called Violet was trying to track down an illegal casino named "Maxie's", with chips bearing a Zeus-like profile. Presumably, Maxie survived his encounter with the Children of Ares. After Violet was discovered by Zeus's guards, both Robin and Violet managed to escape unharmed, as detectives that Robin was working with on the case raid the casino and arrest Zeus, who surrenders without a fight after an officer physically threatened him.

Maxie returns in Kevin Smith's Batman: Cacophony. Apparently cured of his delusions, he has been hired by the Joker to use Joker Venom on random people on April First as an April Fool's Day joke, but instead mixes the poison with ecstasy to produce a new designer drug called "Chuckles". He uses the profits to fund his empire as well as building his dream of creating a public school that is run like a private school. The Joker, angry that his creation is being used for a noble purpose, swears revenge against Maxie. After witnessing the death of his nephew and a dozen other children when the Joker blows up a school, Maxie suffers a psychotic break and reverts to his Zeus persona. After Batman rescues him from an attack by the Joker at a nightclub, he visits Maxie again at his penthouse. After temporarily restoring Maxie's sanity with a massive dose of antipsychotics, Batman convinces him to confess and turn himself in to the police. This move is later revealed to be part of Batman's plan to lure the Joker and Onomatopoeia out of hiding.

In Batman Eternal, Maxie Zeus is used as a host for the spirit of Deacon Blackfire as he attempts to use the spirits of the Arkham Asylum inmates to return to life, only to be thwarted by Batwing and Jim Corrigan.

Other versions

Batman: Arkham Asylum

An electrified, emaciated version of Maxie Zeus appears in the graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean. Batman finds him connected to the electroshock therapy room of Arkham Asylum, perpetually receiving electrical currents, which he believes to be "fire from heaven". On the one occasion in the story in which he and Batman cross paths, he compares himself to the supreme gods in many mythologies. He also does not recognize Batman, warmly addressing him as "a pilgrim". Early drafts of the script describes Zeus as resembling his original comic book counterpart, but with female breasts and genitalia crudely drawn on his filthy toga.

The Batman Adventures

In The Batman Adventures (a comic series based on the animated series), Maxie Zeus escapes Arkham several times and teams up with villains such as Lex Luthor and Ra's al Ghul to destroy Gotham. Each time, he is foiled by Batman and Robin and returned to Arkham.

The Batman Strikes!

In an issue of The Batman Strikes!, Maxie joins a group of villains led by the Joker. However, it is revealed that this is a simulation created by Batman to train Robin. On a later issue, Maxie goes on a criminal rampage alongside Ragdoll, Spellbinder, and Everywhere Man, but is defeated by Batgirl.

Batman Beyond

In Batman Beyond comic series, Bruce tells Terry a secured location where he has kept some of his most disturbed rogues in captivity. Maxie Zeus and Mad Hatter were among the catatonic inhabitants. It's possible that Maxie has suffered a deal from eletro shock which could have been brought on by the crude methods at Arkham Asylum or by his delusions of godhood which forced him to wield a lightning discharging staff.

In other media

Television

Maxie Zeus as seen in Batman: The Animated Series.

Film

Video games

See also

References

  1. ↑ Batman and the Outsiders #14
  2. ↑ Batman #491
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