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Maximilian "Maxie" Zeus is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe. He is a criminal mastermind who believes that he is the god Zeus from Greek mythology. He is an occasional enemy of Batman. He first appeared in Detective Comics #483 (April–May 1979).

Fictional character biography [link]

Maxie, originally a slightly built, almost mild man, is originally a history teacher and a married man. Through unrevealed circumstances he loses his wife and his sanity. He becomes a crime lord, and uses his cunning and intelligence to rise to power amidst the chaos in Gotham City's underworld caused by the city's numerous insane criminals. He fights Batman on several occasions before being committed to Arkham Asylum.

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

Maxie is one of the villains that escape Arkham when Bane brings down the walls of Arkham Asylum in the Knightfall storyline. Maxie's escape attempt is disrupted when he collides with a tree.^[2]

Some time later, however, he is drawn into a plot engineered by the children of Ares — Deimos, Phobos, and Eris to merge Gotham City with Ares' throne capital, the Aeropagus. The intent is re-establish Ares' rule on earth. Maxie is killed as a result of that plot and his sacrifice brought about Ares' return. However, their scheme is 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 is trying to track down an illegal casino named "Maxie's", with chips bearing a Zeus-like profile. Presumably, Maxie somehow survived his encounter with the Children of Ares. After Violet is discovered by Zeus's guards, both Robin and Violet manage 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 threatens him.

Maxie recently returned in Kevin Smith's "Batman: Cacophony". Apparently cured of his delusions, he had been hired by the Joker to use Joker Venom on random people on April First as an April Fool's Day joke, but instead mixed the poison with ecstasy to produce a new designer drug called "Chuckles" which he's been using some of the profits from to fund his empire as well as building his dream of preventing social segregation of foreign cultures in Gotham by creating a public school run like a private school. The Joker, angry that his creation was being used for recreation, 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 back to his Zeus persona. After being rescued from an attack by the Joker at a nightclub by Batman, the Dark Knight visits Maxie again at his penthouse. After temporarily restoring Maxie's sanity with a massive dose of antipsychotics, Batman convinces him to confess to being behind the distribution of Chuckles 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 (the latter of whom has been hunting Batman intent on killing him and taking his mask as a trophy) out of hiding.

Other versions [link]

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth [link]

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". Maxie is even more insane than before, having developed messianic delusions in addition to his god complex. On the one occasion in the story in which he and Batman cross paths, he compares himself to the supreme gods in many mythologies, including Jesus Christ of Christianity. He also doesn't recognize Batman, warmly addressing him as "a pilgrim." In this novel there are evident references to the 1972 English comedy film The Ruling Class, played by Peter O'Toole and, in particular, to character of "The Electric Messiah" which appears in this movie.

In other media [link]

Television [link]

• Maxie Zeus appears in Batman: The Animated Series voiced by Steve Susskind. He is depicted as a shipping tycoon with underworld connections. He carries a metal rod appropriately in the shape of a thunderbolt (shown in the picture at right), which he uses to electrocute his victims into unconsciousness. In his debut episode "Fire From Olympus", after recovering from a serious financial crisis after turning to smuggling following a run of bad business, Maxie goes insane, develops a god complex, and starts to believe that he is the Greek god Zeus and his lawyer-girlfriend is the muse Clio. When Batman arrives at the top of his building, Maxie believes he is Hades, as "no mortal can reach 'Mount Olympus" without his permission, and even calls the caped crusader his "brother". Maxie steals a giant lightning gun which he uses on "pitiful mortals" who dare to oppose him, although on a couple of occasions he seems to revert to normal. When Clio tries to stop him, he has her gagged and bound to the barrel of the lightning gun by his henchmen, though she is saved by Batman before she can be killed. Maxie is eventually subdued by Batman with help from Clio. While being dragged through Arkham Asylum, he looks at the prisoners watching him and believes that he sees a Greek deity in their place: the Joker is Hermes the trickster god, Two-Face is the "double-faced" Janus (actually a Roman god), and Poison Ivy is the goddess Demeter. His last line is "Now at last, Mighty Zeus is home", indicating ironically that he is now where he belongs: in Arkham Asylum.

• Maxie Zeus first appeared in The Batman episode "Thunder" voiced by Phil LaMarr. In this interpretation, he wears high-tech armor with gloves that generate electricity and is sane for most of the part. The gladiator armor suit he wears is more similar to Roman mythology than Greek. It is also notable that this version of Maxie Zeus despises being called "Maxie" as it is shown that when Batgirl calls him that and he gives her a paralyzing electric shock replying "And the name is Maximillian!". Maxie here is an eccentric/deluded multimillionaire and owner of Zeus Industries, who is obsessed with Greek mythology. He runs for mayor against Marion Grange. Maxie Zeus rode in his airship New Olympus in order to make Gotham City his kingdom after losing his election against Grange. Batman and Batgirl defeated him. When recovering and wondering what happened to New Olympus, Batman stated that it "became the New Atlantis." In "Rumors", Maxie Zeus later reappeared as one of the many villains captured by Rumor.

Video games [link]

• Maxie Zeus appears as an enemy in the NES Batman videogame. He rushes at Batman. He looks nothing like his other appearances.

• Maxie Zeus appears as an unlockable bio in Batman: Arkham Asylum. His cell (which contains a book on Greek mythology and has Greek symbols drawn on the wall) is found adjacent to the asylum's ECT room in the Intensive Treatment's Patient Pacification Center.

• Maxie Zeus's nightclub, The Gotham Olympus, can be found in Batman: Arkham City. Scanning the statue at the front's lightning bolt will unlock an Arkham City Story, explaining that Maxie has disappeared after a few electro-shock therapy sessions. Despite his status, his nightclub continues to run on schedule.

Miscellaneous [link]

• In The Batman Adventures (a comic series based on the animated series), he 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 prison.

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

See also [link]

• King Tut
• List of Batman Family enemies

References [link]

External links [link]

• Maxie Zeus at DC Comics Wiki