Zeiss (comics)
Encyclopedia
Zeiss is a DC Comics
villain, primarily an enemy of the Batman
. He first appeared in Batman
issue #582.
lord. When his Uncle died soon after, the Sicilian took the young Zeiss in and, seeing something in the youth, prepared him for life as a killer for the mob. At first the young Philo was brought to watch mob enforcers work, then later was trained him as a mob enforcer himself. Feeling a debt to the Sicilian, Zeiss agreed to have surgery performed on his spinal column and optic nerves to enhance his perception and reflexes to superhuman levels. As an adult, Zeiss relocated to Gotham City
and became the bodyguard of Gotham mob boss Lew Moxon
.
After a falling out with Moxon following Deadshot
's assassination attempt, he took up an offer to work for "Junior" Galante. He fought against Catwoman
when she impeded Junior's efforts to expand into Gotham's East Side, nearly killing her in single combat and threatening those around her. When she fought him a second time, during the War Games incident, she defeated him after he killed Lew Moxon and his bodyguard Hellhound
.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
villain, primarily an enemy of the Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
. He first appeared in Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
issue #582.
Fictional character biography
After the death of his parents, Philo Zeiss was taken in by his uncle Victor, the gardener of a Sicilian mafiaMafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
lord. When his Uncle died soon after, the Sicilian took the young Zeiss in and, seeing something in the youth, prepared him for life as a killer for the mob. At first the young Philo was brought to watch mob enforcers work, then later was trained him as a mob enforcer himself. Feeling a debt to the Sicilian, Zeiss agreed to have surgery performed on his spinal column and optic nerves to enhance his perception and reflexes to superhuman levels. As an adult, Zeiss relocated to Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
and became the bodyguard of Gotham mob boss Lew Moxon
Lew Moxon
Lew Moxon is a fictional character in the DC Comics Batman series. He is most famous for hiring Joe Chill to murder young Bruce Wayne's parents in early versions of Batman's origin story, thus making him indirectly responsible for Batman's existence....
.
After a falling out with Moxon following Deadshot
Deadshot
Deadshot is a fictional character, a supervillain/assassin in the DC Universe and an enemy of Batman. He first appears in Batman #59 and was created by Bob Kane, David Vern Reed and Lew Schwartz....
's assassination attempt, he took up an offer to work for "Junior" Galante. He fought against Catwoman
Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel...
when she impeded Junior's efforts to expand into Gotham's East Side, nearly killing her in single combat and threatening those around her. When she fought him a second time, during the War Games incident, she defeated him after he killed Lew Moxon and his bodyguard Hellhound
Hellhound (comics)
Hellhound is the name of two fictional characters that are DC Comics supervillains. The first Hellhound appeared as an opponent of Catwoman.-Kai:Kai was the best student in the Armless Master's dojo in Gotham City...
.
Zeiss' Vendetta
Zeiss harbors a personal vendetta against the Batman, and considers himself a superior combatant and strategist in comparison to the Dark Knight. His single-mindedness for defeating Batman in single combat has interfered with Zeiss' success on at least two occasions:- Zeiss allowed his employer Lew Moxon to be critically injured by the assassin Deadshot when (instead of focusing on protection) Zeiss was trying to kill Batman hand-to-hand. Zeiss was subsequently relieved of his protection duties and thrown out of Moxon's mob.
- After repairing his goggles (which were damaged by a batarangBatarangA batarang is a roughly bat-shaped throwing weapon used by the DC Comics superhero Batman. The name is a portmanteau of bat and boomerang, and was originally spelled baterang. Although they are named after boomerangs, batarangs have become more like shuriken in recent interpretations...
) and reviewing the information he had gathered with them about Batman's combat style, Zeiss fought Batman to a standstill, boasting that he knew every move Batman would make before he made it. Batman sought help to defeat Zeiss, and was aided by the second BatgirlCassandra CainCassandra Cain is a fictional character in the , one of several who has served as Batgirl, an important character in the Batman comic book franchise. Cassandra's backstory presents her as the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva, she was deprived of speech and human contact during her...
. Batgirl had never been "recorded" by Zeiss, and was a hand-to-hand fighter comparable (if not superior) to Batman himself. Thus, Zeiss was quickly defeated and imprisoned.