Maximilian "Maxie" Zeus is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as a minor enemy of Batman. He is depicted as a mentally ill former history professor who is obsessed with Greek mythology and believes himself to be the god Zeus, becoming a crime lord in Gotham City.

Publication history

Maxie Zeus first appeared in Detective Comics #483 (April–May 1979) and was created by Denny O'Neil and Don Newton.

Fictional character biography

Maxie Zeus is a former Greek history teacher who goes insane following the death of his wife. He becomes a criminal mastermind and battles Batman on several occasions before being committed to Arkham Asylum. Because Maxie appears to be less dangerous than other notorious Arkham inmates, Arkham's administrators do not commit him in the maximum security wing, despite repeated recommendations from Batman to do so. Batman's concern is vindicated 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 before being defeated by Batman and the Outsiders. In Batman: Knightfall, Zeus is among the villains who escape Arkham after Bane destroys Arkham Asylum. However, he is quickly stopped after colliding with a tree. Some time later, he is drawn into a plot engineered by the Children of Ares to merge Gotham City with Ares' throne capital, the Aeropagus, during which he is sacrificed to resurrect Ares. In Robin, Maxie Zeus appears alive and becomes the head of the illegal casino "Maxie's" before Robin defeats him. In Batman: Cacophony, Zeus works with the Joker and uses his funds to create a public school. After Batman rescues Zeus from the Joker, he temporarily restores his sanity using antipsychotics and convinces him to turn himself in to the police.

The New 52

In The New 52 story Batman Eternal, Deacon Blackfire's ghost possesses Maxie Zeus in an attempt to resurrect himself. In Doomsday Clock, Zeus appears as an inmate of Arkham Asylum.

Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Maxie Zeus appears in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth.

In other media

Television

Video games

Miscellaneous