Slightly Misplaced Comic Book Characters Case File #515: Maxie Zeus

Last week, I covered a character that was created expressly for Batman: the Animated Series.  Then it occurred to me that when Jimmy and I covered the show, Jimmy was shocked to learn this week’s entry actually wasn’t invented for the show.  And then it occurred to me that I hadn’t covered that particular character here yet.

So, here’s Maxie Zeus, one of Batman’s biggest loser villains.

Maximilian “Maxie” Zeus first appeared in Detective Comics #483 in May of 1979.  Created by writer Denny O’Neil and artist Don Newton…wait, Denny O’Neil created this guy?!?  Huh.  Anyway, Maxie was a Greek history teacher who lost his mind when his wife died.  He decided he actually was the Greek god Zeus, and since this was Gotham City, he became a crime lord because…well, he just did.  Usually armed with cattle prods and other electrical weapons, Batman would show up and take the guy down when he caused too much trouble.

Honestly, Maxie isn’t a particularly impressive bad guy.  I used to do round robin storytelling with some online friends using a next-generation DC Comics setting, and since I was Batman’s kid, I got some proprietary rights to all the Batman characters, and I decided the Joker knocked Maxie off in Arkham at some point off-panel, so to speak, because if there was one guy in Arkham that the Joker would knock off, it would be Maxie.

I mean, when Bane let all the Arkham inmates out in Knightfall, Maxie was the first villain to be taken down, but he took himself down because he was ranting about his freedom, didn’t look where he was going, and knocked himself out when he ran into a tree.  He’s a guy who, in Batman comics, the Arkham staff are reluctant to put into the more secure wings because he’s seen as more harmless than most.  He’s, you know, a skinny dork who thinks he’s a Greek god.

At least the character in The Animated Series looked a lot more formidable.

Maxie has since appeared in other animated series, even as a self-help guru for aspiring supervillains in the adult-oriented Harley Quinn series.  Plus, he had a really cool look when Dave McKean drew him for the Arkham Asylum special.

But really, this guy was kind of a loser.  No wonder Jimmy had never heard of him.