KILLER FOR HIRE
BATWOMAN comes to blows with Gotham’s most ruthless hitman
COMIC-BOOK DRAMA Batwoman
Sunday, E4 HD, 8pm
HE MAY NOT be as famous as Joker or The Penguin, but Gotham City villain Victor Zsasz has become a firm favourite with Bat fans since he first appeared in DC comic books in the 1990s.
This week, notorious hitman Victor is back for some more murderous mischief when he makes his first appearance in the Arrowverse in this week’s episode of Batwoman.
True to form, we first see him bumping off a cheating husband and his mistress in a hotel room – after having been hired by the victim’s wife.
KEEPING COUNT
‘At this point in his career, Victor has become a master at what he does,’ says Alex Morf, who plays him. ‘We see the abruptness of his violence and how quickly he can strike. It’s surprising and a little bit funny and terribly brutal, and is a great intro for the character.’
One of Victor’s psychopathic trademarks is proudly carving tally marks onto his skin for every victim that he kills.
‘The scars are Victor’s most iconic feature, and I had five amazing make-up artists working on my prosthetics for nine or 10 hours,’ reveals Morf. ‘I think Victor’s a little bit obsessed with pain, but he is almost likeable in some ways. He’s curious about people and likes interacting – he just has zero value for human life.’
The character has previously been portrayed by Tim Booth in 2005 movie Batman Begins and Anthony Carrigan in TV series Gotham
– and Morf says he loved taking
over the role, especially a scene when Victor comes to blows with Batwoman (Javicia Leslie) in an alleyway.
SPAR PARTNERS
‘I had a blast. Victor is such a delicious juicy role to play,’ he says. ‘I like doing stunt work. I was a wrestler for
21 years, so I’m comfortable with handto-hand stuff and it was fun to spar with Javicia – she’s such a powerhouse. We really enjoyed getting to learn the fight choreography and lock horns a little bit.’
So, now that Victor has made his memorable return to Gotham City, will we get to see him again?
‘The thing about Victor is, you can never count him out,’ teases Morf. ‘He’s a survivor, and you never know when he’s going to pop up.’