Why Victor Zsasz Is The Real MVP Of Gotham

Fox's Gotham may not be the Batman show that some fans expected when it was first announced, but it's still one of the most madcap and enjoyable comic book series on TV. Unlike most others, Gotham is definitely not about the heroes, and it's the numerous and over-the-top villains that really make this show what it is. While Baby-Batman (David Mazouz) does appear throughout all four seasons, his arc is limited, and he and Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) just don't compare to the dozens of bad guys that occupy Gotham City.The biggest names on the Gotham roster are, without a doubt, Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and Riddler (Cory Michael Smith), and the bromance between these two was a highlight of last season. Barbara Gordon (Erin Richards) became a surprise villain in the early seasons of Gotham and has since become a fan-favorite, and these three are surrounded by big comic names (like Dr Strange and Poison Ivy) and some made-for-Gotham baddies like Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith)... but the most enjoyable villain on Gotham might actually be someone who doesn't get nearly enough screentime: hitman-for-hire Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan). This killer and his unique sense of honor (and brilliantly black humor) has increasingly become the brightest spot in the Gotham pantheon.

How Victor Zsasz Came To Gotham

When Zsasz first appeared on Gotham, though, he seemed to be just another assassin from the comics who would be popping up in the background. We didn't yet know how much fun this inexplicably charming killer would turn out to be. The hitman came to Gotham in season 1, as a hired gun for Carmine Falcone (John Doman). He and some of his all-female team are sent to kill Jim Gordon on Falcone's orders, and from the start, Zsasz brought his inimitable style to the job. He strolls into the precinct, utterly unafraid, leaps on a desk and calmly tells the police there that they should show him a little respect, because he's been sent by Falcone. He goes on to say that he has no intention of killing any of them, so if they could just point him in Jim's direction, then 'we're cool'.

This opening scene reveals so much of what we love about Zsasz: he's the epitome of cool, he's utterly terrifying, and he has a strange code of honor when it comes to his work. He may love to kill people, but he tries his best to only kill very specific people. He's also hilarious, in a very dark way. After his pronouncement, he starts calling to Jim tauntingly, then tells him not to worry because he's going to take him alive... but a man can live without his hands.

Victor Zsasz Becomes The Highlight Of Gotham

After that first introduction to Zsasz, the hitman spends quite a bit of time popping in and out of Gotham as a generally scary dude. Everyone is afraid of his talents as a killer, he carves tally marks into his skin to mark his kills, and he has some impressive crazy eyes going on. He's also a fairly minor character for the first few seasons, showing up in three or four episodes per year. As time goes on, though, Zsasz becomes increasingly more charming, and his one liners get funnier and funnier.

By this season, Zsasz is working for Penguin, and season 4 has seen him show up in five of the six episodes that have aired so far... and each time, he just gets better and better. The past three seasons have seen other aspects of Zsasz's character brought to the forefront; his loyalty (first to Falcone, and then to Penguin), his pride in what he does, and best of all, his joyful moments. When not sent to kill someone, he's actually very charming, and can be borderline sweet (for a sociopath). He doesn't hold grudges, he's not trying to work his way into power, and he's just got a little swagger that can't be beat.

The Best Zsasz Moments Of Gotham So Far

Zsasz has become such a great character this season because he's finally getting the screentime that he deserves. Seeing him every week shows just how brilliant a villain Zsasz is, but he's had some phenomenal scenes right from that first moment that he jumped onto a desk at the GCPD. His best moments are the ones that are funny, that are incongruous. Although Gotham is over-the-top from start to finish, and never takes itself too seriously these days, moments of one-liner style levity are still few and far between. Zsasz provides these moments almost every time he's on screen, and it's these funny little quirks that make him so important to Gotham.

He's got a thing about food, asking various people that he's threatening about what they're eating (although no one ever shares with poor Zsasz). He's capable of going from about-to-murder-you to totally civil if he hears that a hit has been dropped (which he did to Gordon). He's 'double checked' whether or not he should kill someone, even when it's obvious that they are threatening Penguin; and in fact, he tends to keep checking before killing, even while he makes it obvious that he would really like to kill people. He keeps his victims off balance; this season, he stopped a group of thugs from robbing a wedding, to the great joy of the bride and groom... before overseeing a different group of criminals as they robbed that same wedding. After all, they had a license. He's got style as he drops his jokes while remaining utterly deadpan, and that just makes him even funnier.

Possibly his greatest moment yet, though, was the sheer joy on Zsasz's face when he saw Barbara's new cache of weaponry. He's spent some time this season acting as a messenger boy for Penguin, but he was a kid in a candy shop when he looked at all those amazing guns. It's a softer side that is becoming increasingly evident in Gotham as Zsasz's role continues to grow. Even this week, in 'A Day In The Narrows', although Zsasz wasn't around, he was mentioned... as away visiting his grandma. Because that's just the kind of cold-blooded killer that he is.

Is Zsasz Gotham's Answer To The Arrowverse's Captain Cold?

Legends of Tomorrow Doomworld Captain Cold

This isn't the first time that a comic book series has turned a hardened criminal into a surprisingly sweet fan-favorite. The Arrowverse managed the same feat with Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller). Initially, Cold showed up as a freak-of-the-week style villain on The Flash, but as The Flash continued, Cold started to pop up more and more. His straightforward bad-guy-with-a-fancy-gun persona was developed into a much softer and more relatable character, who eventually became a hero. Cold was sarcastic, sassy, a little bit bitter, and took great joy in robbing banks... but he was also a softy and Flash fans fell in love with him.

Zsasz is, in many ways, doing the same thing for Gotham. He's a stone cold killer, and doesn't think twice about murdering people. However, he's increasingly charming, funny, and shown to be honorable. Recent episodes, mentions of his grandmother, moments where he just seems to want people to be nice to him as he does his job... all these come together to showcase the softer side of Zsasz. Just like Captain Cold, he's becoming a snarky character that adds a lot of fun to Gotham, and his path might well go down the same route.

What The Future Holds For Zsasz

Zsasz brings a very necessary kind of humor to Gotham, and although he has been a relatively minor character thus far, it seems that season 4 is going to see him become a much bigger part of the plot. He's a villain that provides not just levity, but a kind of consistency; Zsasz isn't interested in power plots and betrayal, and with everyone else constantly stabbing each other in the back, he is rapidly becoming a reassuring constant in the Gotham City firmament. But without a clear story arc, what does the future hold for Zsasz on Gotham?

We'd like to see Zsasz continue to grow as a fan-favorite, appearing in most episodes alongside Penguin to deliver his signature snark. He doesn't necessarily need to change, but it would be ideal to see a little more of the Zsasz backstory; and hopefully, hints at his family life mean that this is coming up. Zsasz might not get a full-blown Captain Cold-style hero arc, but this is definitely a character that we need to see more of, and thankfully, it seems that the writers of Gotham are happy to provide.