Most notably, Danny Jacobs has voiced Zsasz in the Batman: Arkham video game franchise, and he has been portrayed in live-action by Anthony Carrigan in the television series Gotham,[5][6] Alex Morf in the Arrowverse series Batwoman, Tim Booth in the film Batman Begins (2005), and Chris Messina in the DC Extended Universe film Birds of Prey (2020).

As revealed in the foreword to the trade paperback of "Batman: The Last Arkham", Zsasz's name is derived from that of psychiatrist Thomas Szasz; Grant saw the name while visiting a library.

It is learned that Victor Zsasz was the head of his own international company and had amassed a large personal fortune in addition to his family's wealth.

In Part 3 of Knightfall, Zsasz takes an all-girls boarding school hostage and holds the students at knifepoint until Batman arrives, briefly leaving to kill two police officers who were sent to arrest him.

[9] Though weakened both physically and mentally due to the strain of pushing himself for so long to capture the escaped inmates, Batman fights with Zsasz and tries to ignore the lunatic's mockery.

[10][11] In Part 4, Zsasz's appearance is a mere cameo, depicting him being led out of the boarding school by police and Harvey Bullock personally threatening him.

Throughout this appearance, Cliff Chiang's artwork portrays Zsasz with visual elements commonly associated with the skinhead subculture, including work boots resembling Doc Martens, tight jeans, a white tank top, suspenders or "braces" and a close-cropped hairstyle.

Additionally, Chiang's portrayal of Zsasz is more outwardly physically imposing than the gaunt, wiry physique created by Breyfogle and favored by most subsequent artists.

No dialogue in the story arc references Zsasz being a skinhead nor does it explain his increased musculature and it is likely these visual elements were the decision of the artist.

Zsasz is later seen again in the Gotham Underground story arc where, in issue #3, he appears in a disguised Batman's cell at Blackgate Prison and attempts to kill him with a knife.

This arrangement is explained further in a continuous story arc through the Streets of Gotham series, with Black Mask hiring Zsasz after he saved the former's life following a confrontation with former employee the Firefly.

Apprehensive at first on how to go about this, he eventually decides to take Black Mask up on his offer, dressing in Armani suits (appearing near exactly the image of Woody Harrelson's character in Natural Born Killers) and purchasing a warehouse as his base of operations.

During an investigation into the discovery of several children murdered by Humpty Dumpty, Damian Wayne is 'captured' by a man soliciting runaway kids with the promise of a free meal and a place to stay.

Not wanting to defy his mentor and late father's beliefs, he promises Dick that the blow was not fatal since he "missed Zsasz's spine", but indicated that his chances of survival were slim.

[13] Zsasz has appeared various times in The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe) as an inmate of Arkham,[14] and he is later seen attacking Batgirl in the Narrows, while on Venom.

[17] During the Forever Evil storyline, Nightwing had just retrieved Victor Zsasz from Chicago and was bringing him back to Arkham Asylum.

Even barehanded, Zsasz is a formidable opponent; as he is locked away in an enormous steel containment unit for 16 hours a day, he has made a habit of practicing isometrics in the cramped space to strengthen his body.

During the Streets of Gotham story arc, it is learned that Zsasz sees the world as bathed in red, and everyone in it as a victim he has murdered.