The DCEU’s Birds of Prey is continuing to garner rave reviews. While the mannerisms of Harley Quinn have always been spot-on, there are a number of other comic book characters who have joined the DCEU and are surprisingly accurate to the source material.
Victor Zsasz is one of those characters that has been added to this universe. The psychopathic serial killer has been seen on the big and small screen in the past, but never quite like this. Here are 10 mannerisms that Chris Messina nailed about the character.
MANIACAL GLEE
There’s a certain happiness that follows Zsasz around whenever he is about to inflict damage or punishment on a victim. His maniacal laugh and face of glee is unnerving at the best of times. In the comics, Zsasz has found humor in some of the darkest of moments.
In the film, he continues to find himself incredibly happy whilst doing some of the most horrific deeds. One of Birds of Prey’s most badass moments is when he is finally killed as it takes that smug and unnerving smile off of his face.
MANIPULATION STRATEGY
Victor has always been an emotional manipulator. It’s one of the ways that he can lure his kills in. He knows how to play people so that they are either charmed or at their most fearful. It’s one of his many sadistic talents.
Throughout the film he can be seen manipulating the Black Mask. He has a strange obsession with his boss and seems to believe that he is the only one loyal to him. Victor makes Sionis more and more paranoid throughout the course of the movie.
THE STARE
Victor Zsasz can be defined by one body part in particular: his eyes. This is the most consistent character trait in every version of the character. The stare that he can pull off is nothing short of horrifying. It’s as if the character is dead behind those eyes.
Messina absolutely nails this ominous look. He keeps it up throughout the film, and it all comes to a head when he realizes that Black Canary is about to betray Sionis. The stare he then wears makes us all the more aware of what is about to happen.
SCARRING
The trademark mannerism that everyone recognizes about the character, which makes him stand out from other Gotham City villains, is that Zsasz will scar himself each time he has taken another life.
In the film, Victor explains it as helping little birds fly away and he’d even saved a spot to scar the Black Canary into his skin. It’s a strange habit that shows the character’s relationship with pain and how far he is willing to go to remember how much blood he has shed.
DEADLY PRECISION
Much like in the comics, Zsasz loves to use his knife most of all. He has the deadly precision of a surgeon and will do some horrific things with that blade. In Birds of Prey, we actually see him remove a face using just his knife.
It’s a defining moment of the character as it demonstrates how dangerous and deadly he actually is as well as how cold his persona can be. We certainly wouldn’t want the maniac chasing us with his knife since it’s obvious he knows how to use it with skill.
ARROGANT STANCE
There’s a certain arrogance that comes from a man who thinks he can either kill or control everything. He essentially has the city in his pocket since he has his manipulation of Black Mask down to an art.
We see Zsasz with an arrogant stance many times, but it’s ironic that he does this just as the diamond is stolen from him, showing that he doesn’t have as much control as he thinks. He’s even more arrogant, though, with a weapon in his hand.
SKILL WITH A WEAPON
We’ve already spoken about how precise the killer is with a knife. In fact, Victor could probably use any kind of blade and still be just as dangerous and deadly with it. While his hand-to-hand combat isn’t perfect, Zsasz is also very skilled with other weapons.
The same careful hand movements and aim that comes with a blade clearly crosses over to his skill with a gun. He’s seen wielding various guns across the film, all of which he manages to hit his mark with — except Huntress, which he will later regret.
HEAD MOVEMENTS
One of the strangest things about this character is the way he will move his head. It’s a mannerism that can even be seen in the video game series set in Arkham and Gotham City.
There is something especially creepy about how slowly he will move his head and hold it at different angles. It is often reminiscent of some kind of animal, a lion or maybe even ironically a bird of prey, inspecting its next kill.
STICKING CLOSE
Zsasz has an obsessive personality, which is demonstrated in the way he kills. His obsession extends to his relationship with other people. He’s often become known to be attached to certain victims or even allies.
In the film, it’s clear that Zsasz is infatuated with Black Mask, so much so that he wants to stick close to him constantly. He is more like a pet in many regards rather than a contract killer.
IMPOSING PRESENCE
No matter whether he’s holding a knife, gun, or standing with all that cocky arrogance, Victor Zsasz will always have an imposing presence, which Messina achieves extremely well here.
It has to be said that the portrayal of the character is one of the best parts of the film. Every time he enters a room, a chill can be felt among the other characters. He’s unpredictable, genuinely eerie and can make a group of people stop and stare in fear.
