Underrated Rogues: Maxie Zeus 

What's funny about the 1989 video game is that Killer Moth was an actual boss in that game, yet villains like Deadshot and KGBeast were downgraded as normal enemies.

Maxie was fun to watch in TAS and he could be a fun villain in the comics, if only writers and editors stopped overusing the big rogues, namely the joker. I don't blame you for being annoyed with lazy writing. It is the same thing with the shocker. A great villain, reduced to a joke because writers see him as nothing but a loser, which is a waste of his potential. Before I go, I recommend you look up Matt Draper. He makes videos analysing films and comics and just did a video on Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison. I think you will love it. And as always, thanks for another underrated Rogues video.

I think he would be more interesting as a Wonder Woman rogue, have him meet the actual greek gods. He definitely should go back to his more competent persona maybe make him interested in magical obtaining famous artifacts from greek mythology like the golden fleece or something.

Great video. He actually reminds me of King Tut in Batman 1966.

He will return to glory one day, one good writer will know how to appreciate such creative character.

"What is so goofy about a theatrical weirdo who thinks he's the God Zeus reincarnated?" To be honest...I think it's because Zeus was deliberately based on a 60s Rogue. King Tut. Literally. They don't really even try to hide it. His backstory is almost EXACTLY the same, and his personality isn't too different. Tut was a college professor of Egyptology who went mad and believed he was the reincarnation of a pharoah; Zeus is the same thing, basically, just with Greek Mythology as the theme rather than Egyptology. Both are hugely theatrical, slightly campy (VERY campy in Tut's case) villains, both bigger than life and rather childish in their own way. So many of Maxie's lines, even in his earliest days, sound like something Tut would DEFINITELY say back in the show. In fact, when I read Maxie, I think of Victor Buono's voice for Tut! I think that because the creators decided to take such a goofy character and then stick with that, he could never be TOO serious...and, as time went on, instead of them trying to take him more seriously, they just started to make him sillier and sillier. Please don't think I'm being mean to Maxie, by the way, because I actually like the guy, too. I've even read a couple of his comic stories...which, coming from a guy who has only JUST NOW started looking into reading more comics of his second favorite rogue after Joker - meaning Riddler - is probably worth noting. I also rather liked his appearances in both The Batman AND the DCAU. I was amazed that he never showed up in Brave & the Bold; he would have been an AWESOME villain there. I just don't think the guy has truly found his niche; I don't really think he's as dumb as so many others seem to think, so he's not really a joke villain, but he IS one of those characters who I don't think can or should be taken 100% seriously. He's a character who is hard to figure out, since he can be threatening, but he can also be EXTREMELY funny. I won't lie and say he's one of my favorite villains, or anything - he's simply not - but I do think there's a lot more potential in him that just hasn't been fully reached yet. And I do think it's the fact they based him on a VERY silly character to begin with; even if you don't recognize the connection, there's a goofiness to both that I don't think can be ignored. Again, I DO like Maxie, and I actually do think he can work outside of being a "joke villain" - and has worked as such - but he just seems a bit out of place. In my opinion? If someone were to write a great Maxie Zeus story today, they'd do what stories like "Dark Knight, Dark City" or "The Mad Hatter Flips His Lids" did. Not in terms of plot, but in terms of the idea: both were stories that took villains who were, at the time, seen essentially as products of a bygone era, and showed just how serious they could be. In Riddler's case, it was by showing how dark and twisted he COULD be, but perhaps SHOULDN'T be. In Hatter's case, they took the Imposter Jervis and his hat gimmicks, and actually proved that a guy that messed up CAN be a legitimate threat, no matter how crazy or weird he was. Something like that should be done with Maxie.

Once again you've done an excellent job of highlighting the potential of a villain I originally didn't think very highly of. I think the main problem with most modern Maxie Zeus stories is that they overplay his insanity as being goofy to the point where it's not possible to take him seriously. If more stories maintained his eccentric personality while still portraying him as charismatic, ruthless and most importantly intelligent., We'd have a perfectly solid addition to Gotham's selection of Villains.

At last! Truly, the goblets of Olympus spill over with ambrosia in celebration of this most glorious occasion! Awesome video! I agree 100% with everything you said. Maxie Zeus is a great Batman villain. An insane megalomaniac and prideful criminal mastermind who thinks he is the god Zeus. with a touch of tragedy mixed in - how is that any "cornier" than a psycho who dresses as a Scarecrow, a delusional villain who can't distinguish between 'Alice in Wonderland' and reality, or well, all of Batman's villains, really? Maxie fits right in, and I'd argue that he could stand side by side with some of the second tier Bat-rogues. As you say, not Joker or Two-Face level, but certainly on the same tier as some of the other popular rogues. Another one I hope to see you tackle is The General. His original 3-issue arc is fantastic and disturbing. The crazy kid gets watered down in subsequent appearances, and played a bit more for laughs, but his original story arc is quite good, IMO.

I'm a tad ashamed to admit that I found that scene where Maxie runs into a tree absolutely hilarious. However, I 100% agree they could turn him into an actual threat. Also, yes, you did sound very passive-aggressive.

Good to see you back in gotham. I never knew about this character so thank you for introducing to this great character. He dont deserve his crappy rep

Maxie Zeus really needs to show up IN PERSON in a new Arkham game, should a new one be made.

His appearance in the comic Arkham Asylum A Serious House on a Serious Earth was disturbing and amazing if they bring him back to the recent Batman stories I hope Maxie gets a similar appearance to that design.

If I were to wager a guess, I'd say the reason for Maxie's degradation in recent years has to do with the fact that - as others have already noted - he's pretty obviously an alternate take on King Tut. That whole 'we're not the '66 show!' thing was still in full force with Batman writers back when he was reintroduced, so, like the Riddler before him, he got treated like a loser - but Maxie never had the Riddler's press. Sure, there were Riddler stories that depicted him as pathetic, but at least he was still in the public eye - Maxie got his career cut off before he could really make a name for himself; back then, if you hadn't read comics in the '70's, you probably never would have heard of him. So when he showed up in Knightfall, he got double-whammied by the twin thunderbolts of 'must put down everything to do with the '66 show!' and 'no one knows this guy, so who cares?'. And because to this day everyone's read Knightfall but not many have read his '70's stuff, he got stuck with the former characterization rather than the latter.

Maxine Zeus is really cool villain, I wish they explored him and did more with his character besides making him a joke. It seems like, “a serious house on serious earth”, is one of the only real thing that tried.

Great video, but I think you forget to bring up the similarities between Maxie Zeus and the 60's Batman villain King Tut. The similarities being that they were both originally college professors, they both believe themselves to be a powerful figure, and both behave extravagantly and over-the-top.

I really like Maxie Zeus actually. I feel he has a ton of untapped potential, a crime boss with a god complex feels like legit bat rogue material and Maxie is just begging to fill that role again. I can imagine a modern, well-executed Maxie Zeus looking like the version from the Earth-27 fan project. phil-cho.deviantart.com/art/Maxie-Zeus-Earth-27-commission-711765945 Maybe he can even be a metahuman with electricity-centered powers? That would definitely fuel his delusions of being the re-incarnation of Zeus.

This guy was in the first comic I read

Did you know there was an old villain who was a mobster who fashioned himself of off Blackbeard, would love to see him return and have him be a crazy swashbuckling crime boss.

May I suggest a few videos Top 5 Green Lantern Villians Top 5 Green Arrow Villians Top 5 Best Trickster stories Sorry I just love Top 5s from you

I saw Maxie's appearance in Batman the animated series. And even for a one shot villain, at least for the TV show, I rather liked him. He was definitely no joke. And I certainly think the comics and cartoons could make better use of him.

Nice to see you back at Gotham!! I love your vacations but I gotta say,Gotham will always be the best home (despite the crime and death) great video once again ! A very underrated rogue!

I love how you mention this because I feel Maxie should be higher because yeah a man who dresses like a clown a man obessed with riddle or a nerd who dresses like a scarecrow so yeah it's kinda normal even tho it's werid in our light he still with bats so yeah thank you Mr. Rogues for another smash video

I like to see Maxie vs Wonder Woman cameo .yeah him running into a tree is BS could see the Penny Plundlerer or Ten eye man doing that .

Maxie really should've gotten something from the Monsters Unleashed arc, where a bunch of villains made deals with Neron. Even if it was just "the mighty lightning of Zeus" that he asked for, it would skill make him one of the most physically dangerous Bat-Rogues out there (up there with Ivy, Freeze, Clayfaces 1-15 (I think that's the official number now, including Ethan from The Batman), Killer Croc, Man-Bat and Bane), and his joke status would've been completely revoked.

Maxie Zeus is really, really, really cool in my opinion. I love Greek Mythology and I love that DC has so much Greek Mythology in there comics.

I saw him in The Batman for the first time. Imho I would not just put him in "the mob boss list" bcause it is already so full of good characters. I mean, he would be just another mob boss. What i would see more fitting for him is a political role (but not as the one suggested in the Batman). For example a Max Zeus that is a king/president and an ambassador from a country in the balcanic peninsula, that makes his subjects secretly worship him as a god. He could take interest on Gotham cos it is full of villains feared even if they are mere mortals, and he thinks it is because Batman is just a human, while the first hero of gotham -Green Lantern, was indeed a Superpowerfull been (most of the cities of the DC world have superpowerfull heroes watching over them). So his god complex pushes him to go there and fill this vacum caused by Batman -in his opinion-. But in reality, as he does in his country, that would just be a fraud (he is not really a god). Pushed over by gotham big guns, He would end by make deals with gotham criminals to "stop" their most spectacular crimes, giving them a safe place were hide from the justice... his own country. And, in his sick mind, that would also be seen as a win for him, since he actually would prevent criminals to commit crime. And Batman would have to deal with this madman while not been able to touch him directly, due to his diplomatic immunity. If I think about Max Zeus, i think that something like this could give the character his moment to shine.

In Arkham Asylum Maxie's cell is behind a wall that can be blown up with explosive gel and it's the answer to a riddle that unlocks his character bio.

Never clicked sumthin so fast, still great to see you back in Gotham, rogues. Also, a few hints for a forgotten or underrated rogue: Count vertigo, ventress (see no evil from TAS), or lock up

I hate how people writing a batman story will just fall back on villans like the Joker or Catwoman. Now dont get me wrong, I love these villans as much as the next guy, but it would be nice to see some of the stranger and underrated rouges get some attention.

I totally agree with you! Maxie is a great villain, and I hate that he's become a joke! Give him a comeback DC Comic!

I had the 2nd part of the Batman And Tge Outsiders story featuring Maxie Zeus. His insanity was glorious. He was a villain that got burned into my childhood brain.

(high-pitched gaps) Maxie Zeus (squee)!

Maxie Zeus can be a scary guy. Calendar Man was the same thing, considered like a clown, but after Long Halloween he was like the Hannibal Lecter, and the stories he tells you in Arkham City each month of the year, are really scary. Maxie Zeus need a excellent writter to become him something like Professor Pyg or even Joker

I remember having the issues with The Harpy as a kid. My most vivid memory was of Batman confronting Maxie in Arkham, and faved with how his girlfriend is putting her life in jeopardy, Maxie broke the god act and straight up told Batman everything about her. He could make a tragic sort of villain who has flashes of being redeemable.

Got ideas for your second channel, Rogue's Nightmare Gallery

Underrated rogues: KGbeast or Deacon Blackfire or Killer moth but mostly the fisrt two

While he hasn't always been well treated well in the comics, all his animation appearances have been handled well.

Please do more “complete histories” of Batman villains like the riddler vid, maybe one on Two Face or Scarecrow?

I loved this guy in The Batman He thought he was Zeus, and he could BACK THAT UP. He wasn't "oh hehe Im zeus oh woweee" He was "I AM ZEUS, YOUR GOD AND YOU SHALL BOW BEFORE ME OR I SHALL ANNIHILATE THIS CITY OF MERE MORTALS" While not exactly dark, you can most certainly right him to be very intimidating and downright scary. After all, a man who thinks he is Zeus surely must have the tech, capabilities, and knowledge to back it up, right?

Maxie Zeus Is awesome and my Favorite underrated Rouge.

I think a few later writers just saw snippets of the character in the BTAS episode and/or heard about his 'greek god delusion' shtick and thought 'that doesn't sound GOTHIC and SERIOUS enough' and so relgated him to a joke or minor antagonist and dropped his more formidable and rounded traits.

You have every right to be passive aggressive like this. Comic Writers using lesser known villains with great potential as loser villains is an annoyingly common thing in the comic industry and I fucking hate it so goddamn much. They fall back time and time and TIME again on the same villains, the same big guys, but all the little guys have to stay in their lane and fade into humility untill one writer HOPEFULLY comes along and gives them the goddamn respect they deserve. It's so infuriating how many potentially cool villains end up like this cause one writer can't figure out what do with them or just go "HUR DUR HE SILLY HE DUMB."

I Just found out of Maxie Zeus and I Already Like him, he's pretty much a Thor like Character in Batman villains which is just Sweet because Thor pretty much already had Batman like characters

Before watching this, I only saw Maxie Zeus on Batman TAS. I was bummed they only give him one episode. Even as a kid I knew they could have done more with him.

It would interesting to see Medea in the comics again. And another cross over with Wonder Woman, imagine if he became possessed by the REAL Zeus!

Be honest. You video are good and I love watching your videos .You should have more subscribers

Is not pride the fault of the gods? Thats great. He is under rated. And like Harpy he could have a host of Greek Myth style henchmen. The Cyclops should be his bodyguard.

His appearnce in the 2004 Batman cartoon is the best

Comicbook artist are the most under rated artists on this planet... They should be respected more and paid more.

Do something about " a serious house on serious Earth."

I just thought of this, but I think the dropped whatever story potential was there with his Daughter because of Deadshot and his Daughter, they maybe thought it would feel repetitive? I can understand that to an extent, but at the same time that’s really no excuse, they are different enough characters that the stories don’t have to feel the same, and really a loooot of Bat rogues have similarities to each other, so two of them having Daughters is hardly something to raise an eyebrow at

I know it’s wishful thinking, but I really hope Maxie Zeus and Ventriloquist/Scarface are Cobblepot’s competition in the upcoming Penguin series. The show should be a gang war after all. - Between Maxie’s god complex and sympathetic side (the love for his daughter Madea) he could be a great addition to the show. -He could try to take the drop market with a drug of his own (Let’s call it Euphorus for nostalgia’s sake). - Harpy could make a comeback as well as his faithful enforcer.

I constantly forget that he started out as a mob boss type. They should bring that aspect back, make him one of Gotham's various mob bosses and have all of his top enforcers have Greek mythology gimmicks.

He's super underrated and someone that should become mad hatter level. Afaik there's no villains in batman with a literal god complex so far

He's actually really awesome and cool.

They’re definitely dropping the ball with him, he should be up there with black mask and hugo strange but he could potentially be a powerful villain from time to time with his expertise in Greek mythology! Perhaps even finding Ancient Greek god weapons or armor to make himself powerful. IMO lots of lost potential for this character

He looks just like Abraham Lincoln.

PLEEEASE DO top 5 suicide squad members I also loooove ur top 5's Also a (this is just a joke by the way) review on a super friends episode again it's a joke but that would be intresting

OH OH OR THE SQUID

Was always one of my favorite

Good video. Speaking of Kids , have.you considered making a video about Duela Dent , the original Harley Quinn?

My friend, what’s the name of the song you usually play on the beginning of your videos? I really like! It fits Batman very well. What do you think about Prometheus? He is a really underrated character also. And keep up with the good work, your channel is awesome. Cheers from Brazil!

Have you read any of Tom King’s run on Batman? Maxie Zeus actually has a really prominent role in one book and you’ll be suprised to see what happened to Kite Man. If you haven’t read it I think you might like some of it due to the fact that there are many forgotten and underated Rouges in it. If you’re curious I can give you a few suggestions of what to read.

Deacon Blackfire video or KGbeast. And just for the fun of it a review of a super friends episode

I love Maxie Zeus and I hate that he has been reduced to nothing more than a joke when he was first introduced as a threatening villain.

I always wanted Wonder Woman to meet Maxie. Imagine the real daughter of Zeus running into a nut job who thinks he’s an avatar of Zeus 🤣 Makes you wonder why he isn’t a Wonder Woman villain, sounds to good not to have him as one.

Hey, would you do a more in-depth review of the first Harley Quinn series from the 2000s, and then maybe a more in depth review on Eye of the Beholder?

I think if dc wanted to bring Maxie Zeus back they should put him in Wonder Woman's rouges gallery, but it would be a shame to take him from Batman.

He seems like one of the more goofy James Bond Villains

Did you know that they're doing a comic book where they're trying to give Harley Quinn more of a backstory like her childhood before she met the Joker and if so new that she woke up in a field somewhere when she was in her teens and they took her in and she didn't remember her name or anything and she didn't remember anything of her life before that but she always wondered where her real family was. They're trying to make her related to Wonder Woman and make her a goddess. You see Zeus is Wonder Woman's father and Harley Quinn in this one is supposably the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite I'm digging it

But most of all top 5 suicide squad membersConsidering mostly all of them (or all) are rogues

Do professor pyg next

Another Rogue that nobody talks, even the hardcore batman fans, is Film Freak

They should have continued the Grant Morrison interpretation by giving him electricity powers. Kinda like Batman's Electro who has delusions of grandeur

Agree. DC should do something with him. More so with Wonder Woman and the entire DC Universe having the Greek mythology as the base.

Well, we have King Tut so this isn't surprising

>Considers himself Zeus reincarnated >Has a daughter Kirby's calling the police

Weird how they brought him back/changed him for the Harley Quinn show on the dc streaming service

I actually really like the idea of Maxie Zeus being a politician and/or running for mayor. I think "The Batman" was onto something with that one. Maybe with better writers you could do something interesting with that.

Zeus Man. Hell Yeah.

Maxie is the kind of villain who was made to star in Batman/Wonder Woman team-ups. I wonder what the real Zeus would have to say about his beliefs...

It's not question why Maxie Zeus' daughter hasn't appeared in any of the adaptions, because villains with sympathetic traits who aren't redeemed or turned good at the end aren't allowed... Maxie is truly insane, he genuinely needs professional help.

You know if you meet someone with a skirt and claimming he's a god, you would probably laught at him too. To me Maxie would never become an A or B list villian

Apparently, Maxie Zues was recently a motivational speaker in the Harley Quinn HBO series.

I remember seeing that guy in Harley Quinn cartoon

B:TAS took him and made him what he always needed to be in the comics. If writers would just go with that interpretation, other rogues would have a little more competition for page time. I also loved the epic battle, storming the flying fortress in the animated show, The Batman, though that episode didn't have the depth that B:TAS had.

I wanna write a story about him teaming up with Karlo Clayface to deal with a movie about Greek mythology. And have Batman beat him with facts about mythology.

Can you shine the spotlight on Jane Doe? I'm intrigued my her twisted mind and that she might be a better impressionist than Basil. Possibly Onomatopoeia, Red Claw, Murmur & The Heckler

0:55 - Maxie Zeus's stories 6:10 - Rogue's opinions

Reprised or redesigned as The Pharoah King Tut in the 60s tv show portrayed by Victor Buono.

I just thought of something, what if the Ratcatcher got the stuff that made Clayface what he is with the hope of making a shape- shifting rat army?

Maybe you can do a Forgotten Batman Villains video on Bedbug. Just a suggestion.

I heard rumors that he's gonna be in the upcoming Batman Insurgents game

Hey Mr. Rogues, can you do these rogues that are below Underrated Rogues: The Electrocutioner Underrated Rogues: Anarky Underrated Rogues: Lock-Up Underrated Rogues: Professor Pyg Underrated Rogues: KGBeast Underrated Rogues: Deacon Blackfire Underrated Rogues: The Clock King

Dave McKean's Maxie Zeus looks more like Electro.

"I am more powerful than god. More evil than the devil. The rich want me. The poor have me. If you eat me you'll die. What am I?" I hope you can fgigure this one out!

I enjoyed his one episode appearance in The Batman. Unlike you, I liked that show because it introduced me to Batman.

No. LET'S forget Kevin Smith's "Cacophony."

Was that guy who first tried viper in Gotham meant to be him

I liked his appearance on Batman: TAS. If done correctly, he could be a threat.