Maxie Zeus

A deranged gang leader, Maximilian "Maxie" Zeus came to believe himself an avatar of the Olympian god Zeus. Creating a cult-like gang of henchmen to do is bidding, Zeus became a power-layer in the Gotham City underworld. His criminal activities are perpetrated by his army of followers, and--he believes--overseen by the ancient Greek gods themselves.

History
Maximilian Zeus, a slightly built, almost mild man, was a history teacher and a married man. Through unrevealed circumstances he lost his wife and his sanity. Completely delusional, Maxie Zeus believes he is the incarnation of the Greek god Zeus himself. He became a crimelord, and uses his cunning and intelligence to rise to power amidst the chaos in Gotham City's underworld caused by the city's numerous insane criminals.

Zeus fought Batman on several occasions before being committed to Arkham Asylum, where he remained until escaping to form a team of superhuman agents, the New Olympians. He attempted to kidnap Olympic athlete Lacinia Nitocris and force her to marry him and become a mother figure for his daughter Medea. This plot is foiled by Batman and the Outsiders, who beat the Olympians in a series of Olympic-style games. Returned to Arkham, Zeus is one of the villains that escaped when Bane brought down the walls of Arkham Asylum during Knightfall. Maxie's escape attempt was disrupted when he collided with a tree. When the Joker escaped, he ignored Zeus's pleas for help because the Joker finds him annoying.

Sometime later, however, Zeus was drawn into a plot engineered by the children of the god Ares — Deimos, Phobos, and Eris - to merge Gotham City with Ares's throne capital, the Aeropagus. (The Greek gods actually exist in the DC Universe, and appear quite often in Wonder Woman). The intent being to re-establish Ares's rule on earth. Zeus is seemingly killed as a result of that plot, and his sacrifice brought about Ares' return. However, the scheme was foiled by Wonder Woman and her allies, and Ares himself banished his children back to Tartarus.

Recently, Zeus has resurfaced, having survived his apparent death (either his injuries were not severe or his history has been altered by the events of Infinite Crisis) and coming into conflict with Robin. In Batman: Cacophony, he begins selling a drug created from a combination of Joker venom and ecstasy. In retaliation, the Joker blows up a school where Zeus's nephew is a student. It is shown that Zeus can be coherent and sane when on medication but lapses back into a raving, delusional man-god when off them.

Maxie Zeus is driven by religious delusions and is a charismatic leader who has developed a long-standing cult. He is currently determined to extend his powerful reach and recruit new followers.

Television
In Batman: The Animated Series, Maximillian Zeus is voiced by the late Steve Susskind and is a shipping tycoon with underworld connections. He carries a metal rod appropriately in the shape of a thunderbolt, which he uses to electrocute his victims into unconsciousness. In his debut episode, "Fire From Olympus", after recovering from a serious financial crisis after turning to smuggling following a run of bad business, Maxie goes insane, develops a god complex, and starts to believe that he is the Greek god Zeus and his lawyer-girlfriend is the muse Clio. When Batman arrives at the top of his building, Maxie believes he is Hades, as "no mortal can reach 'Mount Olympus" without his permission, and even calls the caped crusader his "brother". Maxie steals a giant lightning gun which he uses on "pitiful mortals" who dare to oppose him, although on a couple of occasions he seems to revert to normal. When Clio tries to stop him, he has her gagged and bound to the barrel of the lightning gun by his henchmen, though she is saved by Batman before she can be killed. Maxie is eventually subdued by Batman with help from Clio. While being dragged through Arkham Asylum, he looks at the prisoners watching him and believes that he sees a Greek deity in their place: the Joker is Hermes the trickster god, Two-Face is the "double-faced" Janus (actually a Roman god), and Poison Ivy is the goddess Demeter. His last line is "Now at last, Mighty Zeus is home", indicating humorously that he is now where he belongs, in Arkham Asylum.

Maxie Zeus first appeared in The Batman episode "Thunder" voiced by Phil LaMarr. In this interpretation, he wears high-tech armor with gloves that generate electricity and is sane for most of the part. The gladiator armor suit he wears is more similar to Roman mythology than Greek. It is also notable that this version of Maxie Zeus despises being called "Maxie" as it is shown that when Batgirl calls him that and he gives her a paralyzing electric shock replying "And the name is Maximillian!". Maxie here is an eccentric/deluded multimillionaire and owner of Zeus Industries, who is obsessed with Greek mythology. He runs for mayor against Marion Grange. Maxie Zeus rode in his airship New Olympus in order to make Gotham City his kingdom after losing his election against Grange. Batman and Batgirl defeated him. When recovering and wondering what happened to New Olympus, Batman stated that it "became the New Atlantis." In "Rumors", Maxie Zeus later reappeared as one of the many villains captured by Rumor.

Batman (1989) Game
Maxie Zeus appears as a minor enemy in the NES Batman video game, aiding the Joker.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

 * While Maxie Zeus does not appear in Batman: Arkham Asylum, his cell, decorated with symbols from ancient Greece (as well as an Egyptian Eye of Ra, for some reason), can be located behind a hidden wall in the Patient Pacification Chamber. If people looked closely at Scarecrow's hidden lair or Riddler's secret maps, The name "Maxie Zeus" is pointed to the circle with an "M" inside at a room, and at the bottom left corner, it was labeled Arkham Mansion.

Batman: Arkham City
It has been rumored that Maxie Zeus will appear in the upcoming sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City. A nightclub named "Gotham City Olympus" appeared in a recent preview of the game, implying a possible reference to Zeus.