Disclaimer: This is part 3 of a series of topics I am going to post (One for each day this week) about how to make "lame" Batman villains cool. I seriously need some feedback from you for a Batman project I'm working on. All ideas have to be totally original. No comic book rip offs.

Maxie Zeus, as a villain, has almost unlimited potential. There are a lot of Greek myths to go around, after all. Sadly, the fact that he is commonly portrayed as an overweight man in a toga reduces him to more of a joke. Tomorrow's villain will be: Condiment King. On your mark, get set, unleash the posts!

I only remember Maxie Zeus in BtAS. Of course, he was delusional, but at least he resembled a god.

That version of him was OK, but not as cool as he was in The Batman. And you are right about the powers. I was thinking more along the lines of high tech weaponry...

Give him a cool new haircut.

Maxie Zeus seems more like a Wonder Woman villain than a Batman villain to me.  =P

give him some actual relation to the gods...like have a god empower him or something instead of him being just a plain old delusional psycho

Pfft, Fangs or a Team Edward t-shirt.

@Hush20: I agree, they should develop "use high technology to imitate powers".

I'd give him an actual blood tie to the Greek Gods.

I too think that Maxie Zeus has a lot of potential if done right....

I would disagree with giving him blood relations to actual Gods or giving him technology, but rather portraying him as a man more obsessed with perfection than anything. In my view, he should have a very determined mindset that his view is the only view and carries out his needs and wants in the mantle of a God, hence why he adopted the MO of Zeus, as Gods are supposed to be the perfect beings possible. His idea of perfection has conflicted with Batman, as he believes that he, Zeus, has been reincarnated and put into human form to fix the imperfections of the world and to destroy all 'fake idols' like Batman, who are corrupting the system and are denying the possibility of a better world.

In other words, I think he should be portrayed as a man who's view is that the world needs to change from the corrupt systems that currently exist, and only he is the one with the knowledge of how to do so. His problem with Batman is that not only is he not opening to the possibility that he is right and that he is Zeus, but that day after day, Batman does the same thing, expecting something to change, and is too determined and motivated by the need to strike fear into the hearts of every criminal, that he cannot see the pain and suffering he is causing and how little a point he is proving.

Anyway, that's just a brief description of what I envisioned could be a potential new major threat for Batman, rather than just another face at Arkham.

He's fine as he is

I think he has the potential to be a great villain, but i think he shouldn't have any powers or relationship to gods. I like him as an insane man who thinks he is Zeus and is the head of a major criminal organization in Gotham. I haven't seen the episode from The Batman but i like the idea of him living in a skyscraper from The Animated Series episode. (I also think it wood be cool if he spoke in ancient Greek sometimes.)

I would actually infuse him with the real powers of Zeus.

maybe change him from gang leader to cult leader?