| Tony Zucco | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #38 (April 1940) |
| Created by | Bill Finger (writer) Bob Kane (artist) Jerry Robinson (Illustrator) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Boss Zucco |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Maroni family Black Lantern Corps |
Anthony Zucco is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. First appearing inDetective Comics #38 (April 1940), Zucco is a mobster responsible for murdering the parents ofDick Grayson, which leads to Grayson's adoption byBruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman and becoming the latter's sidekick and originalRobin andNightwing.
The character has appeared inBatman: The Animated Series, voiced byThomas F. Wilson, andThe Batman, voiced byMark Hamill. Richard Zeppieri portrayed him in the first season of theDC Universe seriesTitans.
Tony Zucco first appeared inDetective Comics #38 (April 1940) and was created byBob Kane,Bill Finger, andJerry Robinson.[1]
Antonio Zucco (originally calledBoss Zucco in his first appearance) is a Mafiacrime boss or thug inGotham City who is responsible for the death ofDick Grayson'sparents. Throughout the years, Zucco's role in Robin's origin remains largely the same.
Zucco tries to extort Haly's Circus, where the Flying Graysons are the main attraction. When the ringmasterC.C. Haly refuses to pay him protection money, Zucco has his henchman Blade sabotage the trapeze ropes, causing the Graysons to fall to their deaths. After overhearing Blade talking to Zucco about committing the sabotage,Dick Grayson is subsequently adopted byBatman and becomes his partner Robin, helping him to arrest Zucco.[2]
Some years later, Tony Zucco had become senile and was seen in a hospital. When Robin was affected by the Stream of Ruthlessness and fought his way passedInfinity Inc. to get to Zucco's hospital room to have his revenge on him for being behind his parents' death, Robin finds that Zucco doesn't remember him.[3]
On Earth-One, Tony Zucco's history and his showdown withBatman and Robin is the same as his Earth-Two counterpart.[4]
Zucco is an Italian immigrant who is orphaned at a young age when a gang of criminals murder his parents for refusing to pay protection money. Zucco is sent to an orphanage, where he is cared for by Sister Mary Elizabeth. She tries to counsel Zucco, but he is a lost cause; consumed by anger, he prays only for the deaths of the men who killed his parents. As a young man, he runs away from the orphanage and joins one of Gotham's major crime families.[5]
After Batman apprehends him for murdering Dick Grayson's parents, Zucco is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences inBlackgate Penitentiary. After serving seven years of his sentence, he files for a parole hearing and testifies against other Gotham criminals. He professes remorse for his crimes, but hides an ulterior motive. Before he was sent to prison, Zucco previously hid a ledger containing incrimating evidence against the mafia in the orphanage where Dick briefly resided following his parents' deaths, and wants to retrieve it before the orphanage is demolished. Wanting to keep the truth from Dick,Alfred Pennyworth goes to the parole hearing and pleads for the judge to keep Zucco in prison, but Dick soon learns of his release. Despite Alfred's attempts to stop him, Dick races to Blackgate to confront his parents' killer. As he steps out of the prison, Zucco is killed by a rival crime boss.[5]
InBatman: Dark Victory, Zucco is portrayed as a low-level thug working forSal Maroni and a member ofCarmine Falcone's criminal empire. He and minor family head Edward Skeevers are put in charge of drug smuggling. Zucco attempts to take over Haly's Circus to use its trucks for his smuggling activities, kills Dick Grayson's parents as a demonstration of power, and disappears. He is later found by Batman and Dick Grayson and has a fatal heart attack, confessing to various crimes before dying.[6]
InBlackest Night, Zucco is revived as aBlack Lantern before Robin andRed Robin force him to retreat.[7]
InThe Black Mirror, it is revealed that Zucco has a daughter named Sonia, who is the head of the GGM Bank under the alias of Sonia Branch.[8] Dick Grayson, who has become Batman, hopes that Sonia is not as corrupt as her father. However, he is disappointed when he realizes that Sonia manipulated him into subduing rivals who wish to take over her bank. Due to a lack of evidence, Sonia remains beyond the reach of the law.[9]
.png)
InThe New 52 (a reboot of DC Universe's continuity), Zucco disappears after being arrested and is presumed dead. However, his daughter Sonia informs Nightwing that he is still alive and working in Chicago under its mayor Wallace Cole, who has declared him legally dead. Zucco later helps Nightwing battle thePrankster, whose father he killed.[10][11][12]
InInfinite Frontier, Zucco appears to have another daughter named Melinda who is the mayor ofBlüdhaven. However, later issues reveal that John Grayson is Melinda's father, making her and Dick half-siblings. Melinda's mother Meili Lin was forced to marry Zucco and had a brief relationship with John while staying with Haly's Circus.
Zucco is eventually released from prison and returns to Blüdhaven to fill in the power vacuum of the criminal underworld afterBlockbuster's death. He reunites with Melinda and attempts to steal the Eye of Kahndaq before being defeated by Nightwing. Afterward, Melinda visits Zucco in prison and disowns his family name.
Elements of Tony Zucco are incorporated intoBatman Forever's depiction ofTwo-Face (portrayed byTommy Lee Jones).
Tony Zucco appears as a character summon inScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[18]
Tony Zucco appears inYoung Justice #6.
| Robins | |
|---|---|
| Supporting characters | |
| Antagonists | |
| Related identities | |
| In other media | |
| Publications | |
| Alternative versions | |
| Related | |
| Identities | |
|---|---|
| Affiliations | |
| Supporting characters | |
| Antagonists | |
| Publications | |
| In other media | |
| Related | |
