Anthony Zucco (New Earth)

From DC Database

Contents 1 History 2 Overview 3 Post-Crisis 3.1 Batman: Dark Victory 3.2 Robin: Year One 4 Recommended Reading 5 Powers and Abilities 5.1 Powers 5.2 Abilities 6 Paraphernalia 7 Notes 8 Trivia 9 See Also 10 Recommended Reading 11 Links and References 11.1 Footnotes

History

Overview

Tony Zucco, "Boss Zuco," is the mobster who ordered the death of Dick Grayson's parents when their employer refused to pay protection money while they were in Gotham City. Throughout the years, Zucco's role in Robin's origin remains largely the same. Zucco tries to extort from the Haley's Circus, where the Flying Graysons are the main attraction. When the ringleader, Mr. Haley, refuses to pay him protection money, Zucco sabotages the ropes the Graysons use in their act. They break while Dick's parents are in mid-air, sending them falling to their deaths. Dick is subsequently adopted by Bruce Wayne (a.k.a. the Batman), and adopts the identity of his partner "Robin". The Dynamic Duo locates Tony Zucco and sends him to jail. On Earth-Two he is sent to the electric chair, and on Earth-One he's sentenced to life in prison.

Post-Crisis

Batman: Dark Victory

During the events of "Batman: Dark Victory," Zucco (dubbed Anthony "Fats" Zucco), is portrayed as a low-level family head working for Sal Maroni, a member of the Falcone crime empire. He and another minor family head, "Edward Skeevers," are put in charge of drug trafficking. After constant attacks by other enemies such as the Penguin, Zucco starts a new method of smuggling these drugs. He only lets Skeevers in on the secret, believing that its success will make their minor families greater than the Falcones and the Maronis put together, and attempts to take over Haley's Circus in order to use its trucks for drug trafficking. He is shown to be heavyset (hence his street name) and quite nervous, as he is constantly sweating. He kills Dick Grayson's parents in order to show the circus owner that he means business, and then quickly goes underground. He is later found by Batman and Dick Grayson (Pre-Robin), and is chased down a dark alley by Grayson until he has a heart attack, and confesses to his various crimes.

Robin: Year One

The events of "Robin: Year One" revealed that Zucco did not die of the heart attack, but he actually went into a coma and was later sent to prison after recovering. He is sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the deaths of John and Mary Grayson, and incarcerated in Blackgate Penitentiary.

Roughly seven years after killing the Graysons, Zucco files for a parole hearing, offering testimony to put other criminals away. He professes remorse for his crimes, but naturally he simply wants to be released. Before he was sent to prison, Zucco had hidden a ledger detailing every operation in Gotham City in the orphanage Dick spent a month in after his parents' deaths. It would be enough to send any criminal boss to life imprisonment if he offered it to the authorities. The orphanage is being condemned and he is eager to get it back before the place is torn down. Wanting to keep the truth from Dick, who has recently become Nightwing, Alfred goes to the parole hearing and pleads for the judge to keep Zucco behind bars. Unfortunately, Dick does learn of Zucco being released early, despite Alfred's attempts, and he races to Blackgate to confront his parents' murderer once and for all. However, as he steps out of the prison, Zucco is gunned down by a helicopter hired by a rival crime boss to eliminate him. While it does give Dick some closure, his relationship with Batman is even further strained, even though Bruce insists he knew nothing about the parole.

Recommended Reading

• Batman: Dark Victory
• Batman: Year Three
• Robin: Year One
  

Powers and Abilities

Powers

None known.

Abilities

Mob influence.

Paraphernalia

Equipment: None known.
Transportation: None known.
Weapons: None known.

Notes

• No special notes.
  

Trivia

• No trivia.

See Also

• Discuss Anthony Zucco (New Earth) on the forums
• Appearances of Anthony Zucco (New Earth) (Chronological)
• Appearances of Anthony Zucco (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Anthony Zucco (New Earth)
• Fan-Art Gallery: Anthony Zucco (New Earth)
• Quotations by Anthony Zucco (New Earth)
  
• Images featuring Anthony Zucco (New Earth)

Recommended Reading

• None.

Links and References

• Tony Zucco at Wikipedia.org
  

Footnotes