Count Vertigo (DC)

Evil-doer

Rebirth
New 52
Modern Age

Full Name

Werner Vertigo (New Earth)

Werner Zytle (Prime Earth)

Alias

Count Vertigo

Vertigo
White Knight

Origin

World's Finest #251

Occupation

Supervillain

King of Vlatava
Member of the Suicide Squad (occasionally)
Member of the Longbow Hunters

Powers / Skills

Able to produce the "Vertigo Effect"

Skilled martial artist
Swordmanship
Flight

Hobby

Dependent on the version.

Goals

Secure control over Vlatava (succeeded).

Kill Green Arrow and Black Canary (failed).

Crimes

Terrorism

Numerous attempted murders
Conspiracy
Blackmail
Extortion
Torture
Theft

Type of Villain

Supervillainous Monarch

“	How can you strike* a man who rewrites the fabric of reality itself?*	„
	~ Count Vertigo to Green Arrow.

“	My name is Werner Zytle* and I was to be the count of Vlatava... But now I am something more. I am Count Vertigo.*	„
	~ Count Vertigo

Count Werner Vertigo (renamed Werner Zytle in the Prime Earth continuity), is a supporting antagonist in the DC Comics Universe.

He is the count and ruler of the European nation of Vlatava, and a supervillain able to disorient and throw off his enemies' sense of balance using his "Vertigo Effect". He primarily appears as an enemy of Green Arrow and Black Canary and has appeared as a reoccurring member of the Suicide Squad. Vertigo has no superpowers, but the device implanted in his skull allows hims to alter other people's sense of balance, and grants him limited flight.

Biography[]

Werner Vertigo[]

Werner Vertigo is a man with nothing to lose. Born to a royal family in the small nation of Vlatava, Werner was the victim of an inner ear defect that affected his balance. After having a special device implanted to cure the problem, Werner altered it to allow him to affect other people's sense of balance. After his family lost their fortune, he turned to a life of crime, and became Count Vertigo. His first appearance was during his attempt to steal back the crown jewels Vlatava had sold off during the war. Confronted by Green Arrow, he unleashed his disorientation powers, which were a side-effect of technology used to correct a hereditary ear condition.

He repeatedly ran afoul of Green Arrow and Black Canary. Following years of criminal activity, Vertigo was finally imprisoned and joined the Suicide Squad to reduce his sentence. He was eventually recruited to United Nations intelligence agency Checkmate, becoming Amanda Waller's White Knight. At some point, his homeland was destroyed by the Spectre, and Vertigo is now left with nothing.

Werner Zytle[]

Werner Zytle is the bearer of the Count Vertigo title in the New 52 timeline. Here, he is heir to the throne of Balkan nation and ruler of the tiny nation of Vlatava, an ancient monarchy that ended when the Soviet Union annexed the country after World War II. Though of noble heritage, his family lost their fortunes and had to flee to Canada. While there, Zytle became involved with organized crime, using the profits from his illegal activities to finance return to Vlatava and reclaim his birthright.

Reared as an aristocrat in exile, Zytle grew up angry, aggrieved, and vengefully violent. Though appearing to be a kind and benevolent monarch, he continues to be involved in organized crime, using the alias Count Vertigo. As Vertigo, he can emit a pulse to disorient and destabilize opponents thanks to an electronic device implanted in his brain. The implant also acts like an electromagnetic pulse on any technology within range, disrupting and overwriting data functions.

When Green Arrow travels to Vlatava to rescue a kidnapped Shado, Vertigo notes that the Emerald Archer will have to aim to fight him, and his power will make that impossible. Oliver's allies remotely detonate an E.M.P. arrow in his quiver, giving him and Shado a chance to escape. Later, Zytle joins the Longbow Hunters being formed in Seattle in their intention to kill the Green Arrow.

When the archer's sidekick Speedy/Roy Harper succumbed to substance abuse, the Count's drug, Vertigo, became another means of getting high. Zytle used his drug on Speedy until Green Arrow intervened, allowing Harper to begin his recovery. Although unsubstantiated reports abound of the Count working for Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad and for one of the many iterations of espionage agency Checkmate, the latest verified instance of Count Vertigo comes from his recent escape from Mount Rainer Correctional Facility. With his powers exponentially increased due to Dark Matter incursions from the Dark Multiverse, Zytle began reordering reality and escaped to take vengeance on Roy Harper. On learning his obsession was already dead, Vertigo was easily recaptured by Green Arrow and Black Canary.

In Other Media[]

Count Vertigo appears in DC Showcase: Green Arrow, voiced by Steve Blum.

Batman: The Animated Series[]

BTASVertigo — *Batman: The Animated Series*.

“	You see, you'll have to get across this room alive. And that may prove difficult, considering this entire laboratory has been rigged to destroy you. Oh, and in case you think that once I go, my disorienting effect will go with me, think again. I've planted duplicate vertigo devices throughout the room to maintain the effect once I've departed. Goodbye and good luck. You'll need it.	„
	~ Vertigo to Batman and Talia al Ghul in Batman: The Animated Series.

Vertigo is the main antagonist of the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Off-Balance". This version of the character wears an eyepatch that disorients his opponents, and speaks with a German accent.

Vertigo and his men steal military superweapon that emits a ray and frequency that causes disorientation, intending to use it to rob banks. Batman and Talia al Ghul team up to stop him, although Talia intends to steal the weapon so her father Ra's can use it to commit eco-terrorism. After they manage to overcome Vertigo's attempts to disorient them, they corner him at the top of a bell tower. Vertigo tries to escape by boarding a helicopter, but Talia stops him by ringing the bell; the sound proves so overpowering that Vertigo covers his ears in agony, and falls off the tower to his death in the river below.

This version of the character was voiced by Michael York, who also voiced another Batman villain, Montague Kane in the same series, as well as Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, Bernard Fremont in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Ares in Justice League Unlimited, Kanto in Superman: The Animated Series, and Pterano in the Land Before Time franchise.

The Batman[]

“	Imagine, a half-million people unable to walk, unable to see straight. That's how I was, before I created my eye. Dizzy, helpless. But just as the eye cured my affliction, I found it could afflict it upon others. But with this, my powers become almost limitless. I'm going to cripple your city, Batman, and plunder it without a shot being fired. And that's just the beginning. Eventually the whole world will stagger and fall to the feet of Count Vertigo.	„
	~ Vertigo's plan in The Batman.

Count Vertigo appears in The Batman episode "Vertigo", voiced by Greg Ellis. He is a scientist and a former employee of Oliver Queen who wields a mechanical eyepiece, which he used to strand Queen on a deserted island for years.

Young Justice[]

Main article: Count Vertigo (Young Justice)

Arrowverse[]

Main article: The Count (Arrowverse)

A modified iteration of the original Count Vertigo debuted on the first season of Arrow, where he is a drug lord who developed a drug called "Vertigo", that causes disorientation in the users. His real name is also changed to Cecil Adams, and his alias was originally "The Count" before he later changed it. He was portrayed by Seth Gabel.

Werner Zyt,e staring — Werner Zytle/Vertigo on *Arrow*.

Main article: Werner Zytle (Arrowverse)

Werner Zytle debuts in the Season 3 premiere, where he takes up the name "Vertigo" following the Count's death. He modifies the drug to cause its users to hallucinate fears that they never believed to have. He was portrayed by Peter Stormare, who also portrayed Lucifer in Constantine.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay[]

DCAMU Vertigo FullBodyRender — Count Vertigo in *Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay*.

Count Vertigo is seen at the beginning working with the Suicide Squad to assassinate Tobias While who has a flash drive full of information on the squad's operations. After fighting through Whale's henchmen, Vertigo uses his powers to force the mobster to kill himself with a gunshot to the head. Just then, Count Vertigo turns on Punch and Deadshot, revealing that he and Jewelee are working together. Vertigo announces he intends to copy the flash drive, hand Amanda Waller the original and have a "nest-egg" with Jewelee. Deadshot exposes Vertigo as a traitor and Waller detonates the bomb, killing him.

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Count Vertigo (DC)

Contents

Biography[]

Werner Vertigo[]

Werner Zytle[]

In Other Media[]

Batman: The Animated Series[]

The Batman[]

Young Justice[]

Arrowverse[]

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay[]

Gallery[]

Navigation[]

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