- "Death is not an ending. It's just a new beginning."
- —Professor Hugo Strange[[src]]
Professor Hugo Strange is the Chief of Psychiatry and current director of Arkham Asylum who is involved in experimentation on human beings at Indian Hill. He is the main antagonist for the Wrath of the Villains arc for Gotham season 2.
History
Hugo Strange is the Chief of Psychiatry at Arkham Asylum who became the asylum's director sometime after the death of Gerry Lang.[1] In his earlier life, he was part of the same cricket team with Thomas Wayne, Anu Schwarts, Kyle Davis, Andrew Weininger, Travis Quegan, Paul Weathered, and Grant Gardner.[2]
He is later responsible for conducting experiments in a secret underground facility known as Indian Hill for Wayne Enterprises. Bridgit Pike is delivered to the facility after receiving serious burns to her body.[3] Indian Hill had its beginnings in a Wayne Enterprises project called Pinewood Farms. Thomas was the one who started the Pinewood initiative at Pinewood Farms, and Hugo worked either under or with Thomas there. It's unknown what exactly the relationship between Thomas and Hugo was like, however, Jennings stated that Strange took advantage of Thomas and his trusting nature, running arcane experiments behind his back. When Thomas found out about these experiments, he shut the Pinewood program down, and paid to put the test subjects who survived, Jennings included, into hiding. He blamed himself for what happened. Hugo then presumably put out the hit on Thomas and his wife due to bitterness.[4]
After controversial mayor Theo Galavan was murdered, his corpse is delivered to the institute, as Ethel Peabody plans to notify Strange.[5]
When Oswald Cobblepot is sent to Arkham Asylum after confessing to killing Theo Galavan, Strange meets him for a session and says he will cure him of his sickness. After meeting Oswald, Strange takes a secret elevator down to the Indian Hill facility and is informed about Mr. Freeze and his ability to reanimate a corpse, something that Strange was looking to perfect with the bodies that he has in Indian Hill's possession.[6]
After Barbara Kean awakens from her coma, a nurse tells someone to inform Strange.[7]
Strange oversaw the group therapy sessions which Barbara Kean was a part of. He later released her from Arkham Asylum, telling Ethel that he is going to study her.[8]
Strange then focuses solely on his experiments reanimating the dead, starting with Indian Hill Patient 44. While overseeing the reanimation process, he was notified by Peabody that someone from Wayne Enterprises looked into the identity of Karen Jennings. Strange was later notified that Jennings was captured and sent back to Blackgate Penitentiary. He then sends Victor Fries after the transport carrying her. Fries successfully kills her. Strange is later present to witness the premature resurrection of Patient 44, also known as Theo Galavan, who brutally murders the staff in the room and screams out the name of Azrael.
Strange later brings back crime boss Fish Mooney, infusing her with cuttlefish DNA. Mooney is brought back seemingly with all her memories intact, prompting Strange to relay this new development to his employers: the Court of Owls. Around that time, Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox come to Arkham seeking a tour, in reality being there to find out the location of Indian Hill. Strange knows this, and has Bruce, Lucius, and Jim Gordon, who has been investigating the Wayne murders and stowed away with Bruce and Lucius, apprehended. The Court then orders Strange to move all his research and test subjects to the facility upstate, and to destroy Indian Hill. Strange has Bruce and Lucius locked away where Edward Nygma attempts to find out what they know about Indian Hill and who they have told about it, and Jim Gordon brought down to Indian Hill, where a cast is made of his face, allowing Basil Karlo, an Indian Hill patient able to stretch his skin, to impersonate Jim Gordon.
Abilities
- Genius-level intellect/Master tactician: Hugo's brilliance knows no bounds and he is a master tactician as well as a professional psychiatrist.
- Resurrection: Hugo uses a special chemical compound to reanimate dead bodies.
Villains created
- Azrael: Theo was given the persona of Azrael, a 300 year old assassin and a mythical figured worshiped by the Order of St. Dumas. He was given a suit of armor and a replica of Sword of Sin. (deceased)
- Firefly: Bridgit was given the persona of Firefly the goddess of fire. She was provided with a new suit and flamethrower.
- Clayface: Basil was revived with the help of octopod DNA, making the skin of his face malleable.
Partially
- Mr. Freeze: Victor can only live in temperatures of about –50°F following his suicide attempt. Hugo had his suit modified that allows him to move about freely.
- Fish Mooney: Fish was brought back from the dead with her memories intact and with the help of cuttlefish DNA. Revival provided her with as of yet unidentified power.
Appearances
Trivia
- Hugo Strange was introduced in Detective Comics #36 in February 1940 and was one of the first recurring enemies of Batman. He was also responsible for discovering Batman's true identity as Bruce Wayne, being one of the few villains on his intellectual level.
- This is the first live-action incarnation of the character Hugo Strange.
Gallery
References
- ↑ http://gothamchronicle.com/post/143043832019/strange-bedfellows-two-of-gothams-biggest-names
- ↑ Strange Bedfellows at Gotham Chronicle
- ↑ "Rise of the Villains: By Fire"
- ↑ "Wrath of the Villains: Pinewood"
- ↑ "Rise of the Villains: Worse Than A Crime"
- ↑ "Wrath of the Villains: Mr. Freeze"
- ↑ "Wrath of the Villains: Mad Grey Dawn"
- ↑ "Wrath of the Villains: Into the Woods"