| “ | There will be other opportunities to peer behind the mask, Batman. For if you think you have defeated Gotham's ultimate criminal mastermind, think again. | „ |
| ~ Strange upon his incarceration. |
| “ | The line between genius and insanity is often blurred. | „ |
| ~ Strange to Batman. |
Hugo Strange is a recurring antagonist in the cartoon show The Batman. He was the chief of psychiatry at Arkham who wanted to learn more about the criminal mind.
In his first three appearances, he was voiced by the late Frank Gorshin. From then on, he was voiced by Richard Green.
What Makes Him Magnificent?[]
- He was Arkham Asylum’s chief of psychiatry before Batman exposed him, indicating that he’s well-educated.
- He’s very polite, however none of it is sincere due to his Pure Evil status.
- Speaking of which; unlike the Joker, Strange isn't really sadistic at all and is motivated by morbid curiosity rather than For the Evulz, which keeps him from being truely despicable. Plus the show he's from is a kids' cartoon, so he can only be so heinous and irredeemable without getting past the censors.
- While it may have been simply to protect his own image, he uses his mind-invasion device to successfully help locate Det. Ellen Yin after she gets kidnapped by Joker. He is also able to correctly deduce that Batman has a tragic past and that Batman and Joker are two sides of the same coin because of his interest in Batman's psyche and relationship with his arch-enemies.
- He successfully cures Arnold Wesker's sanity by forcibly removing Scarface from his hands and replacing him with Mr. Snoops in order to release him from Arkham Asylum and as a result Wesker successfully becomes an entertainer, only for Wesker to snap back into villainy as the Ventriloquist while successfully lying to Batman that Wesker is actually cured, all just to see if the criminal therapy process he was using truly works.
- Out of any other villain in the show, Strange has come the closest in utterly destroying Batman using nothing but his vast intellect, even while behind bars in one instance.
- Created the Digitally Advance Villainy Emulator (D.A.V.E) to seemingly "help" the Gotham Police detect crimes by having the criminal profiles of Gotham's greatest criminals saved on the device, only for it to be revealed that D.A.V.E was actually meant to be used against Batman and that he incorporated his own mind into it and cause the machine to turn rogue and commit the "ultimate crime" before escaping and then eventually capturing Alfred Pennyworth and makes Batman choose between saving Alfred's life but having his secret identity be revealed to the public or keep the secret safe but costing Alfred's life in the process, he is also able to counteract Batman's attempts at stopping the machine while also revealing that he discovered his identity through mundane data analysis and probable motive(s).
- His most successful scheme by far was tricking Batman into thinking he was unleashing a zombie plague upon Gotham and promising to cure it with an antidote under 48 hours before seemingly destroying it, only to reveal that he had a backup and even giving a clue to both Batman and Robin on where it is located so that Batman would be able to find and reverse the effects, when in reality Strange was using a fear toxin that causes it's victims (including Batman) to hallucinate and he planned for Batman to spread the toxin across Gotham.
- Was able to get onto Rumor's skin by guessing his motive was that he wants personal revenge on the Joker for destroying his boss' legs while also being guilty and shameful that he failed in protecting his boss. He and Catwoman were also the only villains not to be arrested by the episodes end.
- In the comics he manipulated Ethan Bennett/Clayface into thinking that he would cure him of his condition, only for him to reveal that he planned to turn Clayface into a mindless beast and have him rampage across Gotham.
- Broke out of Arkham Asylum during the events of "The Joining" two-parter finale and gained their technology, creating a transmission device that allowed him to communicate with the survivors, promising to aid them in their goal of destroying humanity in exchange for all the knowledge in the universe.
- To this end, he captures Superman, the Flash, Hawkman, Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern using his own mind and the Joining's technology to successfully drain their superpowers and transfer them into the Joining's nigh-invincible androids, which actually forces the entire Justice League to retreat at first, but not before laying a trap for Batman and his friends in his lair and capturing them with ease, and disarming Batman's capsule bomb when Batman tries to stop him.
What Makes Him a Baddie?[]
- He plants Scarface in Arnold Wesker’s apartment shortly after curing him of his mental attachment to the puppet, thus making him go back to his old criminal ways momentarily. Arnold nearly gets run over by a train as a result.
- He creates D.A.V.E. to go on a massive crime spree, resulting in him eventually trying to force Batman between saving either Alfred or his secret identity. Fortunately, Batman picks a third option and saves both instead.
- He brainwashes Batman into nearly flooding all of Gotham with his fear toxin.
- He affiliates with the Joining simply to gain knowledge of the universe, effectively selling out Earth to be destroyed as he depowers most of the Justice League so they wouldn't be able to take out any new threats.
- What makes this worse is humanity would be destroyed as a result, yet Strange does not care.
Trivia[]
- He and Anarky are the only Batman Magnificent Baddies to be Pure Evil.
External Links[]
- Hugo Strange at the Villains wiki
- Hugo Strange at the Pure Evil wiki
[]
 Magnificent Baddies
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