The Lives and Times of Batman's Moriarty: Professor Hugo Strange

[thehefner]

He predates the Joker at Batman's first arch-nemesis, and he invented fear toxin before the Scarecrow ever came along.

He exploits Batman's secret identity in ways Ra's al Ghul never dared, attacking Batman in ways that Hush and Dr. Hurt would later try to less success. He even pulled a Kingpin-style tear-down on Bruce exactly one month before Daredevil: Born Again was released, and had already beaten Kraven in the plot to kill his enemy and usurp his identity.

He's made only a handful of appearances, two of which are considered among the greatest Batman stories of all time. By all accounts, he should be Batman's greatest enemy, and yet he resides in obscurity.

He's the Most Interesting Man in the World Professor Hugo Strange. That name, I realize, evokes one of two reactions. 1.) "Who?" or 2.) "Oh, yeah, that guy. What about 'im?"

Now, while I personally love the classic Bat-Rogues dearly--while I still consider the Joker to be the greatest and Two-Face to be my favorite--I've become increasingly intrigued by ol' Hugo in all his iterations. Particularly his original appearance, where--it became apparent to me--that Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Hugo to be the Moriarty to Batman's Holmes. A true Napoleon of Crime for the Depression Era.






So who was this first attempt at an arch-villain for Batman, and what set him apart from any of the other forgettable enemies from the pre-Joker era? Why did the Joker almost instantly usurp his place at Bat-Rogue #1? And what did he have that led him to be resurrected as a major threat a whole thirty-seven years later?

Let's find out together, as we explore the many lives of this mysterious(ly enduring) foe who can plague Batman like no other single villain can even today.



These stories, each edited to 1/3rd per issue, are from Detective Comics #36, #46, and Batman #1.








Due to poor timing, Batman is falsely accused of murder, giving us (I believe) one of the first times we see Batman actually being targeted by police. It's a happy accent that works out in the villain's favor, the identity of whom Bruce quickly deduces:









Thus we're introduced to Professor Hugo Strange as if he's always been there, an arch-villain who has caused trouble for Batman on numerous occasions. If you didn't know any better, chances are you wouldn't guess that this was his very first appearance!

It could have made him seem like an unearned menace, like so many ready-made "ultimate villains" we see today thanks to artless writers and editors. Instead, we get the one-two punch of Bruce's description (whipping up an image of Hugo before we even see him, much like Dr. Loomis did for Michael Myers) and the grand reveal of Hugo himself on the very next page.

Who is he? What are his origins? What are his deeper motivations? Who cares?! This guy is just a classic evil criminal mastermind, and that's all we need to know! I think it works, in a strictly Golden Age way. We know right away that this guy is pure evil, with the brains to back it up,

Just like when the Joker himself is introduced a mere two months later (in a very similar fashion), we know that this is a guy of pure evil, with the brains to back it up.







Plus, in true Batman Villain fashion, he has an odd deformity: his "deformed brain," which presumably is reflected in his misshapen skull. If phrenology were real, then Hugo Strange's very cranium, it would seem, is shaped for evil: all evil, all the time, even when he's chillin' in front of a fireplace.





He's just so pleased with his own evilness that he can't even finish his thought without breaking into maniacal laughter! He even tries a second time, but no, it's just too, too brilliantly devious! The devious plan in question? Using the manufactured fog to confound police while his men commit crimes!

...

Okay, so in terms of dastardly master plans, this isn't that high up on the scale. But it's ambitious and daring enough to elude the FBI on top of the Gotham cops, so hey, credit where it's due. Of course, as we know, Batman > everyone else in actual law enforcement.





I like to imagine the next panel is Hugo going, "... OW! Bleeding! Ow, god! God! Oh, so much blood! Why did I do that? Underlings! Bring Hugo Strange some towels!"

Hugo's words are not an idle threat, as he actually succeeds in capturing Batman, whereupon he quickly starts ratcheting up evil points by going for a whip:








If there's one major physical difference between Hugo Strange of the Golden Age and today, it's how bloody huge he was.

With no neck to speak of, his wonky skull gives way to a massive frame that towers above his lanky legs, like Mark McGwire by way of Conan O'Brien. The guy actually had a body to match his brain, both of which were monstrous and distorted. Plus, he has actual madmen powers. For Hugo Strange, insanity is strength!

Of course, Batman dismantles the fog machine and saves the day, and while most of his Golden Age enemies either died or discretely vanished in jail (never to be seen again), Hugo's story ends on a far more ominously leading note:





As far as I can tell, Hugo was the first villain who, while behind bars in the last panel, swore to return and to get even with Batman. This leads me to conclude that, from this very first appearance, Hugo Strange was meant to be Batman's arch nemesis, primed for his glorious return in Batman #1 two months later! Positively no one could come along to usurp Strange's place as Batman's arch n--





... ooo. From his very first outing, the Joker made Hugo Strange look like Finger/Kane's dry run at arch villainy.

But even as he was overshadowed in status within the very same issue, Hugo's second criminal outing proved to be his most infamous with The Monster Men, starting with the most hardcore Golden Age prison break ever:








The Monster Men go on a horrible and senseless rampage, terrorizing the populace and causing deadly train derailments while a mysterious red truck bombs police cars. Batman follows the truck to the Monster Men's hideout:





So Hugo's plan is essentially the same--create chaos while his men rob the city blind--except this time he's mutating the mentally ill to wreak havoc and kill dozens of people. So seriously, Hugo's really stepped up his game from "criminal mastermind" to "full-blown EVIL criminal mastermind."












Two Monster Men attack Batman, but he manages to turn them on each other and fight to the death, thus giving him space to perform a miracle of Bat-Science.





At this point, it's important to note that Hugo was the nemesis of a Batman who didn't screw around when it came to criminals. It's one thing to let your enemy topple to the death, but as we all know, Golden Age Batman was hardcore:





And once he finished gunning down a truck of henchmen, Batman lassoed a Monster Man, presumably to have him sedated and taken someplace to be cured, right? ... Right?"





I spent a good couple minutes trying to find an appropriately appalled emoticon, and failed. Really, after that, it's not even shocking when Batman battles the final Monster Man King Kong-style (in keeping with Finger and Kane's pattern of cinematic homages/ripoffs):





PERHAPS... INDEED.

Unfortunately, while Hugo might defy death, he couldn't defeat the fact that he'd instantly been made irrelevant. The Joker (and Catwoman, who was also introduced in the very same issue) signaled a shift toward costumed and grotesque villains over the old pulp standbys of mad scientists and criminal masterminds. Hugo was now the finest example of an obsolete lot, so it was time to kill him off.

His final Golden Age outing begins what with seems to be a routine bank robbery:





That's right: Hugo Strange invented a fear toxin before the Scarecrow ever appeared, and long before the Scarecrow himself ever even used toxins!








Damn, what a beating, eh? It's not often we see Batman receive a beat-down worthy of Denny Colt! And since Strange is extra evil, he's throws in a final kick for good measure.





So Strange has stepped up his game even more: once again, the method is terror as a distraction, but now his ultimate goal is actual genuine no-shit World Domination.

Scarecrow was never this ambitious, but then again, he was never as capable of an underworld leader as Hugo. That's one thing that's been lost in all subsequent versions of Hugo Strange: he was a charismatic leader of criminals to the point where they were less his henchmen and more his own personal army. That's Grade-A Classic Villain material, there.











Lest anyone doubted that Strange was meant to be Batman's Moriarty, this climactic cliff battle directly evokes "The Final Problem." There's just something about two enemies, who'd always been locked in a battle of wits, reduced to trying to kill one another with their bare hands. I still can't decide if it's wrong, or if it's somehow perfectly appropriate.





While we'd already seen Hugo seemingly fall to his death in the previous story, this time it's handled without any of the "I get a feeling he'll be back!" sentiments. As evidenced by the fact that he vanished from comics for thirty-seven years, it's a fair bet to speculate that this death was intended to be permanent.

Thankfully, Steve Englehart came up with a way to not just resurrect this notable but one-note villain, but to up his threat levels while also deepening his complexity. Indeed, as of this post, we've only scratched the surface of the great character that Hugo Strange has become.

If you're interested in these reading these stories in their entirety, they can be found reprinted in volumes of Batman Archives and, more affordably, Batman Chronicles.

Comments

[grazzt]

You know, Strange might make a decent villain for the third Nolan Batman film. He's a decent intellectual threat, and he doesn't have as much supervillain baggage as everybody on his level or higher.

[thehefner]

Honestly, Moench/Gulacy's masterpiece "Prey" would be a perfectly blueprint for a follow-up to The Dark Knight. Just pump up Catwoman's role, and it'd be perfect. I'll actually be keeping this in mind when I eventually post "Prey" here, as best as I can edit it down (not an easy task for such a dense, great story).

[anothermoviegeek.blogspot.com]

Agreed. Adapting Prey would actually get me interested in seeing the third Nolan film.

[thatnickguy]

Might we have some scans of Prey for those that haven't read it? Yes? =D

[thehefner]

Oh, absolutely! Abso-bloody-lutely! It's about #5 in the queue, though, so you know.

[jlroberson]

Moench had a serious soft spot for Strange. Not just that story, but the ANNUAL one in which Strange--a couple of years before the Kingpin would do largely the same thing in BORN AGAIN, but to more acclaim--bankrupted Wayne, forcing Batman to hole up in...a belfry. With a hot plate, canned beans, and finding he'd included no can opener in his utility belt.

Strange's unique hook, at least at one point, was that he knew who Batman was. I wonder how much that matters now that every other villain in Gotham--Joker included--know that. That's the problem with Strange--what he had kept getting picked off and grown into whole new characters, diluting the actual Strange himself and making him seem redundant when he was in fact the template.

Another Professor villain of Batman's whose exploits were always some of the better Gothic Batman stories was Milo. Rather than being bald, though, his power was the most horrid Moe haircut ever.

[thehefner]

Aye, I'd only just recently made the connection with that Moench story and Born Again. Although weirdly enough, it wasn't a couple years apart, but only a month! According to the release dates of the issues on comicvine.com, the Batman annual came out in January, while the first part of Born Again came out in February of the same year!

It's funny, in the most recent Batman and Robin, where Dr. Hurt was telling them to get out of the Batcave, as it was now his property, I couldn't help but think of when Hugo Strange did the very same thing. Twice, even, counting the Conway issue!

But wait, everyone knows that Bruce is Batman? I thought he still is pretending not to be Batman, but is just saying he was "funding" Batman's operations?

The big difference between Strange and anybody else who knows Bruce's secret ID is that Strange has a unique insight into Batman's psychology and how it can be manipulated, as well as a vested interest in usurping the Batman identity for himself. He's like Kraven, but even more dangerous (and fun fact you may know: DeMatteis had originally envisioned Kraven's Last Hunt as a Hugo Strange story!).

Good ol' Milo. No one's done enough with him recently.

[jlroberson]

And Milo even rated an appearance in ARKHAM ASYLUM, for heaven's sake. I always liked that thing about how he was stuck there long after he stopped being mad but no one would believe him. It's like the hellish version of Morrison's Character Limbo. He's just waiting there to be used.

I had never realized it but you're right: Hurt lifted ALL of Strange's shtick. If not for the dark Satanic rites and the immortality, they could be the same character. The whole story that Hurt originated in and what Hurt actually intended with that experiment could be a total Strange plan. Unlike many, I like Hurt, but I sense a missed opportunity. Had Strange been the antagonist in RIP I can sense richer currents to be exploited while still achieving the same goal. Except the part about being able to pass for Batman's dad and headfucking him that way.

Unless it could have all been manipulated by Strange in the first place. But in any event: Hugo don't get no respect.

[thehefner]

As the Hurt/Strange comparison has been bugging me for months now, it's actually rather vindicating to hear that you--a hardcore Morrison fan who enjoys Hurt--actually agree with it. :)

Yeah, the occult stuff is the only part that doesn't fit, since Hugo is a man of science in the Lex Luthor mold (although more a man of psychology in this post-Crisis era), but I suppose that could have been bent a bit if it meant a way to destroy/become Batman. Either way, using Hugo would have meant to much more because Morrison would have used the original Batman arch-nemesis to become the ULTIMATE Batman arch-nemesis, in ways that already fit his previously established canon.

Plus, we never discover what exactly Hugo was doing in Europe all those years between these stories and his return in the Englehart run. For all we know, he could have been amassing the Black Glove villains!

How I'd love for Hugo to have been behind it all, but sadly, Tony Daniel's middling employment of Hugo seems to indicate that he was up for grabs, and therefore in none of Morrison's plans.

[jlroberson]

Given that Hugo is the prototype for at least half Batman's villains(I'd venture the Joker is that for all the rest, except that he has NEVER been made redundant) I feel as though they should use this, and make him their direct inspiration in some way. Like he was the FIRST Gotham super-criminal. Make him someone to aspire to. Except by the Joker, who no doubt just sniffs at him.

[big_daddy_d]

To be honest I was hoping Strange would become the main protagonist in the Arkham City game.

[thehefner]

I think he will have a major role in the game, actually. Won't he be in charge of actually running Arkham City or something? That'll be great for getting him some recognition with a new audience.

*Antagonist, not protagonist

[big_daddy_d]

Damn my brain isn't working today.

Re: *Antagonist, not protagonist

[thehefner]

Ha, don't worry about it, pally. Brain no have the work is dumb here too. :)

Re: *Antagonist, not protagonist

[thanekos]

Certainly'd make for an interesting variation on the Joker maps, though.

[althechi]

Interesting stuff about Hugo Strange; all I knew about him was his animated appearances.

Also, apparently that one panel of the Joker behind bars was added at the last minute because they didn't want to kill him off or something, or so I hear.

[althechi]

Also also, now I realise why he was so buff in "Prey" and later appearances, compared to his B:TAS self.

[thehefner]

Buff, yes, but without endurance or any fighting prowess, from what we saw. Then Matt Wagner went the complete opposite way with his Monster Men retelling by making him physically fit and athletic, but tiny and awkward in appearance. He looked like Rusty Venture! People can't even decide what kind of body Hugo should have!

[althechi]

Wait, physically fit and athletic, but tiny in appearance...

...you mean he looked like Golden Age Robin?? o_0

[thehefner]

Balder and more knobbily, but kinda, yeah!

Great, now I'm imagining Rusty Venture dressed as Robin. Thanks, brain.

[jlroberson]

Funny, I came across a torrent of MAD MONK and have been liking it. Now I want to find MONSTER MEN.

[thehefner]

My problem with both is that I'm not sure they really brought anything important or new to the retellings. Monster Men tried to have it both ways, to combine mad scientist Hugo with "Prey" Hugo (by the end), but the portrayal of the character was just too bloody sane and collected. Sane Hugo is boring Hugo, from my experience (see also: the Hugo Strange who appeared in Pfeifer's Catwoman).

Know what really disappointed me about Wagner's Mad Monk, though? The fact that he couldn't somehow work in Batman shooting the vampire with a silver bullet. It would have been a challenge, that's for sure, but I wanted to see him try to tackle it!

[thehefner]

If you recall his TAS appearance, then the next post will particularly interest you. :)

I haven't seen any of his episodes from Teh Batman, but I dislike that show anyway, and his design turns me off. Superficial, I know, so perhaps I should give it a try if there are any particularly good episodes.

[jkcarrier]

Huh, I never noticed before, but Strange gets his monster-men-to-be from the METROPOLIS insane asylum. There's a story in there somewhere.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Of course, it's perfectly possible that 'Metropolis' is only a name, and not the actual location, much as Arkham Asylum is located in Gotham but never referred to as 'Gotham Asylum'. At this point, I'm not sure whether Superman's hometown had been named yet - most of the early issues of Batman and Superman tend to fall back on New York as the de facto hometown for their heroes; note that the monster attack above takes place in 'lower Manhattan'.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Whoa, you're right - he's a BIG fella in his first couple of appearances. He seems to have shrunk a bit in story #3, but he can still hold his own in a fight. It's particularly interesting because most of Strange's subsequent appearances seem to emphasize how he's no match for Batman physically, but he's a freakin' BRUISER here.
I'm not sure whether the implication in the opening panels is that Strange has caused Batman trouble in the past so much as that the two have both heard of each other, and know enough about each other to be wary. I mean, if Hugo Strange really IS 'the greatest organizer of crime in the world' then naturally someone like Batman would have heard of him, whether or not they've actually crossed paths, and vice versa. (Anyway, one would think there'd be some sort of remark along the lines of 'I've tangled with him before - he's one tough cookie!' if they'd tangled previously - comics of the era were addicted to that sort of thing, probably due to the lack of continuing storylines.)

[thehefner]

I think there's a different ghost artist in #3, but I haven't checked to find out who it was. That would certainly explain the difference in his appearance. Even his funky head now appears more like... well, like what Herr Starr's head looked like after Jessie Custer carved into it.

[psychopathicus_rex]

That's only at a certain angle, though - in other panels, it simply looks like he's got a standard bald head. He doesn't have that long skull that the Kane Strange has, he's just big-headed.

[cloud_wolf]

Dude. This is pretty darn awesome. I really don't have much to add (except I liked that The Batman episode with Strange and those zombies), but it would be cool if he showed up like that again. Thanks for all those scans, looking forward to other posts!

[thehefner]

Thanks! I appreciate your saying so, as it's comments like this which will encourage me to actually get to work on the next posts sooner than later! I look forward to your thoughts when I do!

[ormardu.blogspot.com]

Hugo kinda reminds me of Taskmaster from Marvel. He's the one organizing the thugs, monsters and underlings. He's well known the those in the know but an unseen hand... well until a G-Man body dump goes wrong.

[althechi]

I bring thee good tidings (if they're true)!

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/news/?a=25422

[thehefner]

I don't trust it, but I very much hope it's true!

I'm particularly struck by this comment: "If they decide to go with Hugo Strange and Catwoman as the two new characters I will be highly disappointed. I love Catwoman.. but Hugo Strange? If they can fit Black Mas k into the story reasonably, go for it. BLACK MASK DAMMIT!"

... really? You badmouth Hugo, but want Black Mask so much you're willing to go all caps? Since when has Black frickin' Mask had a following? And why?

[jlroberson]

Maybe since the RED HOOD movie(which I liked--especially the Joker) wherein they have him dressing and acting like Tony Montana. (which, granted, makes a little bit of sense)

[thehefner]

That, and the fact that RH was born out of the War Games era comics that brought Black Mask back to power. I still don't understand why. The only thing that made him a mildly interesting character (his thing about masks, the false face society, being the anti-Bruce, etc) was completely abandoned by the time the character came back around... what, Brubaker's Catwoman, in a story where he was killed off and should have stayed dead? But no, he came back as a generic mobster with a skull face for no reason. And now he has a following. I just... I just don't get it.