While it may only be an odd coincidence, we can't help but notice that venerable Batman villain Hugo Strange is receiving a lot of attention these days. In Tom King and David Finch's newly launched "Batman," he's teamed up with the Psycho-Pirate to take down our hero and his new super-powered allies, and on Fox's "Gotham" his experiments appear to be headed in a very familiar direction.

Professor Hugo Strange is one of Batman's oldest foes, preceding The Joker and Catwoman (heck, he even predates the Caped Crusader's sidekick). He tends to enjoy brief bursts of popularity before falling back into limbo. Because it appears as if he's about to be incredibly relevant again, here's a handy guide to Hugo and his occasional host of hulking helpers.

Background

Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Hugo debuted in February 1940's "Detective Comics" #36 -- which, if you're keeping track, is just over 900 issues ago -- so he's been around for a while. He made a big splash, followed by a second appearance in spring 1940's "Batman" #1 (alongside the debuts of Selina Kyle and the Clown Prince of Crime), and his third in December 1940's "Detective" #46. Still, once 1940 ended he wasn't exactly a go-to villain, and didn't return again for nearly four decades, in August 1977's "Detective" #471.

That sort of extended gap isn't exactly unusual, for even the major Batman villains. The Riddler was in two 1948 issues of "Detective" (including his debut), then took the next 16 and a half years off, and Two-Face went more than 17 years between appearances (from 1954's "Batman" #81 to 1971's "Batman" #234). The Scarecrow debuted in 1941's "World's Finest" #3, returned in 1943's "Detective" #73, and then dropped off the face of the Earth until 1967's "Batman" #189. Yet he still can't touch Hugo Strange's 37-year hiatus.

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When Hugo returned, however, it became a big deal. Writer Steve Englehart's eight-issue 1977-78 stint on "Detective Comics" used arguably the two most famous Bat-villains, The Joker and The Penguin. Otherwise, he created new ones (Rupert Thorne and Doctor Phosphorus, both with penciler Walt Simonson and inker Al Milgrom) and revived two others (Hugo and Deadshot). Indeed, while the two-part Joker story (penciled by Marshall Rogers and inked by Terry Austin) is a classic on its own, Hugo's involvement stretched beyond his own two-parter. After Englehart and Rogers left, subsequent creative teams brought back Hugo in 1982-83, and he was the villain of 1986's "Batman Annual."

Writer Devin Grayson and artist Roger Robinson used him in a 2000 "Gotham Knights" four-parter, he was the villain of a 2005 "Catwoman" arc, and Matt Wagnerexpanded on Hugo's Golden Age appearances for 2006's six-issue "Batman and the Monster Men." After that writer/artist Tony Daniel used Hugo a couple of times, in 2009 and 2012; and Hugo had the requisite cameos and one-off appearances in event miniseries "Salvation Run," "Gotham Underground," "Battle for the Cowl" and "Forever Evil."

Although the regular Bat-books used him sparingly, Hugo occasionally appeared in unusual venues. The Earth-Two version antagonized the Earth-One Batman and Earth-Two Robin and Batwoman in January 1982's nifty "The Brave and the Bold" #182 (written by Alan Brennert and drawn by Jim Aparo). Later, in the continuity-free "Legends of the Dark Knight" anthology, Hugo was the subject of two five-issue arcs (1990-91 and 2001) by writer Doug Moench and artist Paul Gulacy.

Actor B.D. Wong portrays Hugo on "Gotham," but the character has been animated on "Batman: The Animated Series," "Justice League Unlimited," "Young Justice" and "The Batman" (the latter voiced by Frank Gorshin); and has appeared in various Batman video games.

The Golden Age

Hugo Strange's three 1940 appearances portray him as a combination of mad scientist and criminal mastermind. In "Detective" #36, Bruce Wayne calls him "the most dangerous man in the world," a "scientist, philosopher and a criminal genius," and "undoubtedly the greatest organizer of crime in the world." Batman first learns of Strange's latest plot when he finds a murdered FBI agent, which itself suggests a good-sized operation.

It turns out Strange's main gimmick is creating thick fog ("such as one would find only in England," warns the text) to cover up his robberies. Because Strange uses an artificial-lightning machine to generate the fog, you'd think that might be more easily weaponized, but the story never takes that route. Regardless, Strange proves tough to catch, with his goons overwhelming Batman and leaving him to be tortured by the villain. Naturally, Batman escapes, subdues Strange and destroys the lightning machine.

"Batman" #1 features an action-packed story with a more ambitious plan. After breaking out of prison, Strange frees several inmates from the "Metropolis insane asylum" (this was early enough that the Bat-books hadn't settled on a name for the Caped Crusader's home city). A month later, a 15-foot giant rampages through "Lower Manhattan" (see?), terrorizing people and beating up police. A well-thrown grenade (or similar explosive) helps it escape. Next day, same thing, except now Batman trails the monster's truck in the Batplane. He finds Strange's hideout and tries sneaking in, only to be captured by a couple of monster men.

Strange tells Batman the monster men are merely distractions to keep the police busy while his other minions rob banks. He injects Batman with the monster-making serum, which takes 18 hours to work. Batman then gets clocked by a monster fist, rendering him unconscious for 17 hours and 45 minutes. Mixing an explosive from chemicals hidden in his boot heel (because Strange took his utility belt), Batman escapes, knocks Strange out a window and over a cliff, and then takes on three monster men. With only five minutes to go, he at last begins working up an antidote.

Fully recovered, Batman flies the Batplane furiously after the two remaining monsters, each being transported in a small truck. In a couple of scenes often cited to justify Batman a) killing and b) using firearms, the Batplane's machine gun sprays the first truck with bullets. Batman muses "Much as I hate to take human life, I'm afraid this time it's necessary!" The truck crashes, but the monster stumbles out the back, so Batman loops a rope around its neck and hangs it until it's dead. ("He's probably better off this way"). The story ends with the second monster climbing a skyscraper and the Batplane buzzing him. However, instead of Batman shooting the monster man, he uses gas pellets to knock it out so it falls to its doom. A pretty brutal ending, but one I could definitely see adapted to an hour's worth of television (with the King Kong parallels toned down, of course).

Hugo Strange closed out 1940 with "Detective" #46's fear gas caper. (Remember, the Scarecrow wouldn't come along until 1941.) No points for guessing that Hugo would use this latest superweapon to rob banks. Batman recruits an informant who gives him a couple of anti-gas pills, but Strange's (regular-sized) men capture Batman at a later meeting. After recovering from the beating they give him, Batman alerts Robin, and separately they stop Strange's two-pronged plan. Perhaps making up for the fact that he's apparently just been hanging out at home for most of the story, Robin gets a couple of good acrobatics-heavy fight scenes. Meanwhile, Batman stops Strange before the villain can gas the city from his airplane. During their fight, Strange gets knocked off yet another cliff, so it really looks like the end this time.

"Strange Apparitions"

While the cover of August 1977's "Detective Comics" #471 featured a disguised figure declaring "the dead yet live," the revelation that it was Hugo Strange needed some setup. Following his encounter with Doctor Phosphorus, Batman has radiation poisoning, so Bruce Wayne remembers a recommendation for a no-questions-asked, one-percenters-only clinic. Almost immediately after checking in, he's locked in his room and drugged into unconsciousness. Naturally, once night has fallen Batman escapes, only to find himself boxed in by a couple of monster men. He dispatches them and confronts "Dr. Todhunter," who (as the cover promised) unmasks as Hugo Strange, who tells Batman he's been injecting Gotham's elite with monster serum and blackmailing them with the antidote.

Batman's ready to cart him away when he's bitten by one of Hugo's pet snakes. The issue ends with an unmasked Bruce waking up to find Hugo and his assistant holding the Bat-mask.

"Detective" #472 opens with Hugo gone 'round the bend, dressed in full Bat-gear with a Bruce Wayne mask under the cowl. (That has to be hot, especially with Hugo's facial hair.) He's assumed Bruce's identity and is in the process of wrecking Bruce's life, including insulting Bruce's girlfriend Silver St. Cloud. Smelling a rat, Silver calls Dick Grayson (then at Hudson University), who tells her not to worry. Meanwhile, Hugo's started auctioning off Batman's secret identity, and has accepted downpayments from The Joker, The Penguin and corrupt councilman Rupert Thorne. While Robin is beating up monster men and freeing Bruce (and Alfred, kidnapped later for extra caregiving) from Hugo's prison, Thorne's men kidnap Hugo and try to beat Batman's secret out of him. Hugo won't talk, saying. "such treasure must be earned," and apparently dies from his injuries.

I say "apparently" because Hugo's ghost haunts Boss Thorne over the next four issues. In Issue 476, Thorne takes a late-night drive as far away from Gotham as he can get, but even in Ohio Hugo's ghost comes at him, right through the car's windshield. Thorne had been using his political power to outlaw the Dynamic Duo, and the haunting finally breaks him, causing him to confess all his crimes, no matter how petty.

A few years later, writer Gerry Conway and artists Don Newton and Gene Colan revisited Thorne and Strange with an extended storyline (starting in April 1982's "Batman" #346 and finishing in November 1982's "Detective" #520) about Thorne working behind the scenes to rig Gotham's mayoral election and replace Commissioner Gordon with his own flunky. Once Thorne is back in power, Strange's ghost reappears, and Thorne hires Doctor Thirteen to prove he's not being haunted. Thirteen shows Thorne the ghost is actually an elaborate hologram, so Thorne figures the new mayor and police commissioner have double-crossed him. That leads Thorne to straight-up murder the commissioner in broad daylight. The new mayor (Hamilton Hill, later a part of "Batman: The Animated Series") reinstates Gordon, and we learn that a very-much-alive Hugo was behind the whole thing.

After a while, Hugo comes after Batman directly in February 1983's "Batman" #356 (also from Conway and Newton), using a fake Wayne Manor and attacking him with robot duplicates of Robin and Alfred. Before long, Hugo's fighting Batman in his own Bat-costume and ordering a confused Robin to kill the "imposter." In the end Hugo blows up the fake mansion with himself inside, not realizing (because he wasn't wearing his signature thick glasses) that Batman and Robin had escaped. It's all rather unhinged, but by this point the various creative teams have embraced the "mad" in "mad scientist."

Hugo appeared once more in 1986's "Batman Annual" #10 (written by Doug Moench, penciled by Denys Cowan and inked by Alfredo Alcala), orchestrating a scheme to discredit Batman and leave Bruce Wayne homeless, penniless and -- because Bruce had adopted Jason Todd -- childless. Most of the issue details how Bruce loses everything and how Batman must live on the streets for a while, but again it culminates in a Batcave fight. When the police come for Hugo, Batman tells Gordon that Hugo has been hypnotized to believe Batman is Bruce Wayne.

The 1990s and Beyond

Although Hugo took a 14-year break from the regular Bat-books, he did return in the five-part "Prey." That was when the "Legends of the Dark Knight" told stories set in and around the time of "Batman: Year One," so among other things it featured the origin of the Batmobile and an early quasi-team-up with Catwoman. "Prey" has Hugo working as a police consultant, trying to profile Batman -- but of course Hugo's own primal urges give him some ulterior motives.

You'll notice the monster men haven't been seen much since the Englehart/Rogers stories, and "Prey" really doubles down on Hugo's mind games. Essentially he's fascinated with the Dark Knight and wants to learn how the vigilante works so he can be Batman himself. (I suppose that's the dark side to those "Be yourself, unless you can be Batman" T-shirts.) To that end Hugo creates a much more fetishistic Bat-costume, frames the Caped Crusader for kidnapping the mayor's daughter and brainwashes a policeman into becoming a leather-clad vigilante -- and then he figures out Batman's secret identity and gives him a nervous breakdown. Of course Batman recovers and discredits Strange, but Strange's plan ends up being pretty effective. The 2001 sequel "Terror" teamed Strange with the Scarecrow, gave Catwoman a more prominent role, and covered similar psycho-thriller ground.

For those who may not remember, "Batman: Gotham Knights" was an ongoing series that ran for several years following "No Man's Land." In effect it was a Batman team-up title, except that most of its team-ups were with other Bat-people. Writer Devin Grayson and artist Roger Robinson's four-part "Transference" storyline (October 2000-January 2001) had Hugo pose as a Wayne Foundation staff psychologist trying to use insurance-mandated checkups to get Bruce Wayne to spill the Bat-beans. Naturally it became more complicated, with Hugo interrogating Catwoman, Batman faking his death, and Bruce Wayne triggering a post-hypnotic suggestion to make him forget he was ever Batman. That left Nightwing and Robin (Tim Drake) to save the day, and to ensure Hugo's suspicions about Bruce were unfounded.

After that Hugo didn't have much in the way of meaningful solo appearances, at least in regular ongoing series. He was part of a supervillain gang in "Catwoman" Vol. 3 issues 44-49 (August 2005-January 2006), and part of the so-called Ministry of Science in 2009's "Batman" #692-97 (against Dick Grayson's Dark Knight). Hugo also had a cameo in the miniseries "Salvation Run" (2007), "Gotham Underground" (2008) and "Forever Evil" (2011), as well as 2009's "Battle for the Cowl: The Network" tie-in. Following the New 52 relaunch, Hugo appeared in a couple of 2012 issues of "Detective," mostly using his son Eli as a pawn.

Hugo Strange does have one more significant storyline from about 10 years ago. For the first half of his 12-issue "Dark Moon Rising" miniseries, writer/artist Matt Wagner grounded Hugo's origin and first caper firmly in modern "Year One/Long Halloween" Bat-lore. 2006's "Batman and the Monster Men" pitted Hugo against gangsters Sal Maroni and Carmine Falcone, and corrupt businessman Norman Madison (father of Bruce Wayne's girlfriend Julie Madison). Thus, while Hugo was still breeding monster men, they had to share space with some other subplots, again including the origin of the Batmobile. As such, it was more of an homage to the "Batman" #1 story than a retelling. Still, at least Batman didn't have to strafe or hang anyone.

A Stranger "Gotham"?

Since introducing his live-action version in the back half of Season 2, "Gotham" has certainly kept Hugo Strange busy. He's helped to create Mister Freeze, Azrael and Firefly, and he's apparently been connected to Thomas Wayne (and the Wayne murders), not to mention the Court of Owls. After "curing" Oswald Cobblepot and bringing Fish Mooney back to life, it looks as if he's finally getting around to cooking up some monster men.

Admittedly, I'm not sure there's much more for Hugo to do without a proper Batman around. As we've seen, the comics have focused a lot more on Hugo's mind-bending schemes than on his body-horror experiments. Certainly "Gotham" isn't short on the former. Nevertheless, like the Joker or Two-Face, Hugo seemed truly to hit his stride when faced with the Dark Knight. I suppose that in a bit of irony, Hugo could construct his own prototypical "Bat-Man" persona out of various scary elements (and/or an avenger like Azrael). No doubt Li'l Wayne would put that on his Pinterest board of projects to pursue later.

In any event, there's more to Hugo Strange than monster men and Bat-obsessions. Conceived as an A-lister but overtaken by circumstances (and perhaps poor timing), Hugo has used artificial lightning, super-thick fog and fear gas in addition to some more familiar strategies. Just think how deadly he'd be if he ever put it all together. If I were B.D. Wong, I'd be pitching a season's worth of carnage right about now ...