Hugo Strange (Gotham)

"And you, James Gordon, belong in the past. The world has moved on while you and people like you were living your sad, normal lifes. I was pushing the boundaries of evolution. The future belongs to my children and that future is here!"

- Professor Strange Professor Hugo Strange is the main antagonist in the Wrath of the Villains arc of the second season in the TV series Gotham. He made his debut appearance in the 12th episode Mr. Freeze. This is the first live-action incarnation of the Batman villain Hugo Strange and he is portrayed by B. D. Wong, who also plays Dr. Henry Wu in the Jurassic Park film series.

Professor Strange is the Chief of Psychiatry at Arkham Asylum and is also running experimentation on people in the underground research facility Indian Hill for Wayne Enterprises. He also answers to a secret organization called the Court of Owls, who gave him the task of reanimating the dead. In his search for a way to reanimate deceased humans he is eventually successful when he resurrects Theo Galavan. After realising that reanimated humans need a new identity in order to successfully 'live', Strange transforms Galavan into the vengeful fighter Azrael. Using this breakthrough in his research, Strange plans to revive many more of the villains delivered to his lab. Thus far, he is responsible for the creation of Mr. Freeze, Azrael, Firefly and Clayface as well as for the resurrection of Fish Mooney and Jerome Valeska. After the GCPD finds out about his experiments, Strange plans to blow up Indian Hill, as well as Arkham, with a bomb which is defused in time by Gordon and Lucius Fox. Strange is then arrested by the GCPD.

It is also revealed he was the one who had hired an assassin to kill Thomas and Martha Wayne in order to cover up his experiments.

Past
Hugo Strange was a friend of Thomas Wayne and the two were on the same cricket team.

When Thomas Wayne founded Pinewood Farms, intending it to be a facility to help people, he appointed his old friend Hugo Strange as its director. Strange uses the trust Thomas had in him to use the facility for inhuman experiments on people. During his time there, he experimented on Karen Jennings, a woman with a deformed arm. Although Karen was promised that the program would not only fix her arm, but make it better, the experiments turned Karen's arm into a even more deformed one, looking like a vulture's talons. When Thomas Wayne eventually found out what was happening at Pinewood Farms, he shut it down.

Ten years later, Thomas Wayne suspected that a facility similar to Pinewood was opened again. Wayne met with Karen, warning her. Strange eventually found out that Wayne was investigating the new facility. To make sure his involvement would not get public, he contacted The Lady, a broker for assassins, under the alias 'The Philosopher' and through her hired Matches Malone to kill Thomas Wayne. Malone killed Thomas and his wife Martha as well but spared their son Bruce.

Rise of the Villains
During the Rise of the Villains story arc, many dead or severely injured villains are delivered to Strange's lab. This includes Fish Mooney, Jerome Valeska, Theo Galavan, Barbara Kean and Bridgit Pike.

As Chief of Psychiatry at Arkham Asylum Strange has developed the habit of meeting every inhabitant personally. After Oswald Cobblepot has been sent to Arkham Asylum he is sent to Strange who is currently in a session with another inmate. After the session ends, Strange delicers the lunatic to the waiting Arkham personal, claiming that the inmate should remember to "See no evil, do no evil". The inmate is then returned to his cell and Strange meets with Cobblepot.

After the session with Strange, Cobblepot is returned to his cell. On the way there, he sees that the inmate Strange saw earlier has decided to follow Strange's advice by gouging out his own eyes.

After the session, Strange enters a secret elevator in the facility which brings him to the Indian Hill facility. There, he meets his assistant Miss Peabody, who tells him that Bridgit Pike is not reacting well to the experiments. She further shows him a newspaper article of Mr. Freeze. Reading the article, Strange is impressed that Fries succeded in cryogenic experiments, something Strange himself was not capable of.

Arkham Attacked
One of Fries' victims is delivered to Indian Hill and Strange tries to extract Fries' formula from the man's tissue. He is however unsuccessful. While exiting the room, Strange is told by Peabody that the GCPD wants to transfer Nora Fries to Arkham Medical Wing. After being told that Nora is terminally ill Strange deduces that Fries will come to Arkham to break her out. He then tells Peabody to prepare for Fries' arrival. When Gordon, Bullock and the SWAT bring in Nora, Strange welcomes them and introduces them to Peabody. On their way through the Asylum they witness Penguin, who has been affected by Miss Peabody's therapy. While the police sets up the Asylum's entrance for Fries' arrival, Strange watches security camera feed and sees an argument between Penguin and Gordon in which Penguin accuses Gordon of shooting Galavan. When Fries attacks the asylum Strange traps Bullock and the SWAT by locking certain doors to them, with only Gordon escaping. He then watches Fries venturing through the facility, at one point contacting him via loudspeaker. He introduces himself to Fries as a great admirer and offers him a way out of his situation. Knowing that Fries cannot escape with his wife, he tells Fries that the keys to a vehicle lie on a nearby chair. He then proposes a deal to Fries, allowing him to escape in exchange for one cartridge of his cryonic formula. Fries accepts and leaves one of his grenades which Strange sends Peabody to collect.

After Fries has escaped with Leslie Thomkins and Nora, Strange contacts Bullock and apologizes for the inconvenience, claiming that the cold froze the door's wires. He then opens the doors and allows the SWAT and Bullock to leave.

Creation of Mr. Freeze
After Nora's death, Fries tries to commit suicide with one of his cryogenic capsules. His body is found by Jim Gordon and brought to Arkham Asylum. Strange later calls Jim Gordon, telling him that they were not able to revive Victor. However, it is revealed that he in fact managed to save Fries. When Fries wakes up, he finds himself in a cooled down room. Through the cell's window he is contacted by Strange who tells him that he has been brought to Indian Hill and that, while Fries officially lies in the morgue of Arkham, Strange's team managed to save him by using his own formula. However, Strange also reveals that Fries' cellular structure was changed in the process and that he can only survive in temperatures below freezing. Strange assures Fries that they made some changes to his suit to allow him to walk freely. Before leaving, Strange tells Fries that they will starting on a new project the next day and that he should think of his "death" as a new beginning.

Releasing Oswald Cobblepot
In the next days, Strange turns his focus on Cobblepot. Under his instructions, Ms. Peabody uses a neural headset which uses the fear formula Gerald Crane made on Cobblepot, hoping that if they can cure a patient like Penguin, they can cure anyone.

As the "treatment" continues, Oswald is getting more and more docile. Strange plans to initiate the "ice cream experiment" where Cobblepot is the only one with ice cream on his food tray. Impulsive inmate Aaron Helzinger sits in front of Oswald and sees the icecream. Although Oswald is willing to give Aaron some, Helzinger violently grabs Oswald and starts beating him. Oswald remains docile, much to Strange's approval.To ultimately find out whether Cobblepot is cured or if he'll return to his murderous ways, Strange decides to put Oswald to one final test. He arranges for Oswald to be put back in the treatment room. Arriving, Oswald sees that he's not the only one there. He finds Aaron strapped to the treatment chair, blindfolded, and a table with a knife and water nearby. Oswald picks up the knife first, with Hugo and Ms. Peabody watching him through a hidden window. Oswald removes the blindfold from Aaron and instead of killing him for revenge, he uses the knife to cut his straps, passing Hugo's test.

Approving of the progress Oswald made, Strange invites Cobblepot into his office. He reveals that Oswald passed all mandated tests and by the laws of Gotham City is a free man. He then hands Oswald a document declaring him sane. While Cobblepot leaves Arkham Asylum, Peabody asks Strange whether he is sure about Cobblepot's rehabilitation. Strange tells her that he doesn't really think so and that Cobblepot's release is merely an experiment. When Peabody continues to ask, Strange reveals that he has deeper plans for Cobblepot that he can't share with Peabody for her own safety. Peabody coldly states that the plans can't be more secret than the laboratory in the basement and tells him that whatever he plans for Cobblepot be on his head.

Plans for Barbara
Eventually, Barbara Kean wakes from her coma. Realising this, a nurse runs off to alert Strange. After her awakening, she is brought into with other prisoners, supervised by Stange. Strange listens to Barbara confessing the murders of her parents and the attempted murder of Leslie and Jim. She claims that she doesn't feel insane but only sad and seems completely docile. After all prisoners are gone, Peabody approaches Stange. Although Peabody thinks that Barbara is only putting up an act, Strange is less convinced about it. Strange later convinces Barbara that she is sane and releases her into the city, another one of his pawns. Watching Keane drive off, Strange is told by Peabody that his reputation will suffer should he continue release lunatics from the asylum. Strange claims that he is not interested in his reputation and that while he does not know what Barbara will do, the results will surely be interesting.

Creating Azrael
"Strange: Bewitchment! False memories put into your head, I am your father and your lord. And he who has another birth, brought forth from the cold grass of death, shall rise again and serve my order. I say this and it becomes and I will give him the name of... Theo: Azrael!"

- Strange creates Azrael

While supervising experiments on an unconscious Victor Fries, Strange is told by Miss Peabody that someone at Wayne Enterprises is investigating Pinewood Farms. Watching the file on Karen Jennings, Strange chuckles and wonders if the ones who search for her know what Strange turned her into. To protect his secret, Strange sends two henchmen to Pinewood Farms but they are killed by Alfred Pennyworth and Karen. The police arrives and arrests both. Although Barnes lets Alfred go, Karen is brought to Blackgate Prison. To have Karen identify the "Philosopher" by showing her the files of all scientists who worked at Pinewoods, Gordon, Alfred and Bruce plan to break her out of Blackgate. When Strange is told by Peabody that Karen has been brought to Blackgate, he decides that Karen needs to be terminated. Peabody offers to send a team but Strange stops her, claiming that this would be the ideal way for Mr. Freeze to test his new suit.

Although Fries succesfully disposes of Karen, Bruce Wayne eventually finds out about the identity of the philosopher with help from Lucius Fox. After realising that Strange is the philosopher, Bruce is visibly upset that his parents were murdered by an old friend that they trusted.

Back at Arkham, Strange and Peabody are alarmed when a siren warns them about an incident at Indian Hill. Rushing to the elevator, the two witness their Patient 44 killing the scientists in the experiment chamber. Strange is overjoyed to have finally succeeded with his ambition of bringing deceased people back to life. Although Peabody plans to gas the subject, Strange stops her, fascinated with the strength and fighting skills displayed by Patient 44 who is revealed to be Theo Galavan. Peabody and Strange listen to Theo proclaiming religious phrases. They hear Galavan exclaiming the name 'Azrael', a name Strange seems to like.

Although Theo has returned from the dead, his psyche has suffered enormously. Strange and Peabody watch Theo in his cell, displaying paranoia as well as rage. Depite Theo's meltdown, Strange is fascinated with his new subject. Also, Strange recognizes that everything Theo babbles comes from the book 'The Will and Order of Saint Dumas'. He realises that Theo's brain is trying to create a new self after coming back from the dead but before he can react further he is informed that Jim Gordon is waiting in his office. Strange heads back up to Arkham, where Gordon asks for information on Pinewood Farms. Strange confirms that he had been working at the facility but claims to have merely been a simple researcher with no knowledge on experiments. Gordon answers that he finds that hard to believe and instead thinks that Strange was the one who led Pinewood Farms. Before he can continue, Strange interrupts him by asking why Gordon is here as the whole city has turned his back on him. As Gordon is no longer a police officer, Strange states that he is unable to demand answers. Once more, Strange asks why Gordon has come. Gordon tells him that he is working on behalf of a client and Strange correctly deduces that said client is Bruce Wayne. Strange then analyses Gordon's behavior and comes to the conclusion that Gordon is doing what he is doing not for a client but for himself. Uncomfortable with Strange's psychological evaluation, Gordon changes the subject and reveals that he saw Victor Fries despite Strange claiming that he died. Gordon reveals a envelope which he claims contains a court order to exhume Fries' body. Strange tells him that Fries was cremated. Gordon thanks Strange as he is now sure that Strange lied and is behind everything. Gordon leaves the office and Gordon opens the envelope and, much to his fury, finds the envelope empty. After Gordon has gone, Strange discusses with Peabody how they should handle the situation. They are overheard by Nygma who interrupts the discussion. Nygma immediately realises that the conversation about Gordon has something to do with the release of Cobbleopt and Barbara Kean. He offers Strange help in taking down Gordon but Strange refuses. Before Strange can walk of, Nygma reveals that he could be an asset as he can manipulate people, demonstrating it on various inmates including Helzinger. Listening to Nygma's explanations Strange eventually realises how he can solve his problem with Galavan. He storms off, leaving a baffled Nygma behind. Back at Indian Hill, an ecstatic Strange reveals to Peabody that all they need to do is give Galavan another identity. Much to the horror of Peabody, Strange enters Theo's cell and is immediately attacked by Galavan. Strange tells Galavan that he is his father and that demons took him to the lands of death. Theo is not convinced, remembering things of his past including that he has a sister and the face-off with Gordon at the tower. Strange tells him that these memories are false. By quoting the book of Dumas, Strange eventually convinces Theo who recognizes Strange as 'Lord Dumas', offering him his service.

Strange then brainwashes Theo into completely adepting the identity of Azrael. He then decides to test whether the procedure has been a success. He has Aaron Helzinger brought into Theo's cell and provides Theo with a case containing the 'Sword of Sin'. He tells Theo that Helzinger is a demon and that the case contains everything Theo needs to destroy him. Despite his expectations, Theo simply uses the case to knock out Helzinger. Satisfied enough with the outcome, Strange sends Azrael into Gotham to kill Gordon.

While Azrael is gone, Strange decides that he wants to create more new identities from books into his patients heads. While revealing this to Peabody, he quotes from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, implying that the next villain he creates might be the Mad Hatter. Strange starts to laugh, amusedly stating that the book will do nicely.

Investigated
The next day, Gordon, Bullock and other GCPD officers enter Arkham Asylum with an arrest warrant, searching for answers for the return of Theo Galavan and Victor Fries. However, once they enter his office they find a great pile of shredded files which Strange claims are results from 'spring cleaning'. When Bullock and his men prepare to search Arkham Strange stops them, refering to their warrant which only allows them to search his office. Once the policemen and Gordon walk off, Strange inquires whether Azrael has returned from his task. Peabody denies it.

While breaking into Indian Hill, Selina Kyle overhears a discussion between Strange and Peabody. Peabody tries to convince Strange that Azrael has gone rogue but Strange dismisses the idea. Despite his confidence that the police will never catch Azrael alive, Strange orders for the facility to be shut down and tells Peabody to organize the patients to be moved to the new facility. From a secret chamber, Strange watches as Selina is attacked by Strange's new creation Firefly. Strange then leaves the room, expecting that Firefly will finish off Selina. However, Selina knocks out Firefly instead. Strange returns to another lab where he welcomes another experiment back to the living. He is then disturbed by Peabody who reminds him that the last subject was the seventh in just twelve hours and that their employers will surely shut them down. Strange replies that they have succeeded with their task to reanimate the dead but Peabody replies that none of them returned with their memory intact. Strange claims that their way is far better, as they are able to create new identities for the formerly deceased. He ignores Peabody's concerns and orders the revival of another subject - Fish Mooney. Upon Fish's awakening he tries to create a new identity for her but she brushes him off, revealing that she is fully aware of her former life and identity. This shocks Strange who imprisons her in one of the cells.

In a conversation with Peabody, Strange discusses what reason allowed Fish to return with her memories intact. Strange claims that, though he has no idea how they managed it, they succeeded with their mission and that their masters will be pleased. Peabody is then called by the guards and tells Strange that Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox are waiting at Arkham. Strange exclaims his respect for Bruce's bravery and heads to the surface to meet Bruce. He offers Bruce his late condolences for his parents' deaths. He then invites Bruce inside while organizing that Peabody gives Fox a tour of the asylum. Inside his office, Strange bluntly tells Bruce that he is aware of the true reasons for Bruce's presence. He talks to Bruce about his father, revealing that he admired Thomas Wayne and, with respect, refers to many little arguments they had. Eventually, Bruce jumps up and asks Strange to admit what he did. Strange tells Bruce that he will admit that he pleaded to Thomas Wayne to turn back. He then asks the same thing of Bruce, pleading him to turn back before it is too late. He tells Bruce that Thomas Wayne was the one who orphaned Bruce as his actions and stubborness caused his death. Strange begs of Bruce not to follow Thomas' path. Bruce responds that his father did what he thought was right and that he himself will follow if neccessary. Strange merely bows down to the speaker on his desk and orders his men to take Fox as well as Gordon, who had secretly snuck into the asylum. Bruce is also grabbed by two Arkham guards. Back at his office, Strange is confronted by Peabody who asks him whether he took a liking to Bruce Wayne. Strange admits that Bruce reminds him of Thomas Wayne whom Strange admired and whom he misses. Peabody tells Strange that he needs to get rid of Bruce and that Strange doesn't have much time. Their conversation is interrupted by a woman with an owl mask who appears on Strange's TV screens. The woman tells them that they have much less time than they imagined. The woman claims that Strange lost sight of his mission, refering to his failure with Freeze and Azrael. Strange stands up to the woman, revealing that he succeded to bring a person back completely. The woman asks whether Strange can repeat the process and Strange claims that he thinks he can. The woman grants him additional time and tells him to find out what Bruce and his companions know. She also orders Strange to destroy Indian Hill.

Interrogating Gordon
To find out what Bruce and Lucius Fox know about his scheme and his plans, Strange sends Edward Nygma to interrogate the two.

While Nygma does so, Strange faces Gordon in a different room. He watches as Gordon is strapped to a chair. Gordon claims that the GCPD will be coming for him and Strange replies that he's aware. He claims however that with Gordon, a solution has presented itself. Strange has two men strap a special helmet onto Gordon's head, filling it with a liquid. Strange then removes the helmet and confronts Gordon with Basil Karlo. He puts the helmet Gordon previously wore onto Karlo's head. Once the helmet is removed, Strange laughs in glee at the result - Karlo has changed his face and voice into Gordons. Strange then releases Basil who imposes Gordon once the GCPD arrives to get him back. Strange then launches a bomb inside Indian Hill, supposed to destroy any evidence of the experiments. Strange then returns to Gordon and injects him with a truth serum. He asks Gordon about any plans he could have to possible stop him but finds out that he already stopped them by sending Karlo. Strange then continues to ask questions about Gordon's past, about Gordon's parents as well as about Leslie. Eventually, he asks what Gordon knows about Indian Hill. Gordon reveals that he knows that Wayne Enterprises runs Indian Hill but Strange wants to know whether Gordon is aware of the power behind the company. When finding out that Gordon has no idea of the Court, Strange is relieved. A timer then warns him that the bonb he launched is active and he leaves the room after apologizing to Gordon for talking about his life as if it had a future.

He then meets with Nygma whom he congratulates for getting information out of Bruce and Lucius. He then has Edward brought back into his cell and returns to his office where he contacts the owl-masked woman. He tells her that neither of them knows anything of importance. The woman then tells him that each and every of his experiments need to be destroyed, and Bruce, Jim and Lucius with them.

Transference
When returning to the prison site, he finds that Fish Mooney has used her new powers to mind control Peabody as well as other Arkham staff. Fish reveals to him that she plans to escape on the bus transfering the revived experiments to the new facility. Strange desperately tries to convince her otherwise, as the Court would have him killed should more of his experiments be seen in public. When it is clear that Mooney is not going to listen to him, Strange runs off and Fish sends Peabody to fetch him. Strange however manages to overpower and knock out Peabody and he sets the timer of his bomb to thirty minutes before shutting down entire Indian Hill. This prevents Mooney and the other inmates from escaping. Strange then heads to a different part of the building where Freeze, Firefly and Firefly's 'servant' Selina are waiting for him. He orders Freeze to go inside to kill everyone and Selina tells him not to, claiming that he is mean. Strange then orders Freeze to kill Selina, to the displeasure of Firefly. Firefly claims that she needs Selina but Strange replies that it was merely an experiment. However, Freeze has already approached Selina. Firefly shields her off, warning him to stay away. Despite Strange's best intentions, Freeze and Firefly start battling each other and Freeze is forced to take cover as both of them fire their weapons. During the fight,Strange stays in his cover, unable to flee to the exit as Freeze and Firefly crossed their fire and frost rays. When he sees Gordon, Bruce, Jim and Selina entering the room, the weapons of Firefly and Freeze stop firing for a brief amount of time. Strange uses the oppurtunity to flee to the exit but the two fighters have recharged their weapons and continue their fight. Strange is caught in the crossfire and starts burning and freezing at the same time as both beams hit him. Shocked, Freeze and Firefly stop attacking and Gordon rushes to Strange's aid but the Professor remains motionless. He lives however, and Gordon manages to reanimate him. He tries to force Strange to give him ' a tour' of his labs but Strange tells him about the bomb Strange set earlier. Lucius asks about the nuclear material he saw in Indian Hill, asking whether Strange brought it out before setting the bomb. Strange explains that he did not have enough time for that but that he calculated that a chance for a nuclear explosion are really low. He also claims that nuclear annihilation would be preferable to unleashing the beasts down in Indian Hill. Gordon furiously grabs Strange, threatening him to beat him to death should he not lead them down to the lab but Strange accepts this fate. Gordon lets go of Strange when Selina tells him that Nygma knows a way to the lab. While Jim and Lucius fetch Nygma, Bruce and Selina flee from Arkham, leaving a devastated Strange alone in the asylum.

After Gordon and Lucius managed to disarm the bomb, Strange is arrested by the GCPD. While being brought to a waiting police car, Strange begs the policemen to retrieve 'his people' as there will be consequences should they be released into Gotham.

Season 2

 * Wrath of the Villains: Mr. Freeze
 * Wrath of the Villains: A Dead Man Feels No Cold
 * Wrath of the Villains: This Ball of Mud and Meanness
 * Wrath of the Villains: Into the Woods
 * Wrath of the Villains: Pinewood
 * Wrath of the Villains: Azrael
 * Wrath of the Villains: Unleashed
 * Wrath of the Villains: A Legion of Horribles
 * Wrath of the Villains: Transference

Trivia

 * Professor Strange was first mentioned in the mid-season finale episode "Rise of the Villains: Worse Than a Crime", before making his debut in "Wrath of the Villains: Mr. Freeze".
 * Wong said about Strange: "We know that he's interested in reanimation. Why he's interested in that or what he's going to do with that ability isn't really clear, even to me [...] It does mean, if he's ever successful in reanimating someone, that all bets are off for anyone that's ever died."