Hugo Strange is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics , commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman . The character is one of Batman's first recurring villains, and was also one of the first to discover his secret identity. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #36 (February 1940).
94-554: A notorious enemy of Batman, the character has appeared in various forms of non-comics media, including animation, video games, and the live-action television series Gotham , where he is portrayed by BD Wong . Professor Hugo Strange first appears in Detective Comics #36 (February 1940) as a scientist and criminal mastermind who uses a stolen "concentrated lightning" machine to generate a dense fog every night so his gang can rob banks unseen, though he knows that Batman poses
188-519: A flashforward epilogue in the series finale of Pennyworth , stating that "we had the best Batman out there in David Mazouz . I'll bring him back." Wayne Manor Wayne Manor is a fictional mansion appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . It is the home of Bruce Wayne, owner of Wayne Enterprises, who is also the superhero Batman . The house is depicted as
282-491: A second season . The show was officially renewed by Fox for a 22-episode third season on March 16, 2016. In May 2017, Fox renewed the series for a fourth season , which premiered on September 21, 2017. On May 13, 2018, Fox renewed the series for a fifth and final season originally consisting of 10 episodes then later increased to 12. The season began production in July that year, and premiered on January 3, 2019. Although
376-529: A brownstone in the center of town, Batman residing in a mausoleum in the basement while Alfred prepares his equipment in the main house. Although Alfred and Gordon stake Batman at the conclusion of Batman: Bloodstorm after he succumbs to his vampire instincts and drinks the Joker's blood, he is restored to life after Alfred removes the stake in Crimson Mist , subsequently relocating to the catacombs underneath
470-586: A chance to have a life without Batman. However, Bruce returns to the manor when he realizes who he used to be. In Gotham War , Batman loses most of his money to the Joker . Afterward, Vandal Savage buys Wayne Manor and the Batcave. The manor grounds include the Batcave , an extensive cave system that Bruce Wayne discovered as a boy and uses as his base of operations. Its method of access has varied, though it
564-429: A darker, more stable serialized story." Metacritic gives the season a score of 62 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The third season of Gotham received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 74% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, " Gotham ' s third season lets
658-490: A desire to become Batman and dressing up in a replica Batsuit. To that end, Strange attempts to kill the Caped Crusader. However, Strange repeatedly underestimates the level of physical conditioning that is needed to be Batman. Strange also diagnoses Batman with various mental illnesses, such as explaining Batman's use of a costume as symptomatic of dissociative identity disorder , whereas Gordon more accurately explains
752-482: A glorious free-for-all that takes full advantage of the series' dense roster of colorful villains, making for an extended climax that is both daffy and thrilling". On February 1, 2016, Fox began airing episodes of a five-part motion comic titled Gotham Stories , meant to tie into the series' second season. The first Gotham tie-in novel was published by Titan in January 2017. Dawn of Darkness by Jason Starr
846-599: A large mansion on the outskirts of Gotham City and is maintained by the Wayne family's butler, Alfred Pennyworth . While the earliest stories showed Bruce Wayne buying the house himself, by the 1950s at the latest, retroactive continuity established that the manor had belonged to the Wayne family for several generations. Along with serving as a personal residence, the mansion sits above the Batcave , which Batman uses as his secret headquarters. The vast majority of DC Comics references place Wayne Manor just outside of Gotham City in
940-420: A lot of back and forth so that everyone was happy and comfortable." In early March 2014, David Mazouz was cast as Bruce Wayne while Camren Bicondova was cast as Selina Kyle. At the 2014 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo , DC's Jim Cunningham said that Renee Montoya would be a character on the show. In July 2014, it was announced that Graeme Revell would be the composer for the series. The pilot
1034-414: A mental breakdown and voluntarily turns himself in at Arkham Asylum . Strange next reappears as the head of a gang of supervillains attempting to take control of Gotham's East Side, then controlled by Catwoman . Catwoman joins Strange's gang, then allows its members to "find out" that she intends to betray them, faking her death when they attempt to eliminate her. Although she defeats and imprisons most of
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#17327940898881128-441: A narrative overload that undermines the drama, Gotham ' s fourth season ends strong, focusing on Bruce Wayne's transition into the beloved hero its audience awaits". The fifth and final season of Gotham received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 85% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 7.17/10. The site's critical consensus reads, " Gotham concludes in
1222-667: A number of criminal cases in Gotham City , including the murder of 12-year-old Bruce Wayne 's parents. A gang war brews between crime families led by Carmine Falcone , Sal Maroni , and Fish Mooney , with low-level thug Oswald Cobblepot forced into its center. In the second season , Theo Galavan surfaces in Gotham to kill Bruce Wayne for the Order of St. Dumas ; Gordon is framed for murder by Edward Nygma ; and at Arkham Asylum , Professor Hugo Strange runs unorthodox experiments in
1316-414: A professor of psychiatry at Gotham State University, but had his tenure suspended after using his position to promote a series of increasingly bizarre genetic engineering theories. He is approached by an Indian man named Sanjay, who seeks Strange's aid in curing his sick brother. Strange agrees to help, and Sanjay works loyally by his side from that point onward. Borrowing money from gangster Sal Maroni , who
1410-688: A replica of Wayne Manor with himself in it, stating that if he cannot be Batman, then no one can. Batman survives the explosion, but no trace of Strange is found. Later, Strange returns yet again (the Hugo Strange that "died" in the explosion was revealed by the real Strange to be a Mandroid) in Batman Annual #10 (1986), in another attempt to destroy Batman and Bruce Wayne, this time attempting to financially bankrupt Wayne by using various tricks to force three Wayne Enterprises shareholders to sell their stock holdings to him so he could bankrupt
1504-553: A secret facility called Indian Hill, transforming its inmates into monsters for the mysterious Court of Owls . In the third season , Gordon becomes a bounty hunter working to track down the Indian Hill monsters. Jervis Tetch threatens the city's safety with a deadly virus; Cobblepot and Nygma struggle for control over Gotham; and Bruce is told by the Court of Owls' leader to seek out Ra's al Ghul to complete his training. In
1598-462: A small boy in a picture would be harmed unless he put a stop to it. Arriving at the scene, Batman realizes that the small boy was actually Eli. He manages to avert the disaster and Eli is arrested. Later, Batman reveals that "Eli Strange" is actually an alias and that the boy's real name is Elliot Montrose. During the Forever Evil storyline, Hugo Strange is among the supervillains recruited by
1692-476: A storm in Gotham to obtain the device, which creates a dimensional doorway to Earth-One , bringing that universe's Batman over to Earth-Two, which allows him and Earth-Two's Robin to join with Earth-Two's Batwoman in defeating Strange. Strange realizes that he is, in fact, angry at his own wasted life and deformed body, so he uses the Cosmic Rod to commit suicide. In the post- Crisis continuity, Strange
1786-488: A threat to him. Batman , who already knows of Strange's experiments, begins investigating him after one of his henchmen commits a murder. When the robbers are apprehended, Strange vows to set a trap for Batman and deal with him personally. He has a dozen of his men ambush the vigilante, and one of them knocks him out with a blackjack. Batman wakes up in Strange's lair, where Strange hangs him from his wrists and lashes him with
1880-436: A whip. Batman breaks the ropes, gasses the room, and defeats Strange, who is jailed but quickly begins planning his escape. In Batman #1 (spring 1940), he carries out his escape plan, recruits a new gang of criminals, then breaks out "five insane patients" from the local asylum and uses them as test subjects, turning them into hulking 15 ft. tall monsters by administering a powerful artificial growth hormone that acts on
1974-521: A younger version of the iteration of Alfred Pennyworth portrayed by Sean Pertwee in Gotham , began airing on Epix in July 2019. A third season , subtitled The Origin of Batman's Butler and loosely adapting V for Vendetta , began airing on HBO Max in October 2022. Later in the month, Heller indicated that he intended for David Mazouz to eventually reprise his role as Bruce Wayne / Batman in
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#17327940898882068-414: Is "an absolute blast to watch." Matt Brennan of Indiewire said that Gotham was "the perfect antidote to superhero fatigue", praising the "bright, pop-inflected aesthetic, with urban backdrops that appear as though cut out from the panels of a comic book." Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly criticized the first half of season one along with the mid-season premiere. He found the personalities of
2162-551: Is able to collect himself and focus in the Batcave. The following day, he confronts Strange and tricks him into doubting his own hypothesis about Batman's secret identity, claiming that his parents are alive and living in Paraguay . Strange is ultimately exposed and shot by the task force when he attempts to escape, before falling into a river and being presumed dead. In Doug Moench 's "Terror" storyline, Strange mysteriously returns. He decides to work with another of Batman's enemies,
2256-512: Is attempting a complex double-bluff by letting him think that Bruce Wayne is Batman and thus doubts whether his original conclusion was correct. The Earth-Two version of Strange has a similar early history to the Earth-One version and also survives the fall that he experienced in Detective Comics #46. In The Brave and the Bold #182 (January 1982), it is revealed that he is left paralyzed by
2350-459: Is captured by Sanjay and thrown to the Monster Men as an intended meal. Batman not only holds off the creatures, but uses them as part of an inventive escape. Strange is enthralled by Batman, believing that he has found a genetically perfect man. He creates one final Monster Man using a drop of Batman's blood, and while his creation still has many of the flaws of its "brothers", it lacks most of
2444-479: Is described as an "official prequel" to the TV series, set two months prior to the beginning of the series. The following year, another novel was released written by the same author. Entitled City of Monsters , the book centered around Gordon during the events between seasons 2 and 3 of the series. A prequel series, Pennyworth , developed by a returning Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon , and starring Jack Bannon as
2538-422: Is destroyed as part of a plan to destroy Dracula's vampire family, bombs exposing the interior of the Batcave to sunlight after Batman lured the vampires into the cave following a chase through Gotham's sewers that ended in the Batcave just as the sun rose. Although the manor collapses into the cavern system after a second series of bombs are set off, thus concealing Bruce Wayne's secret, Batman and Alfred relocate to
2632-574: Is in the employ of Gotham kingpin Carmine Falcone , Strange sets up a private laboratory to test his theories. He then bribes a corrupt orderly to supply him with ideal test subjects: incurably insane inmates from Arkham Asylum who have been institutionalized for so long that they will not be missed. Strange's experiments have literally monstrous results, with his test subjects turning into gigantic, mindless " Monster Men ", possessing superhuman strength and cannibalistic instincts. Strange uses
2726-508: Is loaded with cards. Before he can have him killed, the criminals realize that their bracelet (Eli's was a fake replica) had been stolen. Catwoman then pounces from the ceiling and takes out the entire group. She thanks Eli for being her distraction (the two having been working together the entire time) and tells him to run home to his father, which he is last seen doing. Later, Strange tasks his son with overseeing an operation to dose Gotham with fear gas. The Scarecrow led Batman to believe that
2820-473: Is repossessed by the city and turned into the new Arkham Asylum following the destruction of the original, but Bruce decides to accept this new status quo, reasoning that he can at least make sure that his enemies remain contained in the new manor given his intimate knowledge of its entrances and exits. The manor is eventually reclaimed by Bruce's lawyers, but it is temporarily left empty due to Bruce's death and amnesic resurrection as Alfred wanted to give Bruce
2914-581: Is still standing, Nightwing musing that Strange failed to realize that Batman's flaws were actually his motivation in protecting Gotham. Hugo Strange later appears as a member of the Cabal alongside Doctor Psycho , Per Degaton , the Queen Bee I, and Amazo . An alternate universe variant of Hugo Strange appears in DC Comics Bombshells . This version is a eugenicist who seeks to improve
Hugo Strange - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-513: Is then shown posing as a psychiatrist doing standard stress evaluations at Wayne Enterprises . While Bruce Wayne is on the couch, Strange drugs him with a powerful hallucinogen to coax Wayne into admitting that he is Batman. Wayne is able to escape by using cleaning fluid to start a fire, fakes Batman's death by destroying the Batmobile with him supposedly in it, and triggers a post- hypnotic suggestion in himself, forcing him to completely repress
3102-537: Is typically accessible from a hidden door behind a grandfather clock. While these grounds are the regular home of Bruce Wayne, he temporarily vacated it in the stories from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, preferring to live in a penthouse apartment on top of the Wayne Foundation building in the city, which also included a secret sub-basement acting as a Batcave. Wayne came to this decision when Dick Grayson went off to college, which led him to decide that
3196-569: The Batman mythos in comic books published by DC Comics . The series premiered on Fox on September 22, 2014, and ended on April 25, 2019, after five seasons consisting of 100 episodes . It features an ensemble cast that includes Ben McKenzie as James "Jim" Gordon , Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock , and David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne . The show follows Gordon's early days at the Gotham City Police Department following
3290-537: The Crime Syndicate to join the Secret Society of Super Villains . In the continuity of DC Rebirth , DC Comics' 2016 relaunch of its monthly superhero books, Hugo Strange appears during the "Night of the Monster Men" crossover story line. Although apparently now ignorant of Batman's identity, he is now determined to prove his superiority by attacking Gotham with a group of "Monster Men" created from
3384-613: The Scarecrow , and use him as a tool to help him capture Batman, while simultaneously having fallen into a further delusional state, as he engages in a "relationship" with a female mannequin dressed in Batman's cowl, reflecting his warped dual admiration and loathing of Batman. The Scarecrow turns on Strange when the professor's therapy proves effective enough to turn the Scarecrow against his "benefactor", tricking Strange into falling into
3478-652: The Soviet Union 's secret weapon, and Superman , who he considered a failure. A year later, Strange captured Supergirl and Steve Trevor , intending to use her as a guinea pig to create an army to purge the world, only for Supergirl to turn Power Girl against him before the Reaper and Lois Lane find his lab and rescue his captives. Gotham (TV series) Gotham is an American superhero crime drama television series developed by Bruno Heller , produced by Warner Bros. Television and based on characters from
3572-490: The fifth and final season , Gordon and his allies attempt to restore order in Gotham. Nyssa al Ghul seeks vengeance for her father's death; Eduardo Dorrance takes control of the city's military presence; and Jeremiah hatches a scheme to torment Bruce and cement their "bond" as hated enemies. A decade later , Bruce returns to Gotham and begins fighting crime as a bat-inspired vigilante . Jeremiah escapes from Arkham to resume his rivalry with Bruce. Gordon, now commissioner of
3666-435: The fourth season , Bruce begins to fight crime as a masked vigilante to prepare for Ra's al Ghul's return; Sofia Falcone arrives in Gotham to reclaim the criminal underworld from Cobblepot, who has established a new law of "licensed crime"; and Jeremiah Valeska is driven insane and forms an alliance with Ra's al Ghul to turn the city into an isolated ruin , forcing Bruce to fulfill his destiny as "Gotham's Dark Knight". In
3760-400: The pituitary gland . He outfits them with bulletproof clothing, and uses them to rampage through Gotham City and distract the police while his men commit robberies. Strange administers the serum to Batman after the giants capture him, saying it will work in 18 hours. Batman tricks two of the monsters into killing each other, and then formulates a drug that prevents any abnormal secretions from
3854-562: The 1960s Batman television series and in films Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), in The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012), in the DC Extended Universe (2016–2023) and The Batman (2022). Wayne Manor is depicted in earlier comics as being on the outskirts of Gotham City in the state of New Jersey . Comic book portrayals place
Hugo Strange - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-520: The 1970s in the "Strange Apparitions" story arc in Detective Comics #469-479 (May 1977-September–October 1978). Having survived his earlier "death" (how this happened is never explained, seen or shown, although this may be another example of the differences in continuity between Golden Age and Earth-One stories), Strange left Gotham City and went to Europe for several years, where his criminal career prospered with no one to challenge him. Bored and hoping to pit his wits against Batman again, Strange, now using
4042-466: The 75 years since their creation, and Gotham has trouble finding the right balance of influences". The second season of Gotham received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a rating of 74% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 6.58/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While still tonally uneven in season two, Gotham is back with a renewed focus, moving away from disjointed case-of-the-week plots into
4136-563: The Batcave below, although the Bat-family were able to relocate all of Batman's equipment before official rescue came to the manor so that nobody would learn Bruce Wayne's secrets. The original Manor was damaged beyond repair, forcing Bruce Wayne to redesign the Manor along with the Batcave. The new Manor is a veritable fortress, a pastiche of Gothic architecture combined with features of castellated architecture . Solar panels are installed in
4230-512: The Batman aspect of his mind until Robin and Nightwing can defeat Strange. Faced with Nightwing and Robin each denying that Wayne is Batman and witnessing Wayne's complete lack of combat reflexes and training, Strange becomes concerned that his theory that Bruce Wayne is Batman has been disproved and realizes that he will never be able to learn the truth now that he " killed " the Dark Knight. Faced with this conflicting situation, Strange has
4324-635: The Batsuit's intended purpose as scaring criminals. Strange eventually concludes that Bruce Wayne is most likely Batman, brainwashes the task force's commander to impersonate Batman to turn the public against him and sends him to kidnap the Mayor's daughter while dressed as the Dark Knight. Despite Strange's attempt to psychologically "break" Batman by creating recordings and setting up mannequins of Thomas and Martha Wayne blaming Bruce for their deaths, even using Wayne Manor itself to enhance his illusions, Bruce
4418-452: The GCPD, uses a searchlight atop the police department to contact the new vigilante. Heller said that he was initially hesitant to do a series about superheroes because he didn't know how to write about people with super powers. He also stated, "I don't think Batman works very well on TV". Heller's son suggested that the focus of the series should be Commissioner Gordon, and Heller developed
4512-539: The Monster Men to commit crimes so he can put together the money needed to pay back his Mafia connections. Batman becomes involved after discovering some of the gruesome remains of the Monster's Men's cannibalistic rampages. When Strange sets his creations free at an illegal poker game, helping himself to the victims' money after the slaughter, the Gotham Mafia begins to grow suspicious. Batman tracks Strange down, but
4606-450: The Scarecrow and Batman were hallucinating from exposure to Crane's new fear gas, although Batman concludes that the subsequent explosion of the house has definitely killed Strange. Dark Moon Rising: Batman and the Monster Men , "Prey" and "Terror" all take place during Batman's early years. In the modern timeline, Strange returns in a four-part storyline called "Transference". Initially appearing in his own Batsuit, he captures Catwoman with
4700-411: The additional gardens that existed at the time the manor was built add on to this symbol to create the image of a bat. During the events of Batman: Cataclysm a massive earthquake struck Gotham City, the epicenter of which was less than a mile from Wayne Manor. The mansion was seriously damaged, as was the cave network beneath. The ground beneath the mansion shifted significantly, and actually revealed
4794-404: The aid of his henchwoman Dora – a former patient whom he has subjected to extensive mental conditioning by Strange to act as a new "Catwoman" – and attempts to interrogate her about Batman's current status, Strange dismissing the existence of Batman's new allies by proclaiming them to be "parasites", as he cannot accept that Batman would share his "power" with anyone. He
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#17327940898884888-455: The alias of Dr. Todhunter, opens a private hospital, Graytowers Clinic, for Gotham's wealthiest citizens, where he holds them for ransom before mutating them into mindless monsters. When Bruce Wayne checks into the hospital to recover discreetly from radiation burns he sustained while fighting Doctor Phosphorus , Strange finds out that Wayne is Batman and uses this information to wreak havoc on his personal life. Strange then attempts to auction off
4982-487: The alley and decapitating a former classmate of Crane's in front of the hero. With Catwoman 's help, Batman locates the Scarecrow's hideout and catches the Scarecrow in the cellar with Strange's body before the house is destroyed in a fire, but loses sight of Strange, with it being unclear whether Strange had actually survived the fall onto the weather vane – he claimed that he lured rats to himself by using his sweat so that he could eat them – or if
5076-471: The appearance of a spirit. Upon his return, Strange used the devices again to bring back the "ghost" so he could punish Thorne for double-crossing him. Subsequently, Strange attempts to weaken Bruce Wayne through the use of drugs and lifelike robots called Mandroids, with the ultimate goal of destroying Wayne completely so that Strange could take his place as Batman. The plan fails, and Strange apparently dies once more when he attempts to kill Batman by blowing up
5170-462: The appearance of the real Hugo Strange in the last panel of the last page of the fifth issue mentioned here. As revealed two issues later in Batman #356 (February 1983), Strange had indeed survived the beating from Thorne's men by using yoga techniques to slow his heartbeat to an undetectable level. It is also revealed that Strange also artificially created the "ghost" of himself that haunted Thorne by using strategically-placed devices that simulated
5264-492: The assumption that Batman will have no choice but to surrender the cowl to him as the "true" Batman since he cannot take a life. Nightwing is able to defeat the final monster - an amalgamation of the previous ones - by literally leaping inside it to inject it with a prepared antidote, while Batman outwits Strange by having his ally Clayface cover the penthouse in an airtight seal prior to the confrontation. Strange, delirious and running out of oxygen, loses consciousness while Batman
5358-412: The battle that follows, all of the Monster Men are killed, along with Sanjay (who abandons Strange and dies trying to avenge his brother). Strange escapes amid the chaos, and succeeds in eradicating all links between himself and his experiments. Confident that his criminal past is permanently buried, he begins to appear on TV by reinventing himself as a "psychological expert" on Batman. It is possible that
5452-437: The cellar of his mansion base where the twisted psychiatrist is impaled on a weather vane that the Scarecrow had left in the cellar earlier. The Scarecrow then uses Strange's mansion as a trap for Batman, but his attempt to use Strange's plan fails when he tries to use Crime Alley as the scene of a trap while ignorant of the reasons why that alley is so significant to Batman, with his "trap" merely consisting of luring Batman into
5546-486: The comic book provide him with a tragic backstory: he witnessed the murder of his son David by Mob boss Rupert Thorne and was so overcome with grief that he sought to literally erase the memory with his mind control technology. The plan backfired, however; following the experiment, he could remember nothing but his son's death. After Batman stops him from killing Thorne, Strange is imprisoned in Arkham Asylum. In
5640-429: The company. He also attempts to frame Batman as a criminal. However, Strange is defeated and sent to prison. Batman is able to stop Strange from further exploiting his knowledge of his secret identity by falsely claiming that he hypnotized Strange to give him a fake idea of Batman's true identity just before Commissioner Gordon shows up to arrest him; his explanation is so convincing that Strange begins to wonder if Batman
5734-559: The continuity of The New 52 , the 2011 reboot of the DC Universe , Detective Comics (vol. 2) introduces the reader to Hugo Strange's son, Eli Strange, for the first time. Eli is first seen playing a game of poker with members of the Russian Mob , betting a valuable bracelet, winning big and cleaning house. Before he can walk away with his winnings, one of the mobsters forces him to play another hand, then discovers Eli's sleeve
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#17327940898885828-418: The corpses of his former patients as representations of what Strange perceives as Batman's greatest flaws - his ego, grief, and fear - which ultimately provokes Batman into a confrontation at Strange's office penthouse headquarters. Strange wears what he terms a "suicide suit" - a near-replica of the Batsuit without the cape and cowl that is rigged to detonate if its wearer is subjected to any physical attack - on
5922-399: The darkness that drives Batman. According to Commissioner Gordon , Strange was "abandoned as a child, grew up in state homes. A bright kid, but he apparently had a hell of a temper. Nobody knows how he put himself through college and medical school." Strange was raised in an orphanage on the lower East Side of Gotham City, in a neighborhood known as "Hell's Crucible". As an adult, he became
6016-412: The end of the graphic novel, the Manor has been rebuilt as a hospital/hospice for Gulag battle victims. Outside of the bustling metropolis of New York City, and on the outskirts of the sleepy town of Brewster, NY, boasts an active ‘Wayne Manor’ on a private residence. Known for elaborately themed parties and functions, W.M. northeast includes custom stonework, multiple fireplaces, a standing tiki bar and
6110-538: The events of Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy 's "Prey" storyline take place at this point. Partly due to Strange's appearances on TV claiming to understand Batman's motives, Captain James Gordon is ordered to assemble a task force to apprehend the vigilante, with Strange assisting him as a consultant to deduce Batman's secret identity. As the task force's investigation progresses, Strange grows increasingly maniacal in his obsession with Batman, going so far as expressing
6204-489: The fall but, after years of physical therapy, he regains enough movement to write out the surgical techniques needed to repair the damage to his body - and bribes a surgeon to perform the operation. The surgeon lacks Strange's skill, and the operation leaves Strange physically deformed (the surgeon is then killed for his failure). Strange uses one of his devices to capture Starman 's Cosmic Rod to use its power to attack everyone and everything that Batman holds dear. He generates
6298-435: The first episode for playing "like a 45-minute movie, with stunning visuals that never feel like a shrunken TV version of the Batman films against which it will inevitably be measured" and lauded Logue's Harvey Bullock as a scene-stealer. The San Jose Mercury News ' Chuck Barney called the pilot "a fun, dark, moody and well-paced first hour" and McKenzie's James Gordon a commanding lead, while saying Jada Pinkett Smith
6392-527: The first season reported to consist of 16 episodes rather than the standard 13 or 22. On October 13, Fox ordered an additional six episodes for the show, bringing the first season order to a full 22 episodes. In February 2014, it was reported that production would begin in New York City in March, and filming finished on March 24, 2015, for the first season. On January 17, 2015, the series was renewed for
6486-481: The gang, and even convinces Strange to leave the East Side alone, Strange still mocks her by pointing out that he had faked his own death far more often than she had. In Batman #665, Batman tells Tim Drake that a huge man dressed like a combination of Bane and Batman had beaten him up and he suspects that the impostor had used "Hugo Strange's monster serum and daily Venom shots" to gain his size and strength. In
6580-624: The gene pool by removing those he considers "unclean". In pursuit of this goal, he allies himself with the Penguin and Harvey Dent, using the latter for his access to Gotham City's citizens' genes and control their future generations. However, Dent later betrays Strange and the Penguin to help the Batgirls. Strange flees and later receives funding from the Soviets to research and create clones of Supergirl. Chief among them are Power Girl , who became
6674-457: The grotesque disfigurements that had plagued Strange's earlier creations. Strange is subsequently forced to destroy his lab to evade capture. Soon after, he turns the Monster Men loose, including Sanjay's brother (who had also been mutated as a result of Strange's "treatments"), at Falcone's private estate in a bid to wipe out the Mob's leaders, erasing his debt and covering up their ties to his work. In
6768-400: The idea of Gordon investigating Bruce Wayne's parents' murder. That idea "gave us a starting point and allowed us to tell the saga from a much earlier point than before". On September 24, 2013, Fox announced that it had bypassed the traditional pilot and placed an order for Gotham to be written and executive produced by Heller. Gotham received a series order from Fox on May 5, 2014, with
6862-672: The identity of Batman to Gotham City Councilman "Boss" Rupert Thorne , Penguin , and Joker . Not wanting to lose, Thorne has Strange abducted and beaten by his men to reveal Batman's identity, but Strange apparently dies without ever telling him. Strange's ghost then comes back to haunt Thorne, driving the Councilman insane. Thorne confesses his long career of corruption and is sent to Arkham Asylum . Strange's ghost returns again to haunt Thorne in Detective Comics #513 (April 1982), #516 (July 1982), #518 (September 1982), and #520 (November 1982) and Batman #354 (December 1982), leading up to
6956-540: The mansion was now impractical with only one resident and one servant. Furthermore, Wayne decided he wanted to be closer to his main field of operations in Gotham City than a home situated outside the main urban area would allow. However, by the early 1980s, Wayne came to reconsider that purpose and decided that being less accessible to the public was more advantageous for his Batman activities and returned to Wayne Manor. In Batman & Dracula: Red Rain , Wayne Manor
7050-463: The mansion within driving distance of Gotham City, close enough that the Bat-Signal can be seen from Wayne Manor alerting Batman of distress in the city. Wayne Manor's grounds include a surrounding gate around the perimeter with a larger front gate at the main entrance. Batman's subterranean headquarters, the Batcave , is located beneath the mansion. The grounds also includes a large hill that
7144-527: The most characters "already nearly fully formed; all they can become is more or less than what they already are." Jensen added that Gordon not being Gotham's redeemer hurt the premise of the show and heavily criticized what he saw as the under-use of Jada Pinkett Smith 's character. In the end, he does not see Gotham "as a show for comic book fanboys" but rather as "a post-fanboy, or fanboy-irrelevant." Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club lamented that "there have been dozens of interpretations of Batman and his city in
7238-486: The murder of Bruce's parents, as well as the origin stories of Batman's infamous rogues gallery . Development for a prequel series based on Batman began in September 2013, with Bruno Heller hired by Fox to serve as a writer and executive producer. In March 2014, Fox originally ordered 16 episodes for its first season before expanding it to 22. Filming primarily took place across New York City . In May 2018, Fox renewed
7332-486: The new Manor, providing sustainable and environmentally-friendly electricity generation for the complex. It also includes a heliport for commercial helicopters. During Batman Eternal , Hush's machinations result in Wayne Enterprises being ruined and Bruce Wayne essentially bankrupt after the villain detonates various weapons caches Batman had concealed around Gotham. As part of this bankruptcy, Wayne Manor
7426-456: The pituitary gland, preventing the transformation. He is then able to kill all the other monsters, and sends Strange to his apparent death in a fall from a cliff, although he suspects that the mad scientist has survived. In Detective Comics #46 (December 1940), Strange returns and starts spreading a fear-inducing powder around the city until a punch from Batman again sends him falling off a cliff to his apparent death. He returned years later in
7520-439: The remains of Wayne Manor. The manor's remains are finally destroyed for good when Gordon, Alfred, Two-Face , Killer Croc , and Two-Face's gang plant bombs on the cave roof, exposing the interior to sunlight and ending Batman's reign of terror once and for all. In Kingdom Come , the Manor was mostly destroyed by Two-Face and Bane after Batman's true identity was exposed; the Batcave, however, remained relatively untouched. By
7614-442: The season a rating of 76% based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 6.85/10. The site's consensus states, "High production values, a talented cast, and an appealingly stylized approach to the Batman mythos help Gotham overcome its occasionally familiar themes." Metacritic gives the season a score of 71 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". David Hinckley of New York Daily News praised
7708-479: The series for a fifth and final season, consisting of 12 episodes, which premiered on January 3, 2019, and concluded on April 25, 2019. A prequel series, Pennyworth , starring Jack Bannon as a younger version of the iteration of Alfred Pennyworth portrayed by Sean Pertwee in Gotham , began airing in July 2019 and concluded in October 2022. In the first season , GCPD Detective James Gordon and his corrupt partner Harvey Bullock are tasked with solving
7802-450: The series is set in Gotham, various names and character designs from the Batman franchise were ultimately not allowed to be used in order to reserve them for the DCEU , combined with concerns from Warner Bros. about the television series potentially diluting the brand. This was later clarified by Cameron Monaghan, who stated that "higher-ups" did not allow his character to use the name Joker and
7896-421: The series' freak flag fly to thrilling effect, but it is far more fun to spend time with the supervillains than virtually any of the other characters". The fourth season of Gotham received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 77% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 6.89/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though at times suffering from
7990-594: The state of New Jersey . The manor, indicative of Wayne's ancestral wealth, is designed in a Gothic Revival architectural style, matching the Gothic architecture present in Gotham. For live-action films, English country house locations in Nottinghamshire , Hertfordshire , and Buckinghamshire , as well as Stevenson Taylor Hall in New York, have been used to depict Wayne Manor. Wayne Manor appears in
8084-698: The story arc Gotham Underground , Strange is associating with other supervillains such as the Mad Hatter , Doctor Death and Two-Face . Strange and the others are rounded up by the Suicide Squad . Strange takes part in the miniseries Salvation Run . He is among the supervillains imprisoned on another planet. Strange also appears in The Batman Adventures , which is set in the DC Animated Universe . Issues #35-36 of
8178-646: The third season it was announced in August 2017 that the season would premiere exclusively on DVD and Blu-ray and be on Netflix from September 1. In Ireland, it premiered on RTÉ2 on January 26, 2015. In March 2018, it was announced that E4 had acquired the rights to air the fourth season on UK television. In September 2014, Warner Bros. sold the series' worldwide video on demand rights to Netflix. The 100th episode and series finale aired on April 25, 2019. In early October 2014, market research firm Survata polled more than 1,400 viewers to determine that Gotham
8272-459: The usage of his traditional green-hair look. Fox Entertainment President David Madden said that the show's production team "have masterfully honored the mythology of Gotham and brought it to life with depth, emotion, and memorable high drama." In January 2014, rumors arose that Donal Logue would portray Gordon in the series. Logue denied these rumors via Twitter . Logue was eventually cast as Harvey Bullock. In February 2014, Ben McKenzie
8366-401: Was cast as James Gordon. McKenzie had shot a previous pilot with Heller for CBS , which led to Heller writing his characterization of Gordon with McKenzie in mind. Casting Bruce Wayne was challenging in part because, as Heller put it "It's such an important casting and it would've been very dangerous to cast the wrong person" adding that the casting process for Wayne "took a lot of negotiation,
8460-468: Was partially hollowed out for Batman's aerial vehicles, with the most prominent being the batcave, and there is also an underground river system that is large enough to accommodate docking space for the Batboat and has a large opening for said vehicle. In Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne , it is revealed that Wayne Manor was designed by Nathan Van Derm for Darius Wayne, forming a stylized "W", although
8554-408: Was reintroduced in the " Prey " storyline as an eccentric private psychiatrist enlisted to help a task force assigned to capture Batman by providing them with a psychological profile of the vigilante. While brilliant at his work, Strange is depicted as being equally unbalanced: he becomes so obsessed with the case, he starts wearing a replica Batman costume in private, convinced that he alone understands
8648-618: Was screened at the Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014. The series premiered on Nine Network in Australia on October 12. In Canada, it is shown in simulcast on CTV and reran on M3 . In New Zealand, it premiered on TV2 on September 28. In the United Kingdom, it premiered on Channel 5 on October 13. The channel also screen the second season but after failing to screen
8742-404: Was the major TV premiere, out of 24, that viewers were most interested to watch that year. In Australia the first and second episodes received 1.24 million and 896,000 viewers, respectively. The timeshifted broadcasts were watched by 1.43 and 1.03 million, respectively. The Canadian debut got 3.38 million viewers, making it the second most-watched telecast of the night and week. The UK premiere
8836-412: Was watched by 3.20 million viewers. The airings on the 1-hour and 24-hour timeshift channels were watched by 597,000 and 142,000 viewers, respectively. In New Zealand, it was the most-watched program on the network, with 278,540 viewers. The time shifted version was watched by 39,580 viewers. Season 1 of Gotham received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives
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