Professor Pyg
Encyclopedia
Professor Pyg is a fictional character
in DC Comics
and an enemy of Batman
and Robin
. He was created by Grant Morrison
and first appeared in a cameo in Batman
#666 (July 2007). He is a regular character in the Batman and Robin
series. His real name is revealed in Batman and Robin #3 to be Lazlo Valentin, a low rent "extreme" circus boss.
Grant Morrison's main inspirations for the character came from the Momus
written (for Kahimi Karie
) song Pygmalism and both the song and character are references to the play Pygmalion
, giving Pyg a reference to his desire to transform people into an idealized state.
(Damian Wayne
).
Pyg attempts to release an addictive identity destroying drug in the form of a virus into Gotham through infected Dollotrons, humans modified by Pyg into genderless, lobotomized beings with special masks fused into the skin on their faces. He initially sold the drug/virus to gangs who were using it to control prostitutes. His plan is foiled when Batman, having extracted his whereabouts from Pyg's captured henchman Phosphorous Rex, is heading to stop him and save Robin. Batman arrives at Pyg's disused fun fair hideout (previously used by the Joker in The Killing Joke
), where Robin had just escaped from Pyg's efforts to convert him into another Dollotron. Together with Batman, they succeed in subduing Pyg and his Circus of the Strange, with all the Dollotrons seemingly captured.
are captured when 99 Fiends attacks them, and a giant army of Dollotrons appears out of nowhere. Batman breaks free, while Pyg is aiming to perform his surgery on Gordon as a part of his performance to the Black Glove, at a "party" held at Crime Alley. This "party" is foiled by both Batman and the Joker (who has Robin captured), who is revealed to be Dr. Hurt's opponent. With the Black Glove terminated by Joker's laughing gas, Pyg and Hurt are nearly captured by Batman, only to subdue him with the help of a drugged Gordon.
Later, Robin (Damian Wayne), is freed by the Joker as a part of a plan to stop Dr. Hurt. Robin assaults Pyg's personal van and liberates Gordon, only to be caught by 99 Fiends. At this point, Pyg leaves Hurt and his 99 Fiends, and is heading to complete his own agenda in the city. Batman and Robin's fight against Simon Hurt, who impersonates Thomas Wayne, is nearly lost, but everything changes with the arrival of the original Batman, Bruce Wayne. While Bruce Wayne is dealing with Simon Hurt, he sends both Damian and Dick Grayson (the current Batman) to stop Pyg.
Professor Pyg is seen in the center of the drug infection, surrounded by his Dollotrons and the numerous addicts. He is performing on the makeshift, bizarre mobile "scene" (which is reminiscent of the one the Joker (played by Jack Nicholson
) used in Tim Burton
's Batman (1989 film)
). Behind the scene is a "box" which he promotes, claiming to the maddened crowd that he has the salvation, the drugs which will take away the pain, and the masks which take away everything else. The "box" appears to be mobile Dollotron converter, as numerous people are seen entering it from the one side, only emerging as Dollotrons from the other. Dick and Damian succeed in defeating Pyg, luring him out of the crowd by tricking him with his "mother". He is captured and is taken to Arkham Asylum.
The number is evidently in the hundreds, as many of them appear suddenly when Pyg is around.
The most notable Dollotron is Scarlet, the Russian daughter of one of Pyg's victims, but as Pyg is stopped before other surgeries are performed, she remains sane and later joins the Red Hood as his side-kick. She leaves Gotham City, scared and tired of the craziness with Red Hood. Her mask eventually wears off by itself, though any lasting damage is as yet unrevealed.
A non-canon improved strong and agile Dollotron appears in the future reality of Batman #666.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and an enemy of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
and Robin
Robin (comics)
Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
. He was created by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
and first appeared in a cameo in Batman
Batman (comic book)
Batman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27, published in May 1939. Batman proved to be so popular that a self-titled ongoing comic book series began publication in the spring of 1940...
#666 (July 2007). He is a regular character in the Batman and Robin
Batman and Robin (comic book)
Batman and Robin is an American comic book ongoing series, created by Grant Morrison and featuring Batman and Robin. The debut of the series followed the events of "Batman R.I.P.", Final Crisis, and "Battle for the Cowl" in which the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, apparently died at the hands of DC...
series. His real name is revealed in Batman and Robin #3 to be Lazlo Valentin, a low rent "extreme" circus boss.
Inspirations
Morrison describes the character as "one of the weirdest, most insane characters that's ever been in Batman. We hear a lot about Batman facing crazy villains but we tried to make this guy seem genuinely disturbed and disconnected".Grant Morrison's main inspirations for the character came from the Momus
Momus (artist)
Nick Currie , more popularly known under the artist name Momus , is a songwriter, blogger and former journalist for Wired...
written (for Kahimi Karie
Kahimi Karie
Kahimi sings in English, French, and Japanese with whisper-like vocals.-Albums:* 1997 - Larme de crocodile * July 15, 1998 - K.K.K.K.K. * May 24, 2000 - Tilt...
) song Pygmalism and both the song and character are references to the play Pygmalion
Pygmalion (play)
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
, giving Pyg a reference to his desire to transform people into an idealized state.
Circus of the Strange
Pyg proclaims the "Year of the Pig", as he and his Circus of the Strange appear in Gotham City as part of the plan by Dr. Hurt. Pyg starts the campaign of making people "perfect", while his minions capture RobinRobin (comics)
Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
(Damian Wayne
Damian Wayne
Damian Wayne is a fictional character in the . Damian is the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, and thus the grandson of Batman villain Ra's al Ghul....
).
Pyg attempts to release an addictive identity destroying drug in the form of a virus into Gotham through infected Dollotrons, humans modified by Pyg into genderless, lobotomized beings with special masks fused into the skin on their faces. He initially sold the drug/virus to gangs who were using it to control prostitutes. His plan is foiled when Batman, having extracted his whereabouts from Pyg's captured henchman Phosphorous Rex, is heading to stop him and save Robin. Batman arrives at Pyg's disused fun fair hideout (previously used by the Joker in The Killing Joke
The Killing Joke
The Killing Joke may refer to:In books:*Batman: The Killing Joke, a Batman graphic novel published in 1988*The Killing Joke , a novel by Anthony Horowitz first published in 2004In music:...
), where Robin had just escaped from Pyg's efforts to convert him into another Dollotron. Together with Batman, they succeed in subduing Pyg and his Circus of the Strange, with all the Dollotrons seemingly captured.
Black Glove
He is arrested and taken to Blackgate Penitentiary. However, he is later freed by Simon Hurt's enforcers, the 99 Fiends gang, and is given a new mask in place of the one he lost. Being a major part of the plan created by Hurt and the Black Glove, Pyg is to wreak madness and havoc across Gotham with his currently spreading viral infection. At the same time, both Batman and Commissioner GordonJames Gordon (comics)
James Worthington Gordon, Sr. is a fictional character, an ally of Batman that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane...
are captured when 99 Fiends attacks them, and a giant army of Dollotrons appears out of nowhere. Batman breaks free, while Pyg is aiming to perform his surgery on Gordon as a part of his performance to the Black Glove, at a "party" held at Crime Alley. This "party" is foiled by both Batman and the Joker (who has Robin captured), who is revealed to be Dr. Hurt's opponent. With the Black Glove terminated by Joker's laughing gas, Pyg and Hurt are nearly captured by Batman, only to subdue him with the help of a drugged Gordon.
Later, Robin (Damian Wayne), is freed by the Joker as a part of a plan to stop Dr. Hurt. Robin assaults Pyg's personal van and liberates Gordon, only to be caught by 99 Fiends. At this point, Pyg leaves Hurt and his 99 Fiends, and is heading to complete his own agenda in the city. Batman and Robin's fight against Simon Hurt, who impersonates Thomas Wayne, is nearly lost, but everything changes with the arrival of the original Batman, Bruce Wayne. While Bruce Wayne is dealing with Simon Hurt, he sends both Damian and Dick Grayson (the current Batman) to stop Pyg.
Professor Pyg is seen in the center of the drug infection, surrounded by his Dollotrons and the numerous addicts. He is performing on the makeshift, bizarre mobile "scene" (which is reminiscent of the one the Joker (played by Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
) used in Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
's Batman (1989 film)
Batman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
). Behind the scene is a "box" which he promotes, claiming to the maddened crowd that he has the salvation, the drugs which will take away the pain, and the masks which take away everything else. The "box" appears to be mobile Dollotron converter, as numerous people are seen entering it from the one side, only emerging as Dollotrons from the other. Dick and Damian succeed in defeating Pyg, luring him out of the crowd by tricking him with his "mother". He is captured and is taken to Arkham Asylum.
Possible Future
In the future depicted in non-canon Batman #666, Professor Pyg and some members of the Circus of the Strange have become prominent criminal bosses in Gotham City. He is found dead by the police, without his mask and crucified upside down in a church. A very special Dollotron is also seen, much improved from what is seen in his other appearances.Re-boot
Art work featuring Professor Pyg alongside other Batman foes has been released, showing the character 'survived' the DC re-boot. Pyg is shown being involved in a break out from Arkham Asylum.The Dollotrons
The Dollotrons are Professor Pyg's personal army of zombie-like, mind controlled people. They wear doll-like dresses and have bag-like doll faces permanently attached to their original faces that cannot be removed surgically. The process of creating them is not entirely revealed, but it is implied it involves brain surgery, genital mutilation, and mind-altering drugs.The number is evidently in the hundreds, as many of them appear suddenly when Pyg is around.
The most notable Dollotron is Scarlet, the Russian daughter of one of Pyg's victims, but as Pyg is stopped before other surgeries are performed, she remains sane and later joins the Red Hood as his side-kick. She leaves Gotham City, scared and tired of the craziness with Red Hood. Her mask eventually wears off by itself, though any lasting damage is as yet unrevealed.
A non-canon improved strong and agile Dollotron appears in the future reality of Batman #666.
Television
- Professor Pyg makes a quick one-shot cameo appearance along with Flamingo and King Kraken (of the Club of Villains) in the Batman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more super heroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain...
episode "The Knights of Tomorrow!". He is shown being defeated by the future BatmanDick GraysonDick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
and RobinDamian WayneDamian Wayne is a fictional character in the . Damian is the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, and thus the grandson of Batman villain Ra's al Ghul....
.
- Professor Pyg has also been announced to be one of the main villains for the future animated Batman series, Beware the BatmanBeware the BatmanBeware the Batman is an upcoming American computer-animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman. The series is set to air in the United States on Cartoon Network starting in 2013, as part of their upcoming DC Nation block...
, scheduled to air in 2013.