Hugo Strange

Hugo Strange is a villain in the Batman Arkhamverse video game series and is a secondary main antagonist in Meta-Verse Arc 4: The Future. He is revealed to be Doctor Strange's uncle in Arc 4.

## Personality

Hugo Strange was one of the most brilliant psychiatrists throughout the entire world, but that fact was disturbed by his unstable ego and maniacal mind. Strange was very dedicated to understanding the workings of the human mind and believed that the only way for him to achieve infamy and power was to use that new-founded knowledge to control the mind. In his quest to learn the full aspects of criminology, Strange was unethical and willing to dispose of anyone to his grand manipulations and treated his patients callously.

Strange dominated Catwoman, Mr. Freeze and the Mad Hatter during their therapy sessions with bribery or blackmail, and forced them to relive their painful past experiences to satisfy his own thirst for knowledge. Strange used that knowledge over criminals who encountered Batman to learn of the Dark Knight's secret identity and employ his growing information over the criminal mind to advance Protocol 10. When he learned that Bruce Wayne was Batman, Strange's mind snapped completely as his ego and obsessions went out of control and he was determined to leave a legacy as a hero and Batman's successor in most regards.

Strange had a vast hated for the criminals and the patients whom he treated, abused them regularly, and use immoral means to abstract information from their dark pasts. Meanwhile, Strange possessed a malignant mind. Strange was dedicated to his work but seemed to perform his experiments with a smile on his face, which was shown by the way that he sadistically watched over the carnage of Protocol 10 atop Wonder Tower, and claimed that it was "glorious" when he was confronted by Batman. Strange had little remorse in his regards as he allowed the Mad Hatter to experiment on the Lunatics and later lobotomized them, but he claimed that they were justified as no one would remember them.

Strange was completely obsessed with Batman, stalked him repeatedly, and used his advanced psychiatric abilities to deduce his identity. That deranged obsession eventually grew to resentment as Batman was everything that he could never be and that created a desire within Strange to accede Batman in every way by proving himself as his better by replicating the Dark Knight's ideals and ultimate goal; bring peace to Gotham. Of course, his methods of doing so were far more of an extreme nature, but Strange nonetheless viewed his way as superior, repeatedly degraded Batman's no-killing-rule as the presence of criminals, believed his unwillingness to end the Joker's life was what required the drastic action of Protocol 10, and effectively placed the blame of the inmates of Arkham City's deaths on Batman.

Ever since he encountered Ra's, and he promised him to succeed him as the Head of the Demon, combined with limitless resources and even the prospect of immortality with rights to the Lazarus Pit, Strange appeared to have accepted the philosophy of the League of Assassins. He truly believed that Protocol 10 in Gotham, Keystone, and Metropolis was for the good of the cities and that this was transparent to Ra's own beliefs. On the other hand, Strange's goals of using the resources of the League of Assassins were extremely self-centered. Every action that Strange made throughout Arkham City was solely to reaffirm his superiority over Batman, even if he did believe in the righteousness of what he did.

The knowledge Strange had learned through Ra's and the League and the fact that he was chosen to be the next Demon's Head in Ra's place made him more arrogant, narcissistic and downright fearless as he constantly bragged that he was "powerful" and "untouchable", while he protected himself in Wonder Tower. Strange gloated that he would focus on Batman's allies after the success in Arkham City, remained defiant even when he was throttled by an enraged Dark Knight, and simply stated that he had "powerful friends". The great irony was that Ra's had no plans to surrender the League to Strange and simply viewed him as a pawn to use and dispose of for his own agendas.

Strange was able to logically anticipate and employ protocols and procedures that were set in place as fail-safes for the failure of his plans through a long period of time that he had the capacity to foresee. In the drastic case that Arkham City would be lost to the inmates, he set in motion Protocol 10 should the need for it arises. Of course, Strange instead controlled the gang war by exacerbating the situation by supplying both sides with military-grade weapons to fulfill Ra's purpose. Strange's arrogance did not distill his scientific mind. Strange was able to anticipate his defeat despite his belief that he was infallible, knew about Batman's superior skill and Ra's treacherous nature, placed Protocol 11 in hiding, and pended the off-chance of his defeat.

Through Arkham City and the failure of Protocol 10, Strange did leave behind a legacy but not one that he wanted, not of a hero or the savior of Gotham, but instead of an insane, fascist madman who only left behind death and depravity. Strange's actions to save Gotham actually ended up furthering its doom as the City Council was eventually forced to free the unlawfully imprisoned crime lords, Penguin and Two-Face and thousands of prisoners, which quickly sped the city into chaos on the night of Scarecrow's terrorist threat until Batman put a stop to the villains' plans once and for all.

## History

### Meta-Verse Arc 4

Hugo Strange is first seen when he is stalking on Cure Macherie, trying to figure out who she really is. When it is revealed that Macherie is Emiru Aisaki, the mad scientist then takes her inside his laboratory to dissect her brain. Reg, Riko and the Revengers came in and attacked the laboratory, saving Emiru from Hugo Strange. The Hugtto Precures goes to fight off Hugo, to which they're defeated by his associate, Vyktor Kratek. Kratek reveals to them that he is an uncle to Doctor Stephen Strange, to which he's a sorcerer, while Hugo is not. After his failed plan on dissecting Emiru's brain, Hugo makes arrangements to meet up with his cousin, Doctor Strange.

## Powers and Abilities

Hugo has no abilities, but his ways of stalking and identifying who's who is what he does best.

## References

Hugo Strange at https://batman.fandom.com/wiki/Hugo\_Strange\_(Arkhamverse)