Professor Pyg
Professor Pyg is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Lazlo Valentin was a male human born in the modern age where he came to be a scientist who worked for Spyral. In that time, he was said to had worked on neo-pharmaceuticals with him being a pioneer in this field. This was until one day he was exposed to a powerful mind-eroding agent that trapped Valentin in a labyrinth in his own mind. The only way for him to escape was to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia where he also had to indulge in drug abuse and D.I.Y. surgery whereupon he became a costumed villain taking the name Professor Pyg. (Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! v1 #1) After escaping, he became an unhinged low rent extreme circus boss that headed an extreme circus troupe called the Circus of Strange where innocent people were abducted in order to be transformed into one of Valentin's Dollotrons. In his time, he financed his illegal experiments by selling the next generation of narcotics to small-time Russian gangsters. (Batman and Robin v1 #3)
At some point, Valentin was approached by Doctor Simon Hurt who decided to challenged Pyg to outline his personal vision for Gotham City. (Batman and Robin v1 #13) Thus, Professor Pyg began working with Doctor Hurt in secretly deploying a virus that contaminated the people of Gotham without Batman Dick Grayson or the public realising it. Grayson only learnt of the virus after it had become active causing mobs of infected people to rampage on the city's streets. After the triggering of his viral narcotic, his Dollotrons gathered alongside forces from El Penitente where they helped free Pyg from Blackgate prison. (Batman and Robin v1 #13) Once freed, he was brought to Dr. Simon Hurt and became part of his plans for Gotham. As the virus spread, riots erupted that were all under the command of Hurt. They then looked to disperse a viral narcotic to infect everyone in the city only for their plan to be interrupted by Batman. (Batman and Robin v1 #14) The villains were ultimately stopped when the original Batman returned after being lost in the timestream. This led to the infected civilians being quarantined and Professor Pyg captured where he came to be transferred to Arkham Asylum. (Batman and Robin v1 #16)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Lazlo Valentin
It was said that he was a former agent of Spyral who was driven insane by mind-eroding drugs of his own design. (Nightwing v4 #18)
When the Crime Syndicate arrived from another universe to take over the world, Earth was plunged into chaos. In the mess, Gotham City was divided by its criminals in Batman's absence. Professor Pyg was given the hospital as his base of operations during the division. Pyg, with his dollotron army, sedated unknowing pedestrians and unnecessarily operated on them. His operations were usually incredibly absurd, including one time switching a tennis player's hand with one of his own feet. (Forever Evil: Arkham War v1 #1)
He was later forced by Scarecrow to ingest the steroid Venom to combat the usurper Bane. (Forever Evil: Arkham War v1 #5)
In Bludhaven, he crafted several new Dollotrons where he turned a man into a twisted copy of Nightwing who was named Deathwing and turned a boy named Danesh into a copy of Damian Wayne. Deathwing was dispatched to target Nightwing and kidnapped Shawn Tsang where she was taken to Pyg as he was impressed with her artistic talent as the Defacer. (Nightwing v4 #17) Later in Gotham, he turned a number of people into Dollotrons where they attempted to steal money from the Penguin only to be captured by the Outlaws with the Dollotrons returned back to normal. (Red Hood and the Outlaws v2 #14)
Pyg used an abandoned theatre for his criminal activities whilst working for the supervillain Brother Blood. His operations were disrupted by the arrival of the Teen Titans with Professor Pyg managing to escape the confrontation. (Teen Titans v5 #15)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Lazlo Valenin was a male human who commonly wore an apron and had a pig-mask on that hid his face though his mouth could be seen. (Batman and Robin v1 #3)
After exposure to mind-eroding agents, he came to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia where he fell into drug abuse and D.I.Y. surgery. (Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! v1 #1)
It was said that he had a child named Janosz Valentin who had changed his name to Johnny Valentine where he also adopted the guise of a costumed supercriminal called Son of Pyg. According to him, his father had taught him to feel no pain. (Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! v1 #1)
Powers and abilities
Originally, Lazlo Valentin was an ordinary human being who became a skilled scientist and pharmacist until his mind was broken by a neo-pharmaceutical mind-eroding agent. (Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! v1 #1)
His skills as a surgeon allowed him to perform complicated surgeries where once he switched a hand with a foot. (Forever Evil: Arkham War v1 #1)
He was shown to be capable of throwing knives with a fair degree of accuracy. (Batwoman v3 #11)
Thus, he was responsible for developing the next generation of viral narcotics. He could also create an antidote that simply were vectors for narcotic addiction. Specific viral triggers could result in the antidote going dormant and the person experiencing intense withdrawal symptoms. (Batman and Robin v1 #13)
These Dollotrons created were made in the pursuit of perfection and served as subservient zombies that executed Pyg's sick whims. (Nightwing v4 #18)
He was associated with a group called the Circus of Strange. (Batman and Robin v1 #3)
Notes
- Professor Pyg was created by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert where he made his first appearance in Batman v1 #666 (July, 2007).
- In an interview on IGN, Morrison stated a new villain must have, "a gimmick. Creepiness. A distinctive look ... You kind of evolve those themes into new forms."
In other media
Television
- In Beware the Batman, the character appeared as a recurring villain in the animated series where he was voiced by actor Brian George. He would make his first appearance in the episode "Hunted" where the character was re-imagined in order to tone down his violent aspects. Professor Pyg was shown to be accompanied by Mister Toad with the pair being depict These operated as eco-terrorists that hunted and committed cimes against those they felt responsible for hurting animals or disturbing habitats. They were responsible for kidnapping numerous Gotham industrialists such as Simon Stagg and Michael Holt to punish them but Batman thwarted their plans. In "Instinct", Pyg and Toad began targeting several fashion designers that had used animals to create their clothes line. In "Reckoning", Ra's al Ghul freed numerous Gotham criminals that included Professor Pyg and Mister Road where he offered them their territory in the city in exchange for them getting rid of Batman. Professor Pyg was one of the many criminals that turned against the others in order to get the prize. In "Doppleganger", the pair were shown to had been responsible for attacking the laboratory of Dr. Kurt Langstrom where they had him test his experimental formula on himself turning him into Man-Bat. This was with the goal of creating an animal hybrid race from Gotham citizens in order to retake it back from humans. Langstrom had drugs implanted on a collar that made him susceptible to suggestion where he was sent to steal chemicals to make further serum until Batman freed him.
- In Gotham, Professor Pyg appeared in the setting of the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Michael Cerveris. This version of Professor Pyg was the alias of a vigilante who slaughtered corrupt policemen and dressed their corpses with pigs' heads. The character's modus operandi later expanded where he targeted the wealthy, who he claims 'fed on the poor of Gotham'. Police captain James Gordon learnt that 'Professor Pyg' was a persona used by Valentin, a contract murderer who impersonated serial killers. He had been hired by crime figure Sofia Falcone in a conspiracy to turn the corrupt police against kingpin Oswald Cobblepot and usurp his criminal empire. Falcone later killed Valentin in order to keep the conspiracy quiet.
Films
- In Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Professor Pyg appeared in the animated film where he was voiced by actor James Urbaniak. He was shown to had been hired by Two-Face who wanted him to perform an operation to eliminate his Harvey Dent persona and transform his features to show only his deformed evil half. As he was about to perform the operation, their lair was attacked by Scandal Savage who had taken Pyg on behalf of her father Vandal Savage. Vandal had acquired the 'Get Out of Hell Free' Card and wanted to use Professor Pyg's surgical skills to stitch it deep into Savage's body in such a way that a removal would lead to his death and thus use up the magical properties of the card. After completing the task, he was killed and his dead body was left as a warning to the Suicide Squad who had come to acquire the card after being tasked with this mission by Amanda Waller.
Video games
- In Batman: Arkham Knight, Professor Pyg appeared as an antagonist in the video game where he was voiced by actor Dwight Schultz. He was a gifted scientist who suffered a schizophrenic break" that caused him to develop his persona. Pyg used his Circus of Strange business as a front for abducting people to turn into Dollotrons. After leaving behind a trail of corpses of failed experiments, Pyg was investigated and apprehended in a confrontation with Batman.
- In Injustice 2, Professor Pyg had an cameo appearance in the fighting video game where he appeared in the Red Hood ending cinematic with Jason Todd attacking him to save Scarlet from him.
Appearances
- Batman v1: (2007)
- Detective Comics v1:
- Batman v1:
- Batman and Robin v1:
- Forever Evil: Arkham War v1:
- Batman: Eternal v1:
- Nightwing v4:
External Links
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