Published Jun 8, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT
Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.
The following article contains spoilers for Batman #10.
Due to his refusal to kill criminals of any kind, Batman often finds himself crossing paths with many of the same foes in Gotham City. However, one of The Dark Knight's earliest villains just met a bitter end, but not by the vigilante's own hand.
DC Comics has brought Dr. Hugo Strange's reign to a bloody end in Batman #10.
The latest issue of DC's main-timeline run of the Caped Crusader's adventures sees the criminal mastermind brutally gunned down by the ruthless Minotaur and his covert syndicate, Torus. The violent assault was in retaliation for Strange's traitorous actions against Tozuki-San.
Strange had effectively declared war on Tozuki-San's company, Tozuki Petrochemicals, which serves as Torus' supplier of chemical and technical goods, by siccing his own Monster Men on a team of assassins that he himself had commissioned through Tozuki-San. This was interpreted as an attack, not just on the reluctant Torus member, but on the organization as a whole, leading to the notorious Gotham criminal's shocking demise.
This is an especially notable instance of the death of a Batman rogue, seeing as Dr. Hugo Strange is the superhero's oldest recurring foe. The expert in psychiatry, chemistry, and biology was created by writer Bill Finger with artist Bob Kane, also credited with envisioning Bruce Wayne together, and made his official debut in Detective Comics #36 in 1940, before more famous DC villains like The Joker or Catwoman first entered the picture.
It should also be noted, however, that this is technically not the first time that Hugo Strange's death has been depicted in a DC comic. Of course, most instances of his demise were later revealed to be personally falsified, but that does not seem to be the case this time.
This occurs before the villain has the chance to follow in the footsteps of the baddies that emerged after his first battle with Batman and make his live-action cinematic debut. However, he is a staple of various animated series and video games, and BD Wong played Hugo Strange in Gotham, Fox's hit Batman prequel series, in his sole live-action appearance so far.
If this is, indeed, the last the world has seen of Strange in DC's main continuity, there is no doubt that it is a sizable loss (or gain in Gotham City's case). However, there are plenty more vicious criminal threats where he came from.
Batman Has Introduced More DC Villains Into A New Series
Image via DC ComicsBatman is closely associated with one of the most iconic and versatile assortments of classic comic book villains in the medium's history, beyond even the legacy of DC Comics. His rogue's gallery has seen some surprising changes while in the hands of Matt Fraction.
The writer's acclaimed current Batman run has seen a few notable baddies taken out of commission, with Dr. Hugo Strange only being the most recent. For instance, The Joker appears in the series' seventh issue, finally, but as a prisoner of Arkham Asylum who is subjected to a virtually inescapable form of incarceration that involves submerging him in a water tank with a breathing apparatus and linking his brain to a computer to allow for verbal communication.
However, for every villain ultimately removed from the equation, several other antagonistic figures have entered the conversation. The aforementioned mysterious Minotaur, who first appeared in Batman #4, is only one of the first to debut in the series, and more have already been teased.
Artist Ryan Sook's variant cover for the upcoming Issue #12, due Aug. 5, teases that Gotham will be faced with Batman's own version of the Sinister Six, as the collection of criminals has been compared to. The names of these villains, seen in the form of life-size chess pieces surrounding Batman on the cover, have yet to be revealed, but the artwork teases that they are a striking and unsettling bunch.
Fraction has seen great success so far as the writer of the current run of Batman. The main artwork for the series is by artist Jorge Jiménez.
Batman #10 is now available to find in stores and on most digital reading platforms.
First Film Batman: The Movie
Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane
Upcoming Films The Batman – Part II
English (US) · 