Circus of Strange is a fictional organization appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Publication history

The Circus of Strange first appeared in ''Batman and Robin'' #1 and were created by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...

and

Frank Quitely Vincent Patrick Deighan (born 1968), better known by the pen name Frank Quitely, is a Scottish comic book artist. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with Grant Morrison on titles such as '' New X-Men'', ''We3'', '' All-Star Supe ...

Fictional team history

The Circus of Strange is a criminal group led by

Professor Pyg Professor Pyg is a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly known as an adversary of the superhero Batman. Pyg was created by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert and debuted as a corpse in the alternate reality story ' ...

which first became known to

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

and

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

when they had captured one of its members known as Mister Toad who warned them that Professor Pyg will retaliate against Batman. Batman and Robin leave Mister Toad on the roof of the

Gotham City Police Department Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...

. Professor Pyg later appears at the house of a fleeing criminal named Niko where he has his assistants tie the criminal to the table as he melts a doll mask onto Niko's face. Professor Pyg plans to do the same thing to Niko's daughter. When the Circus of Strange members Big Top,

Phosphorus Rex Phosphorus Rex is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Publication history Phosphorus Rex first appeared in ''Batman'' #666 and was created by Grant Morrison and artist Andy Kubert. Fictional character ...

, Siam, and the Dollotrons storm the Gotham City Police Department, Batman and Robin help to fight them; four police officers were killed and six other police officers were injured. After Batman and Robin defeated the Circus of Strange, they found that Toad is dead in his cell holding a domino. During a training exercise, Robin is captured by the Dollotrons. Batman discovers that Professor Pyg is planning to make specific people into his Dollotrons. When Robin regains consciousness, he meets Professor Pyg who does some circus acts before having his Dollotrons prepare to melt a doll mask onto Robin's face. When Batman arrives, Robin breaks free and helps to defeat Professor Pyg. In 2011, "

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

" rebooted the DC universe. Professor Pyg and Phosphorus Rex are reintroduced as inmates of

Arkham Asylum The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane (), commonly referred to as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital/prison, named after the city of Arkham which appeared first in the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, and later appear ...

. The Circus of Strange are shown to be a part of

Talia al Ghul Talia al Ghul ( ar, تاليا الغول; ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The character was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Bob Brown, and fir ...

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...

organization.''Batman Incorporated'' (vol. 2) #3. DC Comics.

Members

- Leader of the Circus of Strange. * Big Top - A bearded fat lady in a tutu that is a member of the Circus of Strange. * Dollotrons - The brainwashed, doll-masked minions of Professor Pyg and the Circus of Strange. * Mister Toad - The toad-like member of the Circus of Strange. *

- The

pyrokinetic Pyrokinesis is the purported List of psychic abilities, psychic ability allowing a person to create and control fire with the mind. As with other parapsychological phenomena, there is no conclusive evidence in support of the actual existence of p ...

member of the Circus of Strange. * Kushti - Conjoined triplets who are members of the Circus of Strange.

In other media

Members of the Circus of Strange appear in ''

Beware the Batman ''Beware the Batman'' is an American computer-animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on July 13, 2013, as part of their DC Nation block, replacing ''Batman: ...

'', but not as a group. Professor Pyg (voiced by

Brian George Brian George (born 1 July 1952) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt in ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), the Indian gynecologist father of Raj Koothrappali in ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019 ...

) and Mister Toad (voiced by

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He h ...

) are depicted as eco-terrorists. Phosphorus Rex (voiced by Greg Ellis) is depicted as a lawyer named Milo Match who works for

Tobias Whale Tobias Whale is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Black Lightning. Whale appears in the live-action Arrowverse series ''Black Lightning'', portrayed by Marvin "Krondon" Jones II ...

References

External links