Circus of Strange

Circus of Strange is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

First appearanceBatman and Robin #1 (August 2009)

Member(s)Professor Pyg
Big Top
Mister Toad
Phosphorus Rex
Siam
Dollotrons

Quick facts Publication information, Publisher ...

Circus of Strange
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batman and Robin #1 (August 2009)
Created by	Grant Morrison Frank Quitely
In-story information
Member(s)	Professor Pyg Big Top Mister Toad Phosphorus Rex Siam Dollotrons

Publication history

The Circus of Strange first appeared in Batman and Robin #1 (August 2009), and was created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.

Fictional team history

The Circus of Strange is a criminal group led by Professor Pyg which first became known to Batman and Robin when they captured one of its members, Mister Toad.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] When the Circus of Strange members Big Top, Phosphorus Rex, 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. During a training exercise, Robin is captured by the Dollotrons.^[6] Batman discovers that Pyg is planning to make specific people into his Dollotrons. When Robin regains consciousness, he meets Pyg, who prepares to transform him into a Dollotron. When Batman arrives, Robin breaks free and helps to defeat Pyg.^[7]

Following The New 52 continuity reboot, the Circus of Strange members are shown to be a part of Leviathan.^[8]

Members

Professor Pyg - The leader of the Circus of Strange.
Big Top - A bearded fat lady who wears a tutu.
Dollotrons - The brainwashed, doll-masked minions of Professor Pyg and the Circus of Strange.^[9]^[4]^[5]
Mister Toad - A toad-like member of the Circus of Strange.
Phosphorus Rex - A pyrokinetic member of the Circus of Strange.^[6] An alternate version of Rex appeared in Batman in Bethlehem.^[10]
Kushti - Conjoined triplets who are members of the Circus of Strange.

In other media

Professor Pyg, Mister Toad, and Phosphorus Rex appear in Beware the Batman, voiced by Brian George, Udo Kier, and Greg Ellis,^[11] respectively. Pyg and Toad are depicted as eco-terrorists while Rex, also known as Milo Match, is a lawyer who works for Tobias Whale.

References

[1]
Peris, Sebastian (September 1, 2017). "Gotham Season 4 Adds Fringe Alum Michael Cerveris As Professor Pyg". Heroic Hollywood. Retrieved March 24, 2025. The Tony Award-winning actor will appear in a multi-episode arc as the pig-mask wearing Lazlo Valentin, leader of the costumed criminal group collectively known as the Circus of Strange.
[2]
Fitzpatrick, Kevin (September 1, 2017). "Gotham Season 4 Recruits Fringe Alum As Professor Pyg". 107.3 KFFM. Retrieved March 24, 2025. Per TVLine, the former Fringe favorite will appear in a multi-episode Season 4 arc as Professor Pyg, known in the comics as the schizophrenic, mask-wearing Lazlo Valentin, leader of the Circus of Strange.
[3]
Hawkins, Kayla (October 26, 2017). "This New Gotham Villain Is The Show's Most Disturbing Yet". Bustle. Retrieved March 24, 2025. In later DC appearances, Professor Pyg has become one of the ringleaders of the Circus of Strange, and attempts to control the city's population by using his Dollotrons to distribute mind-numbing drugs.
[4]
Karan, Tim (September 1, 2017). "Professor Pyg Coming To Gotham In Season 4". Looper. Retrieved March 24, 2025. Professor Pyg, one of the strangest villains in the Batman comics, first appeared in 2007. He's a skilled surgeon also known as Lazlo Valentin, who is obsessed with making people "perfect," sometimes turning them into "Dollotrons" by attaching doll faces over their own. He's also schizophrenic, wears a pig mask, and leader of the Circus of Strange.
[5]
Sonnack, Matthew (November 13, 2021). "Who Is Professor Pyg? Batwoman's New Batman Villain, Explained". CBR. Retrieved March 24, 2025. In the comics, Professor Pyg is a disturbed scientist who leads a group called the Circus of Strange. After being recruited by the group Black Glove, he and his group arrive in Gotham City and begin kidnapping people to perform surgery on them. Pyg's ultimate goal is to create an army of "perfect" mutilated minions that he calls Dollotrons.
[6]
Batman and Robin #2 (September 2009)
[7]
Batman and Robin #3 (October 2009)
[8]
Batman Incorporated (vol. 2) #3 (September 2012)
[9]
Mitovich, Matt Webb (September 1, 2017). "Gotham Casts Fringe's Michael Cerveris as DC Comics Baddie Professor Pyg". TVLine. Retrieved March 24, 2025. In comic book lore, Pyg aka Lazlo Valentin was the porcine mask-wearing, schizophrenic Circus of Strange leader whose calling cards included a small army of "Dollotrons" — victims to whom he affixed doll-like masks.
[10]
Batman #666 (July 2007)
[11]
"Phosphorous Rex Voice - Beware the Batman (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 16, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.