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Professor Pyg is a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. Pyg was created by Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert, and Frank Quitely and debuted as a corpse in the alternate reality story Batman #666 (July 2007) before being introduced as a recurring character in the mainstream DC Universe two years later in Batman and Robin #1 (August 2009). Professor Pyg was re-introduced following DC's The New 52 comics relaunch in 2011, appearing throughout the continuity and the subsequent DC Rebirth relaunch that began in 2016. The character's in-universe real name is Lazlo Valentin, a scientist who suffered a schizophrenic breakdown that led him to become a supervillain who wears a pig mask. Morrison intended Pyg to seem disconnected from reality, believing him to be one of the "weirdest, most insane" characters in Batman comic books. Pyg is an obsessive perfectionist who sees human beings as broken individuals; he commonly kidnaps people and uses surgery and chemicals to permanently change them into mind-controlled automatons known as Dollotrons, and sometimes into human–animal hybrids. Morrison took the name "Professor Pig" from the song "Pygmalism" by Momus and Kahimi Karie; the name "Pyg" is also shorthand for "Pygmalion", referring to both the mythical sculptor who fell in love with his own creation and the 1913 stage play, both of which serve as parallels for Lazlo Valentin and his love for his Dollotron creations. The character's origin story alludes to real-life animal testing carried out in the mid-twentieth century. He has a makeshift mother made of nails and boards, from which he associates auditory hallucinations commanding him to constantly improve his surgical work. Pyg began making substantial appearances in other media in 2013 with the animated series Beware the Batman and has since appeared in video games, television, and film. The character has been positively received by entertainment journalists as a strange and disturbing addition to Batman's rogues gallery. Publication history Creation and debut Writer Grant Morrison stated a new Batman villain must have "a gimmick. Creepiness. A distinctive look ... You kind of evolve those themes into new forms". Professor Pyg and his mind-controlled Dollotrons first appeared as crucified corpses in the 2007 story Batman in Bethlehem by Morrison and artist Andy Kubert, published in Batman #666 (July 2007). The story is set in a future in which Bruce Wayne's son Damian helms the Batman vigilante persona. Although Morrison had developed a detailed backstory for Pyg, they were unsure the character would be used again. The name "Professor Pyg" originates from the song "Pygmalism" written by Momus for Kahimi Karie, "Pyg" being shorthand for Pygmalion. The first storyline of the Batman and Robin series that ran from August to October 2009 saw the character's debut in the main DC Universe. The story line, titled "Batman Reborn", focuses on Dick Grayson, who takes over the Batman mantle after Bruce Wayne is pronounced dead and partners with a younger Damian Wayne, who is now Robin. In the story, Lazlo Valentin was an "extreme" circus mob boss until something turned him into Professor Pyg, leading him to begin funding his scientific experiments by selling narcotics to the criminal underworld. Batman and Robin learn from interrogating his underlings, members of a gang called the Circus of Strange, that Pyg is planning to spread a mind-control virus across Gotham City to hold the population for ransom. This occurred after the group broke into the Gotham City Police Department precinct that teammate Mister Toad was held in only to find him dead. Pyg is stopped and placed in Blackgate Penitentiary but medics cannot save his infected minions known as Dollotrons. Return and expanded backstory Batman and Robin #13, published in July 2010, marked Professor Pyg's return as part of the Batman and Robin Must Die storyline. Pyg had been working for the supervillain Doctor Simon Hurt during the events of "Batman Reborn", and a virus has contaminated the population without Batman (Dick Grayson) or the public realizing it. Grayson discovers this as the virus becomes active. He is swarmed by a mob of infected people in the city streets. Pyg uses the virus as a diversion to escape Blackgate Penitentiary. The following issue focuses on Professor Pyg's business relationship with Doctor Hurt, who says he has "challenged [Pyg] to outline his personal vision for Gotham". As the virus spreads across the city, riots occur under Hurt's command. The story concludes with Bruce Wayne returning to stop Doctor Hurt after being trapped in the timestream. The infected civilians are quarantined and Professor Pyg is captured and transferred to Arkham Asylum. The character's backstory, including his origin, is significantly expanded upon in Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! (December 2011). Lazlo Valentin was a scientist working for a corrupt United Nations agency known as Spyral and was driven insane by a product that he was developing, which mimics some effects of Alzheimer's disease. Lazlo develops paranoid schizophrenia, leading to drug abuse and self-inflicted surgeries that turn him into Professor Pyg. Lazlo fathered a son named Janosz Valentin, who serves the criminal organization Leviathan and claimed his father taught him to be immune to pain. The New 52 In September 2011, DC Comics rebooted their line of comic books under the New 52 banner, establishing a new continuity while keeping landmark stories intact. This iteration of Professor Pyg, still Lazlo Valentin, was introduced in Batman #1 (September 2011) among other established Batman villains during an escape riot at Arkham Asylum, which was thwarted by Batman (Wayne) and Nightwing (Grayson). He continued to make cameo appearances as an Arkham Asylum inmate in later comics. In the storyline Forever Evil, the inmates of Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Penitentiary battle for control of Gotham. Pyg and his Dollotrons briefly gain control over a district of the city but are usurped by Bane. He is later forced by Scarecrow to ingest the steroid Venom to combat the usurper. In October 2013, a prequel to Batman in Bethlehem titled Damian: Son of Batman, in which an older Damian Wayne succeeds his father as Batman, was written by Andy Kubert under the New 52 imprint. Having plotted the mini-series in 2008, Kubert wanted to return to that timeline, saying, "I had always wanted to write. In talking with editor Mike Marts, he suggested I come up with a mini-series I would like to write and draw. I really loved that Batman and the whole world that Grant [Morrison] dreamed up. So I thought it would be fun to do a story of how Damian actually becomes that #666 Batman." An aging Pyg appears in the second issue and his henchmen in the third. Batman (Damian) attempts to stop him from experimenting on kidnapped children but Pyg's Dollotrons.... Discover the Tim Seeley Minkyu Jung popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Tim Seeley Minkyu Jung books.