THE DARK KNIGHT RISES: Strange or Death?
We're all familiar with the dear old doctor, Hugo Strange, he's been through the rumour mill more than most and with good reason- Alon Aboutboul cast as "mad scientist"...
Jump back a month or so- Gary Oldman tells us one of the villains is an "old, old" foe of the Batman. While this could be Strange, it could also point to the lesser known Dr Karl Hellfern, A.K.A, Dr Death.
In his first appearance in Detective Comics #29, Doctor Death develops a lethal chemical agent from pollen extract and enacts a plan to use the poison to extort money from wealthy Gotham City citizens. He is assisted by a large East Indian manservant, Jabah-
-In an attempt to evade capture by Batman, Doctor Death ignites chemicals in his laboratory, presumably killing Jabah and himself in the resulting explosion. Doctor Death next appears the following month in Detective Comics #30. With a new accomplice, a Cossack named Mikhail, Doctor Death is this time successful in claiming a victim in his extortion scheme, but discovers that the poisoned man lost his fortune in the Depression. Batman intervenes in the plot and upon apprehending the doctor, discovers that Doctor Death's face is horribly disfigured from the lab explosion, resulting in a brown, skeletal appearance.
A new realm of possibilities opens... Which will it be? (if either)