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How did movie mad scientists influence Golden Age comic-book villains?

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Heath Ledger as the Joker sits at an interrogation table with Christian Bale as Batman standing behind him in a scene from the film The Dark Knight. — Supervillain Heath Ledger (seated) as the Joker and Christian Bale as Batman in *The Dark Knight* (2008).

During the Golden Age of comics (1938–1954), creators frequently drew inspiration from the popular cinema of the 1930s, where the "mad scientist" was a staple archetype. These cinematic figures, often characterized by their immense intellect and dangerous experiments, directly influenced the development of early comic-book supervillains.1

Many of these comic-book antagonists adopted the visual and thematic hallmarks of their movie counterparts, frequently appearing in lab coats and safety goggles while operating from laboratories filled with advanced or experimental equipment. Notable examples include:1

Professor Hugo Strange: A scientist who terrorized Batman’s Gotham City using poisonous gas and mutated monsters.1
The Ultra-Humanite and Lex Luthor: Early foes of Superman who relied on their tremendous intellects and destructive arsenals to challenge the hero.1
Dr. Sivana: A persistent antagonist who habitually harassed Captain Marvel.1
Other Intellectual Threats: Characters like Dr. Psycho, the Thinker, and Brainwave were designed to outsmart their respective heroes, reflecting the cinematic trope of the brilliant but morally compromised scientist.1

By integrating these archetypes, comic creators translated the tension of 1930s horror and science-fiction films into the burgeoning medium of the superhero comic.1