Mad Dog (DC Comics)

The Mad Dog
The Mad Dog Art by Ale Garza.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batgirl #67 (October 2005)
Created by	Andersen Gabrych Ale Garza
In-story information
Alter ego	"The Mad Dog" Cain
Team affiliations	League of Assassins
Abilities	Master martial artist

The Mad Dog is the name of four fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. Two of them are associated with the Batman mythos.

The third Mad Dog was created by writer Andersen Gabrych and artist Ale Garza. He first appeared as an enemy of Cassandra Cain (then Batgirl) in Batgirl #67 (October 2005).

Lucas "Mad Dog" McGill is a highly dangerous criminal who is wanted in several states for multiple counts of murder and was notorious for shooting men in the back. One night while beating a woman in the streets, he met a young Jonah Hex (who was drunk at the time). In his inebriated state, Jonah Hex believed that McGill was his father Woodson Hex abusing his mother Ginny and shot him dead where he stood. He was rewarded a substantial sum of money by the local sheriff immediately afterward. This encounter inspired Jonah Hex to become a bounty hunter. Jonah's wife Tall Bird later recounted this story to historians documenting Jonah Hex's life story.

A serial killer named Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins was created in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #1 and featured in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. Batman reads about him in Amadeus Arkham's diaries. From an early age, Martin Hawkins is beaten and sexually abused by his father. He grows up to become a disturbed man who cuts himself in order to feel something. One day, as he is driven further into insanity, he claims to see visions of the Virgin Mary, who tells him to go out and kill women, destroying their faces and sexual organs in order to "stop the dirty sluts from spreading their disease". He kills many women before he is finally caught and sentenced to stay in the State Psychiatric Hospital in Metropolis. Once there, he is treated by Amadeus Arkham. When Amadeus Arkham goes back to Gotham City and set up Arkham Asylum, he went back home on April 1 to find that Martin Hawkins had broken into his house, dismembered his wife Constance, and had raped his daughter before decapitating her and putting her head in a dollhouse. This is one of the factors which eventually drives Amadeus Arkham insane. Hawkins is quickly captured again and sentenced to Arkham Asylum, becoming one of its first patients, under the treatment of Amadeus Arkham himself. During their sessions, he matter-of-factly calls Arkham's daughter a slut and describes the rapes and murders in graphic detail. Dr. Arkham appears to take this all in his stride, and perseveres, earning praise from his colleagues for his dedication to mental health and rehabilitation. On the anniversary of the murder, Amadeus straps Hawkins to a shock therapy table and electrocutes him, getting revenge for the deaths of his wife and daughter. Hawkins' death is treated as an accident, leaving Amadeus Arkham insane and habilitated in his own asylum.