Mad Hatter (comics)
| Mad Hatter | |
|---|---|
Cover art for Gotham Central #20. Art by Michael Lark.
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Batman #49 (October–November 1948) |
| Created by |
Bill Finger Lew Sayre Schwartz |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jervis Tetch |
| Team affiliations |
Secret Six The Society Wonderland Gang |
| Abilities |
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The Mad Hatter (Dr. Jervis Tetch) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. He is modeled after the Hatter from the lunacy of Lewis Carroll's novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a character often called the "Mad Hatter" in adaptations of Carroll.
The Mad Hatter is depicted as a scientist who invents and uses technological mind-controlling devices to influence and manipulate the minds of his victims. He is well known for sporting a green-colored hat which is usually slightly oversized, as it houses his mobile mind-manipulating devices.
Like other Batman villains, the Mad Hatter was originally portrayed in a rather whimsical manner and has become a darker character over the years.
Mad Hatter made his first appearance in Batman #49 in October 1948 and was created by Bill Finger and Lew Sayre Schwartz.
Jervis Tetch is fascinated with hats of all shapes and sizes, as well as the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, particularly favoring the chapter 'A Mad Tea Party'. According to Dr. Blakloch of Arkham Asylum:
—from Gotham Central #20 (August 2004), by Ed Brubaker
Blakloch also notes that when agitated, Tetch begins rhyming as a defence mechanism. Tetch often quotes and makes reference to Carroll's Wonderland novels, and sometimes even fails to discern between these stories and reality. In addition to his obsession with Lewis Carroll, Tetch has also shown an additional obsession for hats. In Secret Six, he will not eat a piece of food that does not have a hat on it, and states that he is not interested in the sight of his naked teammate Knockout because she is not wearing a hat. In the graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, it is implied that he is a pedophile. His storylines in Streets of Gotham #4 and Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's "Batman: Haunted Knight (1993-1995)" also imply an unhealthy fixation on children, such as when he kidnaps a young Barbara Gordon and forces her into a tea party dressed as Alice, as well as kidnapping other runaway children and dressing them up like characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
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