This page is for the second Mad Hatter, Imposter Mad Hatter
For the original Mad Hatter, see Jervis Tetch
Origin
His past is unknown.
Creation
Mad Hatter was created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff. His first appearance was in Detective Comics #230.
Character Evolution
Silver Age: Earth-One
After the original Mad Hatter had been sent to Arkham following his debut, a very different Mad Hatter appeared, who claimed to be Jervis Tetch. Unlike the original, was sane and sported a gaudy mustache. He was primarily a thief, apparently obsessed with completing his private collection of hats from all nations, cultures, and historical periods. This new Mad Hatter, like his predecessor, quickly became an enemy of Batman and Robin. The headgear he wanted most was, of course, Batman’s cowl. In numerous attempts, he tried to de-cowl Batman. After many tries, he was successful, after spraying the cowl with a radioactive substance causing Batman to remove it. No sooner did the Mad Hatter put it in his collection than Batman and Robin arrive. They had traced the cowl with their “super sensitive Geiger counter” in the Batplane. When the real Jervis Tetch returned, he claimed to have killed his impostor, but the fake Mad Hatter reappeared alive again. He ended up being beaten by Batman and sent to Arkham.
Modern Age: New Earth
After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the impostor returned to crime under the name “Hatman” and presided over an underworld auction which was raided by new Batman and Robin.
Post-Flashpoint: Earth-0
After Flashpoint, a person who looks like the Imposter Mad Hatter, was seen as Arkham inmate.
Powers and Abilities
Equipment
The Mad Hatter has no super human powers, he has little physical ability but he does occasionally use hats with weapons installed. He often constructed various weaponry concealed inside his hats like flame-throwers and buzzsaws.
Other Version
Other Media
Television
Batman (1960)
In this series, Jervis Tetch/The Mad Hatter was played by actor David Wayne. He was based on the Mad Hatter from the comics at the time, who had not yet been revealed to be an impostor. His main weapon was his trick top hat, in which was concealed a set of eyes that would pop up and shoot a hypnotic beam at his enemy. In “The Thirteenth Hat”/”Batman Stands Pat”, Tetch kidnapped the jurors that had previously incarcerated him, along with their hats. He was also after Batman’s cowl, his “thirteenth hat.” He had a female accomplice named Lisa, who worked at a hat boutique. She helped Tetch kidnap her boss, who was one of the jurors who had helped put him away, and aided in the rest of his scheme to foil Batman and Robin. In the end though, he was defeated and sent back to prison. In “The Contaminated Cowl”/”The Mad Hatter Runs Afoul,” Tetch tried to get at Batman’s cowl with the use of radiation. He sprayed the Dark Knight’s cowl with radioactive material, assuming that he would take it off for fear of being contaminated. The radiation turned the cowl pink, but Batman (having previously taken an Anti-Radiation Bat-pill) did not remove it, and Tetch was again defeated. Jervis Tetch was one of the few main villains who was known by both his real name and his criminal name in the 1960sBatman series.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
The David Wayne-based Mad Hatter appeared in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode “Day of the Dark Knight”. He is seen as an inmate at Iron Heights Penitentiary. He along with other Batman-villains were defeated by Batman and Green Arrow. He later makes cameo appearances in “Legends Of The Dark Mite” as an illusion, “Night of Huntress” as an inmate at Blackgate Penitentiary, “Mayhem Of The Music Meister” as an inmate at Arkham Asylum and “Chill Of The Night.” A version of his mesmerizing hat made an appearance as well, as a trophy in the episode “A Bat Divided.”