A
villain published by
DC Comics. The
Mad Hatter first appeared
in
Batman #49 in 1948.
Two different men have used the name the Mad Hatter. The first
was electronics wizard Jervis Tetch. Tetch found a way to
access different portions of the brains of his animal subjects, while
making them highly prone to suggestion. Tetch's research was aided
by his secretary Alice.
During his work, Tetch became obsessed with Alice, but she did
not feel likewise, probably due to Tetch's small stature and uncanny
resemblence to the Mad Hatter in the illustration of Lewis Carroll's
Alice in Wonderland. Tetch made a last attempt at winning Alice's
affection, by dressing as the Mad Hatter in an attempt to prove
that he was more than he appeared. But as with all attempts to woo women
dressed as other characters from children's literature, like
Curious George, Mary Poppins, or Piglet, Tetch's efforts were not
only rebuffed, but the word "restraining order" was bandied about.
Tetch decided to take on the issue directly, by kidnapping Alice
and using his mind control chips concealed in a hat to force her to
do his bidding. Tetch was captured by the Batman and since has been
the mortal enemy of the Dark Knight.
During one stretch when Tetch was in jail, another man adopted the
alias of the Mad Hatter. He clashed with Batman during that time
in an attempt to steal Batman's cowl and was defeated by the Caped Crusader and sent to jail. He never
reappeared and it has been hinted that he was killed by Tetch for
using his identity.
On the 1960's Batman television series, the part of the Mad Hatter
was played by actor David Wayne.