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The Bookworm AKA Alexander Wyvern or A.S. Scarlet is a super-criminal enemy of Batman and the Huntress, originating from the 1966 Batman TV series. He is a criminal mastermind, obsessed with books.

History[]

Creation history[]

The Bookworm appeared in two consecutive episodes of the 1960s television show, "The Bookworm Turns" and "While Gotham Burns."  Little was disclosed of Bookworms origins or motivations over the course of the show, other than the fact that he had an apparent vendetta against Batman and Robin and committed crimes inspired by literary plots.  Like the Riddler, he left clues to lure the caped crusaders to the scene of his next crime -- the clues, of course, always inspired by books.  He also carried knockout gas in trick books, usually the boring type that "put people to sleep," like the Congressional Record.  By the end of the story, it was revealed that his ultimate objective was to steal a heavily guarded stockpile of valuable books.

New Earth[]

Background[]

Alexander Wyvern was a victim of child abuse, his mother would lock him in a closet while she worked on puzzles. Wyvern once started a fire in the closet in a desperate attempt to get his mother to release him -- only to wind up badly burned and, after he got his mother's attention, badly beaten.  Psychologically damaged and described as resembling a ferret, the boy grew into a serial killer.

The Bookworm[]

Though the violent character bore little resemblance to the literature-obsessed felon of the 1960s, this version did still leave Riddler-style clues for the police to hunt him down. Bookworm was active relatively early into Batman's career, and ran in the same circle as the Riddler, Egghead, King Tut, and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds. When interviewed years later, Riddler revealed that he considered Bookworm to be a harmless criminal who disappeared and became obscure.

In New York City, Bookworm murdered 106 people while leaving trinkets in their hands, and killing people in parts of the city which when lined up spelled, "WYVERN". Needing attention, Alexander confessed and was sent to prison. While in prison, he assisted the police in decoding codes left in a book made by mafioso Franco Bertinelli. Bookworm successfully decoded Bertinelli's book but kept the information from the police, sending them on a wild goose chase while using the code's connection to corrupt cops to escape prison to continue his murders.

Bookworm began killing more New York citizens, particularly obsessing over hunting the Huntress. Bookworm ultimately met his demise when he set a deadly trap for the Huntress, made from a hallway of guns.  Huntress dressed as Bookworm's mother, frightening him into running away and tripping his own contraption, killing him.

Bookworm II[]

A second Bookworm appeared in the comics Deathstroke the Terminator and Teen Titans in the 1990s. This Bookworm was a book-collector who hired various mercenaries.

Prime Earth[]

A.S. Scarlet is a teacher of English literature at Gotham Academy.

In other media[]

Television[]

Bookworm braveandthebold

The Bookworm on Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Batman: The Animated Series[]

Bookworm was apparently one of the villains considered to appear in Batman: The Animated Series. Similarly to King Tut and Egghead however, Bookworm could not be used as a result of the rights to the character being held by the American Broadcasting Network and not DC, due to the characters having been created for the show.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold[]

The Bookworm makes a cameo as a prisoner at Iron Heights prison in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Day of the Dark Knight!" along with fellow inmates King Tut, Egghead, Imposter Mad Hatter, The Archer, False Face, Black Widow, Siren, Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, Louie the Lilac, Ma Parker, and Shame. They are all defeated by Batman and Green Arrow when they tried to escape.

Video-Games[]

Batman: Arkham Knight[]

In Batman: Arkham Knight, a bookstore called, "the Bookworm Bookstore" can be found. The store's logo is of a worm wearing Bookworm's glasses and fedora while the store is referenced as having been founded in 1966.

Gallery[]

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