Whilst Jervis Tetch was in prison, an unnamed person took on the alias Mad Hatter in his place. Unlike his predecessor, he was obsessed with hats and stealing Batman's Cowl. When the original Mad Hatter returned to the role, the imposter adopted the alias of Hatman instead.
History[]
In his first appearance, the Mad Hatter attempted to steal a trophy from the Gotham Yacht Club, but was foiled by Batman while he tried to rob spectators from a high society horseshow. Tetch was subsequently sent to Arkham Asylum (although that was not revealed until Batman #400, 1986).
Later a different, moustached Mad Hatter appeared, claiming to be Jervis Tetch, but he was revealed as an impostor and subsequently disposed of once the real Tetch re-appeared. After the real Jervis Tetch/Mad Hatter had been sent to Arkham following his debut, a very different Mad Hatter appeared, who claimed to be Jervis Tetch. This Mad Hatter first appeared in Detective Comics #230 in April 1956, and, 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. He often constructed various weaponry concealed inside his hats like flame-throwers and buzzsaws.
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.
The "imposter" returned in BATMAN #161(February 1964) with a new agenda---commit robberies using the hats worn in their professions by the twelve jurors who sent him to prison. Even though Batman and Robin figure our the pattern early on, the "Hatter" commits four successful capers----as a fireman; an archery expert; a chef(who boldly steals a jeweled crown off the head of visiting royalty) and cash receipts from a bowling alley(wearing a bowler hat). The fifth robbery has him posing as a magician so he can rob a burglar proof vault from "the inside". He is captured when Robin uses a slingshot and a woman's hat pin to puncture his getaway balloon.
Later on, in Batman #297 (March 1978), "Tetch" claimed to have gone straight, but that turned out to be a lie in the end.A la "The Great Imposter", he would pose as various "experts", looking for an honest job that pleased him. But he proved unable to resist his criminal tendencies. In 1981's Detective Comics #510, it was revealed that he was in fact an imposter when the real Jervis Tetch returned. The real Hatter claimed to have killed his imposter, but the fake Mad Hatter appeared one last time in 1987 in Detective Comics #573.
In the Modern Age, the Imposter adopted the alias Hatman, first using it in Batman #700. He later appeared in Resurrection Man (Vol. 2) #6 as a villain released from Arkham Asylum by Sumo.
In Other Media[]
- The Imposter Mad Hatter serves as the basis for the version of Tetch in the 1960s Batman series, played by David Wayne. This was prior to the Imposter's reveal in Detective Comics #510.