Obsessed from a young age with Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Jervis Tetch, an expert hypnotist, embraced a delusion that he was the incarnation of a character in the story, the Mad Hatter.
Using his skills for mesmerism, the Mad Hatter has committed many crimes, often themed around the book that inspired him and his love of hats and headgear, going so far as to implant his hats with mind-control chips to amplify his hypnosis skills. The Hatter is also obsessed with the concept of "Alice" brainwashing countless young women in his attempts to find Alice, and murdering them when he is finished with them.
Above all other headwear, however, he covets Batman's distinctive cowl, and will stop at nothing to acquire it.
Incident Reports
Before Arkham Origins Incident
Jervis Tetch was originally a scientist who proposed that there was no such thing as free will, and that the mind could be controlled by the use of chemicals. Unfortunately, he began to believe he was a real-life incarnation of the Hatter from the story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. He obtained a hat shop in the Bowery district of Old Gotham, and continued to develop his mind control technology while working there, becoming fixated on the concept of Alice, the protagonist of the story. He began to believe that she was somewhere here in the real world, and that he had to find the real Alice, and so began kidnapping young women who he suspected of being her, murdering them when he found out that was not the case. He had already committed several crimes before the Christmas Eve incident, possibly including the murder of a girl called Stephanie Williams, however the GCPD did not make an arrest, presumably waiting for his next crime before striking. Jervis soon found another girl who he believed to be Alice, and kidnapped her, with the intent of using the mind control technology to return her to Wonderland. By this stage, he had already perfected his mind control technology to the point where he could use it to render weaker minds completely mallable to his suggestions, enabling him to use the technology on several criminals to form a small gang to assist with his schemes. However, he felt that the vigilante known as Batman, who had emerged in Gotham in the last couple of years, could provide an additional edge to his gang, and so hatched a plan to capture the Dark Knight and use him as his latest pawn.
Arkham Origins Incident
- "Welcome to Wonderland, Batman!"
- —Mad Hatter
To the end of this scheme, Jervis sent three henchmen to Batman's location in order to invite him to his tea party, by singing a message to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down", and then electrocuted them when they finished delivering the message, knocking them out. Jervis then called Batman directly using unknown means, introducing himself and revealing how he had kidnapped a girl. At his head-quarters, Jervis managed to add the finishing touches to a group of henchmen, and talked at length about how he had never recieved much attention from anyone, but now he was finally being listened to. Batman soon arrived and defeated the henchmen, and demanded that Jervis reveal where Alice was. Jervis then used hypnotism to affect Batman's mind, trapping him in 'Wonderland'. After beating Jervis' mind games, Batman breaks free of the illusion, sees him taking the girl hostage with a knife but Batman manages to disarm him using a reverse batarang to defeat Jervis and rescue "Alice", who broke down crying due to the trauma of Hatter's mind control and treatment of her. Batman called the GCPD and had them come to pick Jervis up, however they did not arrive throughout the night, due to the larger issues caused by the Joker's actions that night.
Cold, Cold Heart Incident
This New Year's Eve, the GCPD picked up Jervis and put him in Blackgate.
Between Arkham Origins and Arkham Asylum Incident
The G.C.P.D. picked him up and presumably sent him to Blackgate. He was most likely transferred to Arkham Asylum when it was re-opened under command of Quincy Sharp. It could also be possible he somehow escaped Blackgate and was apprehended by Batman, before being sent to Arkham.
Quincy Sharp, disgusted by the crimes Jervis had committed, had him locked up deep within Arkham Asylum, vowing that he never see the light of day again. Jervis's mind crumbled in the isolation.
Professor Hugo Strange, a psychiatrist in the asylum with plans of his own to seize control of Gotham, became fascinated by Jervis' case, becoming convinced that his technology was the key to controlling Sharp, who was running for mayor at the time. Strange secured interview sessions with Jervis, in which he played on Jervis' love of hats and obsession with Alice to manipulate him into developing an even more powerful form of his mind control technology, using the more "forgettable" inmates of Arkham as test subjects. The formula that Jervis eventually developed would exceed even Strange's wildest expectations. Strange then, by promising a new "Alice" to Jervis, convinced him to help place Sharp under his control.
Using Tetch's skills, Prof. Strange began to drug and hypnotize the mentally malleable Asylum warden Quincy Sharp, making him more open to Strange's suggestions, as well as convincing him that he was the "Spirit of Arkham" whose mission was to destroy all of the inmates of the asylum.
Tetch's name also appears on the time board on the second floor of the surgery room, suggesting that Strange may have operated on Jervis (having enlisted the skills of Dr. Thomas Elliot, a skilled surgeon working at the asylum) to make him more obedient (Catwoman would later comment that "Strange real did a number on him"). Prof. Strange would eventually use the Hatter's technology to create the TYGER Guards: all ex-military and former SWAT operatives and all brainwashed into being unquestioning soldiers. There were also rumours that Strange would also use the same method on any Arkham City inmates who showed potential, kidnapping them of the streets and turning them into TYGER operatives.
By this point, Strange had learned how to produce all of Tetch's formally top secret chemicals and mind control chips himself. So, having outlived his usefulness, Jervis was locked back up in Arkham, with the new Alice to keep him quiet (he presumably killed her when he was finished, or when he realised that she was not the real Alice).
Arkham Asylum Incident
The Clown Prince of Crime wished Tetch to be present during the Arkham Riots, as evidenced by his name being on Joker's Party List, yet the Hatter was nowhere to be found. However his personal effects were later discovered in the Asylum Botanical Gardens.
The Hatter's tea party; left abandoned in the Asylum Botanical Gardens after Dr. Hugo Strange abducted him.
It is unclear whether Jervis was still locked up by this stage, or if he had escaped and was later recaptured.
Between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City Incident
Despite his assistance in the creation of the Tyger Guards and in seizing Gotham, Hugo Strange had Jervis thrown into Arkham City (possibly for the same reason that the political prisoners were incarcerated- to prevent the truth about Arkham City from getting out- although Strange may have also seen Jervis as a criminal and sought to punish him along with the other villains in Gotham).
Apparently, Mad Hatter was not able to hide out in his own hat shop, as his new hideout in Arkham City is in an apartment under an old stripclub. Jervis was able to pull together a small gang using his mind control technology, however could not hope to compete with the larger gangs led by Joker, Penguin and Two-Face, and so once again looked to Batman as a potential servant.
Arkham City Incident
Shortly after Batman saves Vicki Vale from Joker's snipers when the helicopter crashes, Jervis observes them from the rooftop, and sees his chance, using a "remote hypnotic suggestion", in order to convince Batman to come to his lair. In this, Batman is contacted by Alfred. He says that Lucius Fox finished the cure he was working on. When Batman injects the cure in him, he passes out and wakes up in Mad Hatter's lair, strapped to a chair and surrounded by various inmates wearing rabbit masks and under the Hatter's control, all a part of the Mad Tea Party. Jervis revealed he had set an impromptu trap for his one time enemy: what Batman thought was "the cure" was in fact a hypnotic chemical that he tricked Batman into taking.
The Hatter then attempted to control Batman with a special mask that resembles a rabbit version of the Batsuit's cowl. Unfortunately for the Hatter, Batman breaks through with sheer will and after a fight with the Hatter's mind controlled gang, he eventually defeats him and flattens his hat.
Tetch managed to survive Protocol 10 later that night, and when Batman returned to his lair afterwards, he found Jervis still standing on the table, mourning the loss of his favourite hat, wondering if 'Alice' will be angry with him. Batman warns Hatter to never take control of his mind again. Catwoman also visited the Hatter, who mistook her for Alice. Catwoman tells him she'll look for her and see if the Cheshire Cat will help.
After Arkham City Incident
It is unknown what happened to Tetch after Arkham City was closed down, though he was presumably taken into custody by the G.C.P.D. when they invaded the prison.
Arkham Knight Incident
While he hasn't been officially confirmed, his background importance to the universe and positive fan reaction to his appearance make him likely to appear.
Psychological Profile
Mad Hatter
Real Name: Jervis Tetch
GCPD Profile
The Mad Hatter
Batman's Database Profile
Jervis
Dr. Penelople Young
DOSAGE SHOULD BE HEAVILY INCREASED.
Psychological Profile: Tetch is a classic delusional who also displays an obsessive ideation based on hats. He believes that he is the true-life incarnation of the Mad Hatter from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Tetch's skills as a hypnotist and his frankly inexplicable talent for inventions involving mind control make him at times a dangerous patient to treat, or they would for a less stable and insightful doctor than myself.
Additional Notes:
Tetch is completely unmanageable when forced to bare his head, so the regulation of Arkham patient uniform rules have been relaxed in this area to facilitate his treatment.
Prof. Hugo Strange
Jervis Tetch A.K.A Mad Hatter
Attributes
- Master of hypnotism and mind control
- Obsessed with hats, especially one-of-a-kind items
- Delusion schizophrenic with a fixation on Alice in Wonderland
Quotes
Arkham Origins
- "Welcome to Wonderland, Batman!"
- "Greetings and salutations, Batman. I am Jervis Tetch, inventor, entrepreneur, and part-time haberdasher."
- "Tick tock, watch the clock."
- "He can, he will, he just has to leave. He can, he will, he just has to leave. He can, he will, he just has to leave. Really now, you're becoming my pet peeve..."
Arkham City
- "More tea, Batman?"
- "All we need now is a special new hat. Just. For. You!"
- "But you don't understand. I need you. I can't win without you."
- "No time to sit, no time to chat. I'm searching for Alice and I've lost my hat."
- "Alice, come out, don't pout, don't make me shout. Alice, come out, where are you?"
- "You are my soldier now, Batman. You will do anything as I say."
Arkham Knight
Game Over Lines
Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman Arkham Origins - Game Over Mad Hatter-0
- "Oh dear, oh dear, what have I done? Oh that's right, I killed the Batman."
- "O Frabjous Day! Callooh! Callay!"
- "Oh lovely, Mr. [Deathstroke], would you like some tea?...Alice?" (to Deathstroke)
- Alice, Alice...*giggles* you're not Alice." (to Deathstroke)
Batman: Arkham City
- "When you wake up, you will be mine."
- "You're late, Batman. Late, late, late."
Batman: Arkham Knight
Gallery
Trivia
- The Mad Hatter's bio can be unlocked by scanning a tea set in the Botanical gardens, which is also the answer to the riddle: "What time is Tea time in Wonderland?"
- The Riddler was apparently aware of what Strange was doing with Tetch, although Penelope Young was not- she merely believed that the return of his hats was a relaxing of regulations to facilitate Jervis' treatment.
- If you go as Catwoman to talk to Tetch, he will ask if you are Alice. Since you can't get anything out of him, Catwoman says that she would go get Alice, jokingly stating she is with the Cheshire Cat.
- From the patient interview tapes, its revealed that Jervis killed a great deal of women who Hugo Strange calls "Alice", though Tetch insists he didn't do it and that he only invited them for tea, becoming distressed.
- Oddly enough, Mad Hatter doesn't have a skeleton in Arkham Origins (as seen in Detective Vision). However, it is most likely an error overlooked by the developers.
- Tetch was originally planned to be a villain in Batman: Arkham Asylum, appearing in a children's hedge maze. He, and the maze, were scrapped early in production.
External Links
Mad Hatter on the DC Comics Wiki
