My personal favorite Hatter story (despite how little he's actually in it) is the Unresolved arc from Gotham Central. It's one of the better portrayals of Jervis that I've seen in the comics (not counting the BTAS/TNBA tie-ins) and was the first real attempt at giving him any kind of backstory. (The New 52 origin is utter nonsense and I refuse to accept it. Testosterone replacement doesn't make you crazy! It's the literal prescribed treatment for that exact condition. He seems to have the comic book version of Kallmann syndrome in that book, a genetic condition that prevents someone from entering puberty and basically keeps them a child. The treatment is the appropriate hormone injection - testosterone in this case - and BOOM. Puberty happens, life goes on, the worst that can result is impaired hearing and sense of smell and infertility if it was left untreated for too long. No going crazy and killing blonde girls. GOD that book is dumb.) Anyway, what I especially liked about Unresolved's Hatter is that it frames his very first criminal act as an act of vengeance on behalf of a girl who (he believed had been) raped. I always wondered if having him express such a violent disapproval of a young girl being assaulted was the book's way of giving the finger to Morrison's pedophile implications in Serious House and all the writers that followed his example. Because I feel like the character's never truly been able to recover from such ill-advised handling in that one book that was never meant to be part of the main continuity. It's hard to shake the taint off even in books that go out of their way to avoid it. Unresolved Hatter managed the best, I think. It explained his connection to kids as him being able to more easily relate to them due to his stunted emotional development. It also showed how even though he's a dangerous criminal, he can be easily manipulated by anyone showing him kindness. Ella Littleton basically started him on the path of supervillainy by convincing him that Connie had been hurt and needed to be avenged, and Mac was able to get him to focus and open up in questioning with a little compassion. It made him sympathetic and still unnerving and creepy without any pedophilic undertones. It can be done! (Bullock's also got a big part in that book, and that's always a bonus for me. My favorite Harvey.) But I guess it says something about the treatment of the character in the comics that one of the best (in my opinion) portrayals of him comes from a book where he only has a few scenes.
I didn't know that about the pills. I guess thats why they call you the doctor. But now I like the story even less.. Thank you very much.. Haha ;) Yeah Unresolved is great and I did actually consider putting it on the list, but as you say, Jervis barely appears, so it just didn't work. The scene where he's interrogated by the two cops in Arkham is one of my favorite Jervis scenes.. God damn why couldn't he have been featured more...
Finally the Mad Hatter stories episode :) You'll never know how much you influence my comic book purchases. Your videos really are a great reference for such decision making.
Haha thank you for the confidence! I guess that's the whole purpose of these videos. I got so sick of just seeing the usual recomended - Killing Joke, Long Halloween, Hush and so on.. There's a lot more to bat rogues than those big-name graphic novels..
Gotham Rogues Yes, I very much agree. I honestly don't even like Jeph Loeb's work on Batman that much at all really. Yet they are advertised so much that people have been fooled into thinking that they are masterpieces when in reality it's almost just the same story each time: "Some mysterious new figure shows up in Gotham, and sends a gauntlet of Batman's classic enemies at him." It just gets boring. Not to mention that Hush is just a slightly reworked Black Mask. No, I much prefer to seek other references and do the searching myself to find the diamonds in the rough, rather than take the ads in the back of my trade paperback as gospel. I couldn't help but notice that you seem to appreciate the Bronze age of Batman's publication history, Post-crisis and Pre-flashpoint, the most; which is another reason I love this channel because that is MY Batman. I would really like to see a run or two that returns to the aspects of what that age had to offer in terms of characterization, aesthetic choices and storytelling.
HUZZAH! I have been waiting for this video for ages! "Frabjous Day! Callooh! Callay!" Ahem: while I don't necessarily agree with the placement of these choices, I do agree - at least for the most part - with the choices themselves. The only story I would not have included would have been "The Mad Hatter of Gotham City." I guess the best way to describe it is that the way you felt about the first two entries on the list - as "okay" but "not truly great" stories - is how I felt about that one. Speaking of which: if I were to make a list like this, the "Joker's Asylum" issue would probably be my number two pick. Believe it or not, my favorite Hatter story from the comics would be "Madness." I know you said you weren't the biggest fan of Jeph Loeb's work, but me, personally? I LOVE the man's writing. "The Long Halloween" is one of my favorite graphic novels of all time - in my book, it's right up there with stories like "The Killing Joke" and "The Dark Knight Returns." I really do love the way he writes the Hatter, and how Tim Sale illustrates him: to me, the fact the character speaks in quotes and paraphrases is intriguing, because I feel it makes him more of an enigma. We don't really know much ABOUT Tetch, after all, and the fact that he - in his own way - speaks his own sort of language is something I find fascinating. It leaves you wondering just what's going on in his head, and why he feels the way he does, and commits the crimes he commits. If you read between the lines, you can come up with all kinds of possibilities. And, like you, I do love the way it connects the Hatter to Batman's past; the idea of a character who represents and perverts something Batman personally treasures and, in a way, fears, is pretty unique. I wish more takes on the Hatter would look to that element of the story for inspiration. For the comic I would have had instead of "The Mad Hatter of Gotham City" - and mind you, it would have been one of the bottom two choices - it would actually be the Hatter's appearance in Knightfall. (I can't recall the title.) I will readily concede that it isn't the most interesting story, but I must say: I love the way the Hatter is written in there. His dialogue reminds me highly of the Animated Series, which is my favorite take on the character - he's wonderfully over-the-top and whimsical in that story, and it creates a rather comical start to what becomes a pretty brutal story arc. Another comic I want to give a shout-out to would be his recent appearance in "All-Star Batman #8," simply titled "Hats & Bats," for basically the same reason...along with some trippy, Scarecrow-esque imagery, which is both a pro and a con. Yeah, it's neat to see the Hatter plunge Batman into a nightmare world in that story, sort of like a backwards version of "Perchance to Dream," but making his worst nightmares come to life is a different villain's gimmick. One last thing I want to say before I leave off: I readily and completely agree with you about the way so many writers treat this cahracter. I won't go too into detail (because this comment is long enough), but suffice it to say, there are many, MANY ways to make a character like the Mad Hatter interesting or intimidating. Making him completely and utterly REPULSIVE is not one of them. Again, I don't totally agree with your placement of these choices (I'd consider your number two a number six, I think, in my book), but the choices themselves, and your reasons behind your choices, I am in full agreement on. Can't wait to see what villain you take a look at next!
Yes I agree, Hatter was pretty good in Knightfall and I actually considered putting that on the list. I'm going to review Knightfall in not that long, so I'll get into it more then. Oh and I also think that Sale draws an excellent Jervis. I aint the biggest fan of Loeb, but I love Sale's work.
Again, I do like Loeb, but my favorites of his work happen to be his collaborations with Sale, and Sale's artwork is probably a BIG part of it. I love how the Hatter practically looks like a living Tenniel illustration; the scene at the Mad Tea Party in "Madness," which is drawn to intentionally parody the Tenniel illustration from the original "Alice" books, is probably one of my favorite Hatter images out there.
Yeah it is great. I really loved the image where Jervis sees Batman in the mirror and screams 'JABBERWOCK'. Haha so bizarre. Every panel in that story is a work of art tbh. I think it features my favorite Sale work. Btw I also love how he draws Scarecrow and Two-Face. I'm not a fan of his Joker and Catwoman though.
Sorry for the late response. Things got lost in the mail, so to speak. His Catwoman I like, but yeah, I'm not too crazy about his Joker. Like you, I absolutely love his Scarecrow and his Two-Face; I honestly feel his Two-Face is my favorite design for the character in comics, and his Scarecrow is a close second. (I don't actually want to give away my number one choice.) Also, on a side onote: I found the title for the Knightfall story, the title of which I could not recall: "Crossed Eyes, Dotty Teas." May the puns be ever in Jervis' favor.
I'd love to see best Ventriloquist & Scarface stories (preferably Wesker... Not a fan of Sugar or the third one). They're definitely a pair that doesn't get enough love and deserve much more. They may not have many, but there are a few diamonds in the rough
Some other Great Hatter comics. All-star Batman # 8 Gotham Underground: Unresolved Detective Comics #841 "Vicki in Wonderland" The Batman and Robin Adventures #17
I wish that one day I could be a writer at DC!! I would bring back the Imposter and have him and the real Jervis co exist. I would like to tell a multiple issue story that focused on two of them, flesh out Jervis' character and develop him into a much more interesting and threatening character to show he isn't a loser rogue. And I would have a connection between the two hatters and have an explanation to why The imposter assumed Jervis' identity. It would be interesting for them to have a connection and kind of hate each other in the beginning and explain why but later have them come together as two Hatters to take down batman. I believe giving them strong motivations and making them a strong threat to Batman would create a great story for both Hatters. I also have ideas for other rogues as well! Man, I wish I worked at DC... ;)
Hey thanks for uploading this video! I didn't even know The Mad Hatter could have enough "good stories" to make a top 5 video. Your channel has become a convenient tool for trying to find and read the most interesting Batman stories starting from the post crisis/pre-flashpoint era. As a fan, I would recommend if you get the chance to find and read All-Star Batman issue #8 since it also stars The Mad Hatter but in a terrifying view! :)
After trying to find decent hatter stories myself, I understand the difficulty you faced when making this list. The comic version is too one note and rarely explored (you think after decades of batman stories, someone would write a proper origin story for jervis). The TAS version is the definitive version of the Mad hatter, in my opinion. That version was complex, sympathetic and very dangerous. I want to see this version in the comic books, but because most writers focus on the more popular rogues (joker for the most part) it is unlikely. Out of the 5 stories you picked, I've only read two; madness and tea time. The latter is by far the best hatter story to date and the only one that is well-known. It explores the mental state of Jervis, and his misguided attempts at companionship. He was sympathetic l, but clearly deranged and a danger to himself and others. It does make me wonder why Bruce doesn't spend money on building a better mental health institute for his enemies, or at least invest in better security for arkham.
Yeah it's bizarre how Bruce knows full well that Arkham is total shit, yet he continues to do nothing about it. Same thing with the rest of Gotham's do-gooders. But of course if they did fix up Arkham and cure the rogues, then we wouldnt have any more rogues haha. So yeah, Arkham aint never gonna get better becasue we need more Batman stories!
While I'm certainly no expert on the Mad Hatter having only read one of the stories in your list here I did really like the 'Gotham Central' story 'Unresolved' while it is not strictly a Mad Hatter story he does play a very major role in the mystery and from my limited experience is one of the only notable Hatter appearances I've read.
One you may have missed is "Six Degrees of Devastation" the Secret Six miniseries from 2006. Granted, Mad Hatter is here part of a team book, but he has many of the best moments of the story, including one where he single-hattedly takes on the entire Doom Patrol. I read this comic out loud with my girlfriend, affecting a Roddy McDowell voice as I did, at it was a blast to do so. Check this one out!
Hatter's an underrated villain IMO. His Arkham City interview tapes were creepy and funny at the same time especially when he said "Alice. Come out, don't pout, don't make me shout. Alice come out. Where are you?"
Robin Year One also features The Mad Hatter, though the story isn't really about him. I thought the story was great and that Jervis was creepy as hell in it. Also does anyone know of any Hatter stories where he has the speaking mannerisms of his Arkham Knight version? I just loved how he rhymes everything he says.
That's actually in several stories. Of the ones on the list, he speaks in rhyme a few times in "Unknowing." Outside of the stories on the list, the first story that comes to mind is the story arc "Unresolved," published in issues #19 - 22 in Gotham Central.
I like Jervis. I think TAS got him right the most, but also I do think that the Dark Paedophilic side of him, makes his character way more intriguing, but not in the way where he goes after the little girls. I'd like to see a comic about it where he tries everything to resits his urges. Gives him more layers.
It could also just be a generic Hermes Helmet. They didn't really do many crossovers back then.. But yeah a Flash helmet would've been way cooler, so lets just pretend it is, who's to say otherwise anyway ;)
I love the Hatter and really hope he's picked as the baddie for the next Bat-flick. Thanks for this list as I've only heard of the second one. I can name great Tetch moments but stories are tougher so I appreciate this video. Another good comic is _Superman Adventures_ #25 where the Hatter kidnaps Bruce Wayne and says unless Batman surrenders to him then he'll kill the playboy. It's a fun little story by Mark Millar and shows how Superman would handle the mad haberdasher.
I really enjoyed the "Mad" story from Batman: The Dark Knight. It reveals his origin with him trying to recreate the one perfect day he had with Alice. The level that he goes to just to have that one perfect day again is insane. Perfect for a Batman villain. Plus, differently drugged teas bestowing him with certain enhanced abilities? Like one tea improves his strength. Not to bizarre superhuman levels, but enough to snap someone's neck more effortlessly than is normally required. And I loved what they did with him, however brief, in the video games Arkham City and Arkham Origins.
It's SO SAD how miss-used he is! He's got a theme and a interesting concept and what do they do with him? Pedophile... I think alot of people forget he's a friend of Scarecrow too! In fact that would be a great comic if they teamed up! Scarecrow is developing a new fear toxin that gives him control what the people see so he can frame batman. Hatter is at a loss unable to find a proper Alice(all of age) and is unsure why to do anymore falling into a deep depression. Batman finds scarecrow and figures out what he's doing so scarecrow sprays batman with the new toxin though it's still unperfected so the effects arent too vivid. Scarecrow makes an escape and hides out in an abandoned Alice in Wonderland theme park and finds Jervis and remembers that Jervis has expertise in mind control and can help him. Jervis still rock bottom and broken from reality believes that scarecrow is his Alice that came and found him and happily accepts to help. So the two team up and batman must now stop the two from framing him. During their team up Jervis falls more and more in love with crane and it's revealed crane fears rejectment (Yeah yeah I know it sounds a little like a ship but I don't care and honestly it could flesh out their characters more!
NOTE to Self: Unknowing story would perfectly weave into No Mans Land: Fear of Faith for the Batman 2 plot- Penguin deploys Mad Hatter to push drophead corrupt cops against Gotham citizens, Scarecrow steps in to further instill panic in citizens and behind the scenes Mad Hatter is revealed to be Scarecrows drug supplier, both are working for Penguin who is trying to take over Gotham through fear. Two more elements are needed to fully complete potential The Batman 2 sequel- Long Halloween Two-Face tien-in and Robin introduction through ex-mayors son
I think it would be a cool little project for you to make a video about the League of Assassins, in which you could break down the various rogues that have been presented as members. Sensei, Professor Ojo, the various Ubus, Ebenezer Darkk. The League of Assassins/Shadows has gone on to play a big role in other media like Batman Begins and my personal favorite depiction, Young Justice, where we got an amped up Hook and Black Spider. Love your work bro keep it up!
How has DC not been able to make him work outside TAS? He’s a Lewis Carroll fan that uses mind drugs- have his specialty be Dream therapy & be a colleague of Scarecrow. Perchance to Dream but with a synthetic Black Mercy, provided by poison ivy. Done
Great video and I like your choices. Greg Rucka s run on Batman; anBrubaker s wich were parallel are really great. Ps: are you making a Deadshot top 5 video?
I'm surprised you didn't mention either the 4 part story, "Unresolved" in Gotham Central or the Dark Knight story, "Mad" which gives a pretty fascinating look at this origins.
One of my favorite villains! Good choice of stories from different decades, but you left out the best one or at least the only origin story of Mad Hatter and also the longest (6 issue story arc): MAD (The Dark Knight 16-21 in New 52) by writer Gregg Hurwitz and artist Szymon Kudranski and the great Ethan van Sciver. Also the Anarky story arc in Detective Comics (New 52) by Manapul and Buccellato is a great Hatter story although he is not the main villain it fills a gap between his childhood and when he became the Mad Hatter...From Rebirth continuity the already mentioned All Star issue. And there is also another great story in Gotham Central series 19-22 by Brubaker and Lark called "Unresolved". Also he is great in the Secret Six series by Gail Simone, is weird to see him in a team but he does pretty well. Could you tell me where are the images from at the beginning and the ending of your video?
Both of those images are from his Who's Who profiles from the 80s and early 90s. That Gotham Central arc was great, but Jervis was just in it way to little for it to qualify imo. As for Secret Six, that's were he's sexually attracted to hats and does unspeakable things to them.. haha.. Not my cup of tea..
Personally I would make a story about how Jarvis wants just to be left alone in his fantasy land but has to kidnap people in order to truly live out Alice in Wonderland. And thus Batman has to track him down discovering the abuse he went through as a child and the break up he experienced with a woman named Alice and his only escape is to become his favorite character from his favorite book. And when the Batman is hot on his trail he starts having other Arkham inmates be cast in his latest show of Wonderland.
I recommend Issue 8 of all star batman it dosen't explore the character very well but i just love the art and the actual situation that Jervis puts batman in.
Heiya, pal ! Your videos are still pretty cool to watch, keep doing the great work ! I wanted to ask you something. When you have difficulties writing a video about a villain, such as the Mad Hatter who has very few good stories to offer it seems, do you ever consider including episodes from the comics version of animated series ? I mean, I remember some quite fine Mad Hatter stories from the Batman TAS comics, even if there are not much. I know it is non-canon, but still, is it possible ? Thank you, have a good day ;)
I did consider it yeah but I really want to stick with the "main DC universe". I did an exception for Harley though when I included 'Mad Love'. That was only becasue she's a character from that show, and that's where her origin was fleshed out for the first time. Thank you yourself and you have a good day too! ;)
The problem whit Jervis is that he had so litte stories that now at days no one knows how to write him so i made a list of the incarnations ranked: Hatter from the Arkham series, he's so entertaining Comics some versions like Knightfall are great while others are terrible like the new 52 Version Tas because he's the only one that always works, how you put it 60's he's ok basicially ripped out of the comics so no problem whit that Lego mostly overlooked but the 1st game at least even set more loser villain's in a good standart for example it made Killer Moth my 2nd favourite Batman of all time (top 5 Moth stories for a sub?) My least favourite version has to be the one from Gotham the actor is just to young and after his first storie he's mostly pushed asside whitch is sad considering Gotham always writes his characters mostly more than one notes.
This is my favorite UA-cam channel that covers comics since this channel shows all the interesting old comics and all the characters that people usually forget. The other comic channels usually only display all the mainstream arcs and characters which are uninteresting to me but this channel covers some mainstream and a lot of obscure characters that I enjoy more. It also helps that the videos are very clear and explain most everything. I want to share the link of this site with you so you can hopefully make videos quicker and for all comics, after you visit the site I will delete it from this comment since I don't want everyone to have it, the more that have it, the more likely it is for it to get shutdown which I do not want. Now I will list some video requests, one on Evil Star as an underated Green Lantern villain, one on Key (any Key would make for a fun video), top Desparro and Starro stories, one on Executioner, one on Electrocutioner, one on Katmos, one on Cincada, one on Folded Man, one on Combalt Blue, and more but this comment is already pretty long. Thank you and keep up the good work
Thank you very much, and yeah that's why I started the channel I suppose. Old obscure comics are great! Thanks for the link, and I'll try to get to some of those resquests of yours! GL has quite a few underrated rogues doesnt he? I'd like to add Dr Polaris and the Shark.
Gotham Rogues no thank you for this and the very quick reply also do you happen to be Swedish? I was born there but that was when I was little, and had you known about the site before? Sorry for being inquisitive haha.
PS, I love Shark and Dr Polaris! GA Green Lantern has also had some very obscure characters that I'd love to see like this puppet that was made of his weakness, wood (I forgot his name)
Vego: it seems like they need to do more of that bring back the people who become monsters I believe they need to bring the freaking comic writers to Arkham as well however I'm very puzzled about this Matt Hart met her character but the artwork I just saw at the last entry was very astonishing and I like to see more what they can do with the Mad Hatter
Actors who should really Play Mad Hatter are Toby Jones , Andy Serkis , Timothy Spall , Jackie Earle Haley , Peter Dinklage , Bill Skarsgard , James McAvoy and Johnny Depp !!!!!!!
In my opinion , mad hatter is a hybrid of being well known and underrated. To me that's really sad because like mr rouges said, DC comics don't really do a good job on the charater and I really don't really like the 2013 origin. it took them 60 years to finally give the guy an origin. And I don't really like the new origin because it stills treats jervis as just a creep and maniac. well I he is but like every fan, i'll stick with the tas origin.
Wow! There was a Mad Hatter ll? Yeah, Jervis Tetch is obsessed with Alice in wonderland stories and he's attracted to blond girls who are his "Alice". I think Jervis is bipolar and has a split personality.
@@mr.rogues4145 I never understood what was supposed to be the appeal of the two-/three-color process DC was using on those Detective Comics issues. Some of the stories sounded interesting, but the art was a turnoff for me.
The mad hatter is one of my favorite villains since tas
Heck yeah he is my number 4th favorite Batman Villan
He's part Looney Tunes
I love Jervis he's unique and I'm partial to the btas! Version of him
Indeed, as am I.
There's the btas! Ninja turtles crossover comic and Jervis is in that
(slight spoiler) He is also the main villain at the end.
My personal favorite Hatter story (despite how little he's actually in it) is the Unresolved arc from Gotham Central. It's one of the better portrayals of Jervis that I've seen in the comics (not counting the BTAS/TNBA tie-ins) and was the first real attempt at giving him any kind of backstory. (The New 52 origin is utter nonsense and I refuse to accept it. Testosterone replacement doesn't make you crazy! It's the literal prescribed treatment for that exact condition. He seems to have the comic book version of Kallmann syndrome in that book, a genetic condition that prevents someone from entering puberty and basically keeps them a child. The treatment is the appropriate hormone injection - testosterone in this case - and BOOM. Puberty happens, life goes on, the worst that can result is impaired hearing and sense of smell and infertility if it was left untreated for too long. No going crazy and killing blonde girls. GOD that book is dumb.)
Anyway, what I especially liked about Unresolved's Hatter is that it frames his very first criminal act as an act of vengeance on behalf of a girl who (he believed had been) raped. I always wondered if having him express such a violent disapproval of a young girl being assaulted was the book's way of giving the finger to Morrison's pedophile implications in Serious House and all the writers that followed his example. Because I feel like the character's never truly been able to recover from such ill-advised handling in that one book that was never meant to be part of the main continuity. It's hard to shake the taint off even in books that go out of their way to avoid it. Unresolved Hatter managed the best, I think. It explained his connection to kids as him being able to more easily relate to them due to his stunted emotional development. It also showed how even though he's a dangerous criminal, he can be easily manipulated by anyone showing him kindness. Ella Littleton basically started him on the path of supervillainy by convincing him that Connie had been hurt and needed to be avenged, and Mac was able to get him to focus and open up in questioning with a little compassion. It made him sympathetic and still unnerving and creepy without any pedophilic undertones. It can be done! (Bullock's also got a big part in that book, and that's always a bonus for me. My favorite Harvey.)
But I guess it says something about the treatment of the character in the comics that one of the best (in my opinion) portrayals of him comes from a book where he only has a few scenes.
I didn't know that about the pills. I guess thats why they call you the doctor. But now I like the story even less.. Thank you very much.. Haha ;)
Yeah Unresolved is great and I did actually consider putting it on the list, but as you say, Jervis barely appears, so it just didn't work. The scene where he's interrogated by the two cops in Arkham is one of my favorite Jervis scenes.. God damn why couldn't he have been featured more...
it seems that only I appreciated his origin in the new 52 😅
@@SubZero-hs9xc What did you like about it?
I only like new 52 for the art
@@SubZero-hs9xcsame
Finally the Mad Hatter stories episode :)
You'll never know how much you influence my comic book purchases. Your videos really are a great reference for such decision making.
Haha thank you for the confidence! I guess that's the whole purpose of these videos. I got so sick of just seeing the usual recomended - Killing Joke, Long Halloween, Hush and so on.. There's a lot more to bat rogues than those big-name graphic novels..
Gotham Rogues Yes, I very much agree. I honestly don't even like Jeph Loeb's work on Batman that much at all really. Yet they are advertised so much that people have been fooled into thinking that they are masterpieces when in reality it's almost just the same story each time: "Some mysterious new figure shows up in Gotham, and sends a gauntlet of Batman's classic enemies at him." It just gets boring. Not to mention that Hush is just a slightly reworked Black Mask.
No, I much prefer to seek other references and do the searching myself to find the diamonds in the rough, rather than take the ads in the back of my trade paperback as gospel.
I couldn't help but notice that you seem to appreciate the Bronze age of Batman's publication history, Post-crisis and Pre-flashpoint, the most; which is another reason I love this channel because that is MY Batman. I would really like to see a run or two that returns to the aspects of what that age had to offer in terms of characterization, aesthetic choices and storytelling.
@@AAllen-br8it How is he a reworked Black Mask?
HUZZAH! I have been waiting for this video for ages! "Frabjous Day! Callooh! Callay!"
Ahem: while I don't necessarily agree with the placement of these choices, I do agree - at least for the most part - with the choices themselves. The only story I would not have included would have been "The Mad Hatter of Gotham City." I guess the best way to describe it is that the way you felt about the first two entries on the list - as "okay" but "not truly great" stories - is how I felt about that one.
Speaking of which: if I were to make a list like this, the "Joker's Asylum" issue would probably be my number two pick. Believe it or not, my favorite Hatter story from the comics would be "Madness." I know you said you weren't the biggest fan of Jeph Loeb's work, but me, personally? I LOVE the man's writing. "The Long Halloween" is one of my favorite graphic novels of all time - in my book, it's right up there with stories like "The Killing Joke" and "The Dark Knight Returns." I really do love the way he writes the Hatter, and how Tim Sale illustrates him: to me, the fact the character speaks in quotes and paraphrases is intriguing, because I feel it makes him more of an enigma. We don't really know much ABOUT Tetch, after all, and the fact that he - in his own way - speaks his own sort of language is something I find fascinating. It leaves you wondering just what's going on in his head, and why he feels the way he does, and commits the crimes he commits. If you read between the lines, you can come up with all kinds of possibilities. And, like you, I do love the way it connects the Hatter to Batman's past; the idea of a character who represents and perverts something Batman personally treasures and, in a way, fears, is pretty unique. I wish more takes on the Hatter would look to that element of the story for inspiration.
For the comic I would have had instead of "The Mad Hatter of Gotham City" - and mind you, it would have been one of the bottom two choices - it would actually be the Hatter's appearance in Knightfall. (I can't recall the title.) I will readily concede that it isn't the most interesting story, but I must say: I love the way the Hatter is written in there. His dialogue reminds me highly of the Animated Series, which is my favorite take on the character - he's wonderfully over-the-top and whimsical in that story, and it creates a rather comical start to what becomes a pretty brutal story arc. Another comic I want to give a shout-out to would be his recent appearance in "All-Star Batman #8," simply titled "Hats & Bats," for basically the same reason...along with some trippy, Scarecrow-esque imagery, which is both a pro and a con. Yeah, it's neat to see the Hatter plunge Batman into a nightmare world in that story, sort of like a backwards version of "Perchance to Dream," but making his worst nightmares come to life is a different villain's gimmick.
One last thing I want to say before I leave off: I readily and completely agree with you about the way so many writers treat this cahracter. I won't go too into detail (because this comment is long enough), but suffice it to say, there are many, MANY ways to make a character like the Mad Hatter interesting or intimidating. Making him completely and utterly REPULSIVE is not one of them.
Again, I don't totally agree with your placement of these choices (I'd consider your number two a number six, I think, in my book), but the choices themselves, and your reasons behind your choices, I am in full agreement on. Can't wait to see what villain you take a look at next!
Yes I agree, Hatter was pretty good in Knightfall and I actually considered putting that on the list. I'm going to review Knightfall in not that long, so I'll get into it more then. Oh and I also think that Sale draws an excellent Jervis. I aint the biggest fan of Loeb, but I love Sale's work.
Again, I do like Loeb, but my favorites of his work happen to be his collaborations with Sale, and Sale's artwork is probably a BIG part of it. I love how the Hatter practically looks like a living Tenniel illustration; the scene at the Mad Tea Party in "Madness," which is drawn to intentionally parody the Tenniel illustration from the original "Alice" books, is probably one of my favorite Hatter images out there.
Yeah it is great. I really loved the image where Jervis sees Batman in the mirror and screams 'JABBERWOCK'. Haha so bizarre. Every panel in that story is a work of art tbh. I think it features my favorite Sale work. Btw I also love how he draws Scarecrow and Two-Face. I'm not a fan of his Joker and Catwoman though.
How do you like how Jervis is in the Arkham video games?
Sorry for the late response. Things got lost in the mail, so to speak. His Catwoman I like, but yeah, I'm not too crazy about his Joker. Like you, I absolutely love his Scarecrow and his Two-Face; I honestly feel his Two-Face is my favorite design for the character in comics, and his Scarecrow is a close second. (I don't actually want to give away my number one choice.) Also, on a side onote: I found the title for the Knightfall story, the title of which I could not recall: "Crossed Eyes, Dotty Teas." May the puns be ever in Jervis' favor.
I'd love to see best Ventriloquist & Scarface stories (preferably Wesker... Not a fan of Sugar or the third one). They're definitely a pair that doesn't get enough love and deserve much more. They may not have many, but there are a few diamonds in the rough
Yeah I'll most likely do that eventually.
I've tried to see if they've ever done a best of collection for Scarface and I couldn't find any.
@Irwinos Didn't know there was a third one.
@@MegaSpideyman shauna belzer and ferdie, or the ventriloquist iii. they’re interesting but kinda edgy
Some other Great Hatter comics.
All-star Batman # 8
Gotham Underground: Unresolved
Detective Comics #841
"Vicki in Wonderland"
The Batman and Robin Adventures #17
I wish that one day I could be a writer at DC!! I would bring back the Imposter and have him and the real Jervis co exist. I would like to tell a multiple issue story that focused on two of them, flesh out Jervis' character and develop him into a much more interesting and threatening character to show he isn't a loser rogue. And I would have a connection between the two hatters and have an explanation to why The imposter assumed Jervis' identity. It would be interesting for them to have a connection and kind of hate each other in the beginning and explain why but later have them come together as two Hatters to take down batman. I believe giving them strong motivations and making them a strong threat to Batman would create a great story for both Hatters. I also have ideas for other rogues as well! Man, I wish I worked at DC... ;)
0:40 - N°5 - Unknowing
2:10 - N°4 - Madness
3:45 - N°3 - The mad hatter goes straight
5:10 - N°2 - The mad hatter of gotham city
6:35 - N°1 - Tea time
I know most people don't like him and he lacks great stories but I can't help it, Mad Hatter is one of my favourites !!
Hey thanks for uploading this video! I didn't even know The Mad Hatter could have enough "good stories" to make a top 5 video. Your channel has become a convenient tool for trying to find and read the most interesting Batman stories starting from the post crisis/pre-flashpoint era. As a fan, I would recommend if you get the chance to find and read All-Star Batman issue #8 since it also stars The Mad Hatter but in a terrifying view! :)
I wish the comics pulled a Mr Freeze and incorporated the backstory and personality from BTAS. But alas, we’re still stuck with gross Jervis.
Hey man I've been trying to get into comics lately and your work really helps me find out where to begin. So thanks!!
No problem, happy to be able to help out!
If the Mad Hatter can mind control you using coffee, then that means he could have an entire army of millennials.
Poor Jerwis he has always been one of my favourite Bat rouges and to see that there barely any good stories with him.
Mad Hatter Also too really deserves his own movie !!!!
After trying to find decent hatter stories myself, I understand the difficulty you faced when making this list. The comic version is too one note and rarely explored (you think after decades of batman stories, someone would write a proper origin story for jervis). The TAS version is the definitive version of the Mad hatter, in my opinion. That version was complex, sympathetic and very dangerous. I want to see this version in the comic books, but because most writers focus on the more popular rogues (joker for the most part) it is unlikely.
Out of the 5 stories you picked, I've only read two; madness and tea time. The latter is by far the best hatter story to date and the only one that is well-known. It explores the mental state of Jervis, and his misguided attempts at companionship. He was sympathetic l, but clearly deranged and a danger to himself and others. It does make me wonder why Bruce doesn't spend money on building a better mental health institute for his enemies, or at least invest in better security for arkham.
Yeah it's bizarre how Bruce knows full well that Arkham is total shit, yet he continues to do nothing about it. Same thing with the rest of Gotham's do-gooders. But of course if they did fix up Arkham and cure the rogues, then we wouldnt have any more rogues haha. So yeah, Arkham aint never gonna get better becasue we need more Batman stories!
While I'm certainly no expert on the Mad Hatter having only read one of the stories in your list here I did really like the 'Gotham Central' story 'Unresolved' while it is not strictly a Mad Hatter story he does play a very major role in the mystery and from my limited experience is one of the only notable Hatter appearances I've read.
One you may have missed is "Six Degrees of Devastation" the Secret Six miniseries from 2006. Granted, Mad Hatter is here part of a team book, but he has many of the best moments of the story, including one where he single-hattedly takes on the entire Doom Patrol. I read this comic out loud with my girlfriend, affecting a Roddy McDowell voice as I did, at it was a blast to do so. Check this one out!
I didn’t even know there was a second Hatter til this vid. Thanks for the knowledge
Hatter's an underrated villain IMO. His Arkham City interview tapes were creepy and funny at the same time especially when he said "Alice. Come out, don't pout, don't make me shout. Alice come out. Where are you?"
Robin Year One also features The Mad Hatter, though the story isn't really about him. I thought the story was great and that Jervis was creepy as hell in it.
Also does anyone know of any Hatter stories where he has the speaking mannerisms of his Arkham Knight version? I just loved how he rhymes everything he says.
That's actually in several stories. Of the ones on the list, he speaks in rhyme a few times in "Unknowing." Outside of the stories on the list, the first story that comes to mind is the story arc "Unresolved," published in issues #19 - 22 in Gotham Central.
I like Jervis. I think TAS got him right the most, but also I do think that the Dark Paedophilic side of him, makes his character way more intriguing, but not in the way where he goes after the little girls. I'd like to see a comic about it where he tries everything to resits his urges. Gives him more layers.
5:11 -- I just now noticed he has one of Jay Garrick's Flash helmets in his collection -- a long lost Golden Age story, perhaps?
It could also just be a generic Hermes Helmet. They didn't really do many crossovers back then.. But yeah a Flash helmet would've been way cooler, so lets just pretend it is, who's to say otherwise anyway ;)
I love the Hatter and really hope he's picked as the baddie for the next Bat-flick. Thanks for this list as I've only heard of the second one. I can name great Tetch moments but stories are tougher so I appreciate this video. Another good comic is _Superman Adventures_ #25 where the Hatter kidnaps Bruce Wayne and says unless Batman surrenders to him then he'll kill the playboy. It's a fun little story by Mark Millar and shows how Superman would handle the mad haberdasher.
I really enjoyed the "Mad" story from Batman: The Dark Knight. It reveals his origin with him trying to recreate the one perfect day he had with Alice. The level that he goes to just to have that one perfect day again is insane. Perfect for a Batman villain. Plus, differently drugged teas bestowing him with certain enhanced abilities? Like one tea improves his strength. Not to bizarre superhuman levels, but enough to snap someone's neck more effortlessly than is normally required.
And I loved what they did with him, however brief, in the video games Arkham City and Arkham Origins.
It's SO SAD how miss-used he is!
He's got a theme and a interesting concept and what do they do with him?
Pedophile...
I think alot of people forget he's a friend of Scarecrow too! In fact that would be a great comic if they teamed up!
Scarecrow is developing a new fear toxin that gives him control what the people see so he can frame batman.
Hatter is at a loss unable to find a proper Alice(all of age) and is unsure why to do anymore falling into a deep depression.
Batman finds scarecrow and figures out what he's doing so scarecrow sprays batman with the new toxin though it's still unperfected so the effects arent too vivid.
Scarecrow makes an escape and hides out in an abandoned Alice in Wonderland theme park and finds Jervis and remembers that Jervis has expertise in mind control and can help him.
Jervis still rock bottom and broken from reality believes that scarecrow is his Alice that came and found him and happily accepts to help.
So the two team up and batman must now stop the two from framing him.
During their team up Jervis falls more and more in love with crane and it's revealed crane fears rejectment
(Yeah yeah I know it sounds a little like a ship but I don't care and honestly it could flesh out their characters more!
NOTE to Self: Unknowing story would perfectly weave into No Mans Land: Fear of Faith for the Batman 2 plot- Penguin deploys Mad Hatter to push drophead corrupt cops against Gotham citizens, Scarecrow steps in to further instill panic in citizens and behind the scenes Mad Hatter is revealed to be Scarecrows drug supplier, both are working for Penguin who is trying to take over Gotham through fear.
Two more elements are needed to fully complete potential The Batman 2 sequel- Long Halloween Two-Face tien-in and Robin introduction through ex-mayors son
I think it would be a cool little project for you to make a video about the League of Assassins, in which you could break down the various rogues that have been presented as members. Sensei, Professor Ojo, the various Ubus, Ebenezer Darkk. The League of Assassins/Shadows has gone on to play a big role in other media like Batman Begins and my personal favorite depiction, Young Justice, where we got an amped up Hook and Black Spider. Love your work bro keep it up!
Interesting, yes I might do something like that. The League are bound to be spotlighted on this channel at some point! Thank you!
And here I was thinking Im the only one who enjoys this creep! Mad Hatter is such a weirdo
How has DC not been able to make him work outside TAS?
He’s a Lewis Carroll fan that uses mind drugs- have his specialty be Dream therapy & be a colleague of Scarecrow. Perchance to Dream but with a synthetic Black Mercy, provided by poison ivy. Done
Great video and I like your choices. Greg Rucka s run on Batman; anBrubaker s wich were parallel are really great. Ps: are you making a Deadshot top 5 video?
Thanks! Yes I'll do that eventually.
Gotham Rogues most of his greatest stories in my opinion, dont feature the Batman.
I'm surprised you didn't mention either the 4 part story, "Unresolved" in Gotham Central or the Dark Knight story, "Mad" which gives a pretty fascinating look at this origins.
Surprised that you didn't include Through the Looking glass or Robin and Batgirl year one.
I think they should play up the psychedelic aspect of the actual Alice novel and add that to the hatter as a character
One of my favorite villains! Good choice of stories from different decades, but you left out the best one or at least the only origin story of Mad Hatter and also the longest (6 issue story arc): MAD (The Dark Knight 16-21 in New 52) by writer Gregg Hurwitz and artist Szymon Kudranski and the great Ethan van Sciver. Also the Anarky story arc in Detective Comics (New 52) by Manapul and Buccellato is a great Hatter story although he is not the main villain it fills a gap between his childhood and when he became the Mad Hatter...From Rebirth continuity the already mentioned All Star issue. And there is also another great story in Gotham Central series 19-22 by Brubaker and Lark called "Unresolved". Also he is great in the Secret Six series by Gail Simone, is weird to see him in a team but he does pretty well. Could you tell me where are the images from at the beginning and the ending of your video?
Both of those images are from his Who's Who profiles from the 80s and early 90s.
That Gotham Central arc was great, but Jervis was just in it way to little for it to qualify imo. As for Secret Six, that's were he's sexually attracted to hats and does unspeakable things to them.. haha.. Not my cup of tea..
Jacob Benton yeah i saw the review later...I liked it, I would have put it instead of one of the fake hatter stories
Gotham Rogues thanks and the picture with all the Batman villains is somewhere or is a collage you created?
Personally I would make a story about how Jarvis wants just to be left alone in his fantasy land but has to kidnap people in order to truly live out Alice in Wonderland. And thus Batman has to track him down discovering the abuse he went through as a child and the break up he experienced with a woman named Alice and his only escape is to become his favorite character from his favorite book. And when the Batman is hot on his trail he starts having other Arkham inmates be cast in his latest show of Wonderland.
There's one foe I've wanted to see reviewed, Mother Grimm. She's kinda got a fairy tale/mother goose theme going on but she's more sinister
My favorite Mad Hatter story is the Jan. 1982 issue of Detective Comics by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan.
Please do one list for Bane, Ra's al Ghul, and Mr Freeze
I will eventually ;)
I recommend Issue 8 of all star batman it dosen't explore the character very well but i just love the art and the actual situation that Jervis puts batman in.
In case you weren't going to read the hardcover.
Cool, no I'm getting the hardcover as soon as it's released here.
Heiya, pal ! Your videos are still pretty cool to watch, keep doing the great work ! I wanted to ask you something. When you have difficulties writing a video about a villain, such as the Mad Hatter who has very few good stories to offer it seems, do you ever consider including episodes from the comics version of animated series ? I mean, I remember some quite fine Mad Hatter stories from the Batman TAS comics, even if there are not much. I know it is non-canon, but still, is it possible ? Thank you, have a good day ;)
I did consider it yeah but I really want to stick with the "main DC universe". I did an exception for Harley though when I included 'Mad Love'. That was only becasue she's a character from that show, and that's where her origin was fleshed out for the first time.
Thank you yourself and you have a good day too! ;)
When are you going to do a Victor zasza
Honestly my favorite Hatter story comes from Gail Simone's Secret Six: Six Degrees of Devastation.
I think he's a great character just not enough stories.
The problem whit Jervis is that he had so litte stories that now at days no one knows how to write him so i made a list of the incarnations ranked: Hatter from the Arkham series, he's so entertaining
Comics some versions like Knightfall are great while others are terrible like the new 52 Version
Tas because he's the only one that always works, how you put it
60's he's ok basicially ripped out of the comics so no problem whit that
Lego mostly overlooked but the 1st game at least even set more loser villain's in a good standart for example it made Killer Moth my 2nd favourite Batman of all time (top 5 Moth stories for a sub?)
My least favourite version has to be the one from Gotham the actor is just to young and after his first storie he's mostly pushed asside whitch is sad considering Gotham always writes his characters mostly more than one notes.
Actors WHO really must Play Mad Hatter are Peter Dinklage , Martin Short and Jackie Earle Haley , guys !!!!
This is my favorite UA-cam channel that covers comics since this channel shows all the interesting old comics and all the characters that people usually forget. The other comic channels usually only display all the mainstream arcs and characters which are uninteresting to me but this channel covers some mainstream and a lot of obscure characters that I enjoy more.
It also helps that the videos are very clear and explain most everything. I want to share the link of this site with you so you can hopefully make videos quicker and for all comics, after you visit the site I will delete it from this comment since I don't want everyone to have it, the more that have it, the more likely it is for it to get shutdown which I do not want.
Now I will list some video requests, one on Evil Star as an underated Green Lantern villain, one on Key (any Key would make for a fun video), top Desparro and Starro stories, one on Executioner, one on Electrocutioner, one on Katmos, one on Cincada, one on Folded Man, one on Combalt Blue, and more but this comment is already pretty long.
Thank you and keep up the good work
Thank you very much, and yeah that's why I started the channel I suppose. Old obscure comics are great!
Thanks for the link, and I'll try to get to some of those resquests of yours! GL has quite a few underrated rogues doesnt he? I'd like to add Dr Polaris and the Shark.
Gotham Rogues no thank you for this and the very quick reply also do you happen to be Swedish? I was born there but that was when I was little, and had you known about the site before? Sorry for being inquisitive haha.
PS, I love Shark and Dr Polaris! GA Green Lantern has also had some very obscure characters that I'd love to see like this puppet that was made of his weakness, wood (I forgot his name)
Vego: it seems like they need to do more of that bring back the people who become monsters I believe they need to bring the freaking comic writers to Arkham as well however I'm very puzzled about this Matt Hart met her character but the artwork I just saw at the last entry was very astonishing and I like to see more what they can do with the Mad Hatter
I want to see the Mad Hatter in a Batman movie
1:37 wait he did that?
Actors who should really Play Mad Hatter are Toby Jones , Andy Serkis , Timothy Spall , Jackie Earle Haley , Peter Dinklage , Bill Skarsgard , James McAvoy and Johnny Depp !!!!!!!
I heard that Mad Hatter might be in the 2021 Batman movie!
Thanks nice video
Top 5 best zsasz stories
scarecrow is my frinking favorite iam new to your channel
What do you think of His Story in Ends of the Earth I really liked the way he was portrayed there.
In my opinion , mad hatter is a hybrid of being well known and underrated. To me that's really sad because like mr rouges said, DC comics don't really do a good job on the charater and I really don't really like the 2013 origin. it took them 60 years to finally give the guy an origin. And I don't really like the new origin because it stills treats jervis as just a creep and maniac. well I he is but like every fan, i'll stick with the tas origin.
Hey now he is in the new Matt Reeves Batman movie
Seems like it, if it's true.
Maddness is the best of the preLong Halloween story and is quit good. check out Batman The Dark Knight Mad for a newer mad hatter story
I've done a video on it ;)
i will look for it
How do you make videos
Editing service and pictures with your voice
For the audio I use 'Audacity' and for the video I use 'Sony Movie Studio'
Do The Joker Asylum Series.
Wow! There was a Mad Hatter ll? Yeah, Jervis Tetch is obsessed with Alice in wonderland stories and he's attracted to blond girls who are his "Alice". I think Jervis is bipolar and has a split personality.
I only read manga but i watch all your Videos... the Batman Stories and characters are just awesome
Oh and i Love your voice ❤️ ... #nohomo
Haha thanks!
Is it available on mac
what do you mean, HATS?
3:08 How the hell would he rape a hat?
3:10 What the fuck is wrong with comic book writers
It's a shame that Mad Hatter is kind of a weak character. He has a lot of potential for brilliant stories.
Since when did Batman need a bodyguard?!
He was forced to, by Lucius Fox I believe - who of course was unaware Bruce was Batman. Naturally, hilarity ensued.
And compound to that the fact that the bodyguard was a woman, that would have been the ultimate feminist's fantasy.
Obviously, she learned Batman's identity, but did she end up suffering the fate of most characters who learn that secret?
@@mr.rogues4145 I never understood what was supposed to be the appeal of the two-/three-color process DC was using on those Detective Comics issues. Some of the stories sounded interesting, but the art was a turnoff for me.
what do you think of the Gotham hatter?
Haven't seen those episodes yet. I'm not the biggest fan of that show..
So R Kelly, Pill Cosby, and Ray Rice fused to being The Mad Hatter, i cant see that rapist the same way, at least TAS got it right
mad hatter is ok