Gotham Season 3 Episode 3: Look Into My Eyes DC Comics Reference Guide

Every week, we'll be breaking down the Gothameaster eggs that you might have missed, whether it was a Batman reference or something dealing with the wider DC Universe. The newest episode will always be at the top (and you can click the blue episode title headlines to get taken to a full review), with previous episodes appearing in the dropdown menu in the order in which they appeared.

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“Mad City: Look into My Eyes” gives Gothamfans their first look at Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter. Thanks to the Batman’66 TV series, the Mad Hatter has long been one of Batman’s most well-known and recognizable foes.

The original Mad Hatter first appeared in Batman#49 (1948) and was created by Bill Finger and Lew Sayre Schwartz. The Hatter first appeared as a diminutive criminal who wore a giant top hat. He only appeared once in the Golden Age.

In the Silver Age, Detective Comics #230 (1956) by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff to be exact, a very different Mad Hatter made his debut. This Mad Hatter sported carrot red hair and a mustache and was obsessed with hats of every kind. He was completely devoted to the theft of headgear from every era of history. Of course, the Holy Grail of his obsession was Batman’s famed cowl.

This same version of the character appeared on the Batman’66 series. Played by the great David Wayne, TV’s first Mad Hatter was the spitting image of his comic book counterpart. From here, the history of the Mad Hatter gets pretty convoluted with the hat-obsessed Hatter revealed as an imposter and the mini-Hatter revealed as the original. Both Hatters existed in continuity until Crisis on Infinite Earths.

In the comics, the Hatter didn't use his hypnotism gimmick until Detective Comics#526 (1983). Before the mesmerism, Hatter was an OCD thief who focused on hats, but after the hypnotism was introduced, he took his place as one of Batman’s most eerie foes.

Batman: The Animated Series introduced a very different looking Tetch, this one with a Lewis Carroll obsession rather than a hat obsession. The animated version of the Mad Hatter seems to be where Gothamand actor Benedict Samuel is pulling from. The Mad Hatter of comics and animation was more of a master at mind control than he was a hypnotist, but I guess Gotham is postulating that Tetch has not developed his tech as of yet. Either way, Samuel was pretty damn near spot on, huh?

- One of the highlights of the week is Selena’s concern for Ivy. Of course, Catwoman and Poison Ivy are longtime allies and both members of the Gotham City Sirens with Harley Quinn. It’s cool that their love and trust stretch back before they both don costumes.

- Mario Falcone first appeared in Batman: Dark Victory #1 (1999) and was created by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. In the comics, Mario was no doctor nor a lover of Leslie Thompkins. The comic Mario Falcone was a straight up gangster who ran the Falcone crime empire after Carmine was arrested. Check out Batman: Dark Victoryfor a deep dive into Falcone history and the introduction of the character that has replaced Jim Gordon in Lee Thompkins’s heart on Gotham. By the way, in the comics, Mario is killed by Two Face so it’ll be interesting to see if we get any Falcone/ Dent interactions on Gotham.

- How ballsy/awful/typically Gothamwould it be if clone Bruce turns out to be the Joker?

We'll be back next week with more Gotham Season 3 weirdness!