Tweedledum and Tweedledee (comics)

Tweedledum and Tweedledee are two fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics who were primarily known as enemies of Batman.

Publication history

Tweedledum and Tweedledee first appeared in Detective Comics #74 (April 1943), and were created by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson and Don Cameron.

Fictional character biographies

Dumfree Tweed and Deever Tweed are cousins who resemble each other so closely that they are often mistaken for identical twins. The pair are known as Tweedledum and Tweedledee, both as a play on words on their real names, and because they closely resemble Sir John Tenniel's depictions of those characters in Lewis Carroll's sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland entitled Through the Looking-Glass. The two Tweeds always conduct their criminal activity in partnership with one another. They prefer to mastermind criminal schemes and let their henchmen carry out any necessary physical activity. The Tweeds will often use their extraordinary resemblance to trick their opponents into thinking there is only one of them. Tweedledum and Tweedledee first encountered Batman and Robin when they began a crime spree in Gotham City. Batman and Robin have fought against the Tweeds and have overcome them on subsequent occasions.

The pair makes an appearance in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth as inmates in Arkham Asylum. In this incarnation, they appear attached to each other by a pair of electroshock helmets, with Tweedledum representing the right half of the brain, and Tweedledee the left.

Although Tweedledum and Tweedledee are most often depicted as being the leaders of their own criminal organization, they sometimes are re-imagined as the henchmen of the Joker.

In a shoot-out with the GCPD during War Games, Dum is shot in the head.^[1]

During the Infinite Crisis, Tweedledum and Tweedledee appear as members of Alexander Luthor, Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains. Joker refers to them as "Tweedledee and the new Dum" implying that the original Tweedledum is either dead or still incarcerated. It was later confirmed in Detective Comics #841 that Dumfree Tweed had died and his twin brother Dumpson Tweed had taken his place.

The new Tweedledum and Tweedledee were part of the Wonderland Gang. Originally believed by the public to be run by the Mad Hatter, it was revealed that The Tweeds really ran the gang using one of Tetch's own mind control on him in order to cash in on his notoriety. They filled the Wonderland Gang with other pairs based on Alice in Wonderland (such as The Lion and the Unicorn and The Walrus and the Carpenter). After Batman took down the henchmen, Mad Hatter eventually got back at them by sticking mind control chips on the two and turning them on each other. The villains were eventually arrested by the police.^[2] After some imprisonment, the Tweeds reformed the Wonderland Gang with The Walrus and the Carpenter but were quickly apprehended by Batman, Robin and Nightwing.^[3]

During the Salvation Run storyline, Tweedledum and Tweedledee ended up deported to another planet where the other villains rounded up were sent to.^[4] Tweedledum and Tweedledee were seen being released by Hush, who is masquerading as Bruce Wayne.^[5]

The New 52

In The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), the Tweed Brothers (as they are called) are working with Mad Hatter. Although this time, they have been manipulated by him instead in a plot to make the entire Gotham City insane. They are soon taken out by Batman. They also seem to have superhuman strength and resistance.^[6]

During the Forever Evil storyline, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are among the villains recruited by the Crime Syndicate of America to join the Secret Society of Super Villains.^[7]

Powers and abilities

Tweedledum and Tweedledee officially have no superpowers, but their fat bodies enable them to bounce and roll as they please. In The New 52, the brothers have superhuman strength and resistance.

Other Versions

Batman: Arkham Knight

In the Batman: Arkham Knight prequel comic series, both Tweedledee and Tweedledum are hired by Penguin to steal a shipment from Waynetech. They are also given a henchman they dub "Tweedledie." Though successful in capturing the cargo, Batman catches up and defeats the cousins, leaving them behind for the GCPD. Tweedledum and Tweedledee are later killed by the Arkham Knight in their cell with a shotgun.

Injustice: Gods Among Us

In the Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel comic series, Tweedledee and Tweedledum appear in Year Five, meeting with Black Mask, Man-Bat, Bronze Tiger, Scarecrow, and Mad Hatter until Robin arrives and fights the villains. Robin easily manages to defeat Tweedledee and Tweedledum, but is soon overwhelmed by all of the villains and knocked unconscious until he's saved by Deadman who possesses Bronze Tiger and calls for help.

In other media

Television

• Tweedledum and Tweedledee made appearances on The Batman/Superman Hour episode "A Mad Mad Tea Party" voiced by Ted Knight. They appear as the henchmen of Mad Hatter alongside the other Alice in Wonderland-based henchmen.
• Tweedledum and Tweedledee appeared in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. They demonstrate a coordinated fighting style, working with each other, as when they bounce off each other and the prison walls to knock out a guard. In "Night of the Huntress!", they are shown as members of Babyface's gang. In "Legends of the Dark Mite!", they appear in Bat-Mite's fantasies alongside the other Batman villains. Tweedledum and Tweedledee were defeated by the real Batman who bowls them right into the other villains.
• Dumfree and Deever Tweed appear in the third season of Gotham, portrayed by Adam Petchel and Happy Anderson. This version of the characters are professional wrestlers who makes part of a group of boxers named the "Terrible Tweeds", alongside their 3 other unnamed brothers. In their debut episode "Mad City: New Day Rising", they are mind-controlled by Jervis Tetch as his muscles. They orchestrate an attack on the G.C.P.D. to recover Tetch's sister Alice which leaves 2 of the brothers dead and one arrested while Dumfree and Deever leave with Tetch and Alice. The one arrested is interrogated and gives up a location on Tetch upon Bullock threatening to burn the masks of his deceased brothers. When a shootout occurs, Alice falls to her death on a pike, much to Tetch's horror as he and the Tweeds escape.^[8] In the episode "Mad City: Follow the White Rabbit," Dumfree and Deever Tweed assist Jervis Tetch into abducting Leslie Thompkins and Valerie Vale where they held them at Leslie's apartment until Jim Gordon arrives where he must choose which one must die. When Gordon says "Kill Lee", Jervis shoots Valerie in the abdomen as he and the Tweeds escape.

Video games

• Though they don't appear in the game, the biography for Tweedledee and Tweedledum can be unlocked in Batman: Arkham Asylum by solving the riddle "Tweedledum and Tweedledee saw it, can you see it?" The bio is unlocked by scanning a see-saw with their beanies sitting on its seats in Arkham North.
• The Fables versions of Tweedledum and Tweedledee appear as secondary antagonists in the Telltale Games video game series The Wolf Among Us.

See also

• List of Batman Family enemies

References

External links

• Tweedledum and Tweedledee Bio