Tweedledum and Tweedledee (comics)

Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Tweedledum and Tweedledee debut in Detective Comics #74
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #74 (April 1943)
Created by	Bob Kane Don Cameron Jerry Robinson
In-story information
Alter ego	Dumfree and Deever Tweed
Team affiliations	Society of Super Villains Wonderland Gang
Notable aliases	Tweedledee and Tweedledum
Abilities	None

For the Alice in Wonderland characters, see Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Dumfree and Deever Tweed) are fictional supervillains that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as enemies of Batman. The characters first appeared in Detective Comics #74 (April 1943), and were created by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson and Don Cameron.

History

Lazy and overweight, Tweedledum and Tweedledee have no fighting skills at all. They rely on their cunning and ruthless strategies in order to commit crimes. Dumfree 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 Caroll'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 resemblence 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.

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 Dumfree Tweed had taken his place.

Recently in Detective Comics #841 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 notority. 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 some imprisonment the Tweeds reformed the Wonderland Gang with the Walrus and the Carpenter but were quickly apprehended by Batman, Robin and Nightwing.

Other media

Television

• Tweedledum and Tweedledee made appearances on The Batman/Superman Hour as villains.

• The Tweeds appeared as the Joker's henchmen in Batman: The Animated Series in the episode "Joker's Favor". This version are just twin thugs.

• A similar duo named Punch and Judy appeared in The Batman.

• Tweedledum and Tweedledee appeared in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Night of the Huntress." This version of Tweedledum and Tweedledee are members of Babyface's gang. Babyface springs them, Skeleton Keyes, Polecat Perkins, and Hammer Toes from Blackgate Prison. They appear to be very coordinated with each other when fighting as seen when they bounce off each other and the prison walls to knock out a guard. In "Legends of the Dark Mite," Tweedledum and Tweedledee appear in Bat-Mite's fantasy alongside the other Batman villains.

Miscellaneous

Interestingly, aside from an animated appearance on The Batman/Superman Hour and a joint appearance in Detective Comics #841 (April 2008), they have no affiliation with the the Mad Hatter, another Wonderland-themed villain.

See also

• List of Batman Family enemies

External links

• Tweedledum and Tweedledee Bio