| Mad Hatter | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Provenance | Wonderland |
| Physical description | |
| Gender | Male |
| Personal information | |
| Allies | Alice Liddell, White Rabbit (formerly), Dormouse (formerly), March Hare (formerly) |
| Enemies | Alice Liddell (formerly), Dormouse, March Hare, Dollmaker |
| Occupation | Mechanic |
| Further information | |
| Voiced by | * Andrew Chaikin [AMA] |
| Image gallery (22) | |
| “ | The law is just, just a whisper away. A way whom to wonder, wonder who. Who knows how to measure rules? With a ruler! Cruel rules, myehh... |
” |
The Mad Hatter remains a fanatic of time, but is no longer the tea party-loving hatter that he was during Alice Liddell's last visit to Wonderland. He has finally snapped, and became a half-organic, half-metallic rendition of his former self.
Biography
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Hatter during his tea party.
The Hatter explained to Alice that he and the March Hare were always having tea because, when he tried to sing for the Queen of Hearts at her celebration, she sentenced him to death for "murdering the time." However, he escaped decapitation.
In retaliation, Time (referred to as a "Him") halted himself in respect to the Hatter, keeping him and the March Hare stuck at 6:00 forever. The tea party, when Alice arrived, was characterized by switching places around the table at any given time; making short, personal remarks; asking unanswerable riddles; and reciting nonsensical poetry, all of which eventually drove Alice away.
He appeared again as a witness at the Knave of Hearts' trial, where the Queen appeared to recognize him as the singer she sentenced to death. The King also cautioned him not to be nervous or he will be "executed on the spot."
Through the Looking-Glass
Under the name of "Hatta," the Mad Hatter was in trouble with the law once again. He was, however, not necessarily guilty as the White Queen explained that the subjects were quite often punished before they commit a crime, rather than after, and sometimes they did not even commit it at all. He was also mentioned as one of the White King's messengers along with March Hare as "Haiga."
American McGee's Alice
The Hatter in a frenzy after seeing the fire.
Before the fire began, the Hatter was holding a tea party with Alice and her other Wonderland friends. When the added chapter "Smoke and Fire" began in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Hatter screamed in alarm when a fire broke out and the White Rabbit screamed that "[they] must save Alice". The Mad Hatter's cries roused Alice from her dream so that she could survive the fire.[4]
Later, Alice and the White Rabbit were seeking out the Caterpillar in Wonderland Woods when the Mad Hatter killed the Rabbit, crushing him flat beneath his foot as both he and Alice were still shrunken down at this time.[5] This action seems to be intentional and not accidental, as the Mad Hatter appears to be pressing his foot. The Mad Hatter was also presumably responsible for having repaired the Jabberwock by replacing body parts with metal and machinery, having been left drastically disfigured by the Vorpal Blade.[6]
Hatter appearing behind Alice.
Once the Red King was defeated, the Mad Hatter appeared behind Alice and knocked her out, transporting her to a mad funhouse that was a reminiscent of Rutledge Asylum.[7] Shortly after defeating the Tweedles, the Hatter revealed himself and talked to Alice, citing several of her fears when she stated that she feared nothing. He told her that it might be avoided, causing her to question what he meant before the floor crumbled around her and sent her falling into Crazed Clockwork.[3]
Along the way, she discovered the imprisoned Dormouse, March Hare, and Gryphon, who told her that the Hatter had gone mad and planned to turn the inhabitants into automatons or kill them in the process, as well as his habit of checking on his experiments at six o' clock. Alice messed up with the clock's gears in order to make "six come early."[8] Alice eventually defeated him in his lair and he stopped moving when his head exploded.[9] He was later resurrected after the Queen of Hearts was destroyed.[10]
Alice: Madness Returns
The Mad Hatter had been ironically torn apart at the hands of his former victims, the March Hare and the Dormouse. Alice found his head and torso in the garbage dump of his domain. She offered to collect the rest of his limbs in exchange for help.[11]
The Mad Hatter freed by Alice.
After successfully retrieving his arms and legs, Hatter became delighted, but refused to reveal any information and resorted to jabbering nonsense when Alice asked him about the Infernal Train. He did, however, led her to the main part of the factory, where the Train was built.
After the Train passed through, the Dormouse and Hare appeared in a huge imposing looking mecha, taunting the pair and promising to destroy them. The Hatter became furious with them for their part in Alice's potential downfall by unleashing the Train. The two new leaders responded to his scolding by snatching him up with a hook. Hatter was able to free himself and destroy the mech within seconds by dropping a giant teapot on it. The weight of the teapot caused March Hare and Dormouse's deaths.
The Mad Hatter offering tea to a dead March Hare.
The severity of Hatter's actions finally reached him and he suffered another break with reality. He cradled his dead friends in his arms and told them that all he wanted was another tea party as his domain crumbles around him. He wrapped them both in his arms and offered them tea. Alice persistently demanded information about the Train, but Hatter does not answer her and only told her to talk to the Mock Turtle just seconds before the roof fell and crushed him.[2]
Much like the White Rabbit, the Hatter appears after his death in Wonderland in the Radula Room Endurance Challenges.
The Hatter later appeared on the Infernal Train, criticizing Alice for her methods of solving her problems, reminiscing about a party he had with Hare and Dormouse before they turned on him. He remarked that insanity was no excuse for forgetting, and told Alice that he had tried to forget what Alice had done, but was unsuccessful.[12]
Appearance
American McGee's Alice
The portrait of Hatter in Castle Keep.
The Hatter had turned into a tall, long-limbed cyborg. He was green-skinned, with a large nose and ears, tiny eyes, and his teeth bore an overbite. His body was made out of metal and wood, and he had a rusted cog sticking out of his back. His clothes consisted of a loose straightjacket, black trousers, and dress shoes with spats. He also wore a large black-and-white checkerboard top hat, covered in alchemy symbols and a few drops of blood.
Alice: Madness Returns
The Hatter retains his appearance although he receives several cuts and bruises on his face and ear and his top hat had several holes on it. He also carries a long black staff tipped with a white porciline teapot.
Personality
The Mad Hatter is a psychopath, literally gone "mad" (or perhaps madder than ever) and obsessed with time and clockworks, who considers himself to be a genius. He invents mechanical devices, often evidently using the bodies of living organisms for the base of his inventions, as he plans to do to all of Wonderland's inhabitants.
His automaton victims include the March Hare, the Dormouse, and countless Insane Children taken from the Hatter's asylum; the Hatter himself is also mostly mechanical, as revealed in the conclusion of his battle with Alice when his body short-circuits and his head explodes.
Trivia
- The Hatter is referenced to in the casebook of Alice's doctor, Dr. Wilson. The asylum's superintendent is described with similar traits as the Hatter, and his two nephews are orderlies who torment Alice - a reference to the Hatter's henchmen, the Tweedles.[13] Despite his villainous role in the game, it is ironically the Hatter who urges Alice to flee her burning home at the start of the game. He is revived when Alice regains her sanity, apparently regaining his own as well or at least as much as he had to begin with. The Hatter's head is later a part of the inside of the Queen of Hearts' mouth, and inside his mouth is Alice's head, meaning that the Queen is also a part of the Hatter's insanity as well as Alice's.
- His post-death appearance in the Infernal Train is analogous to that of the Insane Child Leader, in a way that he has appeared in a de-powered form to guide Alice towards the truth.
- In Alice: Madness Returns, it shows that he is able to disconnect his head and limbs from his torso, and still be able to live, talk and think.[11]
- Some of the symbols on Hatter's hat are present on most of Alice's dresses.
- Despite his actions and theirs, he still saw Dormouse and March Hare as friends and all he wanted was "another Tea Party," showing he wished things could go back to the way they had been before the Ruin set in.[2]
- In American McGee's Alice, one attack sound is labelled "attack_bitchslap" while another is labelled "stomp_yo_ass".[14]
- Alice can wear a dress based on the Mad Hatter as DLC in Madness Returns.
References
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