Tweedledum and Tweedledee (DC)

Deever and Dumfree Tweed (also known as Tweedledum and Tweedledee) are minor antagonists from the DC Comics universe and the Batman franchise.

They are identical cousins, but they are often passed as identical twins. Much like the Mad Hatter, they are both overly obsessed with the book Alice in Wonderland. They always work together, whatever they do. 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.

History[]

Modern Age[]

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.

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

After some imprisonment, the Tweeds reformed the Wonderland Gang with The Walrus and the Carpenter but were quickly apprehended by Batman, Robin and Nightwing. During the Salvation Run storyline, Tweedledum and Tweedledee ended up deported to another planet where the other villains rounded up were sent to. Tweedledum and Tweedledee were seen being released by Hush, who was masquerading as Bruce Wayne.

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. 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.

Other Media[]

Television[]

The Batman/Superman Hour[]

Tweedledum and Tweedledee made appearances in the episode called "A Mad Mad Tea Party", both played by Ted Knight. They appear as the henchmen of Mad Hatter alongside the other Alice in Wonderland-based henchmen. Batman and Robin eventually capture them and use the dirt on their shoes to locate the Hatter's base.

Batman the Brave and the Bold[]

Main article: Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Batman: The Brave and the Bold)

The duo first appears in the episode Night of Huntress as part of Baby Face's gang. When the gang raids warehouse X they steal two identical mini attack helicopters which they use to attack Huntress but are defeated by Blue Beetle with the rest of the gang. They later make cameos in the episodes "Legends of the Dark Mite" and "Mayhem of the Music Meister".

One of the Tweeds also makes a cameo in the movie based off of the series titled Scooby-Doo & Batman: The Brave and the Bold, during the cafeteria fight.

Gotham[]

Main article: Deever & Dumfree Tweed

The Tweedle brothers appear in the third season of Gotham, played by Adam Petchel and Happy Anderson. These versions of the characters are five different brothers and are professional wrestlers named the "Terrible Tweeds". In their debut episode "New Day Rising", they are mind-controlled by Jervis Tetch as his muscle. They orchestrate an attack on the G.C.P.D. to recover Tetch's sister Alice which leaves two of the brothers dead, one arrested, and the other two, Dumfree and Deever, leave with Tetch and Alice. The one arrested is interrogated and gives up a location on Tetch. When a shootout occurs, Alice falls to her death on a pike, much to Tetch's horror, and Tetch and the Tweeds escape.

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. In the episode "Blood Rush," the Tweeds break into a morgue in Gotham City. They steal the corpse of Alice Tetch and Tetch extracts her blood, planning to poison the elite of Gotham with it. However, while they plan to do so during Founder's Dinner, they are surprised by the GCPD. The Tweeds and Tetch are arrested and all three are incarcarated at Arkham Asylum.

Videogames[]

Batman: Arkham Asylum[]

Tweedledum and Tweedledee don't appear in the game Batman: Arkham Asylum, apart from an image of them in their bio. One of the Riddler's riddles revolves around them. They have an entry in the Character Bios. Their profile states: Cousins with an uncanny resemblance to each other, Deever and Dumfree Tweed both shared criminal leanings and a fixation on Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland. Teaming up, they’ve modeled themselves after Tweedledum and Tweedledee from that book, planning often outrageous, absurdist schemes to trap the Batman.

Later, in the tie-in comics of Arkham Knight, it is implied that they were killed by Arkham Knight for their failure.

Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure[]

Tweedledum and Tweedledee appear as playable characters in the game, alongside many other DC characters.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Tweedledum's identity has been changed a couple of times. The original Tweedledum was Dumbfrey Tweed who was eventually killed and replaced by his brother Dumson Tweed. In the New 52 continuity, the original Dum was revived as Dumpson Tweed, who is also known as Dumfree Tweed. The name Dumfree Tweed is also used for other versions of Tweedledum in different media.

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