DC Comics seems to confirm that Batman’s most underappreciated villains in Gotham City, in canon, are none other than The Tweedles. They have a history in DC lore that goes as far back as Batman’s classic adventures from the 1940s. Dumfree Tweed and Deever Tweed are introduced initially as nearly identical cousins (not actual twins, as so many people think) who pattern their crimes after classic Lewis Carroll characters Tweedledee and Tweedledum, two Alice in Wonderland characters who they both happen to resemble, coincidentally.
Both in canon and in real life, The Tweedles often go overlooked and oft forgotten in the grand scheme of things, despite having quite the pedigree to their names. Their comic book history has seen the two serve as henchmen of The Joker (though Joker’s weirdest henchperson is still Daffy Duck), members of Lex Luthor’s Secret Society of Super-Villains, and had their own gang called The Wonderland Gang. The two have no real powers to speak of, unless one counts using their rotund bodies to bounce off the walls as a superpower.
Although silly in conception, The Tweedles’ relevance in actual DC canon is placed in a new perspective thanks to Batman Killing Time #5. In Tom King and David Marquez’s work, there is a war going on between goons who represent every criminal in Gotham City. While most villains have multiple representatives (a gang, in some cases), The Tweedles only have one sole fan representing them. The fan, Matthew Kahan, doesn’t put up much of a fight as he succumbs to a heart attack almost instantly, but his presence on behalf of The Tweedles highlights the actual impact these underrated Batman villains really had on Gotham City.
While readers may find The Tweedles easy to forget, the actual citizens of Gotham recognize the impact that the duo left on their city. Whether it’s being a part of a lead villain’s larger scheme or committing crimes themselves, it cannot be denied that the two left enough of an imprint on Gotham (however small that imprint might be) for Gothamites to remember. And, in the case of Matthew Kahan, an impact that at least one Gothamite admires. While Batman has many underrated villains, these two transcend the label of underrated.
This doesn’t mean that The Tweedles are any bigger of a threat than they already were – these are still mere goons who Batman usually disposes of with ease – but perhaps readers shouldn’t write them off so easily as if they were nothing more than comedy acts in the larger DC canon.
