The Mad Dog (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Mad Dog is a fictional character
in the DC Comics
universe
, associated with the Batman
mythos, created by writer Andersen Gabrych
and artist Ale Garza
. He first appeared as an enemy of Cassandra Cain
(then Batgirl
) in Batgirl #67 (October 2005).
s, was by the nature of his profession a very lonely man, and began thinking about what he would leave behind when he died. He wished for a "perfect child" - specifically a "perfect artisan of his craft".
Cain, was at this time, a member of Ra's al Ghul's
League of Assassins
. Ra's had created the League to be "The fang that protects his head", but he had grown tired of the uncertain loyalties of its members. When he learned of the theories Cain was developing to train a perfect killer, Ra's was intrigued, and supplied Cain with infant test subjects in the hopes of creating a new generation of assassins. This experiment proved disastrous; those infants that survived eventually turned on one another until only one boy remained. Ra's ordered one of his "Ubu" guards to kill the boy "like a mad dog". The guard, however, took pity on the abused
child, and secretly set him free in the woods instead. Cain and Ra's al Ghul did not know that the boy still lived, and Cain began a new experiment, raising his own daughter, Cassandra, to replace his earlier failures.
Ra's al Ghul's daughter, Nyssa Raatko
, did know that "The Mad Dog" had survived. Years later, after Ra's' death, she sought out The Mad Dog and made him a member of her new League of Assassins. She took him on as a protegé, telling him everything about the experiments, and about who he was intended to be.
Cassandra gathered evidence indicating that Lady Shiva
was her mother, and sought out Shiva to confirm this. At the time Shiva was the sensei
of Nyssa's new League. When Batgirl arrived she played a key role in the rebirth of Mr. Freeze
's wife Nora Fries
as the monstrous Lazara, and several League members died in the resulting chaos. Due to the conflict between their loyalty to Shiva and Nyssa and their near-worship of Batgirl as "The One Who is All" the League split at that point, with several members pledging themselves to Cassandra. Several more members of the League (including all the defectors except one) died when The Mad Dog went on a killing spree. The Mad Dog was successful in killing Batgirl (who gave her life to protect the last of the defected assassins), although she was able to knock him unconscious before perishing. Cassandra was quickly restored to life in a Lazarus Pit
by Shiva. The Mad Dog's fate is unknown.
. Batman reads about him in Amadeus Arkham
's diaries.
From an early age, Martin Hawkins is beaten and sexually abused
by his father. He grows up to become a disturbed man who cuts himself
in order to feel something. One day, as he is driven further into insanity, he claims to see visions of the Virgin Mary, who tells him to go out and kill women, destroying their faces and sexual organs in order to "stop the dirty sluts from spreading their disease".
He kills many women before he is finally caught and sentenced to stay in the State Psychiatric Hospital in Metropolis
. Once there, he is treated by Amadeus Arkham.
When Amadeus Arkham goes back to Gotham City
and set up Arkham Asylum
, he went back home on April 1 to find that Martin Hawkins had broken into his house, dismembered his wife Constance, and had rape
d his daughter before decapitating her and putting her head in a dollhouse.
This is one of the factors which eventually drives Amadeus Arkham insane.
Hawkins is quickly captured again and sentenced to Arkham Asylum, becoming one of its first patients, under the treatment of Amadeus Arkham himself. During their sessions, he matter-of-factly calls Arkham's daughter a slut and describes the rapes and murders in graphic detail. Dr. Arkham appears to take this all in his stride, and perseveres, earning praise from his colleagues for his dedication to mental health and rehabilitation.
On the anniversary of the murder, Amadeus straps Hawkins to a shock therapy
table and fatally electrocutes him, getting revenge for the deaths of his wife and daughter. Hawkins' death is treated as an accident.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
, associated with the Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
mythos, created by writer Andersen Gabrych
Andersen Gabrych
Andersen Gabrych is an American comic book writer and actor. He was born on September 4, 1973 in Tokyo, Japan and raised in Chico, California, where he was known as "Ande."-Biography:...
and artist Ale Garza
Ale Garza
Alé Garza is a penciler and comics artist. At the age of 18, he started working for Wildstorm, and quickly moved on to working with writers like Chris Claremont and Judd Winick, lending his art to titles like Gen¹³, Zero, EVE Protomecha, Batgirl and Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day...
. He first appeared as an enemy of Cassandra Cain
Cassandra Cain
Cassandra Cain is a fictional character in the , one of several who has served as Batgirl, an important character in the Batman comic book franchise. Cassandra's backstory presents her as the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva, she was deprived of speech and human contact during her...
(then Batgirl
Batgirl
Batgirl is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, frequently depicted as female counterparts to the superhero Batman...
) in Batgirl #67 (October 2005).
Fictional character biography
David Cain, one of the world's premier assassinAssassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
s, was by the nature of his profession a very lonely man, and began thinking about what he would leave behind when he died. He wished for a "perfect child" - specifically a "perfect artisan of his craft".
Cain, was at this time, a member of Ra's al Ghul's
Ra's al Ghul
Ra's al Ghul is a DC Comics supervillain and is one of Batman's greatest enemies. His name in Arabic has been translated in the comics as "The Demon's Head" and references the name of the star Algol. Created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams, he was introduced in Batman #232's...
League of Assassins
League of Assassins
The League of Assassins is a group of fictional comic book villains, an organization of killers formerly led by Ra's al Ghul, an enemy of Batman in the DC Comics Universe.-Doctor Ebeneezer Darrk:...
. Ra's had created the League to be "The fang that protects his head", but he had grown tired of the uncertain loyalties of its members. When he learned of the theories Cain was developing to train a perfect killer, Ra's was intrigued, and supplied Cain with infant test subjects in the hopes of creating a new generation of assassins. This experiment proved disastrous; those infants that survived eventually turned on one another until only one boy remained. Ra's ordered one of his "Ubu" guards to kill the boy "like a mad dog". The guard, however, took pity on the abused
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
child, and secretly set him free in the woods instead. Cain and Ra's al Ghul did not know that the boy still lived, and Cain began a new experiment, raising his own daughter, Cassandra, to replace his earlier failures.
Ra's al Ghul's daughter, Nyssa Raatko
Nyssa Raatko
Nyssa Raatko is a fictional character, an assassin and terrorist created by Greg Rucka and Klaus Janson for the Batman series of comic books.-Fictional character biography:...
, did know that "The Mad Dog" had survived. Years later, after Ra's' death, she sought out The Mad Dog and made him a member of her new League of Assassins. She took him on as a protegé, telling him everything about the experiments, and about who he was intended to be.
Cassandra gathered evidence indicating that Lady Shiva
Lady Shiva
Lady Shiva is a fictional comic book character co-created by Dennis O'Neil and Ric Estrada, and published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter as an antagonist of Richard Dragon...
was her mother, and sought out Shiva to confirm this. At the time Shiva was the sensei
Sensei
' is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another." In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher," and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority...
of Nyssa's new League. When Batgirl arrived she played a key role in the rebirth of Mr. Freeze
Mr. Freeze
Mr. Freeze, real name Dr. Victor Fries , is a DC Comics supervillain, an enemy of Batman. Created by Bob Kane, he first appeared in Batman #121 ....
's wife Nora Fries
Nora Fries
Nora Fries is a fictional character from DC Comics and a supervillainess enemy of Batman known as Lazara. She is the wife of villain Mr. Freeze, and is introduced in Batman: The Animated Series.-History on Batman: The Animated Series:...
as the monstrous Lazara, and several League members died in the resulting chaos. Due to the conflict between their loyalty to Shiva and Nyssa and their near-worship of Batgirl as "The One Who is All" the League split at that point, with several members pledging themselves to Cassandra. Several more members of the League (including all the defectors except one) died when The Mad Dog went on a killing spree. The Mad Dog was successful in killing Batgirl (who gave her life to protect the last of the defected assassins), although she was able to knock him unconscious before perishing. Cassandra was quickly restored to life in a Lazarus Pit
Lazarus Pit
A Lazarus Pit is a fictional natural phenomenon in the . They are primarily found in the Batman titles and are commonly used by Ra's al Ghul for their restorative powers.-Fictional history:...
by Shiva. The Mad Dog's fate is unknown.
Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins
A serial killer named Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins is featured in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious EarthArkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is a Batman graphic novel written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Dave McKean. It was originally published in the United States in both hardcover and softcover editions by DC Comics in 1989...
. Batman reads about him in Amadeus Arkham
Amadeus Arkham
Amadeus Arkham is a fictional character in DC Comics' Batman comic books, in which he was the founder of Arkham Asylum, an institution for the criminally insane. He debuted in 1989 in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. The story is interspersed with flashbacks to Arkham founder...
's diaries.
From an early age, Martin Hawkins is beaten and sexually abused
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
by his father. He grows up to become a disturbed man who cuts himself
Self-harm
Self-harm or deliberate self-harm includes self-injury and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology...
in order to feel something. One day, as he is driven further into insanity, he claims to see visions of the Virgin Mary, who tells him to go out and kill women, destroying their faces and sexual organs in order to "stop the dirty sluts from spreading their disease".
He kills many women before he is finally caught and sentenced to stay in the State Psychiatric Hospital in Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
. Once there, he is treated by Amadeus Arkham.
When Amadeus Arkham goes back to Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
and set up Arkham Asylum
Arkham Asylum
The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, commonly referred to simply as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital in the DC Comics Universe, usually appearing in stories featuring Batman...
, he went back home on April 1 to find that Martin Hawkins had broken into his house, dismembered his wife Constance, and had rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d his daughter before decapitating her and putting her head in a dollhouse.
This is one of the factors which eventually drives Amadeus Arkham insane.
Hawkins is quickly captured again and sentenced to Arkham Asylum, becoming one of its first patients, under the treatment of Amadeus Arkham himself. During their sessions, he matter-of-factly calls Arkham's daughter a slut and describes the rapes and murders in graphic detail. Dr. Arkham appears to take this all in his stride, and perseveres, earning praise from his colleagues for his dedication to mental health and rehabilitation.
On the anniversary of the murder, Amadeus straps Hawkins to a shock therapy
Shock therapy
Shock therapy or shock treatment may refer to:* A form of aversion therapy in which an electric shock is used as a negative stimulus* Electroconvulsive therapy, or electroshock, a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anaesthetized patients for therapeutic effect*...
table and fatally electrocutes him, getting revenge for the deaths of his wife and daughter. Hawkins' death is treated as an accident.
Television
- In The New Batman AdventuresThe New Batman AdventuresThe New Batman Adventures is the successor to Batman: The Animated Series produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Although bearing different character designs and animation styles, both shows take place in the same continuity, with TNBA set two years after BTAS. The series aired on The WB from...
, the episode "Holiday Knights" began the second story with Harvey BullockHarvey Bullock (comics)Harvey Bullock is a fictional character from DC Comics' Batman titles.-Fictional character biography:Prior to the 1984-85 DC maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths, Bullock is a crooked police detective under instructions from Gotham City's Mayor Hamilton Hill to sabotage Commissioner Gordon's career...
on a stake-out posing as a Santa ClausSanta ClausSanta Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
at the mall to identify a shoplifter, who turned out to be ClayfaceClayfaceClayface is an alias used by several DC Comics fictional characters, most of them possessing claylike bodies and shape-shifting abilities. All of them have been enemies of Batman.-Publication history:...
. A girl named Mary McSweeney asks him for her father to be home on Christmas Eve. Bullock finds out at her father was Mike McSweeney, who happened to be known as Mad Dog. He reveals to Renee MontoyaRenee MontoyaRenee Montoya is a fictional comic book character published by DC Comics. The character was initially created for Batman: The Animated Series, and was preemptively introduced into mainstream comics before the airing of her animated debut in 1992....
that he sent Mary's father to jail months ago and sugarcoats the problem by explaining to Mary that sometimes not even Santa ClausSanta ClausSanta Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
can make every wish come true. However, he puts the smile back on her face by giving her $20 dollars to buy presents. When she asks if she can buy her daddy one he approves, as long as it's not a hack saw.
Video games
- Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins is mentioned in Batman: Arkham AsylumBatman: Arkham AsylumBatman: Arkham Asylum is a 2009 action-adventure stealth video game based on DC Comics' Batman developed for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. It was developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Eidos Interactive in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment...
. Batman finds several tablets called the "Chronicles of Arkham" which tells the history of the AsylumArkham AsylumThe Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, commonly referred to simply as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital in the DC Comics Universe, usually appearing in stories featuring Batman...
(narrated by the "spirit" of its founder Amadeus Arkham) and how his wife and child were murdered by Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins. Also, a bench (dedicated to Amadeus' family) in the flooded corridors of the Botanical Gardens has Mad Dog's named etched over the inscription plate, and is the answer to one of The Riddler's riddles. The memorial statue of Amadeus' wife overlooking the bench has been vandalised, with its head by its feet - a twisted homage to Mad Dog's murder of Amadeus' young daughter. The Chronicles of Arkham describe an incident when Mad Dog, about to be released into the public once again, uses the pen he is given to sign his release form to kill Amadeus's secretary, after which he is beaten by the guards. Amadeus later states he was killed in an 'accident' (exactly what happened is never made clear), which is the public retelling of his death.
External links
- Mad Dog at Batman Wiki
- Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins at Batman Wiki