Humpty Dumpty

HUMPTY DUMPTY

Real Name: Humphrey Dumpler

Class: Human

Occupation: Mental patient, shoemaker

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: unnamed grandmother (deceased), unnamed parents (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Gotham City

First Appearance: Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #2 (August, 2003)

Powers: Humpty Dumpty was skilled at putting broken things back together again. He was an obese, but imposing figure.

History: (Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #3 (fb)) - Dumpler was a happy child with loving parents, but tragedy struck early and often. Their home was demolished due to a construction crew condemning the wrong house, his puppy was run over by an ice cream truck, and his parents died on Christmas in a Christmas tree incident. He was sent to live with his grandmother, who abused him and worked him to the bone as a cobbler. Dumpler started to crack, and when he tried to catch a train into into the city to buy bootlace it passed his stop, and he went off the deep end. He wondered why his life was filled with horror, but had no answers. He knew libraries had answers, so he took out every book he could find on trains, and after finding the train that missed his stop he took the brakes apart and pout them back together again. The next day the train's brakes failed, and almost everyone aboard was maimed or crippled after it went off the rails. Dumpler saw no connection with his handiwork, and thought he was lucky not to be aboard the train. He fixed elevators, traffic lights and other things that seemed not to be working, causing disaster and tragedy each time. He fixed an ATM machine that ate his card, and ATMS everywhere started spewing money. He was caught on camera, and dubbed Humpty Dumpty, Super Saboteur by the press. With a heavy heart he finally realized what he'd been doing had hurt people, and decided to leave Gotham on a boat, buying the ticket with his life's savings. He was too excited to sleep, and watched the clock tower outside his window, but he missed his boat because the clock was an hour fast. He tried fixing the clock, but one of the hands sprang off, leading to a catastrophe that toppled the giant-size advertisements and toys that littered the Gotham City skyline. Humpty slumped down, upset because those giant novelties gave Gotham a storybook feel that he always loved. Batgirl had been after him, and when she appeared he fell off the clock tower. She swung from a cable to save him, but pulled both her arms out of their sockets. She was afraid of what he'd do to her, but he simply put her joints back into place. He explained why he did what he did, and led her to his home to show her one last thing he tried to fix. He wanted to fix his grandmother's evil, so he took her apart, and put her back together again. The disturbed young man was sent to Arkham Asylum.

(Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #2-4) - Crooked businessman Walter "Great White Shark" played the system, and was found not guilty by reason of insanity after a trial for defauding people out of their life's savings. Shark found that he was a little fish in Arkham, and the inmates delighted in tormenting him. Junkyard Dog helped Death Rattle do a shakedown on White. The Dog found shredded transcripts of White's therapy sessions, and learned that he'd driven his accountant Wilson to suicide. Death Rattle, who claimed to talk to the dead, said Milton wanted him dead, but Humpty Dumpty, who wanted to "fix" White exposed Dog and Death Rattle's scheme. Security was tightened at Arkham, and Dumpty put back together broken things to make sure they were whole, and no potential weapons were among the population. Dumpty had always been a model prisoner, so Arkham agreed to let him have White as a cellmate. White asked Humpty Dumpty about his life's story, Dumpty told it as a dark fairy tale, which is how he saw reality. Dumpty said White was the worst person he'd ever met, and if he could fix him he could fix anything. Jane Doe, in the identity of Arkham guard Wrigley, helped free her fellow inmates, and causing a massive riot. Dumpty was sound asleep through the chaos, and Doe dragged Great White away with her.

(Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #5, 6) - Doe showed White the skinsuit she made to impersonate him, and locked him in Mr. Freeze's cell so he'd freeze to death. She prepared to leave Arkham during the madness of the Skarva, demons unleashed by Doodlebug, rampaging in the asylum, but Dumpty, who'd finally woken up, spotted her. He was fooled by her White skinsuit, and told her not to worry, everything would be okay now that they were together again. Doe fled, from him, losing part of her skinsuit in the process. White, now horribly mutilated by Doe and calling himself Great White Shark again, convinced Dumpty to help him scope out what Doodlebug had done to Arkham. Dumpty was concerned with his new look, but Shark said sometimes you had to break things to fix them. The Skarva wanted to return to Hell, and Doodlebug opened a portal to Hell summoning their master Cthuga. The Skarva couldn't broker their own deal, because they couldn't speak in rhyme, fashionable for higher demons like Cthuga, so Shark offered Dumpty's service in exchange for them going easy on him when he inevitably went to Hell. Shark and Dumpty's gambit were successful, and all the demons returned to Hell. Shark's connections and money made him the new king of Arkham, getting resources for inmates on the outside in exchange for a cut of the crimes they committed. White his new look and attitude, and Humpty Dumpty at his side, he'd earned the respect and fear of Arkham

Comments: Created by Dan Slott & Ryan Sook.