This is an in-universe article with out-of-universe material.
The Clock King was the criminal alias used by Morris Tetch, who was the brother of Jervis Tetch, The Mad Hatter, and who styled his M.O. to be "The Master Of Time Crimes." He usually committed these with "trick timepieces" which he had modified in some way.
History
The Clock King, on a visit to Gotham City from Star City (base of operations of the Green Arrow, his main enemy), arranged for one of his trick timepieces to be sold to the Harry Hummert Jewelry Shop, which catered to Gotham City's elite. Concealed inside the clock was a small TV camera which allowed the Clock King to observe everyone in the shop. Alerting his moll, Millie Second, and his group of henchmen, whom he called "Second Hands," he activated the tricky mechanism in the clock, which gassed all of the patrons unconscious. The Clock King and his Second Hands saw this as a golden opportunity to strip the shop clean of its valuables.
Bruce Wayne had been informed that Tetch was in town by a phone call he received from Oliver Queen, secretly the Green Arrow. (This phone call was neither shown nor mentioned in the episode.) Batman and Robin were alerted to the robbery by Commissioner Gordon and rushed to Hummert's shop, where they discovered that the clock had been bought at The Parkhurst Gallery. They quickly left the shop and sped for the gallery, where they discovered that the clock had been put up for auction by a Mister Kronos. The Bat-Duo deduced that it was the Clock King, incognito, and they made their next stop at Dunbar's Drive-in in search for one of the Clock King's former molls, Thelma Thymepiece.
Back at the Parkhurst Gallery, the Clock King disguised himself as a pop art expert named Progress Pigment and attempted to snatch a rare time-related painting under the very noses of the TV audience. After making a short speech to the crowd, Progress Pigment unveiled his latest sculpture, called Time Out Of Joint, which resembled the inside of a clock and when turned on emitted a potpourri of assembled sounds and noises as the mechanical parts moved about. Nobody suspected that the mechanical marvel was actually being used as a decoy to cover up the sound of a saber saw attached to its rear, which was cutting through the wall into the storage room filled with valuable paintings.
After the saw performed its diabolical duty, Progress Pigment clicked another switch on the sculpture, this one emitting a high-pitched noise so piercing that it knocked everyone out except for him and two of his Second Hands, Numbers Three and Five, who were protected by earmuffs. The Clock King entered the storage room and swiped the clock masterpiece therein.
Batman and Robin rushed to the museum, where they confronted the Clock King and his Second Hands as they departed with the painting. They proceeded to thrash Second Hands Three and Five, but they were stopped by the Clock King himself. Falsifying having sprained his wrist from clutching the heavy painting, he released a barrage of giant springs in the Bat-Duo's direction from yet another hidden compartment in his Time Out Of Joint contraption. The time it took the Bat-Duo trying to pry themselves free of the giant coils gave the Clock King and the Second Hands time to escape. The Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder analyzed the dust inside a wristwatch that the Clock King had dropped at the gallery, and used it to trace him and his Second Hands to their hideout at the deserted premises of Tick Tock Synthetic Rubies, Inc.
Their lack of awareness that Tetch had left the watch behind deliberately caused the Bat-Duo to fall into an "untimely" trap. Stripping them of their utility belts, he encased them in the lower chamber of a gigantic hourglass and left them to be buried under sand which would slowly fill the glass, threatening to smother them to death. To escape, they had to tip the hourglass on its side and roll it till its glass shell broke.
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Notes
- The Clock King was portrayed by Walter Slezak.
- The Clock King was better known in the DC Comics as one of the Green Arrow's long-standing enemies.
Trivia
- The Clock King was first mentioned in the Batman episode "The Minstrel's Shakedown," but not actually shown till "The Clock King's Crazy Crimes"/"The Clock King Gets Crowned."
Related
- 9 Appearances of Morris Tetch (Batman 1966 TV Series)
- 3 Images featuring Morris Tetch (Batman 1966 TV Series)
- 1 Quotations by or about Morris Tetch (Batman 1966 TV Series)
- Character Gallery: Morris Tetch (Batman 1966 TV Series)
Footnotes
 Batman Villain(s) |
 This character, team or organization, was primarily an enemy of the Batman in either the 1966-1968 television show, related 1966 film, tie-in comic book series or the animated movies. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Batman (1966 TV Series) Villains category." |