The Weeper is the name of two comic book supervillains originally published by Fawcett Comics and today owned by DC Comics. The original Weeper was Mortimer Gloom who was an enemy of Bulletman and Bulletgirl. The second Weeper is his son who is also an enemy of Bulletman and Bulletgirl.
Weeper made his animated debut in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Tim Conway while an unnamed Weeper debuted on the fourth season of The Flash, portrayed by Matt Afonso.
Publication history
The original Weeper first appeared in Master Comics #23 in February 1942. The arch-foe of Bulletman and Bulletgirl, the Weeper is capable of the most brutal of murders, but sheds tears for his victims; he hates to see people happy but feels bad after he hurts them. The Weeper wears a blue opera cape, a top hat, and carries a small walking stick and tear gas bombs. He also drives a hearse and is accompanied by his henchmen called the Bittermen.
Fictional character biography
Mortimer Gloom
Formerly known as the "Crying Clown" or "Weeping Willie," Mortimer Gloom is fired for dishonesty from his work as a circus performer. Sometime afterward, he commits several acts of revenge. He then takes on the name "the Weeper". The Weeper sends letters and visits a number of families telling them tragic news. He tells one family their son has died in the war. In another family, the father is fired from his job after years of dutiful service. In yet another family, he tells the husband his business has burned to the ground. Later, the families discover that the Weeper has lied to them. The Weeper tells these lies so he could either case the families' homes for robbery or they would lead him to where they hid their valuable possessions. The Weeper puts an ad in the paper looking for men who feel life has given them a raw deal. A lot of men reply to the ad. He interviews them all and picks ten of the saddest men. He calls them the Bittermen. The Weeper, along with the Bittermen, sets out to make the lives of other people very unhappy. They start by riding through a parade in a hearse and tossing tear gas into the crowd. This causes a stampede which kills a great many people. The Weeper drives through the street littered with dead bodies, weeping at that horrible tragedy. The Weeper and the Bittermen commit a series of ghastly acts which attracts the attention of Bulletman and Bulletgirl. He succeeds in capturing Bulletgirl. However, Bulletman is able to save her and the Weeper is apparently drowned.
Sometime after being defeated by Bulletman and Bulletgirl, the Weeper returns and looks to gather his Bittermen back together. One of them refuses, saying he makes enough money now to choke a horse and he is very happy. The Weeper replies saying he hates to hear that people are happy. The next day, the man is found dead after having choked on his wad of money. The Weeper then shows his other Bittermen the newspaper account of what has happened. Fearing for their lives, they join his group again. The Weeper is later betrayed by one of them where he told Bulletman and Bulletgirl what happened.