The Jabberwock In Games

The Jabberwock makes another appearance in the third person psychological horror game American McGee’s Alice, released in December 2000. The game features a crueler version of Carroll’s dreamscape. The timeline plays out well after the original stories. A traumatized Alice returns to Wonderland after years of psychiatric treatment for the loss of her parents. There, she encounters the Jabberwock, who after his defeat by the hero–wielding the vorpal blade–has had several body parts replaced with mechanical prosthetics and has become the Queen of Hearts’s most powerful servant.

In 2006, the Jabberwock makes its–not too flattering–debut as a class of dangerous forest creatures in the seventh edition of Warhammer.

Though this iteration has wings, it doesn’t fly. That makes sense as the wings appear to small to actually provide enough lift for the creature’s bulk. Instead, they flap them when he gets excited, creating a characteristic noise. 

While this Jabberwock is a fearsome sight, you can still recognize the original artwork by Tenniel, with the elongated neck and characteristic pronounced incisor teeth. 

In October 2009, the Nintendo DS game A Witch’s Tale came out. Here, the Jabberwock takes the form of a jester, and again, he’s not quite as malicious as we usually see him. Instead, he is a whimsical character, leaving cards throughout the game for Lidell, the main character, to find. Though Alice plays a role in the game, she is the antagonist here, and the Jabberwock has thrown off his customary role as champion or antagonizing force.

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland,  came out in 2010, the same year as the film it was based on. As far as I could find, the portrayal was fairly consistent with how he appeared in the movie.

In 2011, Alice: Madness Returns was released. In this game, Alice is back in London where she is haunted by hallucinations though the Jabberwock himself does not get another reincarnation. Instead, Alice comes across Jabberwock figures who have a humanoid body but the heads strongly resembles the Jabberwock’s head as originally portrayed by Tenniel.

2011 also saw the advent of a robotic Jabberwock in Disney Universe, where he is the final antagonist of the Wonderland level.

The third iteration of Kingdom Hearts features Wonderland, where the Jabberwock is awakened as a main supporting antagonist, which you will face off against multiple times during the game. He looks more like a classic western dragon with a long snout, sharp teeth and claws.