Editing Black Hat

{{Infobox character
| image      = BlackHat_head.png
| imagesize  = 200px
| caption    = '
| first_appearance = [[29: Hitler]]
}}
:''For a list of comics, see [[:Category:Comics featuring Black Hat|Comics featuring Black Hat]].''
:''For Black Hat's girlfriend, see [[Danish]].''

'''Black Hat''' is a [[stick figure]] character in [[xkcd]]. He is distinguished by his eponymous black hat, and, unlike other xkcd characters, he always represents the same character in every comic. In [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_zwyJ6IYR0#t=1451 his talk at Dartmouth], [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] discusses his why he wanted to create a separate "asshole" character in his comics, or "Classhole", a term coined by his friend Beth and used in [[72: Classhole]]. In his first appearance, [[29: Hitler]], Black Hat wore a taller top-hat style hat, that quickly evolved to have the current shape and style of a {{w|pork pie hat}}, already used in [[45: Schrodinger]].

==Name==
It is possible that Black Hat has a name that has been used in the actual webcomic, as opposed to the name "Black Hat." In the title texts of [[29: Hitler]] and [[493: Actuarial]], Black Hat is referred to as "the hat guy" and "Hat guy" respectively. In [[1139: Rubber and Glue]] a young [[Hairy]] also gave him the nickname "Hatboy". These early characters may also be a different persona.

It's not verified that Black Hat is a reference to {{w|Black hat hacking}}, but the character's personality is in line with the idea of a "black hat hacker" from the software engineering culture that [[Randall|Randall's]] comics are written for. Black Hat speaks from a place of casual power and safety, living in the luxury that many early hobby hackers found by being ahead of the tech curve or even actually hacking financial systems, hatching evil schemes often for no reason other than to cause chaos or go against the societal norms. 

As stated in the title text of [[29: Hitler]], "the hat guy" is based on a character named Aram from the now defunct webcomic [http://www.meninhats.com/ ''Men in Hats'']. Like Black Hat, Aram seems to have frequently made judgmental, insulting, or controversial comments in a very emotionless manner. This may also have been the comic where Black Hat truly comes into existence for the first time. 

==Characteristics==
He almost always wears his hat, except in the [[:Category:Journal|"Journal" series]] and other comics. Judging by [[1139: Rubber and Glue]] and [[1753: Thumb War]], he has worn the hat since he was a child. He has short hair, as shown in the [[:Category:Journal|"Journal" series]], [[412: Startled]], and [[1401: New]].

He used to work alone; some few times helped by [[Cueball]]. But he has found a female counterpart and partner in [[Danish]], his girlfriend.

While no definite reason is given for how he became so sadistic, in [[792: Password Reuse]] Black Hat says "since March of 1997 I don't really believe in anything" suggesting some traumatic experience made him this way. Some black hat hackers are simply so detached from the real world they don't understand that others suffer; others may have led rough lives and been through crime rings as a sole way to find community. In [[1139: Rubber and Glue]], the boys making fun of Black Hat as a child appear to be in elementary school based on one calling for his mom, so Black Hat probably is too. He is already sadistic by this point so the event would have happened when he was quite young; experiencing it so early would explain how the mystery event could have reshaped his entire personality. Unfortunately, no details are ever given.

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[[Category:Characters]]
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