Despite his oriental demeanour, the man known as Doctor Tzin-Tzin was actually an American orphan found years ago by Chinese bandits and raised by them. While his companions studied martial arts, Tzin-Tzin devoted himself to the mastery of the ancient art of hypnotic illusion until he became its greatest practitioner.

Thus armed, Tzin-Tzin returned to America, where he rose through the ranks of the outlaw organisation called the Tong until he became one of America's greatest crimelords. He robbed the Western world in grand style until he turned his sights on Gotham City and found himself opposed by Batman and Robin. After several encounters, Tzin-Tzin was captured by the dynamic duo and sent to prison.

Escaping from prison several years later, Tzin-Tzin attempted to rejoin the Tong, but they rejected him because he had lost face at the hands of Batman. Seeking revenge against the caped crusader, Tzin-Tzin allied himself with the League of Assassins and attempted to drive Batman mad before slaying him. But again the masked manhunter outwitted Tzin-Tzin and the criminal mastermind barely managed to escape.

Several more years elapsed until Tzin-Tzin resurfaced, this time in San Fransisco, where he attempted to build a new order by hypnotically controlling large numbers of the city's children. This time his efforts were thwarted by Supergirl and a local private detective called Johnny Double. When cornered by these heroes and the police, Tzin-Tzin chose to throw himself into San Fransisco Bay rather than return to prison.