Which McDonald's character was created as a thief who stole hamburgers?

The Hamburglar was created as a McDonald's character who stole hamburgers.

The character became part of the McDonaldland advertising world and was defined by his attempts to take hamburgers from McDonald's characters. Early versions had a more sinister appearance, including a black mask and striped clothing. McDonald's later redesigned him as a smaller, more child-friendly figure.

The Hamburglar's role gave commercials a simple comic conflict: he wanted the food, while Ronald McDonald and the other characters tried to stop him. This made the mascot easy for children to recognize and gave McDonald's advertising a recurring story pattern.

Captain Crook is a common mix-up because he also had a mischievous, food-related role in McDonaldland. Captain Crook was associated with Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, while the Hamburglar's defining target was hamburgers.