Killer Croc
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| Killer Croc | |
 Killer Croc by Eric Powell |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #523 (February 1983) |
| Created by | Gerry Conway Gene Colan |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Waylon Jones |
| Team affiliations | Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Notable aliases | Croc, King Croc |
| Abilities | - Super human strength, speed, reflexes, and agility - Very durable, scale-like skin and superior stamina - Sharp claws and teeth - Healing factor - Enhanced senses - Experienced alligator wrestler |
Killer Croc (Waylon Jones) is a fictional character in the DC universe, an enemy of Batman. Created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Gene Colan, he first appeared in Detective Comics #523 (February 1983).
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Waylon Jones is born with a medical condition that caused him to grow progressively more like a crocodile. In the comics his intelligence level has varied from competent schemer to berserk monster.
In his original appearances, he resembled a powerfully-built man covered entirely in green scales. However, his disease has slowly robbed him of all identifiable human traits. In his most recent appearances, he has an enlongated snout and tail.
Once he was a cocaine/arms dealer until foiled by Nightwing and Robin.
In Batman issue 489, Killer Croc attacked a shopping mall where Batman and Robin arrived later. After Killer Croc received several punches, Batman got distracted by an image of Bane, Killer grabbed Batman and tried to break his back. Robin kicked Killer Croc right near Bane and Bane broke Killer Croc's arms. He was then put back into Arkham. However, it should be noted that Jean-Paul Valley was standing in for Bruce Wayne as Batman in this issue.
When Bane helped get everyone out of Arkham in the Knightfall saga, Killer Croc went to get revenge on Bane. While in the sewers, he smelled Bane and went after him but only found Robin. Bane then attacked him but the ledge they were standing on broke and the three fell into the sewers. The fight ended up as a draw.
In a storyline that ran in Batman issues 521 and 522, Killer Croc is summoned by a paranormal force to break out of Arkham Asylum and make his way to the Louisiana swamps. Batman follows him there only to find that the mysterious force is actually the Swamp Thing, who offers Croc a place in the swampland where he can finally give in to his animal side and live free from human persecution.
Killer Croc has appeared in both the Hush storyline and its chronological follow up, Broken City. In the former, he is infected with a virus that greatly increases the rate of his devolution.
In 2005's Detective Comics #810, Killer Croc attempts to cure his condition. When the doctor fails, Croc devours her.
In Infinite Crisis, Croc became a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains.
[edit] One Year Later
In the One Year Later storyline, Killer Croc is discovered feeding on the remains of Orca. He next shows up in Countdown #50 in Arkham. He breaks free from his shackles and attempts to kill Jimmy Olsen, who uses elastic powers to escape. Croc is then subdued.
He is later seen among the exiled Supervillains in Salvation Run.
In DC Universe #0 he can seen as the member of Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Killer Croc is afflicted with what seems to be some form of regressive atavism, meaning he has inherited some of the traits of ancestral species of the human race. His skin has hardened to the point where it is invulnerable to most forms of abrasion and even high caliber weapons fired from a distance. He possesses super strength, able to rip a large bank vault door right off its hinges with ease. He has superhuman regenerative powers, able to heal even lost limbs.
Over time the primal reptilian part of his brain gains more control of his psyche. He possesses superhuman reflexes and speed. Croc also possesses the superior senses and underwater capabilities of his namesake.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Batman: The Animated Series
Killer Croc appears in several episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Aron Kincaid. Croc is a former pro wrestler who turned to crime. In this series, he is given gray skin as opposed to his normal green, teeth filed to points, and his reptilian appearance is toned down somewhat. In the episode "Vendetta", he runs afoul of Harvey Bullock, who arrests him. Croc later escapes from prison and seeks revenge by framing him for the abduction of criminals Spider Conway and Joey "The Snail." In another episode, he escapes from prison and flees through the countryside, taking refuge in a town of naively trusting circus carnies (including a "seal boy", a giant, conjoined twins, and a hunchbacked ringmaster). Croc plans to betray and kill his hosts for the money they have stored away for supplies, although he begins to have second thoughts about it after they treat him like a family member. In this episode, it is established that Croc is legally sane, and therefore is to be sent to Blackgate Penitentiary instead of Arkham Asylum. In the DC comic The Batman Adventures, Croc reveals that his mother died when he was born, and that he was raised by his cruel aunt.
Later in the series, Croc would serve as nothing more than comic relief. In the episode "Almost Got 'Im", a group of villains are discussing how they almost defeated Batman. While everyone else had managed to almost kill batman with a complex deathtrap or such, Croc proudly proclaimed that he once threw a rock at Batman. However, this was later revealed to be Batman impersonating him, and a likely reference to their fight in the episode Sideshow. (which
[edit] The New Batman Adventures
He also appeared — revamped, with green skin — in an episode of The New Batman Adventures where he joins forces with the criminal Baby Doll. Baby Doll, who has a condition that makes her look like a child even though she is an adult, believes she has found a kindred spirit in fellow 'freak' Killer Croc. They go to live in the sewers, committing crimes planned by Doll and carried out largely by Croc. When Baby Doll overhears Croc boasting about manipulating her with a pair of prostitutes, she betrays him to Batman and Batgirl, and in the ensuing fight, he is defeated after being drenched in boiling water. He makes his final appearance in the later episode Judgement Day, where he is seen trying to get Penguin to pay him for jewels he had stolen for him. The Judge (Two-Face in disguise) attacks and defeats him soon afterwards.
He is voiced here by Brooks Gardner.
[edit] The Batman
In 2005, an episode of the animated television series The Batman featured Killer Croc, voiced by Ron Perlman. In this episode Croc is even more reptilian and has a tail. His origins are mostly unknown: one of his henchmen tells Batman that there are different rumors: that he is a military genetic experiment gone awry, that he deals with the wrong kind of voodoo magic in the swamps, or is simply a genetic freak. (It is never explained which origin story is true.) He recruits three criminals, two of them voiced by Jim Cummings, as henchmen to help him flood Gotham City. This animated version also speaks with a Cajun accent and has two pet crocodiles to do his bidding. He later returns as part of Penguin's Team Penguin. He then makes an appearance in "The End of the Batman" where he, Penguin, Ventriloquist and The Joker team up to commit a crime spree now that they are under the protection of the vigilante Wrath.
[edit] Lego Batman
Killer Croc is featured in the Lego Batman building toy set 7780 Batboat: the Hunt for Killer Croc. Croc rides a jet ski, pitted against Batman in a hovercraft version of the Batboat. Killer Croc appears in minifigure form with his signature jeans as in the comic, with a distinct reptilian appearance comprising green skin, scales and a sharp-toothed grin. His head, however, is humanoid.
[edit] Batman: Knightfall and Beyond
In the novel Batman: Knightfall and Beyond, based largely on the comics storyline, Killer Croc is said to have suffered from "a raging skin cancer" that turned the outer layers of his flesh into a hardened covering when he was younger. He escapes from Arkham Asylum when Bane and his men destroy it, freeing most of Batman's major foes in the process as part of a plan by Bane to wear him down before Bane himself "breaks" him. Batman later defeats Croc in a one-on-one fight in the sewers, crushing a cylinder of knock-out gas against the underside of his nose to disable him. Croc is then arrested and held in Blackgate Prison with the other Arkham escapees until the asylum can be rebuilt.
[edit] Batman: Gotham Knight
Killer Croc appears as one of the villains in the upcoming Batman: Gotham Knight. [1]
[edit] Redesign
In recent years, Killer Croc has been portrayed as being much more reptilian than in past incarnations. An action figure made by Kenner toys in 1998 featured a tail and dinosaur-like feet. When Mattel got the license to make DC products in the early 2000s, they released their own version of Killer Croc, sculpted by the Four Horsemen. This version also featured a tail and dinosaur feet. In late 2005, a re-release of this figure was modified so that the tail, along with his shirt, was removed. This version also sports a more "human" head. The 2002-2003 Batman storyline Hush featured a more bestial Croc who had been mutated against his will to appear more reptilian. This version of the character was drawn by artist Jim Lee.
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