Killer Croc
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Killer Croc is a fictional character in DC comics.
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[edit] fictional character biography
Waylon Jones was 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.
Jones is one of the few black supervillains. In his original appearances, he resembled a powerfully-built black man covered entirely in green scales. However, his disease has slowly robbed him of all identifiable human traits.
In a storyline that ran in Batman issues 521 and 522, Killer Croc was summoned by a strange paranormal force to break out of Arkham Asylum and make his way to the Louisiana swamps. Batman followed him there only to find that the mysterious force was actually the Swamp Thing, who offered Croc a place in the swampland where he could finally give in to his animal side and live free from human persecution.
Some time after Killer Croc has appeared in both the Hush storyline and its chronological follow up, Broken City. In Hush, he was infected with a virus that greatly increased the rate of his devolution, causing him to be less intelligent and more monstrous.
In 2005's Detective Comics #810, Killer Croc attempted to cure his condition. When the doctor failed, Croc devoured her despite her efforts.
[edit] Arkham Asylum
A silent, bestial version of Killer Croc appears in the graphic novel Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean. His appearance echoes that of the Elephant Man, and is used[citation needed] to metaphorically represent insanity (the "dragon", or "enemy" of reason).
[edit] One Year Later
Killer Croc was discovered feeding on the remains of Orca.[citation needed] How or why he returned to Gotham City has yet to be disclosed.
[edit] Powers and abilities
The disease the Killer Croc is afflicted with 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 low caliber weapons fired from a distance. He possess super strength, able to rip a large bank vault door right off its hinges with ease. He has superhuman regenerative powers, able to heal injuries such as the broken limbs and spine he received from Bane.
Over time the primal reptilian part of his brain gains more control of his psyche. He possess super reflexes and speed. Croc also possess the superior senses and underwater capabilities of his namesake.
Croc has some experience at street fighting and wrestling, but he is not as proficient as Batman or Nightwing.And although he is a high school dropout, he has been revealed to be surprising very intelligent. In DC's Secret Origins of the Floronic Man, we are given a very articulate naration of several of the inmates of Arkham Asylum by an unseen individual who is later revealed be none other than Killer Croc shortly after he was accidentally paralyzed by Batman. At one point in a later issue it is casually mentioned by one of the doctors that his IQ actually tested in the 170's! This causes several of the doctors to believe that a mix up has occurred somewhere in the scoring process. As they are discussing this a final shot of Croc smoking a pipe, and reading Animal Farm is used to end the issue.
[edit] Other media
- Croc, as he is sometimes called for short, also appeared in Batman: The Animated Series in a few episodes, voiced by Aron Kincaid. In this series, he was given gray skin as opposed to his normal green and his reptilian appearance was toned down somewhat. Croc was once a pro wrestler, but grew dissatisfied and turned to crime. He ran afoul of Harvey Bullock, who arrested him. Croc later escaped prison and sought revenge.
- When being transported to a distant facility by train, he bit through his chains and escaped. Fleeing through the countryside, he took refuge in a town of naively trusting circus carnies (including a "seal boy", a giant, conjoined twins, and a hunchbacked ringmaster). Croc planned to betray and kill his hosts for the money they had stored away for supplies. In this episode it was established that Croc is legally sane, and therefore was to be sent to Blackgate Penitentiary instead of Arkham Asylum. In the DC comic The Batman and Robin Adventures, Croc seemed romantically inclined towards reporter Summer Gleeson. Croc revealed that his mother died when he was born, causing him to be raised by his cruel aunt.
- He also appeared — revamped, with green skin — in an episode of The New Batman Adventures where he joined forces with the criminal Baby Doll. Baby Doll, who had a condition that made her look like a child even though she was an adult, believed she had found a kindred spirit in fellow 'freak' Killer Croc. They went to live in the sewers, committing crimes planned by Doll and carried out largely by Croc. When Baby Doll overheard Croc boasting about manipulating her for his own sordid ends, she betrayed him to Batman and Batgirl. He was voiced by Brooks Gardner.
Twice during the run of the show, during the afore mentioned episode Sideshow and the TNBA episode Judgment Day, Croc is implied to have committed murder. However, he never commits such an act on screen; it is implied he did such actions either between episodes or before his first appearance.
- In 2005 the animated television series The Batman featured yet another version of Killer Croc, voiced by Ron Perlman. In this episode Croc was even more reptilian, had a tail and was rumored to have been a military genetic experiment gone awry, moving even further away from the character's comic book origins and appearance. He recruited three criminals, two of them voiced by Jim Cummings, as henchmen to help him flood Gotham City. This animated version also spoke with a Cajun accent and had two pet crocodiles/alligators to do his bidding. He later returned as part of Penguin's Team Penguin.
- Killer Croc is featured in the Lego Batman building toy set 7780 Batboat: the Hunt for Killer Croc. Croc rides a jetski, 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] Video Game Appearance
Killer Croc appeared as a boss in the Batman: Dark Tomorrow game.
[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, unlike the comics character. When Mattel gotten the license to make DC products in the early 2000's, 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 as drawn by artist Jim Lee.
| Batman | |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Bob Kane • Bill Finger • Other writers and artists |
| Supporting Characters: | Robin (Tim Drake) • Nightwing (Dick Grayson) • Batgirl • Batwoman • Alfred Pennyworth • Lucius Fox • Barbara Gordon • Commissioner Gordon • Harvey Bullock |
| Villains: | Bane • Catwoman • Clayface • Harley Quinn • Joker • Killer Croc • Mr. Freeze • Penguin • Poison Ivy • Ra's al Ghul • Red Hood (Jason Todd) • Riddler • Scarecrow • Two-Face • Other villains |
| Locations: | Arkham Asylum • Batcave • Gotham City • Wayne Enterprises • Wayne Manor |
| Miscellanea: | Batarang • Batmobile • Batsuit • Popular media • Publications • Storylines • Alternate versions of Batman |
Categories: Comics articles needing cleanup | Cleanup from March 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | DC Comics characters with superhuman strength | DC Comics characters | DC Comics supervillains | Fictional Americans in DC Comics | Black supervillains | Fictional Cajuns | Fictional cannibals | Fictional characters with mental illness | Fictional crocodiles and alligators | Fictional hybrids | Fictional monsters | Fictional murderers | Fictional mutants | Fictional professional wrestlers | 1984 introductions
