Killer Croc (Waylon Jones) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Gerry Conway, Don Newton and Gene Colan, the character was introduced in Detective Comics #523 (February 1983). He has become one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.

Killer Croc is a former sideshow wrestler who has a rare genetic condition that gives him a reptilian appearance and superhuman strength. Driven insane by this, he turned to a life of crime, over time developing animalistic tendencies. The character has also been a member of the Suicide Squad, debuting in the fifth volume of the comic series revolving around the team, and a romantic interest of Enchantress. While typically portrayed as a supervillain, he has also been occasionally depicted as an antihero.

The character has been adapted into various media, most revolving around Batman. Killer Croc made his live-action debut in the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Suicide Squad, portrayed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. A version of the character appeared in the third season of the Arrowverse series Batwoman, performed by Heidi Ben.

Publication history

Killer Croc was created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Gene Colan. The character made cameo appearances in Detective Comics #523 (February 1983) and Batman #357 (March 1983), with his full first appearance in Detective Comics #524 (March 1983).

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

Waylon Jones was born with a rare form of atavism that imparted him with reptilian traits with his birth causing the death of his mother. He was raised by his aunt, an abusive alcoholic who called him names like "lizardboy" and "reptilian freak". Croc eventually killed his aunt and became a criminal in Gotham City. After committing several murders, he faced off against Batman and the new Robin, Jason Todd, who defeated him.

In these original, Pre-Crisis appearances, Killer Croc resembled a powerfully built man covered entirely in green scales, but was still basically human in his facial proportions and build. He was also originally depicted as killing Jason Todd's parents. This was later retconned to make Two-Face their murderer.

Post-Crisis

Killer Croc escapes custody, seeking revenge on Harvey Bullock and two others he blames for his prior imprisonment. His thirst for revenge driving him into madness. Evading authorities Croc finds refuge with an unhoused community within the old sewer systems. Batman finds the community and is nearly killed by Croc in a primal rage. Batman warns the group to leave, as the new water tunnels the city has set up will destroy their home when the lines open. Croc seemingly sacrificed himself holding the walls up from the rush of water, saving his friends in the process.

Croc miraculously survived, having been swept away into a storm drain. Living on rats and being isolated for months, drove him further into madness. Suffering from hallucinations of his past torment by bullies and his aunt, seeing their faces on a vagrant who wandered in his territory and attacks him, going into a further rampage that ends up in a shopping mall, where he attracts the attention of the police and the dynamic duo. After delivering several blows to Croc, Batman (Jean-Paul Valley) is distracted by a glimpse of Bane. Croc grabs onto Valley and nearly kills him. Bane tests his might against that of Croc and breaks both his arms. He is then put back into Arkham Asylum.

In the Knightfall saga, Bane orchestrates a jail break of Arkham and Croc is among the inmates that escape, taking refuge in the sewers, coming across Bane again, and attacks him on one of the ledges until it breaks and the two fall into the waters below ending the fight in a stalemate. Croc later returns, fully healed and thirsting for revenge finds himself not against Bane but Dick Grayson acting as Batman who dispatches the Killer Croc leaving him trussed up in a fishing trawl for the police. where he is returned to Arkham.

Killer Croc is summoned by a paranormal force to break out of Arkham and make his way to the Louisiana swamps. Batman follows him there, only to find that the mysterious force is actually Swamp Thing, who offers Croc a place in the swampland where he can finally give in to his animal side and live peacefully away 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, 'overseeing' a kidnapping for Hush before Batman defeats him; this provides Batman's first clue that someone else is orchestrating events, as he knows that Croc is not smart enough to attempt a complex scheme like a kidnapping on his own due to the many variables. Though Killer Croc was briefly restored to his original form, the Mad Hatter, under Black Mask's orders, implanted Killer Croc with a device that made him loyal to Black Mask and caused the virus to return. Batman freed Croc from Black Mask's control. Croc attempted to take revenge on the Mad Hatter, but was stopped by Batman. Croc then escaped.

When an attempt at a cure fails, Killer Croc devours the involved doctor and retreats to the sewers, vowing vengeance on Batman and Black Mask.

In Infinite Crisis, Croc becomes a member of Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.

One Year Later during the "Face the Face" storyline, Killer Croc is shown to have been feeding on the corpse of Orca. He next shows up in Countdown where he breaks free from his shackles in Arkham Asylum and attempts to kill Jimmy Olsen, who uses elastic powers to escape. Killer Croc is then subdued.

He is later seen among the exiled supervillains in "Salvation Run." After the Martian Manhunter is defeated and imprisoned in a fiery cage, Croc suggests that he will eat the Martian. Lex Luthor forbids it.

During the "Final Crisis" storyline, Killer Croc appears as a member of Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains. Killer Croc is later turned into a Justifier.

During the events of Brightest Day, Killer Croc is intentionally released from his cell by a guard whom Osiris kills when Deathstroke and his band of Titans infiltrate Arkham. While attempting to flee from the facility, he is attacked by Osiris who mistakes Killer Croc for his old enemy Sobek.

The New 52

In the continuity of DC's 2011 reboot The New 52, Killer Croc is established to have fought Roy Harper in Hell's Kitchen in a flashback seen in Red Hood and the Outlaws. He is then passingly referenced by Roy, as he is Roy's current sponsor for his alcoholism at the time when Roy was in a bar with Jason Todd. Roy is only drinking water, but knows that Waylon would disapprove.

During the 2013–2014 Forever Evil storyline, Croc began ruling over Gotham's lower class. He murders a corrupt S.W.A.T. team that murdered one of the few people who were nice to him. When the Crime Syndicate invades Earth, Croc takes over Wayne Tower. He is confronted by the villain Bane, who injects Croc with Venom, turning Croc into a hulking giant, whom Bane then defeats.

While institutionalized in Arkham, Killer Croc meets Sybil Silverlock, a woman with dissociative identity disorder. He bonds with her softer personality, and she shows him a picture of her daughter, Olive. Sybil has him promise to look after Olive if he ever gets out. After the destruction of Arkham Asylum, Killer Croc escapes and travels to Gotham Academy, where he watches over Olive, and tells her about her mother, who was rendered comatose by the asylum's destruction. After Batman confronts them, Olive and Killer Croc escape to a swamp. Before parting, he tells her that, if she is like her mother, to come and find him one day. In Batman: Earth One, Killer Croc This version is an ally of Batman and member of the Outsiders who was previously sold to Haly's Circus as a child. In DC Bombshells, Killer Croc is a member of the Suicide Squad who was transformed into a crocodilian monster by the Enchantress' magic. In Batman: Reptilian, Killer Croc was mutated after his mother was exposed to an alien mutagen while pregnant with him. In Batman: The Audio Adventures, Killer Croc was mutated by Hugo Strange, from whom he sought a cure for his skin condition. In Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham, Killer Croc is Ludvig Prinn, a wizard and member of the League of Assassins who was mutated by exposure to fungus growing underneath Gotham City. In Absolute Batman, Waylon Jones is a human gym owner and childhood best friend of Bruce Wayne who was mutated into a reptilian monster after being experimented on at Ark M. After seeking out Wonder Woman's help for a cure, Bruce obtains a magic talisman capable of reversing Jones' transformation. This restores him to his human form, though his eyes remain reptilian.

In other media

Television

thumb|Killer Croc as he appears in [[Batman: The Animated Series (left) and later in its revival series The New Batman Adventures (right).]]

  • An original incarnation of Killer Croc, "Killer Croc" Morgan, appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe. This version is a former sideshow attraction and pro wrestler who turned to crime.
  • Killer Croc first appears in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Aron Kincaid. For this series, he sports lumpy, grey skin.
  • Killer Croc returns in The New Batman Adventures, voiced by Brooks Gardner.
  • Killer Croc appears in The Batman, voiced by Ron Perlman. portrayed by Heidi Ben. This version is a teenager named Steven, who found one of Killer Croc's teeth and cut himself with it, which caused him to transform into a new Killer Croc.
  • Killer Croc appears in Suicide Squad Isekai, voiced by Tarō Kiuchi. This version is a rogue member of the Suicide Squad.
  • Waylon Jones appears in the Batman: Caped Crusader episode "Nocturne", voiced by Cedric Yarbrough.

Film

thumb|upright|Killer Croc in the [[DC Extended Universe, portrayed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.]]

  • Killer Croc appears in the Batman: Gotham Knight segment "In Darkness Dwells". This version is a cannibalistic serial killer who is rumored to have been born with epidermolytic hyperkeratosis and abandoned in Gotham City's sewers. As an adult, he filed his teeth into sharpened points, became a circus sideshow performer, and went on a killing spree that eventually got him incarcerated at Arkham Asylum, where Jonathan Crane experimented on Croc for his fear aversion program, worsening his homicidal impulses. Croc subsequently escaped and fled into the sewers, but Crane injected him with his fear toxin, giving Croc a fear of bats and the ability to transfer the toxin to others via his bite.
  • Killer Croc appears in Son of Batman, voiced by Fred Tatasciore. This version previously lived in Gotham City and fought Batman before he was imprisoned at Belle Reve. He is recruited into Task Force X and accompanies a SEAL scuba team to recover a bomb that was lost in a flooded tunnel to kill the Enchantress. Following the Enchantress' defeat, Croc is returned to prison and given a reduced sentence and improved cell conditions as a reward.
  • Killer Croc appears in Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants, voiced again by John DiMaggio. This version works for the Penguin and possesses immunity to toxins and superstrength.
  • Killer Croc appears in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
  • Killer Croc appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore. This version has a Cajun accent and is the first Killer Croc Big-Fig in a Lego Game. He also is the first boss in this game.
  • Killer Croc appears in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore.
  • Killer Croc appears in Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Initially he appears as Waylon Jones, a Haly's Circus performer who has a scaly skin condition and is framed for jewel theft before he is cleared by Batman. Later on, he is mutated into his large crocodile form after being exposed to toxic chemicals in the sewer. With the cops tracking him down, Batman helps him stage a fight to convince them to leave him alone as he exits the city.

Batman: Arkham

Killer Croc appears in the Batman: Arkham series.

  • Croc first appears in Batman: Arkham Asylum, voiced by Steve Blum.
  • Killer Croc makes non-speaking appearances in Injustice 2 via the Batcave stage and Bane's ending.
  • Killer Croc appears as an alternate skin for Baraka in Mortal Kombat 11 via the "DC Elseworld" DLC pack.

Miscellaneous

  • Killer Croc appears in the novel Batman: Knightfall and Beyond. This version is said to have suffered from aggressive skin cancer that turned the outer layers of his flesh into a hardened covering when he was younger.
  • Killer Croc appears in the Injustice: Gods Among Us and Injustice 2 prequel comics. In the latter, he becomes a member of Ra's al Ghul's Suicide Squad who goes on to marry squad-mate Orca, who becomes pregnant with his child, and leaves the squad with her to raise them.
  • Killer Croc appears in Batman '66 #28. This version is a former henchman of King Tut whose reptilian form and strength are derived from an elixir. With help from his girlfriend Eva, Croc goes on a crime spree in the hopes of becoming Gotham's biggest crime lord until he is defeated by Batman and Robin and handed over to the police.
  • Killer Croc appears in DC Super Hero Girls, voiced by Fred Tatasciore.