Killer Croc

Abandoned to his abusive and alcoholic aunt and bullied his entire life due to his appearance -- the result of a genetic disorder he was born with -- Waylon Jones embraced his animal instincts and violently murdered and devoured his aunt after he finally reached his breaking point. Joining a traveling circus and adopting the stage name of "Killer Croc", Jones bonded with his fellow carnival workers and felt like he had a family for the first time. That came to a tragic end, however, when vicious audience members in Gotham City destroyed the carnival and killed all whom Jones had felt affection for. Seeking revenge on all humanity for their crimes, Croc began to devour countless individuals to survive, and became a monster in both body and spirit. Driven by hatred and a lust for blood, Croc regularly worked with Gotham's various mob organizations as a brutal and cannibalistic hit-man to satisfy his appetite for violence and money. Seeing all humans as selfish and judgmental sacks of flesh, Jones took orders from anyone who could provide him with money and a larger scope of victims. Born with a rare, degenerative atavism known as epidermolytic hyperkeratosis that only worsened over time, Waylon Jones was put under the guardianship of his incredibly abusive and alcoholic aunt after his mother died giving birth to him and his father had abandoned him. Brutally abused in his home and relentlessly bullied at his reform school in Florida, Waylon accepted his place in society as always being seen as a monster, which also resulted in him being branded a repeat juvenile offender, especially after having killed a young person, which resulted in him serving a life sentence in Florida’s penal system. As the years went on, Jones's condition made him more and more into a monster. His bestial appearance and cannibalistic urges left him unable to integrate with society. That ultimately eradicated any traces of humanity that might have been left as he became a monster in both body and spirit. Always seeking his next meal, Croc never forgot the scent of Batman and lusted to kill and devour the hero in retribution for his capture at his hands. After murdering his aunt upon finally reaching his breaking point, Waylon fled from society, relocated to Gotham, and eventually joined a traveling circus where he was made part of the freak-show, and became known as the alligator wrestler, "Killer Croc". Bonding with his fellow performers in the show, Jones finally felt as if he had a family, until a horrendous attack occurred at Gotham City by vicious audience members, who destroyed the circus and killed all whom Jones had felt attachment for. Regardless, Jones eventually had various warrants, including 7 counts of assault, 8 counts of aggravated assault (more specifically, upon the limbs of his victims), 4 counts of murder of the first degree, 16 counts of murder of the second degree, 12 counts of manslaughter, 4 counts of drug trafficking, and 5 counts of racketeering, one count of burglary by forced entry, and one count of theft (in this case, he was stealing from a coin operated device). During this time, Jones also tracked down and murdered the individuals who set the fire at the circus. The officer assigned to his case was Gerry Hennelly. Seeing humanity as a disgusting waste of flesh, Jones became a cannibalistic murderer, and often employed himself to the mob for money, before he was apprehended by Batman on Christmas Eve at Blackgate Prison. Various medical institutions had attempted to treat Jones’ injuries, only to be unable to find evidence of wounding, leading the GCPD to surmise that he had a metahuman healing ability gifted by his overall condition. Killer Croc was one of the eight assassins that were hired by Black Mask to kill Batman for fifty million dollars on Christmas Eve. Croc worked alongside who he believed to be Black Mask as they carried Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb to the Execution Chamber at Blackgate. As Black Mask escaped by helicopter, Croc stayed behind to take on Batman, who was in pursuit of the mobster. Eventually, he was defeated, and Batman demanded Black Mask's location. Croc didn't reveal this, but he revealed to Batman about the seven other assassins that were hired before he was knocked out, and was found by the GCPD. He was then taken into custody by the GCPD. Croc was seen briefly at Blackgate attacking Batman during the Joker's Riot. While the sniper was aiming Batman was grabbed by Croc. Captain Gordon snuck up behind and knocked out the sniper with a baseball bat to save Batman's life. The bullet then hit Croc in his right shoulder which caused him to drop Batman and retreat back to his cell. Killer Croc was one of the many inmates of Arkham Asylum at the time of the Joker's takeover. Croc's physical condition worsened considerably since he was hired as an assassin, as had his mind, which became far more bestial in nature, and he developed a personal hatred of Batman, most likely as a result of his imprisonment. Even more deformed and reptilian in appearance (as well as growing even larger), Croc was imprisoned in the sewer system of Arkham Asylum where the staff fed him meat and just tried to "forget about him". When Batman was escorting the Joker through the Intensive Treatment Center, Croc was escorted by some of the staff (including Louie Green), with a shock collar around his neck, and chains on both his hands and feet to keep him under control. Croc spotted Batman and claimed that he would hunt him down very soon. Croc was then taken back to his lair by a number of asylum security personnel when the Joker took control of Arkham Island. He saw Batman pass by a locked door that was adjacent to the sewer. Croc then punched the door's window and claimed that he would get Batman soon. Eventually, Batman was forced to enter Croc's Lair in order to retrieve the plant spores that were required to create the antidote to the Titan Formula, which the Joker had used in his schemes. Batman soon learned of the antidote's location after his discussion with Poison Ivy in the Elizabeth Arkham Greenhouse at the Botanical Gardens. He was then followed by another villain, Scarecrow, down into the sewers and who threatened to dump his Fear Toxin into the water supply, which lead straight to the Gotham River. Before Scarecrow could do so, however, Croc jumped out of the water, grabbed him, and thought that he was a lone security guard or an inmate. Batman attempted to subdue Croc by activating his shock collar with a Batarang. Croc flinched for a moment before he jumped back into the water, dragged Scarecrow down with him, and brutally mauled him. Batman made his way to Croc's Lair, where Croc attacked him several times, only to be foiled by Batman activating his shock collar with multiple Batarangs. Eventually, Croc cornered Batman at the entrance of his lair and charged at him. Unknown to Croc, Batman had laced the floor with Explosive Gel and detonated it as soon as he ran across it. Croc then plummeted into the water below and vowed revenge on Batman. When GCPD raided Arkham City, they found Croc's collar in the sewers. Cash knew this wasn't a good sign, as there was no way for them to tame Croc without suffering massive casualties in the process. Since Arkham City's closure, Croc had made his home in the two lighthouses off the shore near Ace Chemicals. It appeared Croc kept his leftovers in the Bleake Island lighthouse, as there was a pile of bones and at least one slab of rotting meat on a hook. Four months after the closure of Arkham City, Riddler began to plot to become the next crime kingpin, thus creating an elaborate plan for Batman and his allies to follow. They eventually encountered a tooth that they learned had been pulled from Croc's own mouth. When Batman entered the Flood Control facility, he was forced to face off against Croc, who revealed that he had not been complicit with Riddler but had been working with someone else who alerted him to the fact that Batman might enter the facility. Croc then attacked Batman and the two engaged in a fierce melee. After Batman subdued Croc, he offered to let Croc go in exchange for information on his accomplice. Croc then revealed that he had been approached by the Mad Hatter with a significant amount of money for the tooth. He also elaborated that it had been Harley Quinn who had informed him that Batman might be there that night. Batman then allowed Croc to leave. Eventually, due to Warden Ranken being hired by Quarom, Croc was tracked down by the guards from Iron Heights Penitentiary and captured on October 26. Though they lost a good deal of men in the process, they managed to knock out Croc and lock him in a strong container. However, Croc's body burned off the sedatives faster than they expected; Croc awoke in a foul mood and wanted out of his latest cage. However, he was safely taken to the airship Ranken was on and was subsequently experimented on to test his abilities. It was discovered that Croc could heal from minor injuries within moments and that his regeneration abilities could even regrow entire limbs; proven by having Croc's hand sawed off. Ranken decided to try giving Croc's healing powers to others in an attempt to create more durable soldiers. However, all this pain and amputation were having a negative effect on Croc; his body began adapting by accelerating his mutation to compensate for all the regeneration. By October 30, Croc barely looked human anymore; he now looked like a crocodile on its hind legs. The Warden believed they may have to put him down because the sedatives and tranquilizers were becoming less effective as well. After Batman had received the Disruptor from Nightwing and used it on Penguin's men, Croc's tranquilizer wore off and he escaped from his cell before crashing the flying prison into Gotham Bay. After he killed many of the crash's survivors, (even leaving a half-eaten corpse) Croc captured Warden Ranken and carried him into the Experimentation Chamber with a number of other inmates in tow, all of whom were experimented on as well, and intended on inflicting every torture ever performed on him back onto the Warden himself. Because he freed them, the inmates hailed Croc as a hero and followed his orders. Croc screamed at Ranken to undo the acceleration of his mutation, but the warden told him it was impossible; Croc didn't believe him. When a prisoner suggests he eat Ranken's head, Croc knocked him away, stating that Ranken must suffer as much as they have first. Batman attempted to surprise Croc and knock him out, but Croc already knew he was there and knocked him away; he knew Batman's scent. Croc tossed Ranken into a holding area and ordered the inmates to attack. Joined by Nightwing, Batman knocked out Croc and the inmates. As Croc was too heavy for either of them to carry, Croc was loaded onto a flatbed and airlifted to the GCPD Lockup by the Batwing. Croc threatened Cash as he was herded into the elevator by GCPD officers armed with electric prods and would be imprisoned in the West Wing's Isolation Chamber. However, as a sense of poetic justice, his isolation chamber was placed directly next to Warden Ranken's prison cell, to the latter's horror. Batman told Croc that though he may have suffered unjustly, he still killed people and would answer for that. Croc asked what would become of Warden Ranken, to which the Dark Knight answered that he would face justice for his crimes. Croc insisted that Ranken must suffer and promised that the latter, Batman, and everyone will die. Waylon Jones's psychopathic nature in his adult years, such as misanthropy and cannibalism are all attributed to his violent and tragic past. His skin disorder made him a constant victim of bullying and growing up with an abusive aunt virtually racked any hope Jones had for humanity. This almost certainly vanished when he murdered and devoured his alcoholic aunt and circus freaks whom he treated like family were killed by an enraged audience. As society only saw him as a monster and social leper he embraced himself as such, rejecting any humanity he may have or retain, he renamed himself as a career criminal, "Killer Croc." His opinions of humanity became so bleak by the time of Arkham Asylum that he doesn't even consider them people; in his own words as well as in his eyes, they are just "food" and bags of meat. Croc's personality had several differences. For example, in Origins, he carried some traits of humanity, shown in both behaviors and the fact he still wears clothing whereas in Knight, he is almost naked. As an assassin for hire, Croc's main ambitions were money, fame or the highest body count imaginable. He makes it perfectly clear that he possesses no loyalties or superiors, although he was employed by Black Mask he assures Batman "the only boss a'me is me." Croc's lack of loyalties was also displayed when after ambushing Batman during the Blackgate Riots and was grazed by a sniper he simply threw him away, allowing him to do whatever he wished with the Joker presumably out of the knowledge that when the night was over the Clown Prince would no longer have the means to pay him. He also appears to be needlessly aggressive. For instance after witnessing Loeb be executed he, out of the blue, hurtles one of Black Mask's henchman to a wall, presumably killing the man for no reason whatsoever as he didn't show any irritation or anger before doing such act. In Arkham Asylum, Croc became a genuine animal, though not exactly possessing a sound mind before, given Asylum he reverted to that of an animalistic, savage mental state. He was driven more out of basic animal blood lust than common sense which makes him highly impulsive, normally not analyzing a situation or environment which can at times result in defeat. A specific case is when, thinking he had Batman cornered in his lair ran to him at full momentum but couldn't see he had laid a trap. He does seem to possess a sense of humor despite his barbaric mind but is extremely vicious and dark such as during patient interviews when his psychiatrist says after lacerating Aaron Cash's hand and he lost a lot of blood Croc replies in a tone of complete indifference "I nearly choked on that bony hand of his." Croc still seemed to have a degree of humanity left in him, as when he confronted Warden Ranken with the other inmates, screamed at him to cure him, and when he was confronted by Batman later at the GCPD Lockup, he actually wondered what was going happen to the Warden before his wild animal-like instincts took over and he vowed to kill everyone. His humanity is also shown when he encourages any incapacitated prisoners accompanying him to recover and get back in the fight when they were incapacitated by Batman or Nightwing. In Arkham Origins, Killer Croc's mutation was not as severe as his appearance in Arkham Asylum. Killer Croc had green, scaly skin with a pale, white hue to his chest. Croc was barefoot (although he had bandages that were wrapped around his feet), and also had boxing hand wraps on his hands and wrists. Croc wore black trousers that had faint, white pinstripes. Croc had a black belt around his waist and had loose, red overalls. Croc was shirtless (a trait that he had possibly carried over from his career as a wrestler), and had faint, yellow eyes with black, slitted pupils. His teeth were all sharp, yellow fangs; curiously, he had a few fangs protruding out through the skin of his upper and lower lips. From his chest upwards, Croc had scaly skin, yet, and his belly appeared to have softer skin and was not scaly like the rest of his body. When he escaped during the prison riot, Croc looked identical to his original version, the only difference being that he was wearing orange prison trousers with a large belt and a very large, padlock-shaped, buckle. Croc had a slightly lean and muscular torso and his navel was visible. At this time, he spoke with a Louisianan accent. Killer Croc's mutation became much more severe. Croc's entire body was now scaly (he still had retained the paler hue to his belly and chest), and had a large shock collar to incapacitate him, if he attempted to attack any of Arkham's staff, with a broken chain that hung from the bottom of the collar. Croc had two ankle cuffs with broken chains on his ankles and was still barefoot (the bandages were missing from his feet and hands). He had brighter, yellow eyes with black, slit pupils, was much larger, and had sharper teeth and claws. His voice had morphed into a more warped and bestial form--reverberating and growling. Croc wore dirty, orange, stained prison trousers, and had a brown rope tied into a knot around his waist as a makeshift belt. Croc was still shirtless and his physique was more muscular. Croc's entire body was green, and he had a pale, white hue to the underside of his arms, belly, and chest. Croc's ears also no longer looked human, instead being small stubs on his head. Croc's evolution expanded greatly and he was double the mass that he was in Asylum with large spiky growths protruding from his left shoulder and his body much larger and bulkier than before, and he towered over the other characters, appearing to be twice the size of Two-Face, Batman and Nightwing. His legs became proportionally shorter in comparison to the rest of his body, giving him a more reptilian shape instead of previous humanoid ones. He also grew a large tail; due to this, his pants were damaged; Croc used a metal chain to tie a Hell's Gate banner around his waist. His stomach looks less muscular, especially around his midsection. It was strongly implied if not outright stated that Croc's "evolution" was the result of an adaptive reaction to the extreme trauma he underwent from the experimentation that he was forced to undergo at Iron Heights. He also cannot run unless on all fours. Due to only his left hand being cut off, his adaptive mutation left his upper body unbalanced, with his right arm the only limb of his body its original size from Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Regenerative Healing Factor: Waylon Jones' regenerative healing factor is quite remarkable, as superficial lesions, extreme mutilations, ballistic wounds, stab wounds, severed limbs & organs, massive bruises & cuts completely heal almost instantaneously. However, that ability had severe side effects as well: Namely, having to regenerate extensively for a prolonged period of time alters his physiology, which is likely an adaptive response to the extreme trauma. More specifically, the torturous experiments Croc underwent, caused him to have his physiology end up permanently altered so that he looked even more bestial than before. Armored Skin: His skin hardened to the point where it was invulnerable to most forms of abrasion and even high caliber weapons fired from a distance. He could also stand extreme pressure conditions. On one occasion, in the Arkham War Comic Series, for example, Croc survived the fall from Wayne Tower and healed completely. Croc was also capable of withstanding an extreme amount of blunt trauma. By the time of the Arkham Knight incident, it required Batman and Nightwing landing many multiple strikes to his head in order to render him unconscious. Superhuman Strength & Speed: Originally Batman was capable of overpowering him, although with considerable effort. Over time, he grew so physically powerful and quick over the years that Batman had to resort to planting explosive devices on Croc's chest to knock him unconscious or even stop him. He was also able to rip a large bank vault door right off its hinges with ease and leap great distances vertically and horizontally. By the time of the Arkham Knight incident, Batman and Nightwing had to double-team him in order to take him down. He had also taken to running on all fours, though when he walked, he did so on two legs. Enhanced Lung Capacity: His reptilian nature allows him to hold his breath for extensive periods of time underwater. Claws: Croc's fingers were sharpened and white like bones. He used them to cut open doors or crush skulls and cut people clean in half. Fangs: Croc's teeth possessed enough sharpness and durability to bite through bone, metal, and wood. He is 35 years old.