Should Killer Croc be shown as a full-on crime boss again?

[Dispenser Of Truth]

Killer Croc is in the upper echelon of Batman enemies. It might not come across that way, but in terms of name recognition - especially thanks to the Arkham games - he outstrips all but the biggest villains at this point. I'd say he's probably better known at this point by the general public than Clayface, Man-Bat or Deadshot. But his role is, universally, "the big dude for Batman to take down before fighting the real guys". I hadn't known he'd ever been anything else until I read a piece of Jason Todd's original origin, where he was shown as a scaly-skinned gangster. Generic, but immediately more interesting and promising than the regular guy had ever been; Mark Waid couldn't even do a good comic with that guy.

Should that be the gimmick to finally make something worthwhile of the character? A 10-foot, green-skinned tuxedoed madman with a taste for human flesh who nevertheless manages to get out solid instructions for his lieutenants to carry out between his roaring and occasional devouring of random henchmen, and fancies himself the underground King of Gotham and Batman's rival. Kingpin as black comedy. Any takers?

[Nite-Wing]

He has more legs as a crocodile monster
If they want to do something deeper give him some more stories where he retains his intelligence just don't make it terrible Waylon is after all a cannibalistic criminal

[K. Jones]

For me this is why Tim Seeley's recent 'best of both worlds' version is the best Croc since the early 80s, or at least the Animated Series. Because it combines 'mob boss' Croc with "The Under Dwellers". Perfection, in my book.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

For me this is why Tim Seeley's recent 'best of both worlds' version is the best Croc since the early 80s, or at least the Animated Series. Because it combines 'mob boss' Croc with "The Under Dwellers". Perfection, in my book.

Think I missed it. Was that in Suicide Squad, or Red Hood?

[Mister BoMan]

Loved The Killer Croc of the 1980's in Jason Todd's Pre-Crisis origin, I have longed to see him come back like that.

[MajorHoy]

Maybe if they had run that angle towards the start of the New52.
Now, though, I'm not sure if it could work without seeming a forced U-turn.

[Frontier]

For me this is why Tim Seeley's recent 'best of both worlds' version is the best Croc since the early 80s, or at least the Animated Series. Because it combines 'mob boss' Croc with "The Under Dwellers". Perfection, in my book.

Think I missed it. Was that in Suicide Squad, or Red Hood?

I think he's referring to Croc's use in Batman Eternal.

[K. Jones]

I think he's referring to Croc's use in Batman Eternal.

And the Forever Evil/Villain's Month "Killer Croc # 1" issue.

[Nero]

I'd certainly be up for it. The basic crocodile monster angle is played out so much that it's made Killer Croc generic. They never should have went there in the first place IMO because all it's done is made Croc into another punching bag for Batman. They need to have Croc go back to being the criminal mastermind he initially was and have him take over Gotham's underworld and he can run it from the sewers which would be apropos with the criminal element.

[Flash Gordon]

I like him as Roy's AA sponsor a lot.

[TheNewFiftyForum]

Killer Croc is in the upper echelon of Batman enemies. It might not come across that way, but in terms of name recognition - especially thanks to the Arkham games - he outstrips all but the biggest villains at this point. I'd say he's probably better known at this point by the general public than Clayface, Man-Bat or Deadshot. But his role is, universally, "the big dude for Batman to take down before fighting the real guys". I hadn't known he'd ever been anything else until I read a piece of Jason Todd's original origin, where he was shown as a scaly-skinned gangster. Generic, but immediately more interesting and promising than the regular guy had ever been; Mark Waid couldn't even do a good comic with that guy.

Should that be the gimmick to finally make something worthwhile of the character? A 10-foot, green-skinned tuxedoed madman with a taste for human flesh who nevertheless manages to get out solid instructions for his lieutenants to carry out between his roaring and occasional devouring of random henchmen, and fancies himself the underground King of Gotham and Batman's rival. Kingpin as black comedy. Any takers?

Well, considering how bad Waid is at writing villains in a DC/Marvel environment, I can't say I'm surprised.

For me this is why Tim Seeley's recent 'best of both worlds' version is the best Croc since the early 80s, or at least the Animated Series. Because it combines 'mob boss' Croc with "The Under Dwellers". Perfection, in my book.

Agreed. Now, if writers could stick with that interpretation and not just make Croc someone for Batman to punch in the first act of a story that doesn't directly concern him, we'd really be going somewhere.

BTW, I also think that it would be a neat idea to leave Croc's status as a cannibal up in the air. He might brag about eating people left and right as a scare tactic, but is should never really be confirmed one way or the other. Makes him look smart as a character, adds a bit of mystery, and also makes him a bit easier to buy as a good guy for the stories when he's more sympathetic.

[batnbreakfast]

Worst versions would be the "I'll suck the meat from your bones" Croc or Azzarello's Pimp Croc in Broken City

[TheNewFiftyForum]

Worst versions would be the "I'll suck the meat from your bones" Croc or Azzarello's Pimp Croc in Broken City

I thought Pimp Croc was the bomb in Broken City, yo! It's admittedly not in line with my above mentioned preferred take on him, but if you're going to write Croc as a straight up thug there are few funnier ways of doing it. Azzarello does seem to be a pretty big fan of Croc, as he uses him fairly significantly in Broken City, Joker, Knight of Vengeance and Batman Europa.

[Nite-Wing]

Not sure why everyone wants every Batman villain to be a good guy
Its basically turning them all into woobies for Batman to punch at the end of the day

His name is Killer Croc you aren't going to get by with saying "oh he's just like the Hulk in that one story, he doesn't really eat people"

People don't have this problem with King Shark who is a shark man who eats people and sometimes feels bad about it but can't fight his urges all the time.

[DebkoX]

Why not. Its fun to see a killer crocodile in charge of a crime organisation.