#55 - Killer Croc
First Appearance: Batman #357 (Mar 1983)
"Alligators in the sewers were an urban myth... just like the Batman." ~Carmine Falcone
Croc. He's a perfect villain... for Spider-Man. But let's be real here: the mutant lizard folk go over to Marvel and the mutant gorillas and bats go to DC, and never the twain shall meet. Okay, that's not my real reason for rating Croc so low, but it's a start.
Croc is a great character when used in certain capacities: as comic relief, Croc is surprisingly effective; there are several great comic moments for Croc that people tend to overlook in favor of behemoth-looking overly-mutated Hush-style Jim Lee Croc. That's not what Croc should be. Croc needs SOME semblence of humanity. Just going "RAWR" and swinging at Batman isn't all that entertaining. When someone brings something fresh to the table, Croc can be truly entertaining, even if he is a little out-of-place in the Batverse. For example, I loved the storyline where Croc was feeding on Paretti family mobsters since they were starting to work in his "territory," so Nightwing and Tim had to take care of business. That's a great use for Croc, as it brings him into the more human element of Gotham's underbelly and juxtaposes just how far gone he is from society. Even criminals get Batman's aid when Croc's around.
The other excellent use for Croc is to frighten. He really can. His boss fight in Arkham Asylum can really make you jump out of fear if you play it late at night with the lights off. Croc himself is not frightening, but his actions and behavior and your anticipation of what he'll do can always supercede just his appearance. Croc lurking in dark shadows is frightening; making Croc look more buff and larger and giving him more teeth does NOT make him a better villain. It takes a good writer to utilize Croc properly, and unfortunately, most of them don't.
Greatest Killer Croc Story Ever Told:From one of my favorite Batman: The Animated Series episodes, four of Batman's main villains are trading their stories of how they each almost killed the Batman. Croc's is easily, EASILY the funniest moment in the entire series:
JE LEEST
Top 100 Batman VILLAINS
OverigName basically describes it. It's a list of the top 100 Batman villains. (Note: This isn't MY list. So, if you don't agree with it, don't freak out and rant in the comments)
