Of all the members of Batman’s rogues gallery, Killer Croc has got to be one of the most inconsistent. He has been written as a street smart thug with a skin disease, as a dumb superhuman monster, and even as a freaky version of Clyde Barrow dating a woman trapped in the body of a child (you know, the kind of thing that happens when you let Steve Gerber write for a kids show). Amusingly enough, Killer Croc’s appearance has also been all over the place. Just check out these 10 different spins on the concept of a guy who looks like a crocodile…
The underworld crime boss, by Dan Jurgens:
Batman #359
This was the first time we saw Killer Croc’s semi-naked body. Also, as far as I know, this is the only reference to his monarchist tendencies.
The dragon-like apparition, by Dave McKean:
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
According to the annotated script, Killer Croc is meant to represent unreason, mindless strength, the brute appetites of nature and man, the Old Dragon of Revelations, the marlin in Old Man and the Sea, the Serpent, Jesus Christ, and Moby Dick, as well as ‘our evolutionary past rising up to threaten us with destruction,’ because Grant Morrison was not afraid of sounding too pretentious. (I wonder if Neil Gaiman also served as a visual model in this scene, like he did earlier in the book…)
The heartbroken robber, by Bo Hampton:
Batman & Robin Adventures #23
We’ve all been there, Croc…
The eccentric brute, by John McCrea:
Hitman #3
Hey, at least it’s better than Friends!
The terror of Arkham Asylum, by Ryan Sook:
Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #4
Like in Peter Pan, geddit?
The mutated mercenary, by Jim Lee:
Batman #610
Is it just me, or with that trenchcoat Killer Croc looks like a total pervert at large?
The cannibalistic pimp, by Eduardo Risso:
Batman #620
Cheetah pattern! Boy, it’s a shame Killer Croc doesn’t wear shirts more often.
The raging dinosaur/alien hybrid, by Francesco Mattina:
Joker’s Asylum: Killer Croc
Wait until Ellen Ripley gets a load of this… Interestingly, though, in the comic inside Croc is more of the strong, silent type.
The ethnic henchman, by Lee Bermejo:
Joker
This one is just wrong on so many levels.
The reptilian cock blocker, by Sam Kieth:
Arkham Asylum: Madness
Perfect spot for a date, if you ask me.
NEXT: Batman sings.