Waylon Jones (Prime Earth)

Waylon Jones is Killer Croc, a misunderstood man with a congenital disability that gives him some of the traits of a crocodile. Because he was treated like a monster for most of his life, he became very cynical and dangerous, making him an enemy of Batman. However, he's made multiple attempts to show his kinder side when given the opportunity.

History

Origin

His Auntie Flowers raised Waylon Jones in Gotham City before becoming the monster he would grow up to be one day. Cursed with an incurable congenital disability that made him gradually become more reptilian in appearance, Jones was ridiculed as a child. During one of these ridiculing sessions, a policeman born missing an arm called Hoolihan sat down next to him, asking what was wrong. Waylon replied that he was a freak and that it hurt. Hoolihan told him that he's not a freak and may grow up as a President or a king.^[2]

As he grew into a young adult, Jones seemed to embrace what he had become. Becoming a professional carnival wrestler at Haley's Circus, Jones adopted the name " Killer Croc". However, tired of people treating him like a monster because he looked different, Jones became bitter with the world and began to turn to violence, such as biting off his wrestling manager's hand when the man verbally abused him.^[2]

He would watch the Flying Graysons with envy because he could see how happy they were together while he suffered alone and envied their superstardom as the circus' main attraction. He left when Dick Grayson was little but remembered him during his early career as Robin, seeking revenge against him.^[3]

Early Career

Jones later, as an adult, took to the sewers of Gotham, finding it an appropriate place for him to live. His shadowy nature and monstrous appearance made him appear as a threat to the city's protector Batman, and the two battled each other a few times.

During Batman's second year as a vigilante, Waylon participated in the "War of Jokes and Riddles" between the Joker and the Riddler for the right to kill Batman. Croc volunteered for the Riddler's army and, alongside multiple others of Gotham's worst, fought for weeks with the Bat, unable to control the violence. Eventually, Batman was forced to work alongside the Riddler in order to stop the Joker and, when the clown was finally cornered, double-crossed Croc and the rest of Nygma's army by simultaneously incapacitating all of them with Kiteman's kites.^[4]

Killer Croc's position in the criminal hierarchy would vary drastically over the years. Though often muscle for other criminals, Croc was at one point enough of a going consideration as a gang kingpin to attend a meeting of Gotham's crime syndicates alongside Oswald Cobblepot, Roman Sionis, and The Joker.^[5]

At a point when Croc wasn't locked up in Arkham Asylum, he fought Roy Harper in Hell's Kitchen but quickly noticed Roy wasn't fighting back. He figured out that Roy was trying to use him to commit assisted suicide and comforted the ex-sidekick instead of fighting him.^[6] Croc actually became Roy's sponsor for his alcoholism.^[7]

Forever Evil and the "Arkham War"

Taking advantage of the Crime Syndicate's arrival onto Earth, Killer Croc took to the sewers of blackened and broken Gotham. Taking in refugees from the chaos above, "King Croc" taught them how to survive in the sewers with him, becoming the leader of a large band of survivors.

As the criminals on the surface began to fight each other for dominance in the unofficially named "Arkham War", Croc struck a deal with the Arkham criminals, lead by the Scarecrow, in order to protect his precious sewer system. As the two spoke in the broken Wayne Industries building, Bane, leader of the Blackgate criminals, arrived and beat Croc in a fight, throwing him out of the window to his apparent death.

However, Croc managed to survive his fall and continued to support Scarecrow's plot for dominance. Being tricked into drinking Venom-laced wine, Croc fell to the drug's effect, becoming an even bigger hulking giant. Even so, Croc again was beaten by Bane in a final fight for control of the city. Left unconscious in the street, Gotham's new protector, Bane, victoriously stood over him.

Batman Eternal

After the fall of the Crime Syndicate, Killer Croc retook his residence in the sewers of Gotham City. When zombies showed up under Arkham Asylum and began to eat some people down in the sewers, he was initially assumed to be the reason for the victims. Still, as Batman and Jason Bard learned, Croc was simply acting as the champion of the lowest classes who lived down there, people who Batman never directly helped at all and the Gotham City Police Department ignored.^[8]

At the behest of Poison Ivy, who herself was teaming up with the Calabrese crime family under Selina Kyle (her friend and the former Catwoman), Croc fought and defeated Bane in single combat, using his knowledge of the workings of Venom that he earned through Arkham War to bleed the Venom out of Bane's body before tying him up for Batman to take into custody. He has subsequently been seen as a bodyguard of Selina Kyle herself.^[9]

Batman: Endgame

During the Joker's endgame plot against Batman, the clown gassed the entire city with Joker Venom. Croc, meeting up with a group of Batman's rogues that had escaped Arkham Manor^[10], decided to help the heroes save Gotham from the Joker. Working together, Croc fended off a crowd of Jokerized citizens while Batman battled the Joker until they both perished beneath the streets of Gotham.^[11]

Suicide Squad

At some point, Croc was taken into custody and put onto Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad.^[12] Croc and the revamped Suicide Squad would go on a mission to retrieve a "cosmic item" from a Russian undersea prison, which was revealed to be a portal to the Phantom Zone and encountered General Zod. While fighting Zod, Enchantress was almost killed before Croc intervened. After the mission, Croc and June had a heartfelt conversation and embraced. Their relationship had a rocky start; during a mission in New York, Croc would try to encourage her to push start a relationship but later expressed fear and shed a tear that he would lose her if she were able to achieve her dream. Enchantress rampaged in New York City until it was revealed that it was an editor from a magazine company who rejected June. After being convinced by Croc to reevaluate her, he decided to give her some freelance work. Moved by Waylon's actions, June reigned in the Enchantress and thanked her love for helping her.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Regressive Atavism: Atavism results in traits ancestral to the human species being expressed again. This is why Jones possesses scales, sharpened talons and teeth, large size, and enhanced physical abilities.^[2]
  • Claws: Killer Croc's fingers are sharpened and white like bones. He uses them to cut open doors or crush skulls.^[2]
  • Fangs: Killer Croc's teeth are large and sharp yet still human. He can bite down through bone, metal, and wood.^[2]
  • Regeneration: He has regenerative powers.^{[citation needed]}
  • Enhanced Sense of Smell: Croc has had an enhanced sense of smell since he was young.^[13]
  • Superhuman Durability: Killer Croc's skin deflects bullets and alligator bites. He can survive the fall from the top of a skyscraper.^[2]
  • Superhuman Speed: Killer Croc has an incredible amount of speed for such a large creature. He moves so fast in the sewers that he can come up on prey unnoticed.^[2]
  • Superhuman Strength: Killer Croc has an enhanced level of physical strength. He has traded blows with a Venom-enhanced Bane.^[2] According to Batman, Waylon can lift a school bus.^[14]

Abilities

• Leadership: Killer Croc knows what it's like to be downtrodden and hurt. He used this knowledge and his home in the sewers to house and control homeless youth and the like. He now runs his own personal kingdom.^[2]
• Bilingualism: Killer Croc enjoys French literature and appears fluent in the language.^[9]
• Wrestling: Killer Croc's primary fighting style is wrestling. He learned to wrestle in his early adulthood while trying to make enough money to survive in a circus. He combines wrestling with savagery and strategy in order to wear down opponents.^[2]
• Swimming: Killer Croc is an adept swimmer due to living in the sewers for so long.

Other Characteristics

• Monstrous Appearance
• Alcoholism(Formerly): Croc was Roy Harper's alcoholism sponsor, meaning that he has conquered his alcohol addiction.

Notes

• Killer Croc (Waylon Jones) was created by Gerry Conway, Gene Colan and Don Newton, first appearing as in Detective Comics #523. However, in the rebooted Prime Earth continuity, his first appearance as part of the DC Universe is in Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth's New 52 Red Hood and the Outlaws series.
  

Trivia

• Croc is dating June Moone (Enchantress host) as of Suicide Squad (Volume 5) #20 and they were a stable couple as of Suicide Squad: Black Files #3
• Waylon is a fan of classic French literature.^[17]

Related

• 349 Appearances of Waylon Jones (Prime Earth)
• 178 Images featuring Waylon Jones (Prime Earth)
• 12 Quotations by or about Waylon Jones (Prime Earth)
• Character Gallery: Waylon Jones (Prime Earth)

Footnotes

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