Who do you think is the most underrated Batman villain? The one who you think is so cool, but not everybody knows about him or cares about him.
I think that Killer Croc is largely underrated. He’s often depicted as a hulking monster with a taste for human flesh and little to no emotional depth, but in actuality Waylon Jones does possess humanity and chose to live a life of solitude in Gotham’s sewers only after enduring years of abuse and torture at the hands of humans. Arkham Unhinged #21 does an excellent job of illustrating the reasoning behind Waylon’s disgust for humans, and the events that led to him becoming a villain who views people only as prey.
After being abandoned by his parents, Waylon was sent to live with his alcoholic, abusive aunt. She was repulsed by Waylon’s appearance and kept him imprisoned inside of a closet, shackled in chains and barely fed. On the occasions that Waylon was allowed outside of the closet or managed to escape, he was beaten and bullied by both his aunt and his schoolmates.
One day Waylon finally snapped and murdered his aunt, then devoured her corpse.
He spent the next several years on the run from the law, living in swamps and homeless camps until he met a blind girl named Becky. Becky was the first kind person Waylon had ever met, and when she introduced him to her friends in a traveling circus team—many of whom were like Waylon and had physical abnormalities—Waylon decided to join them as “Killer Croc, The Incredible Gator Man”. Feeling accepted for the first time in his life—both by the circus crowds and his new family—Waylon was truly happy and content.
Eventually the circus was sold to a new owner, who took a much more cruel approach to the attractions by labeling them as “freaks”; the friendly, warm crowds were now replaced with disgusted gawkers who threw garbage at Waylon and the other circus members.
One day a group of particularly violent and cruel audience members set fire to the circus, resulting in an explosion that killed most of the circus, including Waylon’s young friend Becky.
After the fire, Waylon sought revenge by hunting down the men responsible for the fire and eventually turned to crime, becoming a bodyguard for mobsters and catching the attention of Batman. One day he managed to escape from Arkham Asylum and took up residence in Gotham’s sewer system, eating whoever was foolish enough to enter his new home. Now completely misanthropic after suffering a lifetime full of injustice, Waylon embraced the Killer Croc persona and his monstrous reputation.
Killer Croc might be considered a monster, but he wasn’t born one; rather, he was created by those who he viewed as the real monsters—humans. Had his life not been so tragic and unkind, it’s entirely possible that Waylon Jones would never have become Killer Croc.
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