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Batman: Reptilian #4 reveals the surprising and horrific extraterrestrial origin of one of Gotham City’s classic and most notorious villains.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman: Reptilian #4, on sale now from DC Comics.
The Dark Knight is on the hunt for a mysterious creature that has been terrorizing Gotham City in Garth Ennis, Liam Sharp and Rob Steen’s DC Black Label series Batman: Reptilian. This new enemy has proven powerful enough to dismantle some of DC’s most notorious villains, including the Joker. However, Batman is one step closer to cracking the case in Batman: Reptilian #4 when he confronts Killer Croc and sheds some disturbing light on the villain’s origins.
After finding the Joker horribly mutilated at the hands of the beast, Batman ventures into Gotham’s sewers to track down Killer Croc. Croc is the last of the villains who were present at a meeting of Gotham’s supervillains which seems to have precipitated the grisly attacks plaguing the city. This leads Batman to believe that he is in grave danger and that he might be the key to finally catching whoever is behind these ferocious acts of violence. When the Caped Crusader finds Croc, the villain seems sickly and disoriented, with no memory of how he ended up underground. Batman explains that he believes that the monster is actually Killer Croc’s child and that it has been trying to find its way back to its parent. An understandably surprised Croc asks how this is even possible, and Batman delivers another earth-shattering surprise that extends back to the origin of Croc.
Batman tells Killer Croc the story of an extremely strange event that occurred in a swamp just outside of his hometown of Tampa, Florida in 1970, the year Croc was born. An unexplained event caused severe seismic activity before drastically changing the swamp and the surrounding area. Shortly after the event, bizarre, mutant creatures began to appear. Batman explains that “mammals were found bearing reptilian DNA,” and that various human examples were recorded too with scales completely covering portions of their bodies. The government attempted to cover up the event with a story about a plane crash and experimental chemicals, but Wayne’s research revealed that there was never any wreckage or any physical evidence to support the state’s claims. In fact, as far as he can tell, there was nothing “terrestrial” about the event. He implies that Croc and his child might actually be from outer space.
Killer Croc is understandably horrified to hear all of this. When he was growing up, young Waylon Jones believed he had a disease that gave him the appearance of a crocodile. This disfigurement, combined with the abuse he suffered at the hands of the alcoholic aunt who raised him, shaped his identity as a powerful villain. Since his first appearance in 1983’s Detective Comics #523 (by Gerry Conway, Gene Colan, Tony DeZuniga and Adrienne Roy), Killer Croc has been a mean, violent character, but he has always seemed distinctly human despite his appearance. However, Batman’s new revelation about Croc’s true nature now sheds a new light on the villain’s entire history.
Killer Croc’s origins have always been tragic. But, Batman: Reptilian #4 adds a grotesque and cosmic angle to Jones’ early days while raising some pressing questions about the nature of his child.
The issue ends with Croc and Batman finally coming face to face with the monster, which may provide more specifics regarding the newly revealed origin of one of Gotham City’s deadliest villains. At the very least, the Dark Knight may now have an ally in his fight against a truly terrifying opponent.
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