Killer Croc (Arkham Verse)

## Evil-Doer

**Waylon M. Jones**, better known as **Killer Croc**, is a major supporting secondary antagonist in the *Batman* franchise, specifically well known in the action-adventure *Batman Arkham* game series.

He's a violent and power-hungry (also just aggressively hungry) criminal murderous gangster who after being left alone by his cruel father to his abusive aunt, losing his mother, being bullied his entire life due to his medical condition and appearance, and even eventually losing the only other type of family he ever had, drove him to insanity. Where as he lost his mind, eventually killing those who wronged him, starting his quest for blood and his hatred for humanity.

He's arguably one of Batman's most vicious and dangerous foes, due to his endless persistence to hunt him down and kill him. He acts as one of the main bosses in *Arkham Asylum*, *Arkham Knight* and *Arkham Origins*, while being a minor antagonistic character in *Arkham City*.

He is voiced by Steve Blum.

## Biography:

Abandoned by his parents to his abusive and alcoholic aunt and bullied his entire life due to his appearance, the result of a genetic disorder he was born with, Waylon Jones embraced his animal instincts and violently murdered and devoured his aunt after he finally reached his breaking point. Later on through life, he decided to join a traveling circus and had adopted the stage name of "Killer Croc", Jones bonded with his fellow carnival workers and felt like he had a family for the first time.

That came to a tragic end, however, when vicious audience members in Gotham City destroyed the carnival and killed all whom Jones had felt affection for. Seeking revenge on all humanity for their crimes, Croc began to devour countless individuals to survive, and became a monster in both body and spirit. Driven by hatred and a lust for blood, Croc regularly worked with Gotham's various mob organizations as a brutal and cannibalistic hit-man to satisfy his appetite for violence and money. Seeing all (Or Most) humans as selfish and judgmental sacks of flesh, Jones mainly took orders from anyone who could provide him with enough money and a larger scope of victims.

## Personality:

Waylon Jones's psychopathic nature in his adult years, such as misanthropy and cannibalism are all attributed to his violent and tragic past. His skin disorder made him a constant victim of bullying and growing up with an abusive aunt virtually racked any hope Jones had for humanity. This almost certainly vanished when he murdered and devoured his alcoholic aunt and circus freaks whom he treated like family were killed by an enraged audience. As society only saw him as a monster and social leper he embraced himself as such, rejecting any humanity he may have or retain, he renamed himself as a career criminal, "Killer Croc." His opinions of humanity became so bleak by the time of *Arkham Asylum* that he doesn't even consider them people; in his own words as well as in his eyes, they are just "food" and bags of meat.

Between the events of *Arkham* *Origins* and *Knight*, Croc's personality had several differences. For example, in *Origins*, he carried some traits of humanity, shown in both behaviors and the fact he still wears clothing whereas in *Knight*, he is almost naked. As an assassin for hire, Croc's main ambitions were money, fame or the highest body count imaginable. He makes it perfectly clear that he possesses no loyalties or superiors, although he was employed by Black Mask he assures Batman "*the only boss a'me is me."* Croc's lack of loyalties was also displayed when after ambushing Batman during the Blackgate Riots and was grazed by a sniper he simply threw him away, allowing him to do whatever he wished with the Joker presumably out of the knowledge that when the night was over the Clown Prince would no longer have the means to pay him. He also appears to be needlessly aggressive. For instance after witnessing Loeb be executed he, out of the blue, hurtles one of Black Mask's henchman to a wall, presumably killing the man for no reason whatsoever as he didn't show any irritation or anger before doing such act.

In *Asylum*, Croc became a genuine animal, though not exactly possessing a sound mind before, given Asylum he reverted to that of an animalistic, savage mental state. He was driven more out of basic animal blood lust than common sense which makes him highly impulsive, normally not analyzing a situation or environment which can at times result in defeat. A specific case is when, thinking he had Batman cornered in his lair ran to him at full momentum but couldn't see he had laid a trap. He does seem to possess a sense of humor despite his barbaric mind but is extremely vicious and dark such as during patient interviews when his psychiatrist says after lacerating Aaron Cash's hand and he lost a lot of blood, Croc replies in a tone of complete indifference "*I nearly choked on that bony hand of his."*

By the time of *Knight*, Croc still seemed to have a degree of humanity left in him, as when he confronted Warden Ranken with the other inmates, screamed at him to cure him, and when he was confronted by Batman later at the GCPD Lockup, he actually wondered what was going happen to the Warden before his wild animal-like instincts took over and he vowed to kill everyone.

## In-Game:

### *Before The Arkham Events:*

After murdering his aunt upon finally reaching his breaking point, Waylon fled from society and eventually joined a traveling circus where he was made part of the freak-show, and became known as the alligator wrestler, "Killer Croc". Bonding with his fellow performers in the show, Jones finally felt as if he had a family, until a horrendous attack occurred at Gotham City by vicious audience members, who destroyed the circus and killed all whom Jones had felt attachment for.

Regardless, Jones eventually had various warrants, including 7 counts of assault, 8 counts of aggravated assault, 4 counts of murder of the first degree, 16 counts of murder of the second degree, 12 counts of manslaughter, 4 counts of drug dealing, and 5 counts of racketeering. During this time, Jones also tracked down and murdered the individuals who set the fire at the circus.

Seeing humanity as a disgusting waste of flesh, Jones became a cannibalistic murderer, and often employed himself to the mob for money, before he was apprehended by Batman on Christmas Eve at Blackgate Prison.

### *Arkham City Events:*

Killer Croc was one of the eight assassins that were hired by Black Mask to kill Batman for fifty million dollars on Christmas Eve. Croc worked alongside Black Mask as they carried Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb to the Execution Chamber at Blackgate.

As Black Mask escaped by helicopter, Croc stayed behind to take on Batman, who was in pursuit of the mobster. Eventually, he was defeated, and Batman demanded Black Mask's location. Croc didn't reveal this, but he revealed to Batman about the seven other assassins that were hired before he was knocked out, and was found by the GCPD.

He was then taken into custody by the GCPD. Croc was seen briefly at Blackgate attacking Batman during the Joker's Riot. While the sniper was aiming Batman was grabbed by Croc. Captain Gordon snuck up behind and knocked out the sniper with a baseball bat to save Batman's life. The bullet then hit Croc in his right shoulder which caused him to drop Batman and retreat back to his cell.

### *Arkham Origins & Asylum Events:*

After Quincy Sharp successfully re-opened Arkham Asylum, Killer Croc was presumably transferred to the new facility. It was also possible that Croc had escaped from Blackgate, and was then incarcerated at the Asylum prior to the Joker's takeover.

Croc was under treatment by Dr. Gretchen Whistler, who genuinely believed that he still had some humanity left in him. She kept believing this, even after he bit off security guard, Aaron Cash's left hand. Croc was never able to escape Arkham Island, and was still being held in the sewers until the Joker's takeover.

Killer Croc was one of the many inmates of Arkham Asylum at the time of the Joker's takeover. Croc's physical condition worsened considerably since he was hired as an assassin, as had his mind, which became far more bestial in nature, and he developed a personal hatred of Batman, most likely as a result of his imprisonment. Even more deformed and reptilian in appearance (as well as growing even larger), Croc was imprisoned in the sewer system of Arkham Asylum where the staff fed him meat and just tried to "forget about him". When Batman was escorting the Joker through the Intensive Treatment Center, Croc was escorted by some of the staff (including Louie Green), with a shock collar around his neck, and chains on both his hands and feet to keep him under control. Croc spotted Batman and claimed that he would hunt him down very soon. Croc was then taken back to his lair by a number of asylum security personnel when the Joker took control of Arkham Island. He saw Batman pass by a locked door that was adjacent to the sewer. Croc then punched the door's window and claimed that he would get Batman soon.

Eventually, Batman was forced to enter Croc's Lair in order to retrieve the plant spores that were required to create the antidote to the Titan Formula, which the Joker had used in his schemes. Batman soon learned of the antidote's location after his discussion with Poison Ivy in the Elizabeth Arkham Greenhouse at the Botanical Gardens. He was then followed by another villain, Scarecrow, down into the sewers and who threatened to dump his Fear Toxin into the water supply, which lead straight to the Gotham River. Before Scarecrow could do so, however, Croc jumped out of the water, grabbed him, and thought that he was a lone security guard or an inmate. Batman attempted to subdue Croc by activating his shock collar with a Batarang.

Croc flinched for a moment before he jumped back into the water, dragged Scarecrow down with him, and brutally mauled him. Batman made his way to Croc's Lair, where Croc attacked him several times, only to be foiled by Batman activating his shock collar with multiple Batarangs. Eventually, Croc cornered Batman at the entrance of his lair and charged at him. Unknown to Croc, Batman had laced the floor with Explosive Gel and detonated it as soon as he ran across it. Croc then plummeted into the water below and vowed revenge on Batman.

### *Arkham Knight Events:*

On the night of Scarecrow's final attack, Croc's tranquilizer wore off and he escaped from his cell before crashing the flying prison into Gotham Bay. After he killed many of the crash's survivors, (even leaving a half-eaten corpse) Croc captured Warden Ranken and carried him into the Experimentation Chamber with a number of other inmates in tow, all of whom were experimented on as well, and intended on inflicting every torture ever performed on him back onto the Warden himself. Because he freed them, the inmates hailed Croc as a hero and followed his orders.

Croc screamed at Ranken to undo the acceleration of his mutation, but the warden told him it was impossible; Croc didn't believe him. When a prisoner suggests he eat Ranken's head, Croc knocked him away, stating that Ranken must suffer as much as they have first. Batman attempted to surprise Croc and knock him out, but Croc already knew he was there and knocked him away; he knew Batman's scent. Croc tossed Ranken into a holding area and ordered the inmates to attack. Joined by Nightwing, Batman knocked out Croc and the inmates. As Croc was too heavy for either of them to carry, Croc was loaded onto a flatbed and airlifted to the GCPD Lockup by the Batwing.

Croc threatened Cash as he was led into the elevator, and spent the rest of the night in the West Wing's Isolation Chamber. However, as a sense of poetic justice, his isolation chamber was placed directly next to Warden Ranken's prison cell, to the latter's horror. Batman told Croc that though he may have suffered unjustly, he still killed people and would answer for that. Croc asked what would become of Warden Ranken, to which the Dark Knight answered that he would face justice for his crimes. Croc couldn't care less and promised that Ranken, Batman, and everyone will die.

The only piece of evidence that Batman could find to add to the evidence case of the West Wing in GCPD was the left hand Ranken had sawed off Croc. Cash gave an audio file, that was both sympathetic and snide as it was poetic justice Killer Croc got his hand removed (since Croc ate Cash's hand back during their days at Arkham Asylum.)

Croc briefly appeared in Batman's final hallucination, and took part in Joker's capture before he was knocked down, and possibly even killed by the Jokermobile.

## Trivia:

* According to Croc himself, it takes him roughly 8 hours to digest something (Mainly when it comes to whole human/animal flesh).
* In one of the three alternate endings in *Batman: Arkham Asylum* after the credits, Killer Croc's hand emerged from the water by Arkham's docks and grabbed onto a floating case of Titan. Scarecrow also did the same when he had escaped from Arkham Asylum.
* If the player made Batman move about after Killer Croc came out of the elevator and spotted him, Killer Croc's head would follow him no matter where Batman moved about.
* In the beginning of the game, Joker could be heard saying, "Tick-tock, tick-tock, is that a crocodile I hear?" This was a nod to *Peter Pan*, which featured a crocodile that at one point had swallowed a clock, which caused people around it to hear the infamous ticking as it drew near. Aaron Cash's missing hand was also a nod to Captain Hook in *Peter Pan*. Croc himself makes the same reference in one of his game over lines, saying "Tick Tock, feed the Croc!"
* In Dr. Young's Notes, Penguin's signature was seen at the top of his page. That could have been a small reference to *LEGO Batman: The Videogame*, in which Penguin, Killer Croc, Catwoman, Bane and Man-Bat teamed up in an evil plan to terrorize Gotham, although this is unlikely.
* At the Medical Facility, an old prison cell was used as a Riddler Challenge puzzle to unlock Croc's Biography. That was most likely Croc's previous cell before he was moved to the sewers. The cell, however, seemed to be too small to fit something as big as Killer Croc. However it is likely this was Croc's original cell before his mutation progressed.
* After the events of *Arkham City*, Croc could be seen in the Iceberg Lounge Challenge Map, being the only invitee to Penguin's birthday party and watching Batman fight many enemies while smoking a cigar and sipping a glass of liquor.
	+ This joined together with Penduin's signature on Dr Young's notes points to the fact that they seem to have some sort of friendship in the Arkham games.

* He was one of the few villains in *Arkham City* to not have a game over scene (along with Bane and Hush). However, that could have attributed to the fact that none of those characters could physically kill the player within the game.
* Killer Croc was one of only four villains to appear in all the Arkham games. The other three were: Joker, Riddler, and Harley Quinn. Although the Riddler never physically appeared in *Arkham Asylum*, he still played a big part of the game. Harley only appeared as Dr. Harleen Quinzel in *Arkham Origins*.
* As seen in the "Gallery" of this page, Killer Croc not only killed his victims by hand. Croc also shot them, as he used to own multiple guns. Croc also used to possess a bag of cocaine (and a weed plant according to rumors), which meant that he dealt in or had more likely (given his human side was that of a street thug) used drugs.
* When Killer Croc emerged from the elevator, the P.A. announced his arrival and granted Killer Croc's guards their "Shoot to Kill" permissions. Although Croc's upper body had no clothing, his bio mentioned that his skin was so tough that it could repel gunfire, so shooting was useless. In *Arkham Origins*, Captain Gordon hit a Joker Henchman Sniper with a baseball bat, and the bullet grazed Croc's right shoulder after he escaped and attacked Batman. That further showed the progression of Croc's mutation.
* Killer Croc's *Arkham Asylum* bio listed his occupation as a "professional criminal" but in *Arkham City*, his bio listed his occupation as an "alligator wrestler, gangster, and murderer".
* Even though his name was on the Joker's Party List, Croc appeared to be the only inmate during Joker's takeover not to be released from his cell as he attacked the door that Batman was behind. However, given his tendency to attack and eat guards and inmates alike, it was likely that Joker's men where afraid to free Croc from his cell, or Joker left him there to guard the plant spores that were needed to create a vaccine to the Titan Formula, as he likely realized that Batman would surely seek out an antidote for the formula.
* When Killer Croc rammed into Batman (which occurred if the player was unable to throw a Batarang in time), it was possibly a very small trait from his wrestling career as wrestling is a full-body contact sport.
* Croc was 28 years old, 8 ft 6 in and weighed 485 pounds by the time of Batman's second year at crime fighting.

* One of the torturous experiments performed on Croc to study his healing factor involved sawing off his hand and part of his left arm. Croc's hand and left arm later regenerated and his severed arm was apparently kept for study as it is later recovered from wreckage of Iron Heights Penitentiary, and placed in an Evidence Display case in the West Wing of GCPD Maximum Security (which is a portion of the GCPD Building that is only accessible via the The Season of Infamy DLC).
	+ Croc having his left hand and arm severed can be seen as a form of both irony and poetic justice considering Croc was responsible for biting off Aaron Cash left hand, forcing him to wear a prosthetic hook. Despite the troubled history between the two, Cash is shown to feel some sympathy for the torture Croc suffered, including the brutal severing of Croc left arm in the name of science. However, while feeling some sympathy for what Croc had gone through, Cash is quick to point out that, unlike Croc, his hand didn't grow back.

* Killer Croc's idle stance in *Arkham Asylum* is modelled after the rapper 50 Cent. This shows that despite his animalistic appearance and tendencies, he still retains the "gangster" aspect of his personality.
* This version of Killer Croc, specifically his Arkham Asylum/Arkham City appearance, is a playable character in Injustice Mobile.

## Gallery:

Croc in Arkham Asylum.Croc staring down Batman.Killer Croc charging at Batman within his lair.Killer Croc assaulting and kidnapping Scarecrow.Croc's final attempts to slaughter Batman.Croc falling into deeper water, thus his defeat.Croc's secret death animation.Croc scaring Batman, earlier in the game.Batman, Ash, Joker and Croc present in his first appearance.Croc killing Batman, in the common death scenes.