10 Things You Need To Know About Killer Croc Before You See Suicide Squad

One of the most exciting things about Suicide Squad for a comic book fan is that the movie will bring a team of mostly lesser known characters to the big screen for the first time. Yes, it features big hitters like the Joker and a cameo from Batman, but apart from them, the likes of Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Katana and Enchantress are not that familiar to wider audiences. Another of these lesser known villains is Killer Croc. A mainstay of Batman’s revolving rogues gallery for years, the reptilian looking Waylan Jones is one of the Caped Crusader’s most formidable foes. He might not be particularly smart, but his immense strength and savage qualities make him a tough one to beat. Plus, he’s a cannibal. So there's always that. But, what else do we know about the criminal crocodile? Read on for 10 fun facts about the character that you should probably know before heading into Suicide Squad. 10) He First Appeared In The 80s Most of the bigger figures in Batman’s rogues gallery come from the earlier half of the character’s history, but Killer Croc is a relatively recent addition (even though he’s ten years older than Harley Quinn). Created by Gerry Conway and Don Newton, the cannibalistic crocodile made his first proper appearance in Batman #357 in 1983. However, he'd been set up in a previous comic, Detective Comics #523, as a shadowy figure waiting in the wings. Initially, he was presented as taking over as mob boss from dead hoodlum the Squid. Naturally, a certain flying rodent man puts paid to that career turn. While he was still recognizably Croc as we know him, it was only later stories that would explore his more savage side and his sympathetic origins. 9) He Has A Tragic Backstory What Croc does have in common with a lot of the Dark Knight’s enemies is that he's not a two-dimensional villain and is only on the bad side due to a traumatic life. It’s not easy being green…and scaly. Little Waylon Jones immediately got a rough start in life when his mother died during childbirth. Not only that, but his father soon abandoned him too, due to his horrifying skin disorder, leaving Waylon in the “care” of his abusive and alcoholic aunt. After years of being mistreated by her for his stranger appearance, Jones finally snapped and violently killed his aunt (as well as consuming the body afterwards). From that day on, Waylon Jones was dead and Killer Croc was born. 8) His Affliction Is Based On Real Medical Conditions It might seem like a suitably fantastical idea for a comic book villain, but Killer Croc’s reptilian features aren’t as far-fetched as you might think. Unlike, say, Spider-Man or the Hulk, Croc could theoretically exist. The explanation for Croc’s affliction has varied over the years, but usually it's said that he suffers from Epidermolytic hyperkeratosis. A real-life skin disorder, those with the condition are born without the natural protection provided by normal skin and so develop thick, scaly tissue over their body. Obviously, those afflicted do not appear as reptilian as Croc, but the idea of it is based on fact. Croc’s condition is also based on the idea of regressive atavism – where someone’s DNA reverts back to a previous evolutionary form. In Croc’s case, a human/reptile hybrid. 7) He Has Various Superpowers If you're feeling pretty bad for poor Waylon at this point, there are some benefits to looking like a reptile. At least he’s got an array of handy superpowers. As well as those previously mentioned conditions, Jones was also born with a metahuman gene which amplifies his reptilian abilities. He’s naturally super strong, super durable and his thick hide makes him basically bullet proof. In a similar way to Spider-Man’s Lizard, he also has considerable regenerative abilities as he's been known to regrow teeth and fix broken limbs. He also possesses enhanced senses – once he’s caught your scent, there's no getting away from him. His sheer power also makes him one of the toughest adversaries Batman has faced. He easily beats the Caped Crusader on brute strength and has even bested Bane on a few occasions. 6) He’s Directly Responsible For Jason Todd Becoming Robin Dick Grayson’s origins as an orphaned circus acrobat are widely known by superhero fans. But did you know that the second Robin, Jason Todd, shares basically an identical backstory? This time around, though, it was Killer Croc who was responsible… As well Croc, Batman #357 also saw the debut of Jason Todd. When Croc is involved in some shifty dealings with a circus, Dick Grayson asks some acrobat pals of his to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, Trina and Joseph Todd are brutally murdered by the monster when he realizes he's being watched. Fuelled by his hatred for Croc, Todd joins Batman in his fight against Gotham’s underwold and becomes Boy Wonder Mark Two. Well, until a fateful encounter with the Joker, that is. But that’s a story for another time. 5) He’s Been Adapted For The Screen Many Times (Just Not Live-Action) As previously stated, Suicide Squad will serve as Killer Croc’s introduction to the movie-going public, as he has never appeared in any live-action movie or TV show before. However, that doesn’t mean this is his first time making it out of the comics, as he's turned up in numerous animated shows, straight-to-DVD movies and video games. Firstly, the character was a recurring villain in the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, in which he was unusually grey-skinned and played for laughs. He's gone on to appear in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Beware the Batman. He’s also featured in films like Son of Batman and Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts. Mostly interestingly to superhero fans, Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman, voiced the character in The Batman. He wouldn’t have been a bad choice to play him in Suicide Squad, actually. 4) He’s Part Of The Nolanverse Canon Hardcore fans would have noticed the off-hand reference to Killer Croc in The Dark Knight Rises, when some Gotham police officers discuss the rumours of giant alligators living in the city’s sewers. What you might not have realised, however, is that the character has properly appeared in the Nolan Batman universe. Plugged as being set in the continuity of the Dark Knight films. Batman: Gotham Knight is an animated anthology movie made up of various shorts that was intended to bridge the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. One segment features a Nolan-ized take on Croc, who's here a physically-deformed Arkham inmate. Driven mad by Scarecrow’s experiments on him, Croc goes on a rampage which Batman has to stop. Other Nolan-friendly villains who appear include Deadshot and a version of Firefly called the Man in Black. 3) He’s Never Been In The Suicide Squad Before While most of the line-up of Suicide Squad are taken from the comics, the film will introduce a couple of newbies to the group. The sword-wielding Katana is not usually connected to the team and nor is Killer Croc himself. Still, Croc has teamed up with other villains from time to time. As well as working with the Joker in the comics and Baby Doll in Batman: The Animated Series, Killer Croc does hold a membership card to the Secret Society of Supervillains. With various line-ups over the years, the SSoS certainly don’t play hero like the Suicide Squad and are generally portrayed as the antithesis of the Justice League. They've even been led by heavyweight big bads like Darkseid and Lex Luthor. 2) He Wasn’t Originally In The Film If Killer Croc is not traditionally a member of the Suicide Squad, you may be wondering why he's in the Suicide Squad movie? Well, that’s because he wasn’t originally intended to be, but was in fact a fairly late addition to the film. At first, director David Ayer planned to include long-term Squad member King Shark (recently seen on The Flash). However, when he realized that the character would have to be entirely created by CGI, Ayer decided not to use him. Instead, the similarly savage – and probably better known character – Killer Croc was introduced in his place. “I wasn’t quite comfortable having a full CG character,” said Ayer. “We actually ended up going with Killer Croc, who turned out to be the right guy for the job.” 1) The Killer Croc Prosthetic Took Five Hours to Put On Killer Croc isn’t exactly an easy character to realize either, of course. Though it would have been simpler in many ways to create the villain’s look with CG technology, Ayers insistence on utilizing practical effects meant that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje had a laborious process for getting into character. It took no less than five hours to fit the actor in the prosthetics. “The head and shoulders are prosthetic that were glued onto my face and then the body down was painted,” explained Akinnuoye-Agbaje. “It took about five hours to do, but it was something that was a challenge that I was up for because I wanted to set a new standard for what can be done with prosthetics. We could have easily CGI’d this, but David was insistent on their being an actor to bring out the soul of the character. It gave me an opportunity to show what I could do with prosthetics.”