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The Seeds of Death is the fifth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 25 January to 1 March 1969. It is distinguished as the second appearance of the Ice Warriors.

Plot[link]

At the end of the twenty-first century, a teleportation technology called "T-Mat" has replaced all traditional forms of transport, allowing people and objects to travel instantly anywhere on Earth. Manned space exploration has ceased due to the ease of life on Earth. The Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Herriot arrive in a museum on Earth run by Professor Daniel Eldred dedicated to the obsolete technology of rockets. However, something goes amiss at the T-Mat vital relay station on the Moon and the system breaks down. With communications out, and no way to reach the Moon without T-Mat, those responsible for the system, Commander Radnor and his assistant Gia Kelly, turn to Professor Eldred to help. He has been privately building a rocket in hopes of re-igniting interest in space travel. In the absence of a space program to provide trained astronauts, the Doctor and his companions volunteer to crew the rocket.

On the moon, the relay station has been subject to a takeover. Controller Osgood has been killed sabotaging the relay system to try to prevent a takeover, and his deputy Fewsham has been pressed into assisting the invaders. Of the other technicians, Phipps is scared but defiant of the invaders while Locke actively tries to contact Earth and explain the situation, for which he is killed. The invaders are revealed as Ice Warriors, a militant Martian race, have taken control of the moonbase as a staging point for an invasion of Earth. Fewsham repairs the T-Mat link on receive mode and Miss Kelly beams through. She is put to work on repairing the full T-Mat system.

When the Doctor and his companions arrive on the moon by rocket – after a rather bumpy ride - they discover the situation and make contact with Phipps, who has evaded the invaders and is hiding in the moonbase. The Doctor accidentally reveals himself to the Ice Warriors and their leader the Ice Lord, Commander Slaar. It becomes apparent that the Ice Warriors have a deadly plan: they have seeds, which they send to various parts of Earth using T-mat, of a fungus that will multiply and suck all the oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere, making it more comfortable for the Martians but uninhabitable for humans. Once the full T-Mat relay is repaired, one seed is sent to Earth Control and explodes, killing a technician called Brent and alerting Radnor and Eldred of the danger. The seed soon creates foam which multiplies its effects and imperils more and more people. Other T-Mat terminals across the world receive more seeds with similar effects. Radnor takes a while to work out that the seeds seem to have been deposited in a pattern – all in the Northern zone, where the country is facing winter. The Ice Warriors also use T-Mat to dispatch a small advance force to seize Earth's weather control systems in London and ensure good conditions for the growth of the fungus.

Back on the moon Miss Kelly and Phipps work with Zoe and Jamie to stage diversions and attacks against the Ice Warriors. During their main assault to free the Doctor, Phipps is killed. The Ice Warriors have now retreated to their spacecraft to plan the next stage of their invasion, leaving an opportunity for most of the captives to flee the moonbase. Fewsham, however, remains behind, seemingly fearing an enquiry into his actions if he returns to Earth.

The Doctor’s first action in T-Mat control on Earth is to deduce how to stop the seed pods exploding, and works out they can be defeated using water. This explains where the Ice Warrior beamed to Earth has gone, and the Doctor tracks him down to the weather control system, where the alien has been stationed to prevent any rain fall that would be deadly to the pods. The Doctor and his allies recapture the weather control system and summon rain, destroying the fungus which is used to the dry conditions on Mars.

Fewsham has meanwhile delivered a crushing blow to the Ice Warriors. He dupes Slaar into revealing in a live link with Earth that the main Martian invasion force is following a homing signal to the Moon, for which he is killed. But at least the Doctor now knows the full extent of the Ice Warrior plans. He decides to return to the moonbase and set a new signal for the Martian fleet from there, but knows to do so will be very dangerous. The Doctor uses T-Mat to return to the Moon and confronts Slaar while cleverly substituting the alternative signal. This draws the Martian fleet away and lures it into the Sun. Slaar moves to kill the Doctor in revenge but the arrival of Jamie in a T-Mat cubicle causes chaos, and Slaar is killed in one of the sonic beams of the last of his warriors. Jamie then kills the surviving Martian and the invasion is over. The Doctor and Jamie return to Earth and then make their goodbyes before departing in the TARDIS with Zoe.

Continuity[link]

• This story introduces the concept of the caste system within Martian society. There are two distinct (unnamed on screen) classes of Martians; the Ice Warriors, which were seen in The Ice Warriors (1967), and the Ice Lords. It becomes clear at the end of Episode One that all of the warriors are subordinate to the Ice Lord Slaar. Moreover, the story indicates that there is even a hierarchy within the Ice Lord class when it introduces the Grand Marshal in Episode Five. This is illustrated by the fact that Slaar is seen taking orders from the Grand Marshal once the Ice Warriors had T-Mat under their control. The appearance of the Martians is also connected with this caste system. Whereas the Ice Warriors tend to wear heavy reptilian armour and large helmets, the Ice Lords tend to wear a slender and less bulky uniform with a more decorative helmet.
• While matter transportation technology first appeared in Doctor Who in The Daleks' Master Plan, it was called "particle dissemination". This story calls it "T-Mat", and subsequent stories would settle on the name "transmat" to describe the technology, which would come to be used within Doctor Who much as transporters are used in Star Trek.
• The Astral Map prop, first seen in the First Doctor's adventure, The Web Planet appears in a space museum, though it is not referred to as such.

Production[link]

• The working title of this story was The Lords of the Red Planet.
• Although Brian Hayles is solely credited as the story's author, series script editor Terrance Dicks rewrote Episodes 3 through 6 of the script, partially as he considered Hayles's original ending lackluster and unworkable but also because originally Jamie McCrimmon was to have been replaced by a new companion called Nik by this story, but then actor Frazer Hines postponed his departure. Dicks was co-credited on the sleeve of the VHS release for his writing duties on the serial.
• Patrick Troughton does not appear in Episode 4 as he was on holiday when it was being recorded. A double stands in for him in some shots where the Doctor is seen unconscious on the floor.

Cast notes[link]

• This story is the first story to feature Alan Bennion in the role of an Ice Lord, this one named Slaar. Bennion would return as the Ice Lords Izlyr in The Curse of Peladon and Azaxyr in The Monster of Peladon.
• Sonny Caldinez, who played Slaar's second in command, is the only actor to appear as an Ice Warrior in all four televised Doctor Who stories to feature the Ice Warriors. Caldinez also appeared in The Evil of the Daleks as Kemel.
• Ronald Leigh-Hunt played Commander Radnor in this story. Leigh-Hunt would play Commander Stevenson in Revenge of the Cybermen.
• Steve Peters, who played an Ice Warrior, was billed simply as "Alien" in the Radio Times listing for episode one, so as not to spoil the surprise of the Ice Warriors' appearance.
• Harry Towb later played McDermott in Terror of the Autons.

In print[link]

A novelisation of this serial, written by Dicks, was published by Target Books in July 1986.

VHS and DVD releases[link]

• This story was released on VHS and Betamax in 1985 in an omnibus format.
• In February 2003, an unedited remastered, VidFIREd version was released on Region 2 DVD. The story was chosen to represent the Patrick Troughton era as part of the Doctor Who 40th Anniversary releases.
• A special edition Region 2 DVD with expanded special features and improved picture quality was released along with similarly expanded special editions of the Carnival of Monsters and Resurrection of the Daleks as part of the Revisitations 2 DVD boxed set on 28 March 2011.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Second Doctor

• The Seeds of Death at BBC Online
• The Seeds of Death at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
• The Seeds of Death at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• Doctor Who Locations - The Seeds of Death

Reviews[link]

• The Seeds of Death reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
• The Seeds of Death reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide

Target novelisation[link]

• On Target — The Seeds of Death

Seeds of Death redirects here. For the Doctor Who serial, see The Seeds of Death.

Have Mercy on Us All aka. Seeds of Death (original French title: Pars vite et reviens tard, lit. "Leave quickly and come back late") is a 2007 film directed by Régis Wargnier, based on the 2003 novel by Fred Vargas.

It was released in France on January 24, 2007.

Have Mercy on Us All is Michel Serrault's last film because the actor died from cancer on July 29, 2007.

Cast and roles[link]

• José Garcia - Chief Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg
• Marie Gillain - Marie
• Lucas Belvaux - Danglard
• Olivier Gourmet - Joss Le Guern
• Nicolas Cazalé – Damas
• Linh Dan Pham – Camille
• Michel Serrault - Hervé Decambrais/Hervé Ducouëdic

External links[link]

• Have Mercy on Us All at the Internet Movie Database

This article related to a French film of the 2000s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

v t e Cinema of France Actors Directors Cinematographers Editors Films A-Z Producers Score composers Screenwriters Film festivals Films by year: 1892–1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

The Seeds were an American rock band. The group, whose repertoire spread between garage rock and acid rock, are considered one of the pioneers of punk rock.^[1]

History[link]

Lead singer Sky Saxon had a musical career that went back to pre-Beatle music days, when he recorded a few 45s under the name Richie Marsh. Born in Salt Lake City, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1960s. The Seeds were formed in 1965 with Saxon joining as a response to an advertisement. Keyboardist Daryl Hooper was a major factor in the band's sound; the band was one of the first to utilize keyboard bass. Guitarists Jan Savage and Jeremy Levine with drummer Rick Andridge completed the original quintet, but Levine left shortly after the first recording sessions for personal reasons. Although Sky Saxon is usually credited as bass player, he did not play bass on any of the Seeds' recordings. This was handled by session men, usually one Harvey Sharpe. On stage, keyboardist Daryl Hooper would handle the bass parts via a separate bass keyboard, in the same way as Ray Manzarek did with the Doors.

The Seeds' first single, "Can't Seem to Make You Mine", was a regional hit in southern California in 1965. The song was also played regularly on AM rock stations in northern California (and probably elsewhere), where it was well received by listeners. The band had their only national Top 40 hit, "Pushin' Too Hard", in 1966. Three subsequent singles, "Mr. Farmer" (also 1966), a re-release of "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" (1967), and "A Thousand Shadows" (1968) achieved more modest success, although all were most popular in southern California. Musically uncomplicated and dominated by Saxon's vocal style and flair for simple melodic hooks, their first two albums are today considered classics of '60s garage music. A later album (Future, 1967) was full-blown psychedelic rock, with ornate flower-themed graphics to match, and another was devoted to the blues (with liner notes by Muddy Waters).

By mid-1968, with their commercial popularity flagging, the group's personnel began to change; the band was renamed "Sky Saxon and the Seeds" in 1969, by which point Bob Norsoph, guitar, and Don Boomer, drums, had replaced Savage and Andridge. Saxon continued to use the name "The Seeds", using various backup musicians, at least through 1972; the last major-label records of new material by The Seeds—two non-charting singles on MGM records—were released in 1970.

After the dissolution of the Seeds, Sky Saxon joined the Yahowha religious group, inspired by their divine leader Father Yod. Although a member of the Source Family for several years, Saxon did not participate in any of the albums released by Yahowha 13 in the mid 1970s. He does appear on the "Golden Sunrise" album by Fire Water Air, which was a Yahowha 13 off-shoot, and later recorded the "Yod Ship Suite" album in memory of the deceased Father Yod. In the 1970s, Saxon also released the solo LPs "Lovers Cosmic Voyage" (credited to Sunlight) and "Live At The Orpheum" credited to Sunlight Rainbow. Sky, (Source family name Arelich) collaborated with Damian and Isis Aquarian for their original vinyls and Isis archive photos- that he produced in a 13 CD Box set called "God and Hair". Members of the Source Family went their separate ways after Father Yod died in a hang gliding accident in Hawaii 1975, although Saxon continued to collaborate with various members of the Yahowa group. The Source Family reunited in the 2000s, following substantial media interest and an official biography Book, the untold story of "Father Yod, Yahowha13 and the Source Family" by Isis Aquarian- who was the family Historian,Archivist, Temple keeper, and one of Father/Yahowha wives.

In the 1980s, Saxon collaborated with several bands—including Redd Kross and The Chesterfield Kings—before reforming the original Seeds in 1989 to headline "The Summer of Love Tour", along with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Arthur Lee and Love, The Music Machine, and The Strawberry Alarm Clock. The Seeds remained dormant again until 2003, when Saxon reformed them with original guitarist Jan Savage and newcomers Rik Collins on bass and Dave Klein on keyboards. This new version of the Seeds has gone through several incarnations, with Savage departing midway through their 2003 European tour due to his health. Saxon remained the only original member of The Seeds, which continued to tour Europe and the United States. Sky Saxon died on June 25, 2009.^[2]

On July 24, 2009, members of The Smashing Pumpkins, Love, and The Electric Prunes performed a tribute concert at the Los Angeles's Echoplex in memory of Sky Saxon.^[3]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• The Seeds 1966
• A Web of Sound 1966
• Future 1967
• A Full Spoon of Seedy Blues (as the Sky Saxon Blues Band) 1967
• Raw & Alive in Concert at Merlin's Music Box 1968
• Fallin Off the Edge 1977
• Bad Part Of Town 1982
• Evil Hoodoo 1988
• Travel With Your Mind 1993
• Back to the garden 2008

Singles[link]

• "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" / "I Tell Myself" (#41 US)[2]
• "Mr. Farmer" / "Up in Her Room" (#86 US)
• "Pushin' Too Hard" / "Try to Understand" (#36 US) (#44 Canada)
• "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" (re-release) (#33 Canada)
• "A Thousand Shadows" / "March of the Flower Children" (#72 US)
• "The Wind Blows Your Hair" / "Six Dreams"
• "Satisfy You" / "900 Million People Daily (All Making Love)"
• "Falling Off the Edge of My Mind" / "Wild Blood"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of Sky Saxon and The Seeds - Tribute album details here
• Sky Sunlight Saxon.com– Music,Lyrics,Photos and Discography
• "Unofficial" Sky Saxon and the Seeds website with extensive discography
• Biography at blogcritics.org
• "The Lama Workshop", psychedelic music site with detailed history of Sky Saxon's recordings
• Sky Saxon Interview in Horror Garage
• An Appreciation of Sky Saxon by the Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan

For the defunct avant-garde metal band from Kristiansand, Norway, see In the Woods...

In the Woods
Cover of In The Woods
Author(s)	Tana French
Country	Ireland
Language	English
Series	Dublin Murder Squad
Genre(s)	Mystery
Publisher	Viking Adult
Publication date	30 January 2007
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	496
ISBN	978-0-670-03860-2
OCLC Number	191864570
Dewey Decimal	823/.92 22
LC Classification	PR6106.R457 I52 2007
Followed by	The Likeness: A Novel

In the Woods is a 2007 mystery novel by Tana French about a pair of Irish detectives and their investigation of the murder of a twelve year old girl. The novel won several awards such as the 2008 Edgar Award for Best First Novel By An American Author,^[1] the 2008 Barry Award for Best First Novel,^[2] the 2008 Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel,^[3] and the 2008 Anthony Award for Best First Novel.^[4]

Plot[link]

Twenty years prior to the novel's events, twelve year-old Adam and his two best friends failed to come home after playing in the familiar woods bordering their Irish housing estate. A search is called by the families, and the police find Adam shivering, clawing the bark of a nearby tree, blood on his shoes and slash marks on his back. He is unable to tell them what happened or where his friends are. His amnesia holds to the present day, where he goes by his middle name, Rob, to avoid the attention of the media to his famous case. His friends were never found.

The plot of the novel circles around the murder of a twelve year old girl, Katy Devlin, whose case Rob and his partner Cassie Maddox are given to investigate. The body is found in the same woods where Rob’s friends disappeared, at an archeological dig site, and the coincidence is enough to make Rob nervous, though he insists to his partner that he is fine.

Cassie and Rob have been partners for a few years and get along famously, teasing one another and completing one another’s thoughts. There are many rumors at the station that they are romantically involved, though both of them scoff at the idea, despite the fact that they live almost like a married couple, spending a lot of time at Cassie’s cooking dinner for one another, drinking wine, and having Rob crash on Cassie’s couch across the room.

Katy’s murder takes the pair along many lines of investigation. Her death might be related to her father’s protests against the new highway meant to go straight through the dig site, or one of the students on the dig might have attacked her. She might have been abused by her father or someone else (her mother, twin sister, or older sister) in the family. She might have been previously poisoned over time. Or it might be related to the disappearance of Rob’s friends, as a hair clip that one of his friends was wearing that day appeared near the crime scene.

These possibilities are investigated, but the detectives come up frustratingly empty-handed at every turn. The case messes with Rob’s psyche as he tries to remember details about the two previous disappearances in case it would help. He tries spending the night in the woods, but freaks out and calls Cassie to pick him up. He’s afraid to sleep again, thinking that he’ll just have nightmares, so Cassie allows him into her bed. Things escalate from there and they end up having sex.

Rob feels immensely awkward after and can’t go back to their normal jokey-insult ways, but also feels that he can’t start a relationship with her. Their partnership deteriorates just as they start to uncover new leads in the case and they are unable to discuss the case and get along the way they used to.

Rob goes back to the dig site alone, where all the students are frantically digging before the site is shut down for the construction of the highway. He comes to a realization and calls in the forensics team again, who discover the location of the murder in a shed to which only three people have the key. After some heavy interrogation, one of the suspects confesses, though his motive is far from clear.

It becomes clearer when the suspect contends that he had been dating Katy’s older sister, Rosalind. When questioned by Cassie, she denies it and any involvement in Katy’s death, but also makes a comment that Cassie is obviously sleeping with Rob. Cassie takes it in stride, but after the interrogation, she has an idea of how to get a confession out of Rosalind: Go to her and admit sleeping with Rob and promise to keep her updated on the case if she promises not to tell.

Rosalind’s psychopathic tendencies get the better of her, and once she knows that she has Cassie in her debt, she brags about the whole thing and how she got the murderer to come up with the idea by telling him that all three girls were being sexually abused by their father, but that Katy liked it and was therefore their father’s favorite. Rosalind also told him that Katy told their father lies to make him beat them and would watch and laugh, that if Katy was gone, then they would be happy. She also admitted to Cassie that Katy was strong-willed and wouldn’t always do as Rosalind told her, so she had poisoned her to make her sick. After this confession, recorded on a wire, Cassie arrests her and takes her in, but because Rosalind was a few months from turning 18 (though she had told Rob previously that she was already 18), the confession is invalid. She is released with a smug smile.

The Police Captain has learned that Rob is actually Adam Ryan and confines him to desk work. He never goes back to Detective work. Cassie starts dating someone else and gets engaged. Rob is heartbroken and calls her, but it’s too late. He goes to the dig site to see the highway construction has begun, and thinks that he’ll never regain his lost memories of that night.

Reception[link]

Thomas Gaughan of Booklist gave In the Woods a starred review and hailed it as “…a superior novel about cops, murder, memory, relationships, and modern Ireland. The characters of Ryan and Maddox, as well as a handful of others, are vividly developed… Equally striking is the picture of contemporary Ireland, booming economically and fixated on the shabbiest aspects of American popular culture. An outstanding debut and a series to watch for procedural fans.” ^[5] Publishers Weekly praised author French, saying she “… expertly walks the line between police procedural and psychological thriller in her debut” and that “Ryan and Maddox are empathetic and flawed heroes, whose partnership and friendship elevate the narrative beyond a gory tale of murdered children and repressed childhood trauma.” ^[5] Kirkus Reviews said of the novel, “When not lengthily bogged down in angst, a readable, non-formulaic police procedural with a twist. It’s ultimately the confession of a damaged man.” ^[6]

Awards and nominations[link]

• Edgar Award for Best First Novel By An American Author, 2008^[1]
• Barry Award for Best First Novel, 2008^[2]
• Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel, 2008^[3]
• Anthony Award for Best First Novel, 2008^[4]

References[link]

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (February 2008)

Killer Croc is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in the DC Universe who was an enemy of Batman. Created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Gene Colan, while there was a shadowy cameo in Detective Comics #523 (February 1983),^[1] his actual first appearance is credited to Batman #357 (March 1983), which is also the first appearance of Jason Todd.^[2][3]

Fictional character biography[link]

In Croc's initial string of appearances, a Batman and Detective Comics crossover story arc that culminated in Jason Todd adopting the mantle of Robin, he was depicted as an unnamed, shadowy figure in a trenchcoat. A ruthless criminal who wants to become the crime kingpin of Gotham City, Croc works behind the scenes using methods like sniping to eliminate his criminal competitors. He briefly is in competition with a small army of Batman villains under the leadership of the Joker. When Batman finally confronts his mysterious foe, the villain is revealed to have a massive physique and reptilian appearance. It is then revealed that his real name is Waylon Jones, born with a form of atavism that imparted him with reptilian traits. His drunk aunt grew to hate her nephew's hideous appearance and brutal behavior. While still an adolescent, his aunt abused him and bullied him by calling him names like "lizardboy" and "a reptilian freak". Croc killed his aunt and became a criminal. After countless killings and biting off Aaron Cash's hand, he faced off against Batman and the new Robin, who defeated him.

In these original, pre-crisis appearances, Killer Croc resembled a powerfully-built man covered entirely in green scales, but was still basically human in his facial proportions and build. He was also originally depicted as gunning down Jason Todd's parents (this was later retconned to make Two-Face their murderer). His appearance and personality have become increasingly bestial, explained in the comics that his disease has slowly robbed him of all identifiable human traits. In his most recent appearances, he has an elongated snout and tail.

In Batman #489, Killer Croc attacks a shopping mall. After delivering several blows to Croc, Batman (this was Jean-Paul Valley's first appearance as Batman) is distracted by a glimpse of Bane. Croc then grabs Batman and tries to break his back again. He fails, and Bane pits himself against Croc, breaking his arms. He is then put back into Arkham Asylum.

When Bane helps get Batman's rogues gallery out of Arkham in the Knightfall saga, Croc goes to get revenge on Bane. While in the sewers, he smells Bane and goes after him and the two fight each other atop a ledge. Bane casually breaks one of Croc's arms again, but Croc keeps fighting him through it until the ledge they are standing on breaks and the two fall into the sewers. The fight ends up as a draw. Croc later returns, attacking the docks to try and lure Robin out, but is defeated by Dick Grayson (now acting as Batman after Bruce defeated Valley before taking time off for self-analysis) without realising that he is facing a new Batman.

In a storyline that ran in Batman #521 and #522, Croc is summoned by a paranormal force to break out of Arkham and make his way to the Louisiana swamps. Batman follows him there, only to find that the mysterious force is actually Swamp Thing, who offers Croc a place in the swampland where he can finally give in to his animal side and live free from human persecution.

Killer Croc has appeared in both the Hush storyline and its chronological follow up, Broken City. In the former, he is infected with a virus that greatly increases the rate of his devolution, 'overseeing' a kidnapping for Hush before Batman defeats him.

In 2005's Detective Comics #810, Killer Croc attempts to cure his condition. When the doctor fails, Croc devours her.

In Infinite Crisis, Croc becomes a member of Alexander Luthor, Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.

One Year Later during the Face the Face storyline, Killer Croc is shown to have been feeding on the dead body of Orca.^[4] He next shows up in Countdown where he breaks free from his shackles in Arkham Asylum and attempts to kill Jimmy Olsen, who uses elastic powers to escape. Killer Croc is then subdued.^[5]

He is later seen among the exiled supervillains in Salvation Run. After the Martian Manhunter is defeated and imprisoned in a fiery cage, Croc suggests that he eats him. Lex Luthor forbids it however.

During the Final Crisis storyline, Killer Croc can be seen as the member of Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains.^[6] Killer Croc is later turned into a Justifier.^[7]

In the Battle for the Cowl storyline, Killer Croc is recruited by a new Black Mask to be a part of a group of villains aiming to take over Gotham.

During the events of Brightest Day, Killer Croc is accidentally released from his cell by a guard whom Osiris kills when Deathstroke and his band of Titans infiltrate Arkham. While attempting to flee from the facility, he is attacked by Osiris who mistakes Killer Croc for his old enemy Sobek.^[8]

The New 52[link]

In The New 52, Killer Croc makes an appearance in the flash back in Roy Harper's memories, having the head of a crocodile. He is seen fighting Roy in Hell's Kitchen but quickly notices Roy isn't fighting back. He figures out that Roy's trying to have him commit assisted suicide, and comforts the ex-sidekick knowing Oliver Queen screwed him over publicly by taking his shares of Ollie's Company and tells him that this is not the way to go out. Roy says he was not that bad of a guy before blacking out, but Killer Croc reminds him next time he will not be so nice.^[9] He is then passingly referenced by Roy, as he is Roy's current sponsor for his alcoholism, as Roy is in a bar with Jason Todd; Roy is only drinking water, but knows Waylon would disapprove.^[10]

Powers and abilities[link]

Killer Croc's backstory explains that he was born with a condition resembling epidermolytic hyperkeratosis, a disfiguring skin disorder. However, it is actually a form of regressive atavism, meaning that he has inherited traits of ancestral species of the human race such as reptiles. This condition has been augmented by the presence of a metagene. Consequently, he has several extraordinary physical abilities relating to his endurance, strength, and speed.

His skin is hardened to the degree that it is nearly impenetrable to ordinary forms of abrasion including high caliber weapons fired from a distance. He possesses a degree of super strength; for example, he was able to tear a bank vault door off of its hinges with minimal effort. He has demonstrated regenerative powers allowing him to heal and restore lost limbs and teeth. He possesses superhuman reflexes and speed, especially while he is moving underwater. Killer Croc also has an enhanced sense of smell. Once he has become familiar with a person's scent he can track them from miles away. As his appearance and personality has grown more and more bestial, his misanthropy has increased dramatically. He is jealous and hateful of "normal" people and often lashes out violently without provocation.

Croc's main weakness is consistently portrayed in most adaptations, aside from The Batman series, as being his low intellect. He typically resorts to brute force to solve most of his problems, allowing Batman to outmaneuver him in combat by thinking his way through the problems he faces in defeating the powerful Croc. Batman regularly describes his foe as an animal rather than a man. He acts almost solely on instinct and hardly ever takes the time to plan or rationalize his actions.

Character redesign[link]

In recent years, Killer Croc has been portrayed as being much more reptilian than in past incarnations. An action figure made by Kenner in 1998 featured a tail and dinosaur-like feet. When Mattel got the license to make DC products in the early 2000s, they released their own version of Killer Croc, sculpted by Four Horsemen Studios. This version also featured a tail and dinosaur feet. In late 2005, a re-release of this figure was modified so that the tail, along with his shirt, was removed. This version also sports a more "human" head.

The 2002-2003 Batman storyline Hush featured a more bestial Croc who had been mutated against his will to appear more reptilian. This version of the character was drawn by artist Jim Lee.

In new 52 he's shown to actually have the head of the crocodile, how this came to be is unknown at the moment. The actual idea of this design is unknown but the first time he appeared was in Red Hood and the Outlaws drawn by Kenneth Rocafort.

Other versions[link]

Joker Graphic Novel[link]

In the graphic novel, Joker, written by Brian Azzarello and artist Lee Bermejo, Croc is portrayed as a thug, a large, muscular African American man with a scaly skin condition. Of all his previous designs, this is the most human. He is missing his abnormally long snout, tail, and claws. However, the book seems to hint that this Croc enjoys feeding on human flesh ("Croc has a certain...eccentric way with evidence", is one way the narrator of the story, Jonny Frost, puts it). Croc is seen as leading a gang of black thugs and later being a high-level member of Joker's newly formed gang. This vision of the character is not unlike the one from Azzarello's previous work on Batman, Broken City (although Joker is non-canon).

Batman Beyond[link]

In the Batman Beyond comic, Killer Croc is mentioned as being a prisoner in a Cadmus Labs facility; his cell is briefly attacked by the new Hush, a clone of Dick Grayson, when Hush escapes the facility before he decides to simply leave. Another Cadmus official later contemplates releasing Croc to try and lure Hush out, but Amanda Waller dismisses the idea due to the potential for collateral damage.

Batman: Crimson Mist[link]

In Batman: Crimson Mist, Killer Croc begins as a rumoured serial killer stalking Gotham's sewers, later joining Two-Face's gang as the muscle. Faced with the threat of the vampire Batman stalking and killing his opponents, Killer Croc and Two-Face form an alliance with Commissioner Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth to trap Batman in the Batcave and expose him to the sunlight (although Croc briefly contemplated just physically tearing Batman apart himself before the others pointed out that he was too fast for Croc, the vampire Batman proving more than a match for him physically when they did engage in close-quarter combat despite his withered physical condition). Although Croc and Two-Face attempt to kill Gordon and Alfred when Batman is believed dead, Alfred is able to help his old master recover by sacrificing his life and blood to give Batman the strength to stop Gotham's last criminals. With Alfred's sacrifice, Batman impales Croc with a stalactite, commenting that Croc can keep his cold blood thanks to Alfred's sacrifice having sated his appetite for the moment.

Flashpoint[link]

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Killer Croc kidnapped the people of Gotham and imprisoned them in the sewer. Batman then arrived and attacked Killer Croc. Killer Croc was about to strike back at Batman, but Batman stabbed him in the head with his own machete. Batman rescued the people that Killer Croc had imprisoned.^[11]

In other media[link]

Television[link]

• Killer Croc appears in several episodes of Batman: The Animated Series voiced by Aron Kincaid. Waylon Jones is a former pro wrestler who turned to crime. In this series, he is given lumpy gray skin as opposed to his normal green, teeth filed to points, and his reptilian appearance is toned down somewhat. Moreover, the character is far less formidable as his chief assets (his strength and toughness) provide him with no real edge over Batman, who consistently trounces him with relative ease. In the episode "Vendetta", he runs afoul of Harvey Bullock who arrests him. Killer Croc later escapes from prison and seeks revenge by framing him for the abduction of criminals Spider Conway and Joey "The Snail". In the episode "Sideshow", he escapes from a train bound for Levitz Prison and flees through the countryside, taking refuge in a town of naively trusting circus carnies including a "seal boy" named Billy, a giant named Goliath, conjoined twins named May and June, and a hunchbacked ringmaster named Richard. Although he begins to have second thoughts about it after they treat him like a family member, Killer Croc plans to betray and kill his hosts for the money they have stored away for supplies. He mentions sardonically, "You said you could be yourself out here, remember? Well, I guess that's what I was doing. Being myself." In this episode it is established that Croc is legally sane, and therefore is to be sent to Blackgate Penitentiary instead of Arkham Asylum. He also appears in the episode "Bane," in which he encounters Bane in a sewer who proceeds to beat Killer Croc up. When question by Batman, Killer Croc replies "He was big." In the episode "Almost Got 'Im", a group of villains are discussing how they almost defeated Batman. While everyone else describes almost killing Batman with some kind of complex deathtrap, Killer Croc proudly proclaims that he once threw a rock at Batman. After a prolonged awkward stare from the other villains and an attempt to change the subject by Poison Ivy, he defensively added "It was a big rock." It was later revealed though that this Killer Croc was Batman in disguise. In the episode "Trial", when Batman is put on trial by all the prisoners he's put in Arkham, Killer Croc is among the kangaroo court shouting "Hit 'im with a rock!" The episode "Sideshow" reveals a sequence where Killer Croc nearly does hit Batman with a huge rock, but was drugged and couldn't throw it far enough to smash him. The rock is later referenced again in a season 3 webisode of Gotham Girls as an item in the evidence vault. Unlike most villains, Killer Croc's actual identity is never revealed, the only indication of his real identity being that his wrestling name was "Killer Croc" Morgan.

• Killer Croc appeared in The New Batman Adventures episode "Love is a Croc" voiced by Brooks Gardner. Killer Croc has been revamped with a bulkier build and green scales and skin. He joins forces with the criminal Baby Doll. They go to live in the sewers, committing crimes planned by Doll and carried out largely by Croc. Baby Doll falls in love with him until she overhears Croc boasting about manipulating her. Enraged, she betrays him to Batman and Batgirl and in the ensuing fight he is defeated after being drenched in boiling water. He makes his final appearance in the later episode "Judgment Day", where he is seen trying to get the Penguin to fence stolen jewels. That episode villain the Judge (Two-Face in disguise) attacks and defeats him by throwing him off the top of the bridge. Batman manages to rescue Killer Croc.

• Killer Croc appears in The Batman voiced by Ron Perlman. In this version, Croc is even more reptilian and crocodile-like than past versions and has a tail, although he also demonstrates a greater intellect and is much more sane and non-cannibalistic than traditional interpretations of the character due to his plan to steal money by flooding downtown Gotham by reversing pumps designed to drain Gotham canals in times of flooding. He appears to be much stronger than Batman and much like a crocodile, he's able to stay underwater for long periods of time. His origins are mostly unknown, with Croc providing little evidence about his past beyond his Cajun accent, although one of his henchmen tells Batman that there are different rumors: That he is a genetic experiment gone awry who then turned mercenary, that he deals with the wrong kind of voodoo magic in the swamps, or that he is simply a circus freak (it is never explained which, if any, story is true). He recruits three criminals (two of whom are referred to in the credits as Vic and Freddy) as henchmen to help him flood Gotham City. Along with a Cajun accent, he has two pet crocodiles to do his bidding. Batman later deprived him of his air supply enough to be taken down and left for the police to arrest him and his henchman (remarking that "Crocs may like water but they're no fish"). He later returns as part of the Penguin's Team Penguin. Killer Croc and his henchmen later appear as one of the captive victims of Rumor after he ambushed him and his henchmen in their hideout. Croc makes his final appearance in "The End of the Batman" where he, the Penguin, Ventriloquist, and the Joker team up to commit a crime spree now that they are under the protection of the vigilante Wrath.

• Killer Croc appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Night of the Batmen" voiced by Stephen Root. He, Bane, Blockbuster, and Solomon Grundy try to steal a statue only to be stopped by Captain Marvel dressed as Batman.

Film[link]

• Killer Croc appears as one of the villains in Batman: Gotham Knight in the segment "In Darkness Dwells". This version of Croc never speaks and is only shown while under the influence of the toxin. During the segment, it is mentioned by Gordon that this version is afraid of bats. In this version, Waylon Jones is a cannibalistic serial killer. The urban legend in the segment goes that he was an infant born with the disfiguring skin disorder epidermolytic hyperkeratosis and that his mother abandoned him in the sewers of Gotham City. As an adult, he files his front teeth into points to compliment the reptilian appearance of his skin and becomes a circus sideshow performer. Later, Jones, now called Killer Croc, goes on a killing spree that eventually lands him in Arkham Asylum. There, his homicidal impulses intensify during treatment by Dr. Jonathan Crane, who experimented on Killer Croc in his fear aversion therapy program. Croc escapes from Arkham and flees to the sewers along with Crane (now known as The Scarecrow) and a handful of escaped Arkham inmates. There, Scarecrow performed another experiment on Croc by injecting his fear toxin into parts of his body. When Scarecrow orchestrates the kidnapping of Cardinal O'Fallon, Croc infiltrates the church and carries him down into the sewers. Batman comes to investigate, and Croc attacks him, biting him and infecting him with the fear toxin that is coursing through Croc's own body. After a lengthy battle, Batman fends off Croc by shoving a smoke grenade into his mouth. Croc is not seen since.

Video games[link]

• Killer Croc is referenced briefly in Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu as an inmate of Arkham Asylum.

• Croc makes an appearance in the negatively-acclaimed video game Batman: Dark Tomorrow. He is apparently being manipulated by the Joker, attacking Batman when the Caped Crusader attempts to rescue police Commissioner Gordon from the Joker.

• Killer Croc also appears in Lego Batman: The Videogame as a playable character with vocal effects provided by Steven Blum.^[12] This incarnation of the character is in the employ of Penguin and possesses an immunity to toxins and super strength.

• Killer Croc is featured as an antagonist in Batman: Arkham Asylum, voiced by Steven Blum. In this continuity, Croc is portrayed as physically larger than most of his comic book counterparts, standing at a colossal eleven feet and weighing five hundred and eighty pounds. He is interned at Arkham Asylum as a cannibalistic murderer, although his many other crimes include racketeering and the smuggling of illegal drugs. The asylum staff, who hate and fear the aptly dubbed "monster", only feed Killer Croc with animal carcasses once a week and confine him to an unused sewer underneath their facility. This solitary confinement has only succeeded in magnifying Croc's intense hatred of humanity; a psychiatrist even notes she believes he now views all people as nothing more than potential victims--and food. Late in the game's storyline, Batman is forced to infiltrate Arkham's old sewer network in search of rare Venom roots. Killer Croc ambushes the player repeatedly, only to be easily stunned into retreat each time. He is defeated for the final time while charging over an unstable floor, which Batman destroys with explosives, sending the madman plunging to an uncertain fate.

• Killer Croc appears in DC Universe Online on several occasions, one of the first being as an illusion conjured by the Scarecrow. The actual character also appears at the Cape Carmine Lighthouse, where at one point heroic players may best him and Deathstroke before being permitted to proceed. Croc may also forge alliances with villainous players, revealing that he has been hired by Carmine Falcone to assassinate Bane.

• Killer Croc makes a cameo in Batman: Arkham City voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, having apparently survived the incidents of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Now imprisoned in the new walled-off incarceration districts known as Arkham City, Croc has taken refuge in Gotham's mazelike sewer network, killing other inmates who wander into his domain. He is presented as notably smaller here than his previous incarnation, (Nine feet tall and three hundred and ten pounds) likely due to Arkham City's small food rations. He can be also seen in the background of the downloadable challenge map "Iceberg Lounge".

Books[link]

• In the novel Batman: Knightfall and Beyond, based largely on the comics storyline, Killer Croc is said to have suffered from "a raging skin cancer" that turned the outer layers of his flesh into a hardened covering when he was younger. He escapes from Arkham Asylum when Bane and his men destroy it, freeing most of Batman's major foes in the process as part of a plan by Bane to wear him down before Bane himself "breaks" him. Batman later defeats Croc in a one-on-one fight in the sewers, crushing a cylinder of knock-out gas against the underside of his nose to disable him. Croc is then arrested and held in Blackgate Prison with the other Arkham escapees until the asylum can be rebuilt.

See also[link]

• List of Batman Family enemies

References[link]