Creeper

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Creeper
Real name:	Jack Ryder
Species:	Human
Hair:	Green (Creeper), Black (Ryder)
Eyes:	Black
Base:	Gotham City
Affiliations:	Justice League
Abilities:	Enhanced strength, agility, durability and senses;
Voiced by:	Jeff Glen Bennett

"They call me... "Yellow-Skinned Wacky Man!" But I prefer "the Creeper"."

The Creeper, real name Jack Ryder, was formerly a news anchorman before his confrontation with The Joker, and now is a superhero and member of the Justice League.

History

"Breaking news... and if you break it, you have to pay for it!"

Jack Ryder was co-anchor of Summer Gleeson's "Gotham Insider". When Jack did an expose on the Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime showed up and threw Ryder into the same vat of chemicals that transformed him.

The chemicals, mixed with the Joker's laughing gas, triggered a mutation in Ryder. As a result, Ryder's body became bright yellow with green hair with dramatically enhanced strength and agility. Furthermore, he develops an energetically maniac personality that still is conscientious to a degree; for instance, he wildly causes a disturbance in a used clothing store looking for a costume, but also properly paid for his goods. While interrogating the Joker's henchmen, one of the goons spoke out against him, and called him a "creep" which inspired him to call himself "the Creeper". While Ryder was still honest enough to pay for his new costume, his use of his credit card alerted Batman to the wildman's real identity. Seeking revenge against the Joker and suddenly smitten with Harley Quinn, he pursued them relentlessly with terrifyingly wild enthusiasm. While the Creeper did not kill the criminals, his methods were so frenetically deranged that the Joker eventually begged to be arrested, grabbing Batman's cape and pleading, "He's a lunatic!"

After an exhausting chase, Batman arrested the criminals and injected Creeper with an antidote to the Joker venom. While it successfully repressed the Creeper persona and physically changed him back into Jack Ryder, the cure was not permanent. However, Batman was able to create antidote skin patches to keep the Creeper subdued. Ryder, who actually finds the Creeper form to his liking on some level, can simply remove the patch and transform into the Creeper again.

Although crazy and created by the same chemicals as the Joker, the Creeper was essentially moral and heroic at heart, and later joined the extended Justice League to protect the world from evil.

Powers and abilities

The Creeper had enhanced strength, agility, senses and healing. He could take down Joker's thugs easily. His senses were increased as well. He could sense Joker's thugs coming at him and could even uppercut Batman from behind without turning around. He was also very durable, as seen when Harley dropped a statue on him and the Joker later tried to exterminate him with a dose of nitroglycerin, causing little to no effect.

Trivia

In the classic 1988 comic book "Batman: The Killing Joke," The Joker went on a rampage, kidnapping and torturing Comissioner Gordon in an attempt to Gordon insane. Joker was trying to prove his theory that all it takes is "one bad day" for even the strongest hero to become just as crazy as himself. Not only did Gordon retain his sanity, Batman rattled Joker by suggesting, "Maybe it was just you all along." Batman's theory is further supported by the DCAU Creeper, who practially suffered the same chemical-immersion incident as Joker, yet Creeper emerged as a force for good (albeit an unconventional one).

Appearances

The New Batman Adventures

• "Cold Comfort"
• "Joker's Millions"
• "Over the Edge"
• "Chemistry" ^(Cameo)
• "Beware the Creeper"

Justice League Unlimited

• "Initiation" ^(Cameo)
• "Panic in the Sky" ^(Cameo)
• "Divided We Fall" ^(Cameo)
• "Destroyer" ^(Cameo)

External links

• Creeper at the DC Database