Killer Croc, Posion Ivy, and The Penguin

[Murrocko]

What made these characters become what they are today, like what are their origins?

[Sean Whitmore]

What made these characters become what they are today, like what are their origins?


Not to be too snarky, but the origins of the Bat-villains change as often as the seasons. :) These are the latest origins as I remember them, but they're liable to change the next time one of them appears in a movie or something.

Pamela Isley was experimented on by her college professor Jason Woodrue (who is apparently not the Floronic Man anymore). Between this and other abuses, she began to hate humanity, and men in particular, and turned all of her attention to plants. Originally her only power was that her skin and bodily fluids were highly poisonous. Her powers have since evolved to turn her into a kind of mini-Swamp Thing elemental type.

Waylon Jones was just a kid with a skin condition, which worsened as he got older and gave him great strength. He wrestled alligators to make money until he got involved in organized crime, and eventually worked his way up to a boss. His attitude and mental state rages like a pack of hemorrhoids, meaning some days he'll act like a normal guy with bad skin, and some days he'll act like the Lizard from Spider-Man. Currently, after being given a toxin in the "Hush" story arc, Croc is now devolving mentally but his strength and savagery is growing.

Oswald Cobblepot was raised by an overbearing mother and teased by the kids at school for being fat, having a big nose, and always carrying an umbrella. There's probably more to that, but damned if I can remember. :) He basically just grew up and became a thief and a murderer. At some point along the line he either served all his time or bought himself a pardon, since he continued his criminal activities behind the facade of a legitimate businessman.



SEAN

[Guts/Batman]

I will be very interested to see if there will be a Croc-Black Mask showdown in the near future. And how it goes down if it will.

[Funeral Party]

What made these characters become what they are today, like what are their origins?

Google is your friend.

[Poltrgeyst]

Ivy's transformation from normal to super-powered bothered me for a while, so I wanna share since I finally found out how it happened.

In Catwoman 57, part of the Cataclysm story, Catwoman and Ivy get into a fight and destroy a capsule, or Ivy drinks its contents, and undergoes a chemical reaction.

And now she's green. Like Kermit.

[Astonishing X-Fan]

Personally, I think Ivy is much better with her powers and newer look. Before she was basically a crook with a plant gimmick...but making her into essentially a plant herself and giving her that kind of connection to nature opens up a lot of depth to explore with her, like her story in No Man's Land.

I just wish we got a REAL explanation. It sort of just...happened. I'm not sure if the Catwoman incident is what's supposed to have been responsible, or if we're supposed to believe it just happened over time, or if she experimented on herself, on what.

It bugged me in the animated series, too. Same deal. First she was pretty much a normal human with a hyper-immune system and a sick love for plantlife, then she just suddenly got green and had a bunch of new powers, just like in the comics.

Funny thing is, in the animated series, the change to the more elemental version actually destroyed a lot of the depth she had earlier in the show, and after the change we never saw her as anything more than a greedy theif...with a plant gimmick.