The following story and photos are from Giant Panda King's book,
Gotham 1919-1939 by Russall S. Beattie, available from www.giantpandaking.com.
Viewer discretion is advised.
Waylon Jones was born with a rare skin condition. It was known as ichthyosis
vulgaris, a condition of the skin. The condition manifests due to genetics, and results in the
skin taking on a scaly appearance. The scales cause the afflicted person’s skin to be dry,
irritable, and have a “prickly itch.” This caused young Waylon to appear reptilian.
His parents, poor and appalled at the shocking appearance of their child,
wanted to be rid of him. They sold him off as quickly as they could to a traveling sideshow.
In the sideshow, Waylon was first advertised as “The Alligator Boy.”
Over the years, he brought in a small fortune of income to the sideshow; patrons would line
up for hours to see him. His scaly appearance both shocked and awed many paying customers.
Waylon wasn’t making a lot of money, but it was enough to get by on.
The traveling sideshow - while exploiting these people with disfigurements and genetic
aberrations - still paid their employees. As Waylon grew into adulthood, so did his public
alias at the sideshow. He was now a grown man, and was extremely tall and muscular.
This added to his motif, and his stage name changed to “The Killer Croc.” His skin condition
had also increased in severity; he was now covered head-to-toe in scales. His musculature,
height, and scales gave him a monstrous appearance. He truly lived up to his new name.
Waylon continued to travel with the sideshow, but over the years,
he began to make bad choices. He was making decent pay at the sideshow, but he wanted more.
During one stop on the traveling show’s route, he lured a man outside of the sideshow grounds
and murdered him. He hid the body beneath a pile of rocks nearby, and no one was the wiser.
As the show continued on its journey, Waylon racked up a larger kill-count.
He soon ventured out into more deplorable crimes, going on a rape and murder spree
across the country. The victims would sometimes be found cannibalized.
Police became aware of this spree, but were unable to pin it on a suspect. The murders were
too sporadic and too spaced out geographically. Eventually, the traveling sideshow came to the
outskirts of Gotham City by old Gray Rock, a landmark next to Slaughter Swamp. The police
began to notice the murders almost right away; they’d already seen many strange things in Gotham.
Just like other law enforcement, however, they were unable to locate the perpetrator.
Commissioner James Gordon contacted the Bat-Man with the case, and the vigilante began to
investigate the crime scenes. Using the locations of the murders, the evidence from other cases,
and the evidence at the scenes, he linked the murders to the traveling sideshow in town.
He alerted the police and went to find his suspect. Upon arriving at the sideshow,
the Bat-Man was received by the owners. They were skeptical of a man dressed in a bat costume,
and refused to reveal anything - until he applied the proper pressure. After that, and a few broken
bones, they pointed him to “The Killer Croc,” as the most likely suspect. The Bat-Man went inside
the sideshow tent and confronted Jones, who almost immediately attacked, knowing the jig was up.
The two fought with ferocity and intensity. Croc had the upper hand on the Bat-Man physically,
but the masked vigilante had years of training in combat and mental acuity. The Bat-Man emerged
victorious, albeit wounded by several bites and slashes. The police arrived to see the aftermath;
torn tents, broken props and exhibits, and a very large, scaly Killer Croc. Croc was arrested and
brought to trial. He was sentenced to Blackgate Federal Penitentiary. In the following years,
Killer Croc became Blackgate’s most dangerous inmate. His reputation as a murderer, rapist,
and cannibal, kept most of the other inmates away from him, lest they suffer a similar fate.
The Killer Croc’s story in local news struck its citizens with terror. It soon gave way to a
gory fascination, and even bred nursery rhymes and ghost stories among Gotham’s citizens. Killer Croc
became a legend. Parents would use the nursery rhyme to scare their children into going to sleep.
Children would warn each other to stay away from old Gray Rock where the Croc was rumored to live.
The name of Waylon Jones would be forgotten,
but the name “Killer Croc” would become immortalized in Gotham’s urban legends.
Most major cities today have jokes and conspiracies about crocodiles in the sewers,
while Gotham has jokes and conspiracies about the crocodile man in the sewers.
These tales and legends were discovered by Jeffrey Dahmer years later and would be one
of the factors in his becoming a serial killer, as well as a source of inspiration for his MO.
Ironically, the man behind the Killer Croc faded into obscurity. Hardly anyone could even tell
you who Waylon Jones is nowadays. The Killer Croc spent years incarcerated in Blackgate,
his condition worsening and his anger building. He was filled with hatred for the Bat-Man,
and he wanted freedom, if only to get his revenge on the vigilante. The other inmates
were terrified of Croc; he would sometimes fly into rages and have to be subdued by the prison
guards. In spite of the security in Blackgate, Croc’s incarceration would be short-lived.
Not long after he was locked up, he began to receive correspondence from a mysterious
individual. This individual signed all of their letters as “Endymion,” and promised
Croc that he would have his chance at revenge. This was enough for Killer Croc, and he waited.
Never mind that he had no idea who this “Endymion” was; he would bide his time and he would kill
the Bat, if it was the last thing he ever accomplished. The Killer Croc would strike again.