10 Widely Mocked Comic Book Villains That Get A Bad Press

5. Killer Croc (DC)

First Appearance: Batman #358, 1983 Killer Croc gets a terrible rap. He is often presented absolutely awfully, but the fact is that he has a very formidable and terrifying set of powers and is more than capable of being a complete bad-ass. Granted, he's never going to pose a threat to Superman, but as a Batman villain he gets way too much mockery directed towards him. He is Waylon Jones. He was born with a terrible skin disorder, resembling epidermolytic hyperkeratosis, which was actually a form of regressive atavism. This atavism mean he inherited genetic traits of some of the human race's ancestral species - namely reptiles. The condition was augmented by the presence of a metagene in Jones' body, meaning that he possesses several superhuman physical abilities to boot. This gives him a tragic backstory and makes him a deep and interesting character, which is a far cry from the bumbling and brutal idiot he is often made out to be. He has bulletproof skin, a decent level of super strength (he can pick cars up and rip the large metal doors off bank vaults), claws sharp enough to bite right through metal and an incredibly powerful healing factor that can regenerate entirely lost limbs. It is his stupidity that often gets the better of him, but he has also been presented as a skilled combatant and marksman - and if the latter was evident more often, he wouldn't be considered such a joke (which he really isn't, given that his Marvel counterpart - Spider-Man foe "Lizard" - isn't mocked nearly as much as Killer Croc is, despite his self-inflicted powers and outright less saddening backstory). The fact that Batman often refers to Killer Croc as an animal is also a very cruel take on the character, given that he can't exactly help what his birth defect made him become.