The Creeper (Jack Ryder) is a superhero created by Steve Ditko and Don Segall for American comic books published by DC Comics. He is portrayed as a journalist and talk show host, usually living in Gotham City, who gains the ability to transform into the superhuman the Creeper (and vice versa) thanks to experimental science developed by Dr. Yatz. First appearing in Showcase #73 (March 1968), his origin was revised in Secret Origins (vol. 2) #18 in 1987, then partially revised again in The Creeper #1–4 in 1997, then completely reimagined in the six-issue miniseries The Creeper (vol. 2), published in 2006–2007.
Originally, Ryder's transformation into the Creeper involved activating a device that granted superhuman abilities while also covering his face in yellow make-up, concealing his hair in a green wig, and instantly replacing his clothing with a yellow and red costume with green trunks and a fur-like cape; as the Creeper, Ryder then shifted his voice tone and acted chaotically to intimidate foes and protect his identity. Starting in 1987, it was said Ryder suffered an actual slight change in personality when he became the Creeper, as the device not only empowered him and dressed him in a costume but also altered his brain chemistry. Starting in 1997, Ryder and the Creeper are treated as two personalities sharing the same body. The 2006–2007 miniseries The Creeper (vol. 2) presented a new origin. Starting with this story, Ryder's transformation no longer involved a costume and is depicted as a physical transformation. Along with his strange appearance, the Creeper is characterized by superhuman strength, agility, healing and stamina, as well as a maniacal laugh. Starting in the 1990s, this laugh has been able to cause pain or immobility in enemies. Through experience and training, the Creeper is a formidable fighter and acrobat. In the New 52 continuity, a short-lived incarnation of the Creeper was a villain, not a hero, a malicious oni (demon) who inhabited human hosts to create chaos.
The Creeper is a frequent ally of Batman and has been a recurring character in stories involving him. Outside of comics, the Creeper has appeared in the TV shows The New Batman Adventures and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and appeared in his civilian identity Jack Ryder in the Batman: Arkham video game series. The Creeper shares visual similarities to the villain the Joker, but originally no connection was intended and the two characters did not meet until 1975, seven years after the Creeper's debut. The New Batman Adventures has the Joker's venom involved in the Creeper's origin, with the comics following suit.
Publication history
The character first appeared in Showcase #73 (April 1968). Later the same year, the Creeper starred in his own series Beware the Creeper, written by Dennis O'Neil (with Steve Ditko plotting the first issue). It lasted six issues. The Creeper repeatedly fought a chameleonic villain called Proteus, whose true identity was revealed just before his violent death in the final issue.
For the next two decades, the Creeper made sporadic appearances in DC Comics stories, often aiding other heroes such as Batman. Most of these stories were written by Denny O'Neil. The Creeper teamed with Batman in The Brave and the Bold #80 (November 1968), then guested in Justice League of America #70 (March 1969). He also appeared with Batman in Detective Comics #418 (December 1971). After the origin was reprinted in Detective Comics #443 (November 1974), Jack Ryder was shown working as a news anchor on Gotham City television in issue #445 (March 1975). In Detective Comics #447–448 (May–June 1975), the Creeper helped Batman prove he had been framed for murder by Ra's al Ghul.
In 1975, he met Batman's archenemy the Joker for the first time in The Joker #3. The story, which featured a character intended to emulate Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, began with the Creeper being mistakenly blamed for a crime the Joker committed due to their similar appearances (specifically, green hair and a maniacal laugh). Later that year, the hero appeared in Super-Team Family #2 and was given a new origin that was not referenced again until later.
The Creeper appeared in a one-off solo story in 1st Issue Special #7 (October 1975), penciled by Ditko. He met Wildcat in Super-Team Family #2 (January 1976) and reunited with Batman in The Brave and the Bold #143 (October 1978) and 178 (September 1981). He and other stars of Showcase appeared in that comic's 100th issue (May 1978). A story intended for the never-published Showcase #106 in 1978 (written and drawn by Ditko) was later included in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 and in The Creeper by Steve Ditko hardcover collection published by DC in 2010. The hero also appeared in back-up stories featured in Adventure Comics #445–447 (1976), World's Finest Comics #249–55 (1978–1979, written and fully drawn by Ditko), and The Flash #318–323 (1983). He teamed up with Superman in DC Comics Presents #88 (December 1985), written by Steve Englehart.
Following the company-wide crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985–1986), DC Comics rebooted large portions of its superhero universe, and many characters were given revised origins or reimagined natures to make them more relevant to modern comic book readers. In Secret Origins (vol. 2) #18 (1987), in a story presented by Andrew Helfer and Keith Giffen, the Creeper was given a new origin and it was now said Ryder's behavior while in costume was not simply an act. In this origin, Ryder is drugged against his will when he is then exposed to Dr. Yatz's technology. Whenever he summons his Creeper costume afterward, a side effect is that his mind reverts to the state it was in when he was drugged, thus causing the Creeper's strange behavior.
In Eclipso #13 in 1993, the Creeper is killed by Eclipso. However, he is revealed to have a powerful healing factor that enables him to survive. In the 1997 series The Creeper, written by Len Kaminski, Ryder realizes that before he was ever transformed into the Creeper he possibly had multiple undiagnosed mental illnesses (mentioned are bipolar disorder and an obsessive need for order), apparently inherited from his mother. The series depicted the Creeper as a second personality distinct from his own and occasionally warring for control over their shared body. Ryder also realizes he has repressed the memories of his true origin; the two versions he has recalled before (the original Ditko origin and the Helfer/Giffen origin) were each skewed versions of the truth that his mind found more acceptable. While trying to discover the truth, he fights Proteus again. The series ended in 1998 before the full truth of the Creeper's origin could be fully revealed. The series included a special issue #1,000,000, a tie-in to the 1998 crossover DC One Million.Creeper, The (DC 1997 series) at the Grand Comics Database
In 2003, DC's Vertigo Comics imprint released a new miniseries called Beware the Creeper. Taking place outside of mainstream DC canon, this story featured Judith and Madeline Benoir, twin sisters living Paris in the 1920s. The story explores their lives and their connection to the Creeper, a mysterious costumed woman who terrorizes a corrupt family.
Following the DC crossover Infinite Crisis (2005–2006), parts of DC Comics continuity were revised and some characters were given altered histories. Jack Ryder was reintroduced in a follow-up comic DCU: Brave New World (2006), in a short story written by Steve Niles and drawn by Justiniano. The story depicted Ryder as a former journalist who now hosted a talk show named You Are Wrong, where he often attempted to expose corruption and provide commentary on news events. In narration, Ryder reveals that he has been secretly fighting crime as the Creeper for some time and his transformation is presented as a physical alteration of his body and appearance, not just having a costume, wig and make-up appear on him. Ryder also comments that the Creeper is a separate personality sharing his body, a creature who seems wild and sometimes fights for control of their shared body but is also in some ways more altruistic than the talk show host and whose conscience is now influencing Ryder to be a better person. Later the same year, The Creeper (vol. 2) (October 2006 – March 2007), also written by Niles and drawn by Justiniano, featured a flashback story revealing the Creeper's newly revised origin, connecting him to the Joker. The idea that Ryder has a mental illness before ever becoming the Creeper is eliminated; this alter ego's personality is a result of experimental science affecting his body, mixed with the Joker's signature madness-inducing chemical weapons. Batman becomes involved in the story and later gives Ryder a chemical solution that can cure him of the Creeper entirely. Ryder throws away the cure, deciding that he and the Creeper can do more good together.
During the Reign in Hell miniseries (2008–2009), the Creeper was presented as a demon co-inhabiting the body of Jack Ryder, one of several yellow-skinned demons inhabiting Hell. The same story contained internal continuity errors and unexplained contradictions with the accepted DC Comics canon, making its placement questionable at best. Following this story, other comics featuring the Creeper once again depicted him as a human who had been altered by science rather than one possessed by a demon.
In the collected edition of Wednesday Comics (200 pages, DC Comics, June 2010, ; Titan Books, July 2010, ), the Creeper is featured in the story Beware the Creeper, written by Keith Giffen with art by Eric Canete.
In 2011, DC Comics rebooted its superhero universe again with The New 52. The New 52 continuity gave a new origin for the Creeper in Justice League Dark #23.1. The issue portrayed the Creeper as an oni who "justifies cruel temper tantrums under the guise of spreading chaos" and inhabits numerous human hosts, including Jack Ryder. The 2017 DC Rebirth comic removed many ideas introduced by the New 52 comics and brought back many ideas and stories published before 2011. Jack Ryder and the Creeper appeared again afterward, now once again depicted as a man who becomes a yellow-skinned superhuman due to scientific experimentation rather than demonic possession.
Fictional character biography Pre-Crisis Jack Ryder is a former Gotham City resident and is the host of a political talk show. He is fired after criticizing his own sponsors on-air and refusing to change his behavior or apologize. Knowing Ryder is a decent detective, Chief of Network Security Bill Brane hires the former talk show host as one of his investigators. Brane reveals that CIA contacts have asked him to help find Dr. Yatz, a scientist captured by local gangster Angel Devlin who is working with Communist powers. Ryder decides to infiltrate a masquerade party at Devlin's mansion and visits a local costume shop. The clerk explains he mainly sells costumes for children, but offers Ryder "leftovers" from adult orders. Ryder cobbles together the costume involving yellow tights, green trunks, and red gloves and boots. He completes the disguise with yellow makeup, a green wig, and a red fur-like carpet he decides to use as a cape. At the costume party, Ryder fights some of Devlin's henchmen, suffering injuries in the process, and then discovers the kidnapped Yatz. The scientist injects Ryder with a chemical serum designed to accelerate healing while also granting great strength and stamina. He also hides a tiny device of his own creation in Ryder's wound, saying it is the safest way to keep the technology hidden from Devlin. The device, he explains, can "rearrange the molecular structure of matter", making clothing or items weightless and invisible until needed. By activating the device now hidden beneath his skin, Ryder is able to make his costume vanish or reappear instantly.