Creeper (comics)

The Creeper
Cover of The Creeper #1 (August 2006) Art by Justiniano
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Showcase #73 (April 1968)
Created by	Steve Ditko (writer & artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Jack Ryder
Team affiliations	Outsiders Batman Family Justice League Shadow Fighters
Abilities	Expert hand-to-hand combatant Adept martial artist Superhuman strength, agility and stamina Greatly enhanced speed and reflexes Healing factor Physically painful laughter Ability to climb on walls

The Creeper (real name Jack Ryder) is a fictional character, a superhero created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics. He is portrayed as a former talk show host dressed in a wild costume with a green, yellow, and red color scheme. He is characterized by super strength, agility, and stamina; a healing factor enabling him to heal from virtually any wound; physically painful laughter; and proficiency with martial arts. Most of his physical powers and abilities are the results of effects from serums and devices invented by scientist Dr. Vincent Yatz.

The Creeper first appeared in Showcase #73 (March 1968). He later spun off into two brief series, one written by Dennis O'Neil in 1968 and another written by Len Kaminski in 1997 and 1998. In the interim, he was kept alive with sporadic appearances in solo runs and guest shots. His last comic appearance was in a six-issue miniseries written by Steve Niles in 2006. He also appeared in television shows like The New Batman Adventures and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as the Batman Arkham video game series.

The character first appeared in Showcase #73 (March 1968). Following his debut in Showcase, the Creeper was given his own series Beware the Creeper, written by Dennis O'Neil; Steve Ditko plotted the first issue. It lasted six issues. Most pitted him against a chameleonic villain called Proteus, whose true identity was revealed just before his violent death in the final issue. The character's reappearance in Super-Team Family #2 in 1975/76 is unexplained, and his briefly described origin does not match the one given initially. Shortly after his last solo issue, the Creeper teamed with Batman in The Brave and the Bold #80 (Nov. 1968), then guested in Justice League of America #70 (March 1969), where it was asked whether the Creeper was an outlaw. He also appeared with Batman in Detective Comics #418 (Dec. 1971). After the origin was reprinted in Detective Comics #443 (Nov. 1974), one of the "DC 100 Page Super Spectacular" series, the Creeper's alter ego Jack Ryder was shown working as a news anchor on Gotham City television in issue #445 (March 1975), and in #447–448 (May–June 1975) became the Creeper again to help Batman escape a frame-up for murder.