Superhero Origins: The Creeper

Superhero Origins: The Creeper

This unusual superhero was once a confrontational Gotham Talk Show host. Welcome to Watchmojo.com, and today we’ll be exploring the origins of Jack Ryder, otherwise known as The Creeper.

As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline, which unfolded in 1968’s Showcase Comics #73, which was expanded upon in 2006’s The Creeper #1.

In his first comic book appearance, readers were introduced to Jack Ryder, an arrogant and argumentative TV talk show host. During one fateful interview, Jack showcased his infamous disdain for the opinion of others, not realizing that this guest was a friend of the show’s sponsor.

Refusing to give an apology, Jack stormed off before approached by the chief of network security. Recognizing Jack’s grit and extensive investigative background, he offered him a job in network security.

On his first job, Jack was given the mission to track down a communist agent working in criminal underworld and find a kidnapped scientist.

Tipped off about a criminal costume party, Jack went shopping for a disguise. Given a deal on a box of leftover costume pieces, Jack put together a ragtag yellow costume in an alley. Though he had no mask, Jack wore makeup and a green wig.

When Jack realized the party was invite only, he decided to sneak in though an open window.

As the criminals he was after were wearing costumes as well, Jack had to find a clue in order to reveal their identities. However, when the security guards noticed him in his outrageous costume that they surely would have remembered letting in, they jumped him.

While Jack managed subdued his attackers, he was stabbed during the fight. Luckily, during the commotion, one of the goons had been thrown through a secret door that revealed a hidden staircase. Following the stairs, Jack stumbled upon the scientist he was looking for.

With Jack bleeding out, the scientist sprung to save him, revealing that he had been captured for his medical and technological breakthroughs. Wishing his life work to not fall in the wrong hands, the scientist injected Jack with a special healing serum and placing a small device inside Jack’s wound. As the scientist hastily explained, the with the help of a hand held button, the device that was now in Jack’s body could rearrange the molecules of his clothing, allowing him to switch in an out of his costume in a flash.

The scientist then began to burn the lab. It was then that one of the knocked out goons awakened and fired his gun into the smoke, killing the scientist. Jack then knocked the henchman out, discovering that the serum had given him super strength as well.

With more goons on the way, jack made a B-line for the exit. The criminals gave chase, wishing to silence Jack before he could contact the cops. Laughing maniacally as he fought he was out of the house, Jack narrowly managed to make his escape. Once outside, he used his news powers to transition back into his normal clothes.

Now in his normal clothes, Jack returned to the scene of the crime, where the criminal party goers were playing the victim to the cops who had just arrived. Realizing that the police were buying the gangster’s story and would leave before uncovering the truth, Jack switched back into costume and snuck back into the house in order to flush the remaining criminals out of the secret room and make the police take a second look. Taking on the name that the criminals had been calling him, The Creeper fought his way through a small army of goons and then quickly switched back to his normal clothes in order to tip off the police and get away free.

In response to this massive blow to their organization, the criminal underworld placed a bounty on the Creepers head, forcing further confrontations.

An unusual superhero, the Creeper has appeared in various media, including the New Batman Adventures. He was also retconned to have been drugged by the criminals before he was altered, and shot to death, only to be revived. This event caused him to lose his sanity, making him more irrational and fearsome, complete with split personalities that separated his two identities.

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