>>149923760
>croc needs a heart of ice type story on him
What Croc needs is him being written more than just a token tank character to beat up in medias res stories. He debuted as a mastermind, ffs.
I don’t mind steering him away from being just another mob bows who takes off his shirt and wrestles Batman occasionally but he does need more to him than just the monster guy Batman fights in sewers.
Him being like a protector of hobos and the disfranchised living in sewers was a nice idea but that doesn’t exactly give him much range to be used in stories because then he’s a guy who doesn’t have much reason to fight Batman actively. If he had his own book then yeah, becoming an anti-hero could work but that isn’t happening. It should stick around but definitely needs to be developed more, to show how underground Gotham functions as a community. You could even have Croc be friends/enemies with Rat Catcher since they share the same stomping grounds. Either fighting over territory or being unusual semi-friends who keep the underground community running smoothly, etc.
Another good character bit is how Croc is basically Roy Harper’s unofficial AA sponsor. You could maybe expand that to other villains with addiction issues, like Magpie. Or Firefly. Might be fun when it’s more about them trying to maintain some control of their addiction issues without being able to be “cured” because their gimmick requires them to steal and burn shit down. And Croc is just the guy they come to unburden themselves and he gives them a shoulder to cry but also tough love when they’re reeling out of control.
Maybe have Croc hold court in a dive bar where he works as a sort of low level fixer. Someone who gives you few bucks if you’re short, you need help with an abusive ex, he collect debts, etc. but then you owe him a favour and Croc always collects on those. It certainly would give Croc a unique new gimmick that you can work into different types of stories.
