Killer Moth

Not to be confused with Mothman.

Killer Moth
Interior artwork from Batman Family #15 (December 1977), art by Michael Golden.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	(Walker): Batman #63 (February 1951) (Charaxes): Underworld Unleashed #1 (November 1995) (Unknown): Batman #652 (June 2006)
Created by	Bill Finger (writer) Dick Sprang (artist) Lew Schwartz (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Drury Walker Unknown
Species	Human (formerly) Metahuman (currently)
Team affiliations	(Walker): Secret Society of Super Villains Longbow Hunters
Notable aliases	(Walker): Charaxes Cameron van Cleer 234026 The Moth
Abilities	(Both): Peak-level athleticism Equipment usage Basic combat skills (As Charaxes): Superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, stamina and durability Flight via wings Razor-sharp antennae and claws Toxikinesis

Killer Moth (Drury Walker) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as an adversary and dedicated original foil personality of Batman (prior to the creations of Wrath, Prometheus, and Hush). Like Batman, he has no superpowers and relies on his technical equipment, including a Mothmobile and numerous gimmicks. Killer Moth originally wore a garish costume of purple and green striped fabric, with an orange cape and moth-like mask. ^[1] In Underworld Unleashed , Killer Moth is transformed into the monster Charaxes with superhuman abilities.

Publication history

Killer Moth's debut.

Killer Moth first appeared in Batman #63 (February 1951) and was created by Bill Finger, Dick Sprang, and Lew Schwartz. ^[2]

Fictional character biographies

Pre-Crisis/ "Cameron van Cleer"

The original Killer Moth was a prisoner identified only by his prison number, 234026. ^[3] While in prison, he reads a newspaper article about Batman and decides to set himself up as the "anti-Batman", hiring himself out to Gotham City's criminals to help them elude capture by police. Upon his release, he uses the hidden proceeds of his crimes to build a "Mothcave", modeled on the Batcave. Killer Moth also establishes a false identity as millionaire philanthropist Cameron van Cleer, during which he befriends Bruce Wayne. ^[4] Meanwhile, he promotes himself to Gotham's criminals using his identity as Killer Moth, giving them each an infrared Moth-Signal. In his first job, he rescues some criminals from the police and then uses his Mothmobile to defeat and capture Batman and Robin. The duo escape and lead Killer Moth to a climactic battle on Gotham Bridge, in which he is defeated. ^[5] In Detective Comics #173 (July 1951), Killer Moth kidnaps Bruce Wayne and learns his secret identity. However, he is shot by other criminals and the resultant cranial injury causes amnesia. He remains a persistent enemy through the Silver Age of Comic Books, being the first villain Batgirl encounters in Detective Comics #359 (January 1967). He teams up with the Cavalier twice: the first time in Batman Family #10 (March–April 1977), where they battle Batgirl and Batwoman (Kathy Kane, who comes out of retirement for the first time in years) and the second (and final) time in Batman Family #15 (December 1977-January 1978), where they battle Batgirl and Robin.

Post-Crisis

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity reboot, Killer Moth is revealed to be Drury Walker. In Batman: Shadow of the Bat, Killer Moth allies with fellow minor villains Catman and Calendar Man. ^[6] In Underworld Unleashed , Neron transforms Killer Moth into a monstrous moth dubbed Charaxes. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Charaxes is killed by Superboy-Prime during Infinite Crisis . ^{[1] [10] [11]} He is temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern in Blackest Night and permanently resurrected in The New 52 and DC Rebirth relaunches. ^[12]

Unknown

A new, unidentified incarnation of Killer Moth is introduced in Batman #652, part of the Face the Face storyline.^{[ citation needed ]}

Powers, abilities, and equipment

In his original incarnation, Killer Moth has no superhuman abilities, but relies on the vast array of equipment he had developed, including a Mothmobile, zipline cables, a cocoon gun, and an air pistol. ^{[13] [14]} As Charaxes, he possesses immense physical abilities and can fly and generate acid. ^[15]

In other media

Television

Killer Moth as depicted in Teen Titans

Killer Moth as depicted in The Batman

• Killer Moth appears in an unaired episode of Batman (1966), portrayed by Tim Herbert. The episode was illegally circulated for years before being released in 2014 as part of the series' DVD/Blu-ray sets. ^[16]
• When asked about Killer Moth's inclusion in The New Batman Adventures , producer Bruce Timm expressed little interest and joked that the only way they would use him is if they could cast Dan Aykroyd for the role and have him scream, "I'm a bug!". Producer Alan Burnett, on the other hand, stated, "we just haven't thought of a good story for him yet". Ultimately, Killer Moth never appeared in the series. ^[17]
• Killer Moth appears in Teen Titans , voiced initially by Thomas Haden Church and later by Marc Worden. ^[18] This version is a lepidopterist and member of the Brotherhood of Evil.
• Killer Moth, based on the Drury Walker incarnation, appears in The Batman , voiced by Jeff Bennett. ^[18] This version is a physically weak individual with a milquetoast personality and poor combat capabilities. In the episode "Team Penguin", he mutates into a monstrous Charaxes-esque form nicknamed "Mothy".
• An amalgamated incarnation of Killer Moth appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold , voiced by Corey Burton. ^[18] This version is based on Drury Walker and once used the Cameron van Cleer alias.
• Killer Moth appears in Teen Titans Go! (2013), voiced by Scott Menville. ^[18]
• Killer Moth appears in the DC Super Hero Girls (2019) episode "#BreakingNews". This version is a female mutant moth.
• Killer Moth appears in Beast Boy: Lone Wolf. ^[19]

Film

• Killer Moth appears in Batman: Bad Blood , voiced by Jason Spisak. ^[18] This version is a mercenary aligned with the League of Assassins who serves as one of Talia al Ghul's henchmen, frequently working with Firefly to attack enemies from above. He is later crushed by a boulder while fighting Batwing.
• Killer Moth appears in The Lego Batman Movie . ^[18]
• Killer Moth appears in Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold . ^[18]
• Killer Moth was meant to appear in Batgirl prior to its cancellation. ^[20]

Video games

• Killer Moth appears as a boss in Batman: The Video Game .
• Killer Moth appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . ^[21]

Lego

Killer Moth as depicted in Lego Batman: The Video Game

• The Drury Walker incarnation of Killer Moth appears as a playable character and boss in Lego Batman: The Video Game , with vocal effects provided by Steve Blum. ^[22] This version is attracted to bright lights like his namesake, wields a handgun, and can glide. In the Nintendo DS version, Killer Moth in both his original form and one based on his appearance in the Teen Titans animated series appear as unlockable characters.
• Killer Moth appears as an optional boss and playable character in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes , voiced by Joseph Balderrama. ^[23]
• Killer Moth appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham , voiced by Christopher Corey Smith. ^[24]

Merchandise

• Killer Moth in his Charaxes form received an action figure in Mattel's The Batman: Shadowtek line in 2006.
• Corgi Toys released a die-cast Killer Mothmobile in their Batman line in 2006.
• A collector's version of Corgi's Killer Mothmobile, including a statuette of Killer Moth, was released in 2007.
• Killer Moth received an action figure in Wave 6 of Mattel's DC Universe Classics line in 2009.
• Three LEGO Minifigures based on Killer Moth have been produced. The first appeared in set 26054 Scarecrow: Harvest of Fear in 2016. The second appeared in set 76069 Batman vs. Killer Moth, as part of the Mighty Micros line released in 2017. The third was released in 2018 as part of the second Collectible Minifigure blind-bag series based on The Lego Batman Movie.
• A modernized Killer Moth received an action figure in Spin Master's Creature Chaos Line in 2020.

Miscellaneous

• The Teen Titans animated series incarnation of Killer Moth appears in Teen Titans Go! (2004). ^[25]
• The Batman incarnation of Killer Moth appears in The Batman Strikes! . ^[26]
• The Drury Walker incarnation of Killer Moth appears in the Batman: Arkham Knight prequel comic.^{[ citation needed ]}
• Killer Moth appears in DC Super Hero Girls (2015), voiced by Phil LaMarr. ^[18]
• Killer Moth appears in the Injustice 2 prequel comic as a member of the Suicide Squad before he is killed by Jason Todd. ^{[27] [28]}

See also

• List of Batman family enemies

References

1. Greenberger, Robert (2008). "Charaxes". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The DC Comics Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. p. 77. ISBN   978-0-7566-4119-1. OCLC   213309017.
2. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 63. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
3. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 62. ISBN   978-1-4654-8578-6.
4. Fleisher, Michael L. (1976). The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume 1: Batman . Macmillan Publishing Co. pp.  256–257. ISBN   0-02-538700-6 . Retrieved 29 March 2020.
5. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 176. ISBN   0-8160-1356-X.
6. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #7-9
7. Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 85–86. ISBN   9780345501066.
8. Robin (vol. 2) #107-110 (December 2002-March 2003)
9. Birds of Prey #50-52 (February–April 2003)
10. Booster Gold (vol. 2) #11 (October 2008)
11. Booster Gold (vol. 2) #12 (November 2008)
12. • Adventure Comics (vol. 2) #4 (November 2009)
    • Adventure Comics (vol. 2) #5 (December 2009)
    • Green Arrow (vol. 5) #25 (January 2014)
    • Green Arrow (vol. 5) #31 (July 2014)
    • Detective Comics #958 (August 2017)
13. Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #12 (February 1986)
14. Batman #652 (June 2006)
15. Underworld Unleashed #1 (November 1995)
16. Batman: The Complete Television Series, Warner Bros., 2014.
17. "The World's Finest - Backstage - Unused Villains Database - Killer Moth".
18. "Killer Moth Voices (Batman)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 15, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
19. Milligan, Mercedes (October 21, 2024). "Cartoon Network's Teen Titans Go! Celebrates 400th Episode with Global Event". Animation Magazine . Retrieved November 9, 2024.
20. Louis, Brandon (August 10, 2022). "New DC Villain For Cancelled Batgirl Movie Revealed In BTS Images". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
21. Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
22. Game Informer features a two-page gallery of the many heroes and villains who appear in the game with a picture for each character and a descriptive paragraph. See "LEGO Batman: Character Gallery", Game Informer #186 (October 2008): 93.
23. Eisen, Andrew; Ferrarello, Scott. "Killer Moth - LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Guide". IGN. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
24. Eisen, Andrew. "Characters - LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Guide". IGN. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
25. "Teen Titans Go! #15 - Pop Quiz (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
26. "The Batman Strikes! #49 - School Day (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
27. Injustice 2 #1
28. Injustice 2 #2

External links

• Killer Moth at Comic Vine