Looking for a different version of this character? |
---|
As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
- What haunts a man at night rules him by day.
- — Creeper src
The Creeper is a Oni, a malicious Japanese demon who inhabit human hosts to create chaos.
History
Origin and Imprisonment
Oni spirits enter children who feel like they don't fit in the world; kids who feel like aliens among their own families. During feudal Japan, this Oni possessed a kid named Jakku. Years later, the Oni was imprisoned by a Samurai inside the mystical sword Soultaker, where it fed on his torment and sanity for 30 years. Now calling itself "The Creeper," the Oni began to torture the souls trapped with it in the sword, befriending and betraying them each in turn them, including Mona Shard, a young girl it forced to bash her head against stone for a century, Maseo Yamashiro, a cuckolded husband made to emulate the boulder-rolling task of Sisyphus, and eventually the Samurai himself once he was killed with his own sword.[1]
Freedom
When Killer Croc destroyed the Soultaker, the Creeper was released along with all the other souls in the United States. According to the demon, the best bodies to "hide" are powerful and weak at the same time. The Creeper then possessed the body of the late reporter Jack Ryder in the docks of San Francisco and made an old Janitor named Gallagher crazy and become an incendiary. Now possessed, Jack Ryder becomes the host of the new TV show Life After Death.[1]
Seeking to prevent the Soultaker's current bearer, Katana, from reforging the sword and imprisoning it once again, the Creeper drove Ryder to Japan. Though it succeeded in killing all those weaponsmiths capable of repairing the Soultaker,[2] the Creeper was forced by the dawn to retreat before doing the same to Katana, and the weapon was restored by the spirit of Yamashiro in the corpse of swordmaker Jin Ozu.[3]
The Creeper was among the inhabitants of Earth recruited into the Sinestro Corps for their ability to inspire fear to resist the planet's invasion by the extraterrestrial Paling.[4] Following the reassertion of some aspects of a prior timeline,[5] the Creeper reverted to an earlier form, an alternate personality within Ryder who exacted vigilante justice.[6]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Unique Physiology: The Creeper is an oni, a Japanese demon. As a demon, its birth is unknown but its purpose is clear, it must cause chaos and destruction to any and all it meets.[1]
- Flight: The Creeper is naturally a ghostly spirit who can soar through the night sky.[1]
- Mind Control: The Creeper can whisper suggestions into a weak human's mind and force them to commit terrible actions.[1]
- Possession: The Creeper can possess weak souls to enhance their strengths and feed off of them. It often chooses weak souls to inhabit so it can easily stay rooted to their souls and torment them.[1]
- Superhuman Strength: The Creeper is very strong, throwing fully grown humans around like they were twigs. It was able to swing chains around strong enough to whip up a tornado powerful enough to lift and throw multiple cars.[1]
Abilities
Weaknesses
- Vulnerability to Sunlight: The Creeper comes out at night to torment but must retreat into its host body during the day or it will burn.[1]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Chains[1]
Weapons
- Yellow Power Ring (Formerly)[4]
Notes
- Creeper was created by Steve Ditko, first appearing in Showcase #73. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Creeper first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Katana #3 by Ann Nocenti and Cliff Richards.
Trivia
- The Creeper is a Japanese demon called an Oni.[1]
- Oni don't have names, they are given names to reduce their power. The Creeper named itself.[1]
Related
- 10 Appearances of Creeper (Prime Earth)
- 1 Images featuring Creeper (Prime Earth)
- 5 Quotations by or about Creeper (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Creeper (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
Sinestro Corps member This character is or was a member of the Sinestro Corps, chosen by Sinestro to counteract the Green Lantern Corps and spread terror throughout their sector with a Power Ring. |
Justice League member This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats. |