The Creeper (2nd Series)

(DC, 2006-2007)
™ and © DC Comics, Inc.

Perhaps character creator Steve Ditko should be the only person allowed to write the Creeper. The character has been relaunched several times with less than stellar success. This effort, creatively at least, is another disappointment. This attempt is a hard reboot, approaching the Creeper as if Ditko’s delightful and exciting original had never existed.

Creeper’s alter ego is still Jack Ryder, here an obnoxious and unlikable TV political talk show host. But instead of the classic costume party origin, he now interrupts a tedious mob hit filled with stereotypical thugs. During the chaos, Ryder is injected with a mystery formula. The thugs kill Ryder, but he gets better and changes into the Creeper, wreaking havoc. This version of the Creeper is a colorless copy of the original, with little of its wit or charm.

— Jerry Smith

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