LogFAQs > #879971088

#204 - Killer Moth (Drury Walker) Nominated by: BetrayedTangy
First Appearance: Batman #63 (Feb. 1951)
Created by: Bill Finger, Dick Sprang and Lew Schwartz

Fundamentals: 4/10
Track Record: 2/10
Scarlet Factor: 5/10

There is nothing remotely good about Killer Moth from the perspective of storytelling and characterization, but I've got a soft spot for the guy. He's a character that has just kept on slowly ticking off appearances despite an absurd gimmick, a terrible costume, and utter mistreatment by the DC writers.

For example, during Underworld Unleashed he was literally turned into a man-moth. It was actually a worse design than the one above. It looked like a zombie with insect wings covered in diarrhea. That alone would plummet the track record category here, but that wasn't enough. It wasn't enough when Superboy-Prime ripped him in half during Infinite Crisis. It wasn't enough when he returned as a Black Lantern zombie bent on seeking revenge against Superboy-Prime during Blackest Night, only to be ripped in half again. It wasn't enough when he was replaced by another Killer Moth and no one even mentioned that this guy was the SECOND Killer Moth... because no one else knew or cared.

It's a depressing story. Forty years as a D-Lister before being given a terrible revamp, going 10 years before being killed off and 5 more years before being killed off again.

God, this is why I love comics. Still, I have a strange affection for Killer Moth. I kinda like the guy. Don't get me wrong; he's utterly useless. But having a goofy villain jobber is necessary in certain situations, and Batman's mythos is one that desperately needs jobbers to make other heroes and villains look stronger. That's what Killer Moth is - enhancement talent. His purpose is to heighten the perception and appearance of the other characters around him, and in that role he succeeds.
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