Who is Killer Moth?

Bio:

Drury Walker, the Killer Moth, is the original "anti-batman" who has a central theme of moths. Killer Moth is usually depicted as a joke villain but has posed an actual threat on several occasions.

Being Inspired by Batman's crusade, Prisoner #234026 decided that the criminals of Gotham City need a guardian of their own. Creating the persona of wealthy socialite Cameron Van Cleer, he then made the alias of Killer Moth and designed tech based around the winged-insects of his namesake. For a price, Killer Moth guaranteed to protect Gotham City's criminals from capture.

Eventually, Killer Moth found himself in conflict with the very man he had tried to emulate - Batman, starting a long-running conflict between the two.

Killer Moth is a supervillain who was primarily remembered as an antagonist of Batgirl and Batman.

Having decided that the lawbreakers of Gotham City needed a costumed protector just like the honest citizens had Batman, Killer Moth emulated the Dark Knight in every way, copying his paraphernalia and building on his legend to create his own super villain identity. He eventually came to resemble a dark mirror image of Batman, even adopting the alter ego of a wealthy philanthropist similar to Bruce Wayne.

Killer Moth was motivated by greed rather than justice, and only served the criminal underworld for a price. His bizarrely ingenious weaponry, such as "Mothmobile" modelled on the Batmobile and an incapacitating cocoon gun, however did not protect him from consistent defeat at the hands of Batman.

Killer Moth's major claim to fame was being the first supervillain ever be defeated by then-amateur heroine Barbara Gordon, the first Batgirl. His reputation was largely destroyed as a result of that debacle and his following other extravagant but failed capers; throughout his latter career he struggled to be taken seriously by the underworld. The original Killer Moth was Drury Walker, but there have been multiple incarnations of the character operating under different aliases during Batman's career.

_______

History:

Like many super villains introduced during the Golden Age of Comic Books, Killer Moth's flamboyant persona and spectacularly bizarre, often impractical schemes were regarded as being unsuitable for the increasingly dark and gritty Batman stories which began appearing during the late 1960s and early 1970s onwards.

Part of the reason for the character's continued survival was the pivotal role he has traditionally played in Barbara Gordon's career as Batgirl, making him an inseparable part of her past in most incarnations.

The shift in themes and storytelling led to Batman literature and media becoming more psycho-analytical in nature, as most of the Bat-Family and the Rogues Gallery possessed no superhuman abilities. This led to new ideas surrounding the psychology of the characters, and why they pursued the lives they did. For example, books like Batman: The Killing Joke dwelt on the deconstruction of the Joker and the disturbing psychological connection he shared with the Dark Knight. Although Killer Moth had long been relegated to the periphery of the Rogues Gallery, he was subject to the same treatment. Storylines like Batgirl: Year One and Underworld Unleashed dwelt on his resentment at his "second string" status, low tolerance for ridicule, and obsession with inspiring fear like Batman.

Although Killer Moth was originally conceived as human, after the Golden Age he was almost never shown out of costume, leading to some ambiguity concerning his true nature. During the Bronze Age of Comic Books, he appeared to exhibit some genuinely animalistic characteristics, such as a set of razor sharp teeth he used to saw through Batgirl's grapnel line. This theme has resurfaced a few times since, namely in the 'Teen Titans' and 'The Batman animated series' as well as the 'Underworld Unleashed' storyline, in which Moth is transformed into a humanoid monster known as "Charaxes".

Killer Moth's true identity is also a topic of some dispute; compounding the confusion was the fact that he uses a variety of aliases. Killer Moth has been alternatively referred to as Arthur Leland, Cameron van Cleer, Laszlo Furlenbach, and Drury Walker, with the latter being used with the most consistency. Further adding to the ambiguity was the sheer number of outright impostors and those with unverifiable claims about having assumed the Killer Moth persona at one point or another, suggesting that the supervillain has caused the rise of a cult following.

__________

Personality:

As Bruce Wayne once observed, Killer Moth possessed no specific enmity towards Batman or any other members of the Batman Family, with the possible exception of Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl. He initially looked at Batman solely as a rival rather than a nemesis, and perceived their clashes as an informal competition of skills between equals.

Despite their similarities, the primary difference between Batman and Killer Moth has always been motive. While Bruce Wayne was driven by a personal crusade against injustice, Moth's only incentive was greed.

____________

Equipment:

Cocoon Gun - Killer Moth's signature gun

Mothmobile - Killer Moth's own version of the Batmobile

Steel Line - "Swinging Rope"

Killer Moth possesses an air pistol which fires compressed air powerful enough to stop bullets mid-air.

Killer Moth also has gear made based on any recorded Batman tech, though it is themed around Moths instead of Bats.

_________

Powers:

Killer Moth has no natural super-powers and relies on his tech to help get the work done.

As Charaxes he obtains superhuman strength as well as a protective exoskeleton. He also has wings, which allow him to fly, and can secrete an acidic substance that traps his victims and dissolves their bodies.

___________