- "That's what I hate. These people who go around casting shade without ever shining a light. There's no moral clarity there folks. There's only rats in masks creeping through the shadows. And to them I say, watch out… you're not the only ones creeping."
- —Jack Ryder expressing his morals[src]
Jack Ryder is an investigative reporter turned controversial talk show host, and was well-known for his aggressive manner and his determination to get to the truth. What his viewers don't realize is that he's also the Creeper, a garishly-colored vigilante who Ryder can turn into - although that point the Creeper's manic personality takes over. The Creeper is usually on the side of good, and just barely on the side of sanity.
Incident Reports[]
Arkham Origins Incident[]
After the credits, Jack Ryder could be heard interviewing with Dean Snyder, Hank and Quincy Sharp.
Arkham Shadow Incident[]
Jack was on-air on the evening of Independence Day for his "Jack Ryder After Hours" radio show, taking calls about the day's riots by The Rats, when one of the Rats threw a flaming brick through his studio window, forcing him to escape, moments before his studio was vandalized. He was later able to establish a new headquarters in an undisclosed location with the help of the staff at his sponsoring company, Dr. Yats’ Wonder Tonic.
Between Arkham Shadow and Arkham Asylum Incident[]
After the events of Christmas Eve, and before the Joker's takeover of Arkham Asylum, Jack Ryder turned into the Creeper.
Arkham Asylum Incident[]
After Jack Ryder found out about the Arkham Asylum Incident, he went on air. He said that Batman was at Arkham Asylum. Joker sent out a recording that Ryder then put on his show. Jack then wanted to see what was going on for himself. Hours past, and he soon thought that Batman was dead. Jack went to see what was going on, and found out Batman was alive. Joker, full of Titan, yelled at him and with Batman, used this for an upper hand. Jack happily said that Joker was beaten and that Batman had saved Arkham.
Between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City Incident[]
When Jack heard about Hugo Strange's plan to construct Arkham City, he began to look into Strange's past activities.
Arkham City Incident[]
While Bruce Wayne was at a press conference supporting the closing of Arkham City, TYGER operatives under the order of Hugo Strange, attacked the rally. Ryder was thrown into Arkham City with Bruce Wayne. As he, Wayne, and another political prisoner entered, they were quickly attacked by the inmates. While the political prisoner was killed, Jack himself got brutally beaten by an inmate. Bruce saved him, only to be clubbed to the ground. Some time later, Jack was attacked by several other inmates and interrogated by one of them to know where Bruce Wayne was hiding. After Batman defeated them, Jack hid in the alleyway. He told Batman that he was looking into Hugo Strange's suspicious activities. The next time Batman saw Jack, was when Deadshot was about to kill him. Batman saved him, and Jack retreated to the Church Medical Center. Ryder was revealed to have also seen the killer known as the "Identity Thief" when Batman found him. He said that it was Bruce Wayne, (which Batman insisted was crazy) but Ryder said that being in Arkham City must have driven Wayne mad. (The killer was revealed to be Hush later).
After Arkham City Incident[]
After Arkham City, Ryder published an article about his run-in with Deadshot in Arkham City. The article was heavily altered as Ryder claimed that not only did he take down Deadshot with help from Batman, but also saved Batman from a sniper shot from Deadshot.
He also testified in front of the Arkham City Commission, testifying to the horrors of the brutality that the prisoners received during that one night he was trapped behind its walls. Thanks at least in part to his testimony, many of the criminals who had been imprisoned there were let go, a fact that many Gotham citizens blamed on Ryder, thus incurring numerous hate mail.
Arkham Knight Incident[]
Unlike most citizens of Gotham, Jack Ryder remained in the city during Scarecrow's attack, and hid out in the GCPD's Interrogation Room. He opted to remain behind to cover Gotham's takeover in the hopes of reviving his career and also investigate what turned out to be a cult lead by Deacon Blackfire. Batman, however, repeatedly tries to tell him to leave the city, and it is heavily implied that Aaron Cash was not happy with his presence. After he noticed that Ryder went missing, Batman investigated the Interrogation Room and learned that Ryder left a recording that indicated that he was heading over to The Lady of Gotham. Upon arrival, Batman saw Ryder captured and about to be murdered in a ritualistic sacrifice, but he intervened and stopped the sacrifice. Afterwards, he warned Jack Ryder that the next time he doesn't heed Batman's warning, Batman will leave him to his fate. Cash also revealed to Batman that he attempted to warn Ryder against pursuing the lead due to realizing just how reckless of a decision it was, but Ryder ignored it and used the first amendment right of Freedom of the Press to bypass his warning.
After the revelation of Batman really being Bruce Wayne, Jack apologized about all the things he said to Batman about Bruce Wayne (such as implying that Bruce Wayne's sadness about his parents death was insincere and dropped the charade as soon as he "noticed his bank balance.") and all the things he said to Bruce Wayne about Batman. Jack would also attempt to convince Batman to invite him to the annual Wayne Christmas Ball, acting as if they had been longtime friends fighting crime together.
Kill the Justice League Incident[]
Ryder researched the events of Arkham Asylum, City, and Knight, helping to create The Batman Experience attraction to showcase Bruce Wayne's greatest achievements for Gotham City. He interviewed asylum guards, goons from Arkham City and the Station 17 fire crew; while hiring actors to voice parts of Joker, Killer Croc, Two-Face and Scarecrow.
Psychological Profile[]
Creeper[]
Real Name: Jack Ryder
Batman's Database Profile[]
Ryder
Dr. Hugo Strange[]
Attributes[]
- Determined reporter
- Known for his aggressive pursuit of stories
- Famous for his controversial talk show
- Secret identity as his alter ego, the Creeper
- Healing Factor: When Jack Ryder entered Arkham City, he had many injuries and cuts on his body from being beaten, bruised and tortured extensively. But, by the time Batman encountered him at the Church, his bodily wounds had completely healed without so much as tiny scar.
Quotes[]
Batman: Arkham Origins[]
- "...our next guest, political strategist Dean Snyder has been following tonight's events since the start-more than eight hours ago. Dr. Snyder, let's start with you-what's your view?"
- "You raise an interesting point, Hank, but what I'm wondering what we'll do next-"
- "There you have it. Quincy Sharp placing the blame for tonight's events not on the Batman, not on the Joker, but on Blackgate prison-...And pledging to return Arkham Asylum to full operations. We'll be back with more from Mr. Sharp, and our other guests when the Jack Ryder Hour continues after this message."
Batman: Arkham Asylum[]
Batman: Arkham City[]
Batman: Arkham Knight[]
- "Untie me, you crazy bastard!" (Deacon Blackfire)
Gallery[]
Batman: Arkham Shadow[]
Batman: Arkham Asylum[]
Batman: Arkham City[]
Batman: Arkham Knight[]
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League[]
Trivia[]
- Jack has appeared in all main Arkham games in some form or another, but has only had physical appearances in Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight.
- In Batman: Arkham Shadow, Jack Ryder talks about Dr. Yatz's Wonder Tonic and Jack specifically states "I am not lying when I tell you it's made me a better person" and that Dr. Yatz helped him set up his new headquarters in an undisclosed location after his old studio was vandalized by Rats. In the comics, Dr. Vincent Yatz is the one responsible for giving Ryder his superpowers and transforming him into the Creeper, which seems to also be the case in the Arkhamverse, although it seems that the prosedure might have been voluntary in this case.
- In the comics, Dr. Yatz had discovered an experimental mixture which enabled the body to regenerate to the point of completely replacing the skin of a badly scarred burn victim, not to mention the ability to heal practically any injury of any kind. During his research on the revolutionary "nanocells" therapy, Ryder attempted to sneak into the mansion of a group of gangsters that held Dr. Yatz against his will during a costume ball and dressed up as a gaudy goblin but he was caught by mobsters when he attempted to steal Yatz's newly discovered technology. Unable to escape, Dr. Yatz injected his last sample of (still unstable) nanocells and a special device into Jack Ryder, as an attempt to keep it safe from the mobsters. Immediately afterwards, the mobsters shot Jack in the head, seemingly killing him. Ryder appeared to meet his end at the hands of a gangster and was dressed up as a gaudy goblin. However, the regenerative substance of the nanocells interacted with his body chemistry, thus resurrecting him as the Creeper. Ryder dispatched his opponents, and soon discovered that the serum gave him the power to heal from any wound, as well as increasing his physical attributes. The device could make the goblin costume appear and disappear in an instant. It seemed the experience gave way to a criminally insane alter-ego that surfaced when the Creeper went into action.
- In Batman: Arkham Shadow, during one of Ryder's radio broadcasts, he threatens the Rat King's followers by saying "Watch out… you're not the only ones creeping" as clear nod to his Creeper persona, possibly hinting that Jack, in his Creeper form, fought some of the Rats.
- Jack Ryder could be heard giving a report on the situation on Arkham Island over a security guard's radio set in the Utility Corridor of the Intensive Treatment Center. This radio was the solution to one of the Riddler's puzzles, and solving it unlocked Ryder's character bio. The report was only played after Batman spoke to Officer North in the Lobby.
- After saving Ryder the first time, you would notice the cuts and wounds on his face from the inmates. But when he retreated to the Church Medical Center after Deadshot's failed assassination attempt, they were noticeably gone. This was most likely due to Ryder's healing factor.
- It was unknown if Ryder would turn into his alter-ego, the Creeper, though it did state that he could in his Arkham Asylum bio, and it was cited in a conversation between Vicki Vale and Mayor Quincy Sharp.
- It was also unclear if Ryder was even aware of his being able to transform into the Creeper, since Arkham Knight didn't have him transform at all into the Creeper despite being under clear duress in the Lamb to the Slaughter Most Wanted Mission, and even required Batman to save him.
- One of Jack Ryder's comments in Arkham Knight had him wishing that he had superpowers, which implied that he didn't have any, in spite of what was stated in previous games. However, it could simply be that, when Ryder transformed into The Creeper, he had no memory of doing so.
- In his Batman: Arkham Asylum biography picture, Ryder was wearing red, green and yellow, the main colors of his alter-ego, The Creeper.
- According to Jack Ryder, Aaron Cash hated Ryder, and was known to sharpen his hook while he was interacting with him.
- Although he never appeared in the games, the Creeper had many references in all games.
- If Ryder is saved from Blackfire before Scarecrow attacks the GCPD, he can be seen using Blackfire's knife to protect himself even thought it's still in Evidence Lockup.
- In Arkham Knight's novelization, Glen Woodburn is substituted for Jack Ryder in the hallucination sequence where Vicki Vale is reporting on Joker's death. This may be a nod to the early intention for Jack Ryder to have appeared in the 2013 film Man of Steel in place of Woodburn.
External Links[]
Jack Ryder on the DC Comics Wiki
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