Ratcatcher (comics)

The Ratcatcher
The Ratcatcher
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Detective Comics #585 (April 1988)
Created by Alan Grant
John Wagner
Norm Breyfogle
In-story information
Alter ego Otis Flannegan
Abilities Control over an army of sewer rats
Manipulation over various things with cyanide gases
Use of gas gun

The Ratcatcher (Otis Flannegan) is a fictional character, a supervillain in the DC Comics universe, primarily as an enemy of Batman.

Publication history

Ratcatcher first appeared in Detective Comics #585 (April 1988) and was created by Alan Grant, John Wagner, and Norm Breyfogle.

Fictional character biography

At one time an actual rat catcher in Gotham City, Otis Flannegan sank into a life of crime. He's been imprisoned numerous times in his career (he is a regular in Blackgate Penitentiary) for assault, kidnapping, and robbery. Flannegan calls himself The Ratcatcher because of his special talent: the ability to communicate with and train rats. The Ratcatcher has used his minions to plague Gotham on more than one occasion by unleashing hordes of the vermin. In prison, Flannegan is able to smuggle items in and out with the help of his small friends.

His supervillain outfit is a gas mask and vermin control gear. Flannegan is often drawn with rat-like features.

When Infinite Crisis began, the Ratcatcher was being protected by, in addition to his rat friends, the homeless community. When he was discovered and being taken away, one of the homeless attempted to aid Flannegan, but was easily knocked aside by the arresting officers. The man turned out to be an OMAC in hiding, and the injury apparently initiated its release. The OMAC identified the Ratcatcher as a gamma level threat and vaporized him.[1]

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Ratcatcher first appears in the series Batman Eternal as part of a plan to subtly destabilize Gotham via public services catastrophes.[2]

Young Animal

In the Mother Panic ongoing series, Otis Flannagan, now reformed and homeless, moves into the basement of the hotel the vigilante Violet Page uses as her headquarters. He ultimately orders his rats to dismember the supervillain Pretty's face.[3]

Powers and Abilities

The Ratcatcher has the ability to control an army of rats. He also wields a gas gun and can manipulate various things with cyanide gas.

Other versions

Batman: Arkham

The Ratcatcher appears in Batman: Arkham Unhinged, in issues #20 and #29-31. In Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis, it is revealed that Ratcatcher did in fact survive his encounter with the Penguin, albeit losing his left eye and arm in the process. After Hush, disguised as Bruce Wayne, enters his domain with two police officers, Ratcatcher sends his rats to attack them, managing to kill the officers and incapacitate Hush. Before the rats could kill Hush, Arkham Knight comes down with a knee to Otis' face, putting him to the ground. The Knight then uses an intense taser to fry Ratcatcher and his rat minions alive. Batman later arrives at the scene of the crime and discovers Otis' charred corpse.

In other media

Video games

  • The Ratcatcher appears as a boss in Batman: Dark Tomorrow, voiced by Jonathan Roumie. While attempting to infiltrate Arkham Asylum through the sewers, Batman is confronted by the Ratcatcher and a pair of giant rats, with Batman defeating the rats before knocking out the Ratcatcher.
  • The Ratcatcher's equipment can be found in Batman: Arkham Asylum. His character bio can be unlocked by finding his mask, gloves and book in the ventilation system of the Botanical Gardens.
  • A poster advertising the Ratcatcher's skills as an exterminator can be seen in Batman: Arkham City. Scanning this unlocks Ratcatcher's character bio, which states he had become a player in the black market, selling smaller items like buttons and gum to avoid upsetting other major players, such as the Penguin. This eventually failed him, and he was last seen being dragged into Penguin's museum by the Penguin's men, followed by his army of rats, and has not been seen since. Penguin may also have used the rats that followed Flannegan to the museum as a death trap used on disloyal grunts (as mentioned by several of Penguin's men). Whether Ratcatcher himself is alive is never made clear.
  • In Batman: Arkham Origins, Ratcatcher's gear can be found at the bar My Alibi in Coventry district. In the "Cold, Cold, Heart" DLC, Ratcatcher's gear can be found at Gothcorp.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Infinite Crisis #1
  2. ↑ Batman Eternal #24 (September 2014)
  3. ↑ Mother Panic Vol 1.: Work In Progress
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