Adventurer
Investigative Reporter
Boston, Massachusetts
Ryder: Blue
Creeper: Black
Ryder: Black
Creeper: Green
Ryder: Caucasian
Creeper: Yellow
Pre-New-Earth
Molecular Transducer: Device implanted into the body cavity used to induce the transformation into the Creeper.
Note: In the Post-New Earth continuity Ryder's transformation into the form of the Creeper is a side-effect of his powers.
Beware the Creeper Vol. 1, 2 & 3
Creeper
Pre-New Earth
An outspoken television host, Jack Ryder was fired for his controversial opinions.
Taking a job as a security investigator, Ryder was assigned to protect the Russian scientist Dr. Yatz, who had devised two inventions; a healing serum and a molecular transducer which rendered solid matter weightless and invisible.
When his mission failed Ryder assembled a hasty disguise from odds and ends to infiltrate a costume party attended by the kidnappers. Discovered, he was stabbed and taken prisoner. Dr. Yatz injected him with his healing serum and implanted his molecular transducer into Ryder's wound, which completely healed moments later.
Using his new found abilities Ryder overcame the kidnappers. Realizing his bizarre appearance gave him an edge over opponents he decided to play the role of the madman called the Creeper.
Post-New Earth
An outspoken television talk-show host, Jack Ryder tackled the controversial issues of the day; including Dr. Vincent Yatz's creation of an artificial lifeform known as nanocell technology, which could revolutionize the field of medicine.
Intending to attend a press conference showcasing the results of Dr. Yatz's technology on a severe burn victim, Ryder arrived early to discover Yatz in the clutches of criminal gangsters who had secretly financed his research, and now desired the technology exclusively for themselves. Caught in a standoff with the criminals Yatz injected Ryder with the only remaining sample of nanocells to keep the technology from falling into the criminals' hands.
Taken to their mafia compound, the criminal boss decided that Dr. Yatz could recreate his technology and that Ryder was expendable. Executing the television journalist his lifeless body was cast from a cliff into the sea, where it underwent a strange metamorphosis into a being that could only be described as the Creeper.