CSBG Archive
365 Reasons to Love Comics #9
Kid tested. Stuart Immonen approved.
1/9/09
9. Batroc ze Lepair!
*ahem* Sorry. Something in my throat.
9. Batroc the Leaper
FACT: Batroc is the greatest super-villain in the history of this or any universe.
Well, maybe not. But he *is* awesome.
Do you know how hard it is to find a picture on the internet of Batroc leaping? If only all my prized Batroc appearances weren’t a hundred miles away at the moment. Damn!
Batroc is, however, the greatest fictional Frenchman outside of that guy from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (the greatest fictional Frenchwoman is, of course, Crimson Fox. Or one of them.)
It’s the combination of his kickass costume, outrageous French accent, easy-to-twirl mustache, and irresistability to the ladies that makes him so awesome.
If you want some leaping done, you call Batroc. Well, you call his Brigade. Zaran and Machete are, like, his secretaries, or something.
Also, he’s way cooler than his cousin, Ratboc the Leper. People just don’t go near that guy.
Dammit, where’s my Batroc mini-series!?!?
17 Comments
Eric Grant
January 9, 2007 at 6:31 pm
What I admire is how his name contains a very sly (but still outRAGEOUS!) ethnic slur.
Greg Burgas
January 9, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Didn’t you get Union Jack? He’s not in costume, but he leaps. Scan away!
Patrick
January 9, 2007 at 9:52 pm
I might quibble with the notion that he’s the greatest fictional Frenchman (Cyrano de Bergerac? Arsene Lupin? Fantomas?), but he is unquestionably awesome.
Adam Jones
January 9, 2007 at 11:01 pm
I thought Batroc died in the GLA: Misassembled mini.
Mark
January 9, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Getting off subject but there really was a Cyrano de Bergerac. He even wrote pre-H.G.Wells science fiction.
For a Batroc series, Cyrano could travel through time to prevent Batroc’s death for some reason and then battle the French Taunter. Did I mention his best friend is a talking pie?
Kemayo
January 10, 2007 at 1:27 am
His appearance in Union Jack really did make him awesome for new readers. (It was the first time I’d ever seen him.)
GarBut
January 10, 2007 at 7:11 am
Clearly, the Batroc miniseries would have to pit The Leaper against Stilt-Man.
As for the offensive connotation of his name, it’s not outrageous–it’s (B)atrocious!
Rob Schamberger
January 10, 2007 at 8:32 am
I’m rather partial to Pete Milligan and Mike Allred’s Surrender Monkey.
Jacob
January 10, 2007 at 9:38 am
He was also in Kirkmans short stint on Captain America. Cap was watching a Mets game with Diamondback and Batroc showed up, it was awesome.
RJM
January 10, 2007 at 10:30 am
Unfortunately if Marvel came out with a Batroc mini series today, his costume would be redesigned and covered with spikes and he’d be grim, nasty and a killer.
Matt Brady
January 10, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Here you go:
http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=219373&zoom=4
Dave Johnson, baby! That’s from the aforementioned Kirkman-written appearance.
John
January 10, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Where oh where is Ultimate Batroc!!!!
Eric Grant
January 10, 2007 at 5:28 pm
We need an online Ultimate Batroc petition, STAT!
(Ideally sponsored by a well regarded online comics-related news and commentary source.)
The Kirbydotter
March 9, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I guess everyone can have guilty pleasures…
Mary Warner
September 7, 2009 at 4:51 pm
I can’t find any ethnic slur in his name. What am I missing?
thelastavenger
September 26, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Batroc didnt die in GLA Misassembled. He survived to fight Bucky/Captian America over the original Human Torch’s remains.
Travis Pelkie
September 27, 2010 at 12:35 am
For anyone who cares, I looked up Batroc on Wikipedia, and it appears that Batroc resembles an older name for the class of animals that FROGS belong to. So, there’s your ethnic slur.
I was involved in a radio show in college where there were comic geeks on there, and for a certain bit, one guy used an OUTRAGEOUS French accent and passed himself off as BATROC the LEPAIRRRR!!
Good times.