The Sewer King is a villain originally created by Tom Ruegger as a minor foe for Batman. He is a staff-carrying, sewer-dwelling villain with an army of runaway children he uses as pick-pockets.
History[]
Batman: The Animated Series[]
The Sewer King first debuted in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "The Underdwellers". A pickpocket living in Gotham's sewer systems, he led a gang of orphans and youths on the street. The Sewer King was a cruel guardian, often verbally abusing the children and punishing them harshly if they fell out of line. Sewer King also commanded two crocodiles to assist their activities. Eventually, Batman discovered his activities and use of the children. His treatment of the children made the Dark Knight considered dealing with him outside of the law, though managed to hold off. After his arrest, Sewer King was imprisoned in Blackgate whilst his crocodiles were taken to Gotham Zoo. The children were also taken into social services.
52 Comic Book Storyline[]
The Sewer King was later adapted into DC Comics for the 52 crossover storyline. After escaping Blackgate, he continued his activities as a low-ranking underworld figure, only to be slain by Intergang boss Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim along with Kite Man, Mirage, and Rawson when he hesitated to submit to Intergang. Attending a meeting of local organized crime bosses in Mannheim's boardroom, he fared rather poorly, and was possibly the first such villain to be killed by Mannheim. When the Intergang leader lost his patience with the Sewer King, he did not hesitate to immediately stab the sewer-dwelling villain in the back with a dagger, killing him. This is during Intergang's continuing rise to power in Gotham City outlined in that series. After the death of Sewer King, Intergang erased his name from the public records, as if he never had existed. In the story's novelization, he is given the alter ego Wendell Lewis.