The Creeper is a presumed ancient being who serves as the main antagonist of the Jeepers Creepers film series. Throughout the events of each movie, The Creeper is known to possess phenomenal strength and resilience, thus making for a formidable enemy and terrifying creature. One of the most iconic features of this strange monster is the van he drives around and uses to capture victims. According to the vanity plate it's listed under, he "BEATNGU" (be eating you).
How funny, at least to anyone other than those he's eaten.
Origins and Background
The actual origin of The Creeper is unknown, but there are several beliefs that he is an ancient demon surviving long before mankind. According to the comic Jeepers Creepers: Trail of the Beast, Aztecs assumed that The Creeper was Quetzelcoatl—the serpent god of Mesoamerican culture. The Creeper is depicted eating a human heart sacrificed to it in a ritual. In addition, Cherokee thought of him as the horrifying Uktena and also performed sacrifices to satisfy its craving for flesh. In the Jeepers Creepers Universe, The Creeper is responsible for the disappearance of the Roanoke colonists and the constant fire burning in Centralia, PA.
Though we are not entirely certain what The Creeper actually is, we do know that he is incredibly dangerous and has a craving for human flesh. The Creeper hibernates for 23-year intervals, where it awakens in the spring to hunt for prey. Despite the predator aspect of The Creeper, he possesses human personality and intelligence. While he may eat humans, he seems to also take joy in torturing them or using their body parts for creative expression. The Creeper has been known to tease his victims prior to killing them, indicating a disturbing glee in committing violent acts towards humans.
Appearance
The Creeper has a masculine appearance, with a wide body and broad shoulders. His skin is swamp green in color and has a rough texture protected by scales. Each of his fingers ends with a hooked claw, and his feet have bird-like talons. The only hair The Creeper possesses is a bush of white curls on the back of his neck, possibly serving to disguise himself from behind. The Creeper’s face has jowls and razor-sharp teeth, breaking the human illusion when up close with the being. The most prominent feature of The Creeper is the strange webbing on his head that, when threatened, will unfold with the help of appendages that flatten to his face shape.
The Creeper prefers to wear clothing in order to blend in with crowds. His signature look comprises a wide-brimmed hat, black or brown slacks, a pair of boots, and a long duster. Beneath the coat, The Creeper possesses massive webbed wings capable of propelling him through the air at astounding speeds.
Powers and Abilities
The Creeper possesses numerous abilities that make him a formidable opponent.
Regeneration: The Creeper is capable of growing or replacing limbs and various other body parts through the consumption of human flesh. It is believed that eating human flesh also grants The Creeper his immortality.
Durability: The Creeper is incredibly durable—a trait that may be partially due to the regenerative abilities he possesses. He has survived gunshot wounds, impalement, falling from dangerous heights, and impact from vehicles.
Strength: The Creeper has strength incomparable to that of a normal human. He has been shown to lift both himself and a human victim off the ground with his wings, as well as lift up a pick-up truck while in the air. His wings are powerful enough to enable him to fly at high speeds matching that of automobiles.
Smell: The Creeper has an incredible sense of smell, especially through the use of a third nostril. He is able to smell for specific organs inside of the human body. However, these body parts can only be scouted out by The Creeper’s scent if the victim is in a state of fear or panic.
Intelligence: The Creeper has the intellect of a human, thus enabling him to accurately determine how his prey will react to certain situations. He can fix cars and trucks as well as drive them. It may be possible that The Creeper can absorb memories of individuals he has taken the heads from, granting him knowledge of any potential plans to defeat him.
Weaknesses
The Creeper has no known weaknesses based on the seeming indestructibility of the creature throughout the franchise. He has survived blows to the head, which means very little when he can find another human head to replace it. However, despite it seeming as if The Creeper is incapable of being destroyed or killed, there are some theories out there about what could potentially hinder him.
Depravation: It sounds far too simple, and the execution might be next to impossible, but depriving The Creeper of a means to regenerate could potentially stop him. The Creeper has been seen injured before, and despite his healing factor he can only heal as much as his energy permits. If he obtains energy from consuming body parts of humans then essentially starving him of his nutrients could severely weaken or even kill him. One suggestion may be to find a way to remove The Creeper’s head and try to prevent a means of him getting another. It is unknown how long The Creeper could potentially survive without a head, but the lack of a brain may also hinder decision-making and motor skills if gone without one long enough.
Using Hibernation: The Creeper goes out to feed after a 23-year hibernation period. During the hibernation period, it might be possible to discover a way of destroying The Creeper. While not the best option if being actively hunted, it certainly does some good to research any means of destroying him while he cannot hurt you. Using the hibernation period to one’s advantage might render successful results. For instance, certain chemicals could be tested on it to see if it can be burned by acid or finding a way to crush or grind it into bits Michael Myers-style. Perhaps one could throw him into the ocean?
Remove Limbs: In a way similar to deprivation, blowing The Creeper up into fractions severely limits his abilities. Without a mouth or stomach to consume or digest victims, he cannot regenerate any limbs. The issue with this is his durability factor. We don’t know how many blows The Creeper can take, and there is no guarantee that The Creeper could be led into a spot that would blow him into pieces in the first place. Outsmarting him or determining just how many explosives can kill him would be the biggest hurdle in this plan.
Conclusion
The Creeper is certainly not a monster anyone would want to run into, but he is not without fault. With the proper skill and tactics, it may be possible to put an end to The Creeper’s hunts altogether. There is the notion that people have attempted to use these methods on The Creeper before, but due to the fact that we have not witnessed them enacted, we cannot be certain they are without merit.
At the end of the day, we are talking about an ancient creature with a ramped-up van and a vanity plate. Who knows what its limits are?
Sources:
Jeepers Creepers (Franchise)
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