Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy)

"There is nothing to fear, but fear itself! I'm here to help!"

- Scarecrow

Dr. Jonathan Crane was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who conducted experiments on inmates using an identity known as the Scarecrow.

College Professor
Jonathan Crane (The Scarecrow) used to work as a college professor, but was fired when it was discovered that he was testing experimental chemicals (namely, early versions of what would later become his hallucinogenic fear toxin) on a small group of his students.

In League with Ra's al Ghul
"I respect the mind's power over the body. It's why I do what I do.""

- Dr. Jonathan Crane

Dr. Jonathan Crane was a corrupt, sadistic psychiatrist specializing in psycho-pharmacology at Arkham Asylum. Crane was secretly allied with Ra's al Ghul and Carmine Falcone, smuggling the former's hallucinogenic drugs into Gotham to create fear gas to use upon his patients in cruel experiments. Crane testified in court that Victor Zsaz, one of Falcone's assassins, was legally insane and should be moved to Arkham for rehabilitation. This enraged Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes, who later accused him of being corrupt. Crane then met with Falcone to discuss having her murdered. When Falcone later attempted to blackmail Crane, Crane donned his Scarecrow mask and doused Falcone with his Fear Toxin, which drove the mob boss insane and left him repeatedly uttering "Scarecrow". Crane attributed this to Falcone identifying the image with a Jungian archetype.

In Crane's first encounter with Batman, he sprayed Batman with his fear toxin and set him on fire, though Batman narrowly escaped with his life and mind intact. With the help of Lucius Fox, Batman acquired an antidote to the toxin. Shortly thereafter, Batman had a second confrontation with Crane, this time at Arkham, where he rescued Rachel Dawes after Crane has sprayed her with his toxin. Batman overpowered Crane's henchmen and sprayed the doctor with a dose of his own medicine, destroying what was left of his sanity and divulging his real superior: Ra's al Ghul. Crane was subsequently arrested by Sgt. James Gordon, but later escaped in the mass release of Arkham inmates prompted by Ra's al Ghul as part of his plot to destroy Gotham. As Ra's al Ghul unleashed Crane's fear gas on Gotham's slums, Crane, by then calling himself Scarecrow, pursued Rachel and a boy through an alley on a horse, dragging a dead mounted police officer from its stirrups. To the boy, who was affected with the gas, Scarecrow appeared as a fiery eyed, deep-voiced monster riding a fire-breathing horse. After stating "There is nothing to fear, but fear itself - and I'm happy to help," Rachel eluded Scarecrow by shocking him in the face with a taser. Scarecrow aimlessly rode off into the night, screaming in pain. Sergeant James Gordon informed Batman that Scarecrow was still at large.

When Bruce asked Ra's Al Ghul if Crane was a member of the League of Shadows, he said, "Of course not. He thought the plan was to hold the city to ransom," Indicating that he used Crane and, if Crane wasn't in Arkham, would've left him in fear-infected Gotham

Taming Killer Croc
The Scarecrow was the mastermind behind Killer Croc's attacks. Crane drugged Croc with the fear toxin to make him try to kill everyone in his path. He also trained Croc to not fear bats. Batman encountered Croc and beat him, then moved on to find Scarecrow, who was about to slaughter Cardinal O'Fallon. Scarecrow had gathered a cult of mentally ill derelicts. He wore a large brimmed hat and carried a scythe for full effect. Scarecrow attempted to injure Batman with his scythe but failed. Batman defeated all the Scarecrow's men but Scarecrow escaped.

Recaptured by Batman
"I don't need help." "Not my diagnosis."

- Batman and Scarecrow

The Chechen's gang and Scarecrow's thugs meet in an empty parking lot to discuss the negative effect of Scarecrow's drug on the Chechen's customers. The meeting is interrupted by the Batmen (impostors of the Dark Knight that wear armor and wield firearms). Scarecrow easily holds his own against the impostor Batmen, until the real Batman arrives. Scrambling into his van, Scarecrow makes a getaway whilst Batman deals with the impostors and the gangsters. However, Scarecrow's plans go awry when Batman crashes into his vehicle mid-transit. Batman ties up a strangely happy Scarecrow, possibly due to the fact that he felt fear when Batman arrived, and leaves him for the police with the Batmen.

The Dark Knight Rises
When Bane frees the prisoners from Blackgate Penitentiary, Scarecrow is one of the thousands of prisoners freed. Once liberated, Scarecrow presides over a "kangaroo court" trial wherein the rich aristocracy of Gotham are persecuted and given a choice between death and exile.

Weapons and Equipment
Scarecrow uses a deadly kind of Fear Toxin. The toxin is a powerful psychotropic hallucinogenic, causing disturbing images of fear in its victim's minds. When still a doctor, Crane used the toxin to experiment on his patients (nicknamed Crazies), and was brought into the League Of Shadows for use of his toxin against the whole of Gotham. The gas, in large doses, was mentally dangerous and capable of breaking one's mind. Only Lucius Fox was capable of making a cure for Crane's poison. In The Dark Knight, Scarecrow has managed to create a weapon from the gas, as seen when he uses a gas dispenser hidden in his sleeve.

Despite the toxin's frightening effectiveness, Crane is quite defenseless once the gas is bypassed, as evident when Batman subdues him with little trouble.

In order to not get intoxicated by his own weapon, Crane developed a poorly stitched burlap sack mask, which had a gas mask built into it. The mask also provided a catalyst of sorts to what the victims of the gas saw, as seen in cases such as Rachel Dawes and Carmine Falcone.

Behind the Scenes
Crane wears a mask, seemingly a poorly-stitched burlap sack with a hangman's noose dangling around the neck. The mask has a built-in re-breather and acts as a gas mask, and enhances the effect of the hallucinations in his experiments. The mask is put to good use when a victim is poisoned, making his appearance all the more terrifying to the victim; Batman hallucinates bats crawling out of the "mouth", Rachel hallucinates maggots writhing in it, Falcone sees him moving about in a blur, while a boy sees both Scarecrow and his mounted police horse with fiery eyes, with the horse also breathing fire. Scarecrow also wears an unbound straitjacket at the movie's climax due to his incarceration in Arkham Asylum.

Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow: A psycho-pharmacologist who works at Arkham Asylum and has developed fear-inducing toxins. He takes on the persona of the Scarecrow to intimidate others and further his study of fears and phobias. Nolan decided against Murphy for Batman, before casting him as Scarecrow. Murphy read numerous comics featuring the Scarecrow, and discussed making the character look less theatrical with Nolan. Murphy explained, "I wanted to avoid the Worzel Gummidge look. Because he's not a very physically imposing man he's more interested in the manipulation of the mind and what that can do."

Recent photos from spies at the filming of The Dark Knight Rises in Pittsburgh claim that Cilllian Murphy was sighted on set, sparking rumors of the Scarecrow again reappearing in the franchise. Neither Nolan or Murphy have commented on this, though eyewitness accounts claim he will be involved in a mock jury scene featuring Gordon and new character Miranda Tate.

Links

 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Begins
 * http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/
 * http://www2.warnerbros.com/batmanbegins/flash/index.html