Scarecrow

The Scarecrow (Dr. Jonathan Crane) is a DC Comics supervillain, an enemy of Batman. Created by Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane, he first appeared in World's Finest Comics #3 (Fall 1941). His scarecrow costume, lanky appearance and surname were inspired by Ichabod Crane of the horror fable "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".

The Scarecrow is a mentally unstable former psychologist who uses a variety of drugs and psychological tactics to use the fears and phobias of his adversaries. He does not commit his crimes for wealth, but rather as a form of "research" to further study the effects of fear on humans, making the innocent citizens of Gotham his unwilling guinea pigs.

The Scarecrow made only two appearances in the 1940's. Batman writers of the 1960's revived him and he has since consistently appeared in Batman comic books. He was featured several times in the Emmy-winning 1990s cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, where he was first played by Henry Polic II. When the series was revamped and shown together with Superman: The Animated Series, the character was voiced by Jeffrey Combs. In the 2005 film Batman Begins and it's sequel The Dark Knight, he was portrayed by Cillian Murphy.

Golden Age
Elements of the Scarecrow fear gas appeared in Batman publications prior to his first appearance. For instance, the idea of fear gas first appeared in Detective Comics #46 in December 1940, in a story featuring Hugo Strange, in which Strange uses a special fear dust in order to scare the police and successfully rob a bank.

In his first appearance in World's Finest #3 during the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Scarecrow is first introduced as Jonathan Crane, a professor of psychology, who turns to crime after he is fired; an expert in the psychology of fear, he had fired a gun in a classroom full of students to illustrate a point. The only thing revealed about his early life is that, as a child, he had liked to frighten birds. Ostracized by his fellow professors for his appearance and reclusiveness, he turned to crime to make himself part of the social elite. His modus operandi is to use his Scarecrow persona and threaten his victims into doing whatever he wants. In terms of his costume, he merely wore a ragged black hat, trenchcoat, mask, and wielded a Tommy gun.

His first crime involved a businessman named Frank Kendrick being sued by a former partner, Paul Harold. When Herold refused to cooperate upon meeting and hearing his demands, the Scarecrow killed him and became a media sensation. Bruce Wayne, who happens to be a patron and trustee of the university, investigates the matter as Batman and discovers Crane's disturbing behaviour and forced resignation, leading him to suspect the professor. In his second appearance, he approached a store owner named Dodge with the offer to rob other establishments, in order to increase his sales. After Batman and Robin learn of the plan and question Dodge, Scarecrow attempts to kill him, but the Dynamic Duo capture him in the nick of time. He is then sent to Gotham State Penitentiary. Two years later in Detective Comics #73, he escapes from jail and forms a gang of criminals to do his bidding. While he struggles to rob a Chinese antique dealer, Batman and Robin foil the plan, and he and his cronies are sent back to prison. This version of the Scarecrow was much like other gimmick villains in that he based a lot of crimes around nursery rhymes and words that rhymed with "hat." He does not appear from 1943 to 1955, but it is revealed that he developed a hallucinogenic chemical toxin that could be used to invoke deep phobias within those who breathe it in. When Batman tries to intervene, he is affected by the toxin and hallucinates that all of his allies have disappeared. Feeling he has no once else to turn to, he confides in an old enemy, Catwoman, to help him stop Crane, and she is successful in helping stop the Scarecrow and getting Batman over his delusions. Exactly what happened to Crane is not revealed because of the revelation that the Golden Age universe was actually Earth-2, part of the Multiverse.

Silver Age
Throughout the 1960s Silver Age of Comic Books, the Scarecrow was revived to be one of Batman's most recurring rivals. He is a frequent member of the Injustice Gang. Ironically, in this Earth-One incarnation, Crane has a strange fear of birds, even though he has a pet magpie named Craw. Scarecrow also owned a pet crow he named Nightmare.

Post-Crisis, Modern-Age Version
Following the 1986 multi-title event Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot, Crane's origin story was greatly expanded in the 1989 graphic novel Batman/Scarecrow #1, part of the Batman: Year One continuity. In the novel, he becomes obsessed with fear and revenge from being bullied throughout his childhood and adolescence for his lanky frame and bookish nature. He commits his first murder at the age of 18 by brandishing a gun in his high school parking lot during the senior prom. Dressed in the ghoulish scarecrow costume that would later become his trademark, Crane causes the head bully, Bo Griggs, and his girlfriend, Sherry Squires ,who had rejected Crane, to have an automobile accident which paralyzes Griggs and kills Squires. From this, Crane discovers a savage delight in literally frightening people to death.

He grows up to become a professor of psychology at Gotham University, specializing in the psychology of fear. The flower pot incident is left intact, but the real reason he is fired is due to injuring a student by accident. After his dismissal, he kills the regents who fired him and becomes a career criminal. Following this, he transferred to Arkham Asylum and became a psychiatrist, where he performed more fear-induced experiments on his patients. He takes the moniker "the Scarecrow", the favorite taunt of the hated bullies, as part of his revenge. The 2005 miniseries, Batman/Scarecrow: Year One, expands upon the earlier origin story. The novels explains that Jonathan Crane is born out of wedlock and also suffers terrible abuse from his fanatically religious great-grandmother. His father takes off before he is even born, and his mother does not show any love or affection towards her son at all. He develops a taste for fear and an affinity for crows when his grandmother locks him in a dilapidated church full of birds. The story also shows Crane murdering his grandmother, and learning that his mother gave birth to a baby girl.

During a Batman Confidential story arc, he is shown out of costume at Arkham Asylum still working as a pyschiatrist, while planning the renovation of Arkham, and he briefly comes face to face with the criminal who will one day become The Joker.

In the Knightfall storyline, Scarecrow is one of the prisoners that escaped from Arkham after Bane blows it up. He first attacks one of The Joker's henchmen, who tells Scarecrow that his boss is after the commissioner. Scarecrow goes to the Joker and decides to become partners in terrorizing the mayor. Soon they go to the sewers with the mayor, where Batman arrives. Scarecrow gasses him with fear toxic but instead Batman gets angry. Panicked, Scarecrow floods the sewers. Batman escapes with the mayor but Joker and Scarecrow escape as well. Later, at Scarecrow and Joker's hideout, the Joker savagely beats Scarecrow with a chair after he tries to poison him. He is then sent to Arkham. In the Shadow of the Bat storyline, Scarecrow escapes and brings together a small group of boys to terrorize the city while he enjoys the chaos. Soon, Batman's successor, Jean-Paul Valley, and Anarky arrive and together they defeat the Scarecrow and save the boys.

In stories written by Jeph Loeb, such as Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Hush, Crane is shown to have an inclination to sing nursery rhymes at times. In the Elseworlds story Batman: Crimson Mist, Crane is shown to be singing a modified version of "Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead", from The Wizard of Oz.

Crane undergoes a major change in the 2004 Batman story arc As The Crow Flies. While working with the Penguin, he is mutated into a monster. He turns into this "Scarebeast" during times of great strain or when it is necessary to defend himself.

Scarecrow rejoins the new Secret Society of Super Villains, and is part of the assault on the Secret Six (Villains United #6). He is caught in an explosion caused by Parademon. He is later seen in Villains United Special #1, alive and well. He is also seen in Detective Comics #820 as part of One Year Later, where he is defeated by the combined efforts of Batman and Robin.

Recently, the Scarecrow has decided to stop using his typical fear gas, as he feared that other Arkham inmates were right that he was nothing without them. Instead relying on his training as a psychologist, he drives two inmates to suicide using only his words, also apparently terrifying the rest of Arkham's inmates. After manipulating the guards to freeing him, Crane embarks upon a string of vicious serial murders, terrifying Gotham without using his trademark gimmicks.

On Green Lantern vol. 3 #27, after Green Lantern Laira murdered Amon Sur, the son of the deceased Green Lantern Abin Sur and a member of the Sinestro Corps, his yellow power ring attempted to reach Crane as his successor in Arkham Asylum due to his mastery of fear, but thwarted by two Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart.

On the cover of Justice League of America #13 (Vol.2), it shows Scarecrow as a member of the new Injustice League. In the Battle For The Cowl storyline, Scarecrow is recruited by a returning Black Mask to a part of a group of villains that aiming to take over Gotham. He later assists the crime lord in manufacturing a new recreational drug called "Thrill," which caught the attentions of Oracle and Batgirl. The Scarecrow is defeated by Batgirl and once again arrested.

Scarecrow briefly appears in the fourth issue of the Blackest Night storyline. His immunity to fear (brought about by frequent exposure to his own fear gas) renders him practically invisible to the invading Black Lanterns. However, his current status of fearlessness has taken a further toll on his sanity, exacerbated by the long disappearance of Batman: he craves for fear, exposing himself deliberately to the revenant army, but knowing that only Batman could scare him again.

Scarecrow appears again in Blackest Night #6. When Ganthet creates duplicates of the seven Lantern Corps rings, Scarecrow is chosen by the yellow ring because of his ability to instill great fear, and becomes a temporary member of the Sinestro Corps. He was soon elected to be the Sinestro of Sector-2814.

Overjoyed at finally being able to feel fear, Scarecrow gleefully and without question follows the commands of Sinestro. His joy is cut short, however, when Lex Luthor, overwhelmed by the orange light of greed, steals his yellow power ring. Scarecrow briely appears in Batman and Robin #25, he was going to gas Gotham with his Fear Toxin but Batman stopped him before he was able to fulfill his plans.

Fear gas
Scarecrow's chief weapon is a toxin he created called fear gas. With it, he can cause his victims' worst fear come to life or, he can cause a person to fear something they didn't before, as when he caused two guards at Arkham to fear glass in order to break out. This substance is verstile as it has been used in gas, darts, capsules, etc. His mask was made in order to enhance the effects of the hallucinogen while also acting as a gas mask of sorts to keep him from poisoning himself. Even so, he seems to have formed an immunity with fear, which depresses him.

Close combat
Though he doesn't do so often, Scarecrow is skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He uses a martial art he calls "violent dancing" which seems to be a mix of crane style kung-fu and drunken boxing, which makes use of his long arms and legs. He also uses farm implements such as pitchforks, sickles, or more commenly, scythes.

Psychology
Scarecrow greatly understands the power and uses of fear. He even has a PhD in psychology. With this knowledge, he knows how to use words to affect a person's actions, once managing to drive two men to suicide with nothing but words. He also can use this insight to find people's mental weaknesses and exploit them.

Scarebeast
After some genetic manipulation done to him secretly by Dr. Linda Friitawa (also known as the criminal "Fright"), scarecrow gains the ability to turn into a large monster with greatly enhanced strentgh, endurance, and a fear gas he naturally emits. However, he has to be under physical strain or duress to transform.

Qwardian Power Ring
During the 'Blackest Night' event, Scarecrow is temporarily deputised into the Sinestro Corps by a duplicate of Sinestro's Power Ring. He proves to be very capable in manipulating the light of fear to create constructs, until his ring is stolen by Lex Luthor.

1960's Batman Television Series
Elements of The Scarecrow were used in the live-action Batman television series of the 1960's as the evil cowboy, Shame and his girlfriend, Calamity Jan used fear gas in their railroad heist during the events of The Great Escape/The Great Train-Robbery. It is highly likely that Scarecrow would have starred in the show's fourth season as the writers were running out of ideas.

Batman: The Animated Series
Main article: The Scarecrow (BTAS)

The New Batman Adventures
The Scarecrow has a new, horrifying look, to complement an increased arsenal of chemical weapons and now rather than using scythes he now uses a wooden cane. His control over human fear has increased, giving him not only the power to induce it, but also to take it away. Scarecrow injects Batman with a much stronger fear toxin, causing Batman to become reckless and unafraid of killing. As Scarecrow holds the city ransom, Batman arrives and tries to kill Scarecrow, but Robin stops him and snaps him out of it. Scarecrow is sent to Arkham Asylum.

In another episode, Batman, Robin and Batgirl are attempting to stop a robbery by the Scarecrow. In the midst of the fighting the Scarecrow attempts to flee with Batgirl in pursuit. When they reach the roof, the Scarecrow sneaks up on Batgirl and knocks her off the roof, killing her in front of her father Commissioner Gordon, setting in motion a sequence of events culminating in the destruction of the Bat Family and the deaths of Gordon and Batman at the hands of Bane, who had been hired by Gordon to aid in the capture of Batman whom he blamed for his daughter's death. At the end of the episode it is revealed that it was all a hallucination brought on by the Scarecrow's fear gas that Batgirl inhaled during the robbery. This version of Scarecrow also appeared in Batman: Rise Of Sin Tzu, a video game based on The New Batman Adventures in which he, at the bidding of Sin Tzu, kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and holds him hostage at City Hall. He wields Fear Gas bombs that can cause Batman to see apparitions of The Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Mr. Freeze.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold


The Scarecrow made an appearance in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, in the teaser of the episode "Trials of the Demon". He teams up with Scream Queen in an attempt to cause full panic on All Hallows Eve (more commonly known as Halloween) by placing fear gas filled pumpkins all over town. He faces Batman in combat while his pumpkins are all scooped up by the Flash. Scarecrow is defeated when Batman and Flash bury him in a pile of his fear induced pumpkins. The Scarecrow also makes a brief cameo appearance in the episode "Night of the Huntress" amongst the other prisoners in Blackgate Penitentiary. He is seen wearing a prisoner uniform, yet still wears his traditional mask and hat. Most recently, he has appeared as an inmate of Arkham Asylum under the spell of the Music Meister in the episode "Mayhem of the Music Meister!"

Batman Begins and The Dark Knight
Main article: The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy)

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Main article: The Scarecrow (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

Appearances

 * Batman Begins
 * Batman: Gotham Knight
 * The Dark Knight