Scarecrow (DC Comics)
The Scarecrow is a fictional supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, he made his debut in World's Finest Comics #3. The self-proclaimed "Master of Fear" is an ex-professor of psychology in Gotham City who uses a variety of experimental toxins to exploit the phobias of his victims. He is one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up the Dark Knight's rogues gallery.
In 2009, The Scarecrow was ranked as IGN's 58th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time. He has been substantially adapted into various forms of media, including films, television series and video games. Scarecrow has been voiced by actors such as Henry Polic II, Jeffrey Combs, Dino Andrade, John Noble, and Robert Englund, while Cillian Murphy has portrayed him in live-action in The Dark Knight Trilogy. Scarecrow was also played by Charlie Tahan and David W. Thompson in the television series Gotham.
Publication history
and Bob Kane introduced Scarecrow in the fall of 1941 for World's Finest Comics #3, during the Golden Age of Comic Books, in which he only made two appearances. The character was revived during the Silver Age of Comic Books by writer Gardner Fox and artist Sheldon Moldoff in the pages of Batman #189, still maintaining his origin story from the Golden Age. It was also in Batman #189 that the Scarecrow's fear gas debuted.Following the 1986 multi-title event Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot, the character's origin story is expanded in Batman Annual #19 and the miniseries Batman/Scarecrow: Year One, with this narrative also revealing that Crane has a fear of bats.Batman/Scarecrow: Year One In 2011, as a result of The New 52 reboot, Scarecrow's origin is completely altered, incorporating several elements that differ from its original.
Fictional character biography
Backstory
Jonathan Crane is bullied at school for his resemblance to Ichabod Crane from Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, leading him to become bitter and antisocial and also sparking his lifelong obsession with fear and using it as a weapon against others. In his senior year, Crane is humiliated by school bully Bo Griggs and rejected by cheerleader Sherry Squires. He takes revenge during the senior prom by donning his trademark scarecrow costume and brandishing a gun in the school parking lot; in the ensuing chaos, Griggs gets into a car accident, paralyzing himself and killing Squires.Crane's obsession with fear leads him to become a psychologist, taking a position at Arkham Asylum and performing fear-inducing experiments on his patients. He is also a professor of psychology at Gotham University, specializing in the study of phobias. He loses his job after he fires a gun inside a packed classroom, accidentally wounding a student; he takes revenge by killing the professors responsible for his termination, and becomes a career criminal. As a college professor, Crane mentors a young Thomas Elliot. The character also has a cameo in Sandman #5.
In stories by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, the Scarecrow is depicted as one of the more deranged criminals in Batman's rogues gallery, with a habit of speaking in nursery rhymes. These stories further revise his history, explaining that he was raised by his fanatically religious and abusive grandmother, whom he murdered as a teenager.
Criminal career
Scarecrow plays a prominent role in Doug Moench's "Terror" storyline, set in Batman's early years, where Professor Hugo Strange breaks him out of Arkham and gives him “therapy” in order to train him to defeat Batman. Strange's therapy proves effective enough to turn the Scarecrow against his “benefactor”, impaling him on a weather vane and throwing him in the cellar of his own mansion. The Scarecrow then uses Strange's mansion to lure Batman to Crime Alley, and decapitates one of his former classmates in the alley in front of Batman. With the help of Catwoman—whom Scarecrow had attempted to blackmail into helping him by capturing her and photographing her unmasked —Batman catches Scarecrow, but loses sight of Strange, with it being unclear whether Strange had actually survived the fall onto the weather vane, or if Scarecrow and Batman are hallucinating from exposure to Scarecrow's fear toxin.Scarecrow appears in ', first seen escaping from Arkham on Mother's Day with help from Carmine Falcone, who also helps the Mad Hatter escape. The Scarecrow gases Batman with fear toxin as he escapes, causing Batman to flee to his parents' grave as Bruce Wayne, where he is arrested by Commissioner Jim Gordon due to Wayne's suspected ties to Falcone. Scarecrow robs a bank with the Mad Hatter on Independence Day for Falcone, but is stopped by Batman and Catwoman. He later appears in Falcone's office on Halloween with Batman's future rogue's gallery, but is defeated by Batman. Scarecrow returns in ' as part of Two-Face's gang, and is first seen putting fear gas in children's dolls on Christmas Eve. He is eventually defeated by Batman. He later appears as one of the villains present at Calendar Man's trial. It is revealed he and Calendar Man had been manipulating Falcone's son Alberto; Scarecrow had determined that Alberto feared his father, and poisoned his cigarettes with fear toxin to bring out the fear; Calendar Man, meanwhile, had been talking to Alberto, with the fear toxin making Alberto hear his father's voice. Together, they manipulate Alberto into making an unsuccessful assassination attempt on his sister, Sofia Gigante. After Two-Face's hideout is attacked, Batman captures Scarecrow, who tells him where Two-Face is heading. In ', Scarecrow supplies the Riddler with fear gas to manipulate Catwoman, and later aids Riddler when he fights Catwoman in Rome. Scarecrow accidentally attacks Cheetah with his scythe before Catwoman knocks him out.
The Scarecrow appears in such story arcs as ' and ', first teaming with the Joker to ransom off the mayor of Gotham City. Batman foils their plan, and forces them to retreat. Scarecrow betrays Joker by spraying him with fear gas, but it has absolutely no effect; Joker then beats Scarecrow senseless with a chair. Scarecrow later tries to take over Gotham with an army of hypnotized college students, commanding them to spread his fear gas all over the city. His lieutenant is the son of the first man he killed. He is confronted by both Batman-Azrael and Anarky, and tries to escape by forcing his lieutenant to jump off of a building. Batman-Azrael knocks him out, and Anarky manages to save the boy.
Despite his criminal history, he is still recognized as a skilled psychologist. When Aquaman needs insight into a serial killer operating in his new city of Sub Diego - San Diego having been sunk and the inhabitants turned into water-breathers by a secret organization - he consults with Scarecrow for insight into the pattern of the killer's crimes, Scarecrow determining that killer chose his victims by the initials of their first and last names spelled out the message 'I can't take it any more'.
and Dustin Nguyen.
In the 2004 story arc As the Crow Flies, Scarecrow is hired by the Penguin under false pretenses. Dr. Linda Friitawa then secretly mutates Scarecrow into a murderous creature known as the "Scarebeast", who Penguin uses to kill off his disloyal minions. The character's later appearances all show him as an unmutated Crane again, except for an appearance during the ' story arc. Scarecrow appears in the third issue of War Games saving Black Mask from Batman and acting as the crime lord's ally, until Black Mask uses him to disable a security measure in the Clock Tower by literally throwing Scarecrow at it. Scarecrow wakes up, transforms into Scarebeast, and wreaks havoc outside the building trying to find and kill Black Mask. The police are unable to take it down, and allow Catwoman, Robin, Tarantula II, and Onyx to fight Scarebeast, as Commissioner Michael Akins had told all officers to capture or kill any vigilantes, costumed criminals or "masks" they find. Even they cannot defeat the Scarebeast, though he appears to have been defeated after the Clock Tower explodes.
The Scarecrow reappears alongside other Batman villains in Gotham Underground; first among the villains meeting at the Iceberg Lounge to be captured by the Suicide Squad. Scarecrow escapes by gassing Bronze Tiger with fear toxin. He later appears warning the Ventriloquist II, Firefly, Killer Moth and Lock-Up, who are planning to attack the Penguin that Penguin is allied with the Suicide Squad. The villains wave off his warnings and mock him. He later leads the same four into a trap orchestrated by Tobias Whale. Killer Moth, Firefly and Lock-Up all survive, but are injured and unconscious to varied degrees, the Scarface puppet is "killed", and Peyton Reily, the new Ventriloquist, is unharmed, though after the attack she is taken away by Whale's men. Whale then betrays Scarecrow simply for touching his shoulder. The story arc ends with Whale beating Scarecrow up and leaving him bound and gagged, as a sign to all "masks" that they are not welcome in Whale's new vision of Gotham.
Scarecrow appears in ', working for the Riddler and Hush. He composes profiles on the various villains of Gotham so Riddler and Hush can manipulate them to their own ends. He later gases Huntress with his fear gas, making her attack Catwoman. He attacks Batman in a graveyard, only to learn his fear gas is ineffective, but before he can reveal this he is knocked out by Jason Todd. Scarecrow also appears in Batman: Heart of Hush, kidnapping a child to distract Batman so Hush can attack Catwoman. When Batman goes to rescue the child, Scarecrow activates a Venom implant, causing the boy to attack Batman. He is defeated when Batman ties the boy's teddy bear to Scarecrow, causing the child to attack Scarecrow. After capturing Scarecrow, Batman forces him to reveal Hush's location.
In the ' storyline, Scarecrow is recruited by a new Black Mask to be a part of a group of villains who are aiming to take over Gotham in the wake of Batman's apparent death. He later assists the crime lord in manufacturing a recreational drug called "Thrill," which draws the attention of Oracle and Batgirl. He is later defeated by Batgirl and once again arrested.
''Blackest Night''
Scarecrow briefly appears in the fourth issue of the Blackest Night storyline. His immunity to fear renders him practically invisible to the invading Black Lanterns. The drug has taken a further toll on his sanity, exacerbated by the long disappearance of Batman in the Batman R.I.P. storyline; he develops a literal addiction to fear, exposing himself deliberately to the revenant army, but knowing that only Batman could scare him again. Using a duplicate of Sinestro's power ring, he is deputized into the Sinestro Corps for 24 hours in order to combat the Black Lanterns. Overjoyed at finally being able to feel fear again, Scarecrow gleefully and without question follows Sinestro's commands. His celebration is cut short when Lex Luthor, overwhelmed by the orange light of Avarice, steals his ring.''Brightest Day''
During the events of Brightest Day, Scarecrow begins kidnapping and murdering college interns working for LexCorp as a way of getting back at Lex Luthor for stealing his ring. When Robin and Supergirl attempt to stop him, Scarecrow unleashes a new fear toxin that is powerful enough to affect a Kryptonian. The toxin forces Supergirl to see visions of a Black Lantern Reactron, but she is able to snap out of the illusion and help Robin defeat Scarecrow. He is eventually freed from Arkham when Deathstroke and the break into the asylum in order to capture one of the inmates.The New 52
In The New 52, Scarecrow is a central villain in the Batman family of books and first appeared in the New 52 in ' #4, written by David Finch and Paul Jenkins. His origin story is also altered; in this continuity, his father used him as a test subject in his fear-based experiments. During one of these experiments, Crane's father locked him inside a little dark room, but suffered a fatal heart attack before he could let Jonathan out. Jonathan was trapped in the test chamber for days until being freed by some employers of the University. As a result of this event, he was irreparably traumatized and developed an obsession with fear. He became a psychologist, specializing in phobias. Eventually, Crane began using patients as test subjects for his fear toxin. His turn to criminality is also markedly different in this version; the New 52 Scarecrow is fired from his professorship for covering an arachnophobic student with spiders, and becomes a criminal after stabbing a patient to death.The Scarecrow kidnaps Poison Ivy, and works with Bane to create and distribute to various Arkham inmates a new form of Venom infused with the Scarecrow's fear toxin. With the help of Superman and The Flash, Batman defeats the villains. The Scarecrow surfaces again in ' #10, penned by Gregg Hurwitz, for a six-issue arc. The Scarecrow kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and several children, and eventually releases his fear toxin into the atmosphere. Scarecrow is also used as a pawn by the Joker, for his "Death of the Family" arc; he is referred to as Batman's physician.
Scarecrow appears in Swamp Thing #19, clipping flowers for his toxins at the Metropolis Botanical Garden. Swamp Thing attempts to save Scarecrow from cutting a poisonous flower, not realizing who the villain is. Scarecrow attempts to use his fear toxin on Swamp Thing. The toxin causes Swamp Thing to lose control of his powers, until Superman intervenes.
He is later approached by the Outsider of the Secret Society of Super Villains to join up with the group. Scarecrow accepts the offer.
As part of "Villains Month", Detective Comics vol. 2, #23.3 was titled The Scarecrow #1. Scarecrow goes to see Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Riddler and informs them of a war at Blackgate Penitentiary is coming and learns where each of the alliances live. Through his conversations with each, Scarecrow learns that Bane may be the cause of the Blackgate uprising and will be their leader in the impending war. It was also stated that Talons from the Court of Owls were stored at Blackgate on ice. Later, looking over the divided city, Scarecrow claims that once the war is over and the last obstacle has fallen, Gotham City would be his. Scarecrow approaches Professor Pyg at Gotham Memorial Hospital to see if he will give his supplies and Dollotrons to Scarecrow's followers. Scarecrow goes to Penguin next, who has already planned for the impending war, by blowing up the bridges giving access to Gotham City. Scarecrow and Man-Bat attempt to steal the frozen Talons from Blackgate while Penguin is having a meeting with Bane. Killer Croc rescues Scarecrow and Man-Bat from Blackgate and brings Scarecrow to Wayne Tower, where he gives Killer Croc control of Wayne Tower, as it no longer suits him. Scarecrow begins waking the Talons in his possession, having doused them with his fear gas and using Mad Hatter's mind-control technology in their helmets to control them. At Arkham Asylum, Scarecrow senses that he has lost the Talons after Bane freed them from Mad Hatter's mind-control technology. Scarecrow then turns to his next plan, giving the other inmates a small dose of Bane's Venom to temporarily transform them. Upon Bane declaring that Gotham City is finally his, he has Scarecrow hanged between two buildings.
In Batman and Robin Eternal, flashbacks reveal that Scarecrow was the first villain faced by Dick Grayson as Robin in the New 52 universe, when his and Batman's investigations into Scarecrow's crimes lead Batman to Mother, a woman who believes that tragedy and trauma serve as 'positive' influences to help people become stronger. To this end, Mother has Scarecrow develop a new style of fear toxin that makes the brain suffer the same experience as witnessing a massive trauma, but Scarecrow turns against Mother as the victims of this plan would become incapable of feeling anything. Recognizing that Mother will kill him once he has outlived his usefulness, Scarecrow attempts to turn himself over to Batman, but Batman uses this opportunity to have him deliver a fake psychological profile of him to Mother, claiming that Batman is a scared child terrified of losing the people he cares for to make Mother think she understands him. In the present day, as Mother unleashes a new hypnotic signal to take control of the world's children, the Bat Family abduct Scarecrow to brew up a new batch of his trauma toxin after determining that it nullifies the controlling influence of Mother's signal until they can shut down her main base.
DC Rebirth
In "DC Rebirth," Scarecrow works with the Haunter to release a low dose of fear gas around Gotham on Christmas, and sets up a small stand for her to pickup the fear gas. Both he and Haunter are paralyzed by the effects of the fear gas and arrested by Batman. The Scarecrow later emerges using a Sinestro Corps' Power ring to induce fear and rage against Batman in random citizens throughout Gotham, to the point where he provokes Alfred Pennyworth into threatening to shoot Simon Baz as part of his final assault.In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Scarecrow is among the villains that attend the underground meeting held by Riddler that talks about the Superman Theory.
Wanting to take on other bad guys outside of Doctor Sivana, Mister Mind, Black Adam, and Herkimer, Shazam flies to Gotham City where he hears about a hostage situation caused by Scarecrow. Shazam starts to fight him when he starts to get affected by the fear gas. Batman shows up and regains control of the situation by defeating Scarecrow and administering the antidote. As Scarecrow is arrested, Batman states to Shazam that Scarecrow is too dangerous for him to fight.
Powers, abilities, and equipment
Jonathan Crane is a brilliant psychologist who specializes in fear and phobias. With this knowledge, he knows how to use words to affect a person's actions.In the story arc As the Crow Flies, after being secretly mutated by Dr. Linda Friitawa, Scarecrow gains the ability to turn into a large monster with greatly enhanced strength, endurance, and a fear gas he naturally emits. However, he has to be under physical strain or duress to transform.
Fear toxin
He is also an accomplished biochemist for his invention of fear toxin, a weaponized hallucinogenic volatile substance that causes his victims to experience nightmarish hallucinations. He wears his Scarecrow mask to enhance the effect of the hallucinogen. The fear gas is proven to work on any being, human or alien with a respiratory system and has beenused successfully on Superman, Martian Manhunter and Shazam. The mask contains filters to protect him from his own gas. Prolonged exposure to his own gas has damaged Crane's brain despite measures that have been made to protect himself from it, rendering him nearly incapable of being afraid of anything, except Batman. This is problematic for him, as he is addicted to fear and compulsively seeks out confrontations with Batman to feed his addiction.
Weapons
The Scarecrow at times wields a scythe which he uses in addition to his "violent dancing". Scarecrow also uses a hand-held fear gas sprayer in the shape of a human skull, straws which he leaves as a calling card, special straws which can be snapped in half to release a fear poison and stuffed scarecrows which scare his victims.During the Blackest Night mini-series, Scarecrow is temporarily deputized 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.
Other versions
As one of Batman's most recognizable and popular opponents, the Scarecrow appears in numerous comics that are not considered part of the regular DC continuity, including:''Batman/Daredevil''
The Scarecrow appears in , in which he attempts to use the Kingpin's criminal empire to disperse his fear gas over Gotham City. He is defeated when Daredevil, the "Man Without Fear", proves immune to the gas.''DC vs. Marvel''
In DC vs. Marvel, the Scarecrow temporarily allies with the Marvel Universe Scarecrow to capture Lois Lane before they are both defeated by Ben Reilly.''JSA: The Liberty Files''
The Scarecrow is featured in part two of the four-part in . This version of Scarecrow is portrayed as a German agent who kills a contact working for the Bat, the Clock, and the Owl. In a struggle with Scarecrow, the fiancée of agent Terry Sloane is killed. This causes Sloane to return to the field as Mister Terrific and kill Scarecrow.''Batman: Dark Knight Dynasty''
A stand-in for Jonathan Crane named Jenna Clarke/Scarecrone appears in the Elseworlds original graphic novel as a henchwoman/consort under the employ of Vandal Savage. Scarecrone also acts as a stand-in for Two-Face. She has the power to invade a person's psyche and make their deepest fears appear as illusions simply by touching them. "Scarecrone" is actually a separate personality from Jenna Clarke, Vandal Savage requires Clarke to switch to her Scarecrone persona through a special formula that he has made Clarke dependent on. The two personalities are actually extremely antagonistic towards each other. It's revealed that when the formula brings out Scarecrone the right side of her face becomes heavily scarred. This scarring is healed once the formula wears off and the Jenna Clarke personality becomes dominant again.''Justice''
The Scarecrow is one of the main characters in Alex Ross' maxi-series Justice as part of the Legion of Doom. He is first seen out of costume in a hospital, injecting a girl in a wheelchair with a serum allowing her to walk. Scarecrow is later seen in costume during Lex Luthor's speech alongside Clayface inside the home of Black Canary and Green Arrow. Scarecrow gases Canary while Clayface attacks Green Arrow, but the attack fails when Black Canary finds her husband attacked by Clayface. Green Arrow defeats Clayface by electrocuting him with a lamp, and the duo flee soon after Canary unleashes her Canary Cry. Scarecrow is later seen with Clayface and Parasite, having captured Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl, and Supergirl. When the Justice League storms the Hall of Doom, Scarecrow does not appear to face any particular target and duels the League as a whole. He is one of the few villains to escape the League's initial attack. The Justice League follows Scarecrow to his city, whereupon he sends his city's population to attack the League, knowing that they would not hurt civilians. However, John Stewart's ring frees the city from Scarecrow's control, subsequently freeing Scarecrow from Brainiac's control. Scarecrow does not seem bothered by this realization, admitting he would have done it anyway. He causes a diversion by releasing his fear gas into his entire city, driving his citizens into a homicidal frenzy, and manages to escape capture, but he is ambushed and nearly killed by the Joker in retaliations for not having been invited to the Legion of Doom. Scarecrow's city is again saved by the Justice League.''Batman: Crimson Mist''
The Scarecrow appears in the third and final chapter of , in which he has adorned his Scarecrow costume with laces of the severed fingers of the bullies who tormented him in school. He is about to kill a former football player when vampire Batman appears, noting that Scarecrow is worse than him; as a vampire, he is driven to kill by forces beyond his control, while Scarecrow chooses to be a murderer. Batman then grabs Scarecrow's vial of fear gas, crushing it along with the supervillain's hand, and cuts Scarecrow's head off with his own sickle, declaring that Scarecrow has no idea what fear really is.''The Batman Adventures'' Vol. 2
In The Batman Adventures Vol. 2 #1, Scarecrow escapes from Arkham Asylum and doses Gotham City's entire population with a variant of his fear gas has that causes them to fear his silhouette. In issue #9, Scarecrow is seen during a flashback sequence. Series writer Ty Templeton mentioned during an interview that he originally wanted to use the Scarecrow in a story which would have revealed why an accident and a murder trial provoked him to change his costume, as his face was never seen in The New Batman Adventures TV show, but the series was canceled before Scarecrow's mystery could have been revealed.''Batman Beyond''
In the 2010 adaptation of Batman Beyond, the character never appears on screen, but it is mentioned that Crane ended up retiring from his life of crime, and spent the last ten years of his life writing out experiments.In the New 52 Batman Beyond books that takes place after ', the future Batman fights a new, female version of the Scarecrow named Adalyn Stern'''. As a child, Adalyn was traumatized when she witnessed Batman brutally beat up her father. She was placed in institutional care until she was assigned to one of Jonathan Crane's disciples who attempted to treat her with technology derived from Crane's work, which only amplified her fear of Batman. She grows up and becomes a co-anchor to Jack Ryder on the News 52. She uses A.I. cubes placed in everyone's homes to brainwash the population into believing that the new Batman is a demonic monster that needs to be put down. She is eventually defeated by the combined efforts of the original and new Batman as well as Jack Ryder and is placed in Arkham Asylum afterwards when she views herself as nothing but the Scarecrow.
''Flashpoint''
In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Scarecrow is one of the many villains subsequently killed by Batman.''Batman: Earth One''
In the graphic novel, Dr. Jonathan Crane is mentioned as the head of the Crane Institute for the Criminally Insane, and one of its escapees is one Ray Salinger, also known as the "Birthday Boy", used by Mayor Cobblepot to his advantages.''Batman: Arkham Unhinged''
In , the Mad Hatter mentioned that he acquired and modified Scarecrow's fear gas to make Batman see his "Alices" as various Alice in Wonderland characters who, in turn, were drugged by Hatter and placed under his control.''Injustice: Gods Among Us''
The Scarecrow appears in 's prequel comic. In Year One, the alternate universe's Joker poisons Scarecrow with his laughing toxin, which left him in a state of induced coma. Later, Scarecrow's body is found in S.T.A.R. Labs by the Flash, with his face twisted into a smile. Joker would use Scarecrow's fear toxin laced with kryptonite to make Superman see his wife Lois as Doomsday, causing the Man of Steel to accidentally murder her and seal Metropolis's fate. In Year Five, after awakening from his coma, Scarecrow goes to Bludhaven, where he meets with Black Mask, Man-Bat, Bronze Tiger, Mad Hatter, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Robin later arrives and fights the villains. When they start to overwhelm Robin, Deadman arrives and possesses Bronze Tiger to knock out the villains before calling for help.In Injustice 2, Scarecrow is one of the many villains recruited by Gorilla Grodd to form The Society. After a battle with Wonder Woman, Scarecrow was injured as a result of Wonder Woman slicing his hand.