Scarecrow (DC Comics)

For the Marvel Comics character, see Scarecrow (Marvel Comics).
The Scarecrow

Cover of Detective Comics vol. 2 #23.3
(September 2013). Art by Jason Fabok.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance World's Finest Comics #3 (Fall 1941)
Created by Bob Kane
Bill Finger
In-story information
Alter ego Dr. Jonathan Crane
Team affiliations
Notable aliases
  • Professor Rance,[1]
  • Scarebeast[2]
  • Ichabod Crane
  • Master of Fear
  • Professor of Fright
  • Schrocken
Abilities Genius-level intellect
Gifted psychiatrist, psychologist and biochemist
Skilled in psychological warfare, mind manipulation and scare tactics
Ingenious fear-gas causes his victims to experience nightmarish hallucinations of their worst fears
Expert in the use of a scythe
Accomplished marksman

The Scarecrow (Dr. Jonathan Crane) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character first appeared in World's Finest Comics #3 (September 1941) and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. A professor of psychology and psychiatry, Dr. Crane uses a variety of fear-enhancing drugs, toxins, and psychological warfare tactics to exploit the fears and phobias of his adversaries. Scarecrow is one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.

Although he only made two appearances in the Golden Age of Comic Books,[3] 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 (February 1967) and has since become a staple Batman villain.[4] Scarecrow has been featured in other DC Comics-endorsed media such as feature films, video games, television series, and merchandise such as action figures.

The character has been voiced by Henry Polic II on Batman: The Animated Series, Jeffery Combs on The New Batman Adventures, as well as Dino Andrade and John Noble in the Batman: Arkham series. His live-action portrayals include Irish actor Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and Charlie Tahan in the television series Gotham. In 2009, the Scarecrow was ranked as IGN's 58th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[5]

Publication history

A full page of panel of World's Finest Comics #3 (Fall 1941), featuring the Scarecrow's debut. Art by Bob Kane.

Finger and Kane introduced the Scarecrow in the fall of 1941 for World's Finest Comics #3. From Batman #189 (1967) onwards, the character becomes a recurring foe in the Silver Age Batman stories and also appears as one of the original members of the Injustice Gang.

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. This narrative reveals that Crane has a fear of bats, and is obsessed with fear and revenge as a result of having been bullied throughout his childhood and adolescence for his lanky frame and bookishness, especially because of his resemblance to Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. After being 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 to his becoming a psychiatrist, 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 becoming a career criminal.[6] As a college professor, Scarecrow mentored a young Thomas Elliot.[7] The character also has a cameo in Sandman #5, seeming uncharacteristically friendly.

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 backstory, explaining that he was raised by his fanatically religious grandmother, whom he murdered as a teenager.

Scarecrow plays a prominent role in Doug Moench's "Terror" storyline, set in Batman's early years, where Scarecrow is broken out of prison by the mysteriously returned Professor Hugo Strange, who selects Scarecrow as a tool/ally to help him capture Batman. Scarecrow turns on Strange when Strange's therapy proves effective enough to turn the formerly broken 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 as a trap for Batman, but it is less effective than Strange's plan of attack due to Scarecrow lacking knowledge of Batman's identity; Scarecrow uses Strange's plan to lure Batman to Crime Alley, but his 'trap' consists of simply decapitating 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 face—Batman catches Scarecrow, but loses sight of Strange, with it being unclear whether Strange had actually survived the fall onto the weather vane—he claimed that he lured rats to himself by using his sweat so that he could eat them—or if Scarecrow and Batman were hallucinating from exposure to Scarecrow's fear-gas, although Batman concludes that the subsequent explosion of the house has definitely killed Strange.[8]

Scarecrow appears in Batman: The Long Halloween, first seen escaping from Arkham on Mother's Day with help from Carmine Falcone, who also helps the Mad Hatter break out. Crane gases Batman with fear toxin as he escapes, causing Batman to flee to his parent's grave as Bruce Wayne, where he is arrested by Commissioner Gordon due to Wayne's suspected ties to Carmine Falcone. Scarecrow robs a bank with Hatter on Independence Day for Falcone, but is stopped by Batman and Catwoman. He later appears in Carmine's office on Halloween with Batman's future rogue's gallery, but is defeated by Batman. Scarecrow returns in Batman: Dark Victory 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 Alberto Falcone; Scarecrow had determined that Alberto feared his father, Carmine, and poisoning 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 Catwoman: When in Rome, 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.

Scarecrow is mutated into the "Scarebeast" in Batman #630. Art by Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend.

The Scarecrow appears in such story arcs as Knightfall and Shadow of the Bat, 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.

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.[9] The character's later appearances all show him as an unmutated Crane again, except for an appearance during the War Games story arc.[10][11] 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 Atkins 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 Tobias Whale's men. Whale then betrays Scarecrow simply for touching his shoulder (it is revealed Whale almost pathologically hates "masks" because his grandfather was one of the first citizens of Gotham killed by a masked criminal). The story arc ends with Scarecrow beaten and tied up by Tobias Whale, as a sign to all "masks" that they are not welcome in Whale's new vision of Gotham.

Scarecrow appears in Batman: Hush, 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 (due to Hush's bug), 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 he is captured, Batman attacks him in prison to get Hush's location.

Scarecrow's mastery of fear is such that the yellow power ring of Amon Sur tries to seek him out at Arkham after its master's death, though it does not reach him.

In the Battle for the Cowl 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 (brought about by frequent exposure to his own fear toxin) 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.[12] 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.[13] His joy is cut short when Lex Luthor, overwhelmed by the orange light of Avarice, steals his ring.[14]

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 his plans, 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.[15] He is eventually freed from Arkham when Deathstroke and the Titans break into the asylum in order to capture one of the inmates.[16]

The New 52

In The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), Scarecrow is a central villain in the Batman family of books. Scarecrow first appears in the New 52 in Batman: The Dark Knight #4 (February 2012), written by David Finch and Paul Jenkins. The Scarecrow had kidnapped 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.[17] The Scarecrow surfaces again in Batman: The Dark Knight #10, penned by Gregg Hurwitz, for a 6 issue arc. The Scarecrow kidnaps Commissioner Gordon, and various children, and eventually releases his fear toxin into Gotham.[18] Scarecrow is also used as a pawn by the Joker, for his "Death of the Family" plot; he is referred to as Batman's Physician.[19]

Scarecrow appears in Swamp Thing #19 (June 2013), 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.[20] The toxin causes Swamp Thing to lose control of his powers, until Superman intervenes.[21]

He is later approached by the Outsider of the Secret Society of Super Villains to join up with the group. Scarecrow accepts the offer.[22]

As part of "Villains Month" in September 2013, Detective Comics (vol. 2) #23.3 will be titled The Scarecrow #1.[23] 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 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.[24] Scarecrow approaches Professor Pyg at Gotham Memorial Hospital to see if he will give his supplies and Doll-O-Trons 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.[25] Scarecrow and Man-Bat attempt to steal the frozen Talons from Blackgate while Penguin is having a meeting with Bane.[26] Killer Croc rescues Scarecrow and Man-Bat from Blackgate and brings Scarecrow to Wayne Tower. Scarecrow gives Killer Croc Wayne Tower as it no longer suits him.[27] 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.[28] 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.[29] Upon Bane declaring that Gotham City is finally his, he has Scarecrow hanged between two buildings.[30]

Powers and abilities

Jonathan Crane is a brilliant psychiatrist in the specialization of fear and phobias. He is also an accomplished biochemist for his invention of the deadly fear-gas that causes his victims to experience nightmarish hallucinations. He wears his Scarecrow mask to enhance the effect of the hallucinogen. The mask contains filters to protect him from his own gas.

Prolonged exposure to his own gas has damaged Crane's brain, meaning that he cannot feel fear for anything except Batman. This is problematic for him, as he has an addiction to fear and compulsively seeks out confrontations with Batman to satiate it.[31]

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 (as seen in Batman: Hush), stuffed scarecrows which scare his victims, and a Sinestro Corps ring (as seen in the Blackest Night mini-series).

Other versions

Other versions of the character appear in other DC titles.

Batman/Daredevil

The Scarecrow appears in Batman/Daredevil: King of New York, in which he attempts to use the Kingpin's crime empire to disperse his fear gas over Gotham. He is defeated when Daredevil, the Man Without Fear, proves immune to the gas.

DC vs. Marvel

In DC vs. Marvel, Scarecrow temporarily allies with his Marvel universe equivalent to capture Lois Lane before they are both easily defeated by Ben Reilly.

JSA: The Liberty Files

The Scarecrow is featured in part two of the four-part in JSA: The Liberty Files. This version of Scarecrow is portrayed as a German agent who kills a contact working for the Bat (Batman), the Clock (Hourman), and the Owl (Doctor Mid-Nite). In a struggle with the Scarecrow the fiancée of agent Terry Sloane is killed. This causes Sloane to return to the field as Mr. Terrific and kills the Scarecrow.

Batman: Dark Knight Dynasty

A stand-in for Jonathan Crane named Jenna Clarke/Scarecrone appears in the Elseworlds original graphic novel Batman: Dark Knight Dynasty 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.[32] He is first seen out of costume in a hospital, injecting a girl in a wheelchair with a serum allowing her to walk.[33] Scarecrow was later seen in costume during Lex Luthor's speech alongside Clayface inside the home of Black Canary and Green Arrow.[34] Crane gases Canary while Clayface attacks Green Arrow, but the attack fails on Crane's end when Black Canary finds her husband attacked by Clayface. Oliver 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.[35] 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.[36] 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.[37] 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.[38]

Crimson Mist

The Scarecrow appears in the third and final chapter of Batman & Dracula: Red Rain, in which his suit has been adorned with laces of severed fingers from past victims — the bullies who tormented him in school. He is about to kill a former football player when vampire Batman appears, noting that Scarecrow is almost worse than him; he now has no choice but to kill, but Scarecrow has a choice and yet he chose to prey on innocents. 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.[39]

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.[40]

Flashpoint

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Scarecrow is subsequently one of the many villains killed by Batman.[41]

Batman: Earth One

In the Batman: Earth One 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.[42]

Batman: Arkham Unhinged

In Batman: Arkham Unhinged, 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

In Injustice: Gods Among Us, the alternate timeline's Scarecrow's body is found in S.T.A.R. Labs by the Flash, his face twisted into a smile, a tell-tale sign of poisoning by the Joker's laughing toxin. 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.[43] The game later reveals him to be alive in the alternate timeline when he appears as a stage transition.

In other media

Television

Scarecrow's designs throughout Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures.

Film

Live-action

Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow in Batman Begins.

Animation

Video games

Lego Batman

Main article: Lego Batman

Arkham series

Scarecrow in a promotional image for Batman: Arkham Knight

Toys and collectibles

Web series

See also

References

  1. ↑ Detective Comics #665
  2. ↑ Batman #627
  3. ↑ Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics: Scarecrow of Earth-2. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
  4. ↑ Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics: "Fright of the Scarecrow," Batman #189 (Feb 1967). Retrieved July 31, 2008.
  5. ↑ Scarecrow is number 58 IGN. Retrieved 10-05-09.
  6. ↑ Batman Annual #19
  7. ↑ Batman: Heart of Hush
  8. ↑ Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #137-141
  9. ↑ "As the Crow Flies" story arc - Batman #627, July 2004
  10. ↑ Villains United #6
  11. ↑ Villains United Special
  12. ↑ Blackest Night #5 (2009)
  13. ↑ Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #50
  14. ↑ Blackest Night #7 (2010)
  15. ↑ Superman/Batman #77
  16. ↑ Titans (vol. 2) #28
  17. ↑ Batman: The Dark Knight (vol. 2) #4-#7 (February 2012-May 2012)
  18. ↑ Batman: The Dark Knight (vol. 2) #10-#15, #0 (August 2012-February 2013)
  19. ↑ Batman (vol. 2) #16 (March 2013)
  20. ↑ Swamp Thing #19 (June 2013)
  21. ↑ Swamp Thing #20 (July 2013)
  22. ↑ Justice League of America Vol. 3 #2
  23. ↑ Hunsaker, Andy (June 3, 2013). "Exclusive: DC’s Detective Comics Group Solicits for Villains Month". Crave Online. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  24. ↑ Detective Comics Vol. 2 #23.3
  25. ↑ Forever Evil: Arkham War #1
  26. ↑ Forever Evil: Arkham War #2
  27. ↑ Forever Evil: Arkham War #3
  28. ↑ Forever Evil: Arkham War #4
  29. ↑ Forever Evil: Arkham War #5
  30. ↑ Forever Evil: Arkham War #6
  31. ↑ Blackest Night #4, 6
  32. ↑ Justice #1
  33. ↑ Justice #2
  34. ↑ Justice #5
  35. ↑ Justice #6
  36. ↑ Justice #
  37. ↑ Justice #10
  38. ↑ Justice #11
  39. ↑ Batman: Crimson Mist
  40. ↑ Batman Beyond #7
  41. ↑ Flashpoint: Batman - Knight of Vengeance #1 (June 2011)
  42. ↑ Batman: Earth One
  43. ↑ Injustice: Gods Among Us #2
  44. ↑ Batman - Arkham Files
  45. ↑ Andy Hoglund (2005-06-21). "Batman Begins review". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11.
  46. ↑ "Nic Cage's Strange Batman Past". IGN.com. 5 October 2011.
  47. 1 2 Adam Smith (July 2005). "The Scarecrow". Empire. p. 77.
  48. ↑ "Encountering Scarecrow". IGN.

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