Scarecrow (DC)
Scarecrow is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Dr. Jonathan Crane
Crane enjoyed tormenting birds as a child, and this led to his interest in the psychology of fear. (Batman v1 #189)
By adulthood, he came to be a teacher in psychology in a university where he headed classes on the psychology of fear. (World's Finest Comics v1 #3) As a professor at Gotham University, his colleagues gave him the derisive name Scarecrow. (Batman v1 #189) Overhearing his co-workers mocking his appearance with Crane believing that he would be more respected if he had money. One night, he decided to adopt a life of crime and adopted the name of the Scarecrow where he would sell his services to others. (World's Finest Comics v1 #3) All of his wages went toward buying books, and Crane lived in poverty. He desired wealth so he could gain the respect of others, as well as buy more books. He took the costumed identity of Scarecrow, which he felt was an excellent symbol of both terror and poverty, and created a number of chemicals that affected the fear center of the brain. (Batman v1 #189)
Scarecrow and his gang went to Gotham Park to dig up loot from their past robberies, but were spotted by the Dynamic Duo. Scarecrow sprayed them with fear gas, causing them to hallucinate falling down a bottomless hole, and Scarecrow escaped, leaving the words park, ark and mark written in straw as a cryptic clue. The heroes recovered and used the bat-computer to figure out the clues. Scarecrow had already hit the park, and the bat-computer revealed that Raymond Archer had a replica of Noah's ark he was using as a tourist trap. The heroes went to the ark, but Scarecrow was there to ambush them, hitting them with a sonic pulse that made them temporarily blind. Scarecrow gloated that darkness was mankind's most primal fear, recalling prehistoric days when carnivores came out at dark and threatened to eat them. Scarecrow left behind his calling card of straw, and unleashed two big cats on the duo. They powered through their fear, grappled with the beasts in the dark, and set fire to Scarecrow's straw to ward them off. Their eyesight recovered, and reasoned that mark referred to a fall guy, and philanthropist Jeremy T. Fall was keeping a fortune in cash in his mansion for an upcoming fundraiser. The Dynamic Duo got the drop on Scarecrow as he robbed Fall, and turned the tables on him by having the Batmobile blare police sirens, frightening him so Batman could knock him out with a punch. (Batman v1 #189)
Free from prison, the Scarecrow would attempt to get revenge against Batman by inducing fear on the Dark Knight using a pill that makes Batman and Robin afraid of him. However, after putting away a number of his other foes and escaping a deathtrap set by the Scarecrow, Batman managed to overcome the fear effects and Scarecrow's plan backfired. (Batman v1 #200) When released from prison, Crane would be met by Batman who has come to see if Crane had reformed. Jonathan of course, would not, and while feigning having turned over a new leaf would shake Batman's hand secretly injecting him with a fear drug that would make all those who see him become very afraid. Trapping Batman in a room of mirrors, the Caped Crusader would find that his own reflection causes him fear, however Batman would shake off the effects before he could die of fright and recapture the Scarecrow. (Detective Comics v1 #389)
During the conflict dubbed Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Scarecrow was part of the coalition of super-villains from the surviving multiverse led by Lex Luthor to conquer the multiverse while it's heroes were preoccupied with the Crisis. The plot would be foiled by the heroes and the battle ended when their attentions needed to be turned toward the Anti-Monitor. (Crisis on Infinite Earths v1 #9)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Jonathan Crane
Around 15 years ago, he became the subject of bullying from people who picked on his appearance. (Batman Annual v1 #19)
Ten years ago, he experienced a release phenomena one day when his suppressed emotions burst out. (Batman Annual v1 #19)
Joker chose fellow inmate Arthur Rankle, a serial killer who raped and killed eighteen women before Batman took him down, as his apprentice. After teaching him everything he knew he was ready to unleash his pupil on Gotham. Joker said Arthur would be free soon, and warned him never to confront Batman in the dark because it was his natural habitat. Joker alerted Scarecrow’s crew when their boss was scheduled for pickup for court and they agreed to bust out Rankel along with Scarecrow. Joker gave Arthur his diploma and bid him good luck. On the outside Arthur read his diploma, finding ways he could contact the Joker via a pay phone or e-mail, and keys to one of Joker’s hideouts, the former film studio of Slaphappy films. Arthur settled in, planning his big debut and his next kill. He started talking to a rat he named Lassie. He told the rat all his thoughts, how he was in control and the Joker was not, and how he chose to kill unlike Batman’s rogues gallery, and could stop himself at any time. He told Joker he’d need two men to help him carry out his big kill, and Joker sent him Dr. Thomas DeGeorge, a doctor who was locked up after it was discovered he was causing seizures in his patients so he could save them and seem a hero, and Calvin Marshall. They went on a killing spree but were brought to justice by Batman. (Batman: Joker’s Apprentice v1 #1)
After recovering from his encounter with Joker, Scarecrow conducted an experiment at Gotham University and lured young students with the promise of money for being test subjects. Scarecrow turned a small group of students into his faithful minions by using hypnotic techniques based on fear. (Batman: Shadow of the Bat v1 #16) Scarecrow provided them with several of his costumes and he commanded them to spread across Gotham and release his fear toxin in crowded places, which caused mass hysteria. His ultimate plan was to take control over the entire population of Gotham while the city was crippled with fear. (Batman: Shadow of the Bat v1 #17) Scarecrow almost succeeded, but he was found by Batman and Anarky. Despite his efforts against them, Scarecrow was stopped for good and he was carried to the authorities by Batman. (Batman: Shadow of the Bat v1 #18)
Some time later, Scarecrow and Hush joined forces once again to eliminate Batman with Hush's ultimate plan and the first step included Scarecrow taking a kid from Gotham Children's Hospital and terrorize him. (Detective Comics v1 #847) Scarecrow took the kid to some caverns outside of Gotham and summoned Batman to a trap. He forced Batman to fight the kid, who was dosed with a weaker version of Venom, but his plan failed when Batman turned the enraged kid against him. Scarecrow revealed that it was all a distraction created by Hush to keep Batman busy. After the confession, Scarecrow was arrested by the GCPD. (Detective Comics v1 #848) Crane was taken back to Arkham, but before reaching his cell, he was brutally attacked by Batman, who wanted Crane to reveal Hush's secret hideout. To get answers, Batman forced Crane into Joker's cell soaked his head on the toilet in order and gave him electric shocks. Crane told Batman what he wanted to know and Batman left Crane barely conscious in Joker's cell, much to the madman's delight. (Detective Comics v1 #849)
Scarecrow was one of the villains freed in the Society's worldwide prison break, but he was soon captured by the Secret Six, who took him aboard a helicopter and pumped him for information about the Society's plans. After threatening to toss him from the helicopter he told them that all the escaped supervillains were massing in Metropolis. Scarecrow made it to Metropolis, where the Society was confronted by an army of virtually every hero on Earth, and the heroes and villains engaged in an epic battle. (Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special v1 #1)
He later came to be inducted by a yellow Power Ring that inducted him into the ranks of the Sinestro Corps. (Blackest Night v1 #6)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Jonathan Crane
When he was a child, his father was a scientist who researched the emotion of fear. Unable to use proper test subjects, Dr. Crane used his own son Jonathan as his guinea pig. As part of the experiments, Jonathan was locked inside a little dark room while his father examined the effects on his son. One day however, during one of the experiments, Dr. Crane experienced a heart attack and died, leaving young Jonathan still trapped in the pitch black test chamber. Dr. Crane's employers at the University became concerned about his prolonged absence, and eventually, police were called to investigate. When they arrived at the Crane's household, the cops spotted the test chamber and were horrified to find Jonathan alone down inside, having survived days of starving and being completely terrified. (Batman: The Dark Knight v2 #13)
During the War of Jokes and Riddles, the Scarecrow came to join the Riddler's faction in the Gotham City conflict that was waged between Nigma and the Joker. At the height of the battle, he was intended to join an army of his compatriots in a fight against Joker's forces but they were all captured by Batman. (Batman v3 #32)
Later on, the world was in the grips of the Crime Syndicate of America who had come from Earth-3 and had removed the Justice League. They freed all supervillains and other criminals from their prisons in order to run rampant on the world. Crane liked the idea of villains becoming united and came to serve as a liaison for the Secret Society of Super-Villains. (Batman and Robin v2 #23.1)
Whilst in Arkham Asylum, he was visited by millionaire Simon Saint who wanted Crane's help in instituting his Fear State theory. Scarecrow agreed to do so on the condition that he was freed from the prison and given credit for its ultimate success. (Batman: Fear State: Alpha v1 #1) He was in Arkham Asylum when he was taken out in secret to help in generating fear in Gotham. To hide his escape, a Joker attack was arranged at the asylum where large quantities of Joker Toxin was used to kill many of the people at the facility. The incident came to be known as A-Day and Jonathan Crane was listed as among those who had died but in reality a body double disguised as him was used to allow him to had faked his own death. (Batman v3 #107) Afterwards, he began to secretly work with Simon Saint in making the people of Gotham City scared of vigilantism. (Infinite Frontier v1 #0) To achieve this, he began to work in secret and staged events to create even more chaos within the city. (Batman v3 #106)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Even as a youth, he had been lanky and gangly with a herky-jerky gait. In his youth, he was derisively called Ichabod after Ichabod Crane until he took the name Scarecrow where he came to be regarded as the Master of Fear. (Batman Annual v1 #19) He decided to adopt the name Scarecrow after being compared to one and found it to be the perfect symbol of fear and poverty. (World's Finest Comics v1 #3)
He suffered from derision and scorn on account of his lanky appearance with people commenting that he looked like a scarecrow. (Batman Annual v1 #19) His co-workers at the university said that the choice of clothes he used made him seem as a scarecrow. (World's Finest Comics v1 #3)
When he was a child, he was said to had liked to frighten birds. (World's Finest Comics v1 #3)
As a loner, his pursuits were limited where he was forced to become a bibliophile. He found no judgement from books that did not sneer at him. Crane pretended to be oblivious and even superior to his classmates though he hurt and raged on the inside. Jonathan was seared and scarred by such feelings every day of his life. Complex and conflicting emotions which he fiercely suppressed until they exploded one day. (Batman Annual v1 #19)
As a professor, he spent little money on his clothes and instead spent every cent on books. (World's Finest Comics v1 #3)
In his youth, he had a massive crush on Sherry Squires who had been the girlfriend of his bully Bo Griggs. (Batman Annual v1 #19)
Powers and abilities
It was said that Dr. Crane was an untapped genius capable of incredible advances. (Batman v1 #630)
Crane developed the Fear State theory that outlined a way to help a society evolve by delivering a tremendous shock to its system. (Batman: Fear State: Alpha v1 #1)
In one instance, he was shown as being able to use his insight to find a person's weakness and exploit it were he once drove two guards to commit suicide using only his words. (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special v1 #1)
He conducted a serious study of martial arts mastering one particularly apt technique namely the Crane Style of Kung Fu. (Batman Annual v1 #19)
It was shown that he could create new variations of his toxin and adjust the dosage. (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special v1 #1)
He once created a fright dust that was capable of provoking a fear reaction in people. The purpose of the nerve toxin was to artificially instil fear to ensure loyalty among subordinates. However, initial experiments resulted in the toxin working too well and it drove those subjected to it to insanity. (Batman v1 #627)
At one point, his experiments in genetic splicing was tampered with by Dr. Linda Friitawa where this caused Crane to transform into the monstrous Scarebeast against his will. The 10-foot tall creature possessed incredible strength and endurance allowing him to survive weapon fire along with easily overpowering ordinary human beings. (Batman v1 #630) He was able to emit fright gas from his mouth allowing him to expose others to his fear toxin when they inhaled it. (Batman v1 #628) Upon burning out the transformation, Crane was shown to revert back to his normal self. (Batman v1 #629)
For a brief moment, he came to wield a Yellow Lantern Power Ring that had inducted him into the Sinestro Corps. (Blackest Night v1 #6)
Notes
- The Scarecrow was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson where he made his first appearance in World's Finest Comics v1 #3 (September, 1941).
Alternate Versions
- In Flashpoint: Batman - Knight of Vengeance v1 #1 (2011), an alternate version of Scarecrow appeared in the reality of Flashpoint. He came to be one of many villains that had been killed by Thomas Wayne who operated as Batman on this world.
- In Future State: Harley Quinn v1 #1 (2021), an alternate version of Scarecrow appeared in the possible timeline of Future State. It was shown that by 2027 that he had abandoned his costumed persona and resumed his old life as Dr. Jonathan Crane. During this time, he had allied with the Magistrate who maintained a tyrannical rule over Gotham City along with an anti-vigilante policy.
In other media
Television
- In Challenge of the Super Friends, Scarecrow appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Don Messick.
- In the DC Animated Universe, the character appeared in the shared continuity setting.
- In Batman: The Animated Series, Scarecrow appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Henry Polic II with an English accent. Jonathan Crane from a young age was obsessed with fear where he often tried to scare people as a child at school. Years later, he became a professor at Gotham University, where he began experimenting with fear on students. Terminated by Gotham University for his unethical experiments, Crane hatched a plan to reduce the university to shambles.
- In The New Batman Adventures, Scarecrow appeared in the animated television series where he was initially was voiced by actor Jeffrey Combs and later by actor Jeff Bennett.
- In Gotham, Scarecrow appeared in the setting of the live-action television series where he was initially portrayed by actor Charlie Tahan and later by actor David W. Thompson. This version was the son of biology professor Gerald Crane and his wife Karen Crane. As a child, his mother died in a house fire, causing his father to try curing fear until his inevitable death. Not long before this, his father injected his son with the serum he made, which overloaded Jonathan's fear response causing his mind to create a boogeyman of what he feared the most: a scarecrow, driving him insane. He would later be transferred to Gotham Asylum for his condition, until Merton and his gang bribed the warden into releasing him so they could make Jonathan recreate his father's serum and pose as a threat to Oswald Cobblepot. However, the gang locked him in a closet with a scarecrow much to his dismay and horror until he became one with his fear, wearing the scarecrow as a costume and abandoning his birth-given name in favor of The Scarecrow. After spraying a member of the gang with fear toxin, he would return to the old asylum seeking revenge on the warden and attempting to 'free' his fellow inmates until Jim Gordon would arrive and discover that the serum's weakness is water.
- In Titans, the Scarecrow as Jonathan Crane appeared in the setting of the live-action television series third season where he was portrayed by actor Vincent Kartheiser. This version was the son of doctors where his mother had abandoned him to start a new life and family. In his later years, Jonathan became a graduate student and befriended Leslie Thompkins whilst also secretly conducting illegal experiments. Crane created the fear-inducing hallucinogen fear gas and poisoned Leslie after she learned of his activities. However, Batman was able to stop Crane and save Leslie leading to Jonathan being imprisoned in Arkham Asylum where he was referred to as Inmate #36215. A former Arkham Asylum inmate turned profiler and consultant for the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) acquainting himself with Commissioner Barbara Gordon. A dossier made by Batman established that Crane had two personalities one being Jonathan who was a weak yet diligent student whilst the Scarecrow was a stronger more dominant personality. It was said that the Scarecrow was most effective via the use of proxies. Unwitting associates commonly drugged into submissive complacence, as opposed to any direct actions of the dominant personality. The Dark Knight believed that Crane was one of the most pitiable among Gotham's violent criminals as he was broken man without a voice doomed to speak through others. After Jason Todd was killed by the Joker, Crane had Cyrus Beak recover the fallen Robin's body and place it within a Lazarus Pit Jonathan had discovered. This not only resurrected Todd but made it possible for him to be brainwashed. Turned into the Red Hood, he was tricked into helping Crane turn Gotham against the Titans, who eventually defeat him and see him incarcerated in Arkham Asylum.
- In Harley Quinn, Scarecrow appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Rahul Kohli.
Films
- In The Dark Knight Trilogy, the Scarecrow made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting:
- In Batman Begins, Dr. Jonathan Crane appeared in the setting of the live-action film where he was portrayed by Cillian Murphy.
- In The Dark Knight, the Scarecrow appeared in the setting of the live-action film sequel where he was again portrayed by actor Cillian Murphy.
- In The Dark Knight Rises, the Scarecrow made a minor appearance in the setting of the live-action film where he was once more portrayed by actor Cillian Murphy.
Video games
- In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Scarecrow had a cameo appearance in the fighting video game as a stage interaction.
- In Injustice 2, Scarecrow appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Robert Englund.
Appearances
- World's Finest Comics v1': (1941)
- Batman v1:
- Detective Comics v1:
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special v1:
- Year One: Batman/Scarecrow v1:
- Superman/Batman v1:
- Blackest Night v1:
- Detective Comics v2:
- Infinite Frontier v1: (2021)
- Batman v3:
- Batman: Fear State: Alpha v1: (2021)
External Links
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