Scarecrow

Scarecrow

• Knight
• Asylum
• Shadow
• Shadow (Unmasked)

Taunted and bullied in his youth,Jonathan Crane has vowed to overcome his fears through the study of psychology and biochemistry on phobias and the nature of fear. Kicked out of the university he taught at for experimenting on human subjects, Crane adopted the identity of theScarecrow, and armed himself with a specializedfear-inducing gas that makes a person's deepest phobia become a frightening reality.

Scarecrow's ongoing reign of terror makes him one ofBatman's most recurring and psychologically dangerous foes, if not the most dangerous. Scarecrow is, on certain occasions, more of a threat to Batman than the Joker. WhenThe Joker took overArkham Island, Crane was released to cause as much death and chaos as possible. Using this to his advantage, the Scarecrow triedbreaking the mind of Batman again and again, only to fail. When attempting to poisonGotham City's water with his toxin, Crane was brutally mauled by the mutated criminalKiller Croc.

This attack from Croc left Crane with a damaged retina, a permanently broken leg, and the lower portion of his face ruined and shredded. He only survived the attack by grasping onto a loose box ofTitan that had become lost in the sewer system. Crane managed to rebuild his face, but heavily mutilated it to look like his original mask.

Seething with rage, Scarecrow exacted revenge on Batman and Gotham with his allies, the mysteriousArkham Knight and the super-soldier assassin,Deathstroke. However, in the end, Crane's plan to break Batman's will failed, and he was forced to endure a dose of his own improved toxin. Reduced to a harmless shell of himself, Scarecrow was left to suffer visions of his greatest fear, which is ironically swarms of enraged bats, and demons (as evident by his vision of Batman as a demonic entity).

Incident Reports

BeforeArkham Origins Incident

Jonathan Crane was the meek but intelligent child of a normal Gotham family. Unfortunately, he suffered years of bullying, which caused him to be in a constant state of terror. In order to overcome his phobias and fears of being teased for his obsession with his studies, Jonathan dedicated his life to studying fear, becoming a professor of psychology and psychiatry.

Arkham Origins Incident

Though not active during the Christmas Eve riots, a sign in sheet at Blackgate prison showed that he had made multiple visits to the facility, most likely for test subjects to conduct his research on. Interestingly, when Batman looks at the sign in sheet, Crane hadn’t signed out, implying that he was somewhere in Blackgate during the first riot.

Additionally, Crane had flyers throughout Gotham, encouraging people to participate in a clinical research study at Gotham University. The study was asking individuals suffering from depression or a mental disorder to volunteer to test out “experimental medications” for 40 weeks. One of these flyers was seen aboard the Penguins ship, the Final Offer when Batman arrived to interrogate the crime lord.

BetweenArkham Origins andArkham Shadow Incident

Crane nearly lost his job at the university after firing a loaded gun in a crowded classroom to illustrate a point about fear. The only thing that saved his job was his remarkable ability to attract funding for the university. He was eventually the subject of a bidding war which resulted in his being offered a "handsome" sum of money.

However, Crane was not motivated by money. Despite his controversial theatrics, his theories on the Jungian shadow and using it to control behavior had caught the attention of TYGER, who offered him a job atBlackgate Prison to research fear and nightmares, replacingProfessor Hugo Strange as Director of Rehabilitation. Dr. Penelope Young would replace Crane’s post as professor of psychology and psychiatry at the university.

Crane then made a gas that induced fear in his patients, believing that criminals were the perfect subject for his tests as they were effectively the embodiment of his childhood bullies. Crane ran his tests on theprisoners at the prison to improve his toxin and continued publishing papers on the concept of the "shadow". He even published a book titled "Illuminating the Tenebrous Self".

Arkham Shadow Incident

Due toWarden Joseph's incompetence in being unable to prevent Joker from causing mass breakouts at Blackgate, he was fired, allowing Crane his animity back, aside from the distrust newly graduated Dr. Quinzel as his coworker. WithTYGER hired to upgrade the prison, things only got easier as neither Chief Bolton nor the guards cared about inmate abuse.

Crane continued his experiments with his chemical, trying to force the prisoners to face their inner darkness and become one with it; believing facing the ID is the right path to accepting one's self. Unfortunately, he ended up killing and breaking the minds of a lot of prisoners. So he ended up lying and kidnapping Quinzel's patients, claiming she was incompetent at her job. After attempting to useArnold Wesker as a subject, he was confronted by Batman with Quinzel's aid. As Batman fought against his ID due to the toxin, Crane watched in amazement. Having inhaled some of his own toxin, He began muttering to himself that his biggest fear was the primal fear which drives humans, Laughing softly and slowly breaking his mind.

When Matches Malone was falsely accused of killing an undercover cop, Crane was called in to the court as a psych evaluation expert. Unfortunately, he attempted to gas Malone with his toxin. Malone slapped the canister away and it broke on Harvey Dent, disfiguring his left side due to the chemical being caustic when exposed to the air. Crane blamed Malone to cover himself as Harvey was dragged out; screaming in pain at the wrong person.

BetweenArkham Shadow Incident andArkham Asylum Incident

Eventually, Crane was found out for his experiments at Blackgate and fired. Seeking revenge, he adopted the supervillain identity of Scarecrow to get back at his former employers using his Fear Gas, bringing Crane into conflict with Gotham's protector, Batman. To Crane's amazement, Batman was not visually affected by his Fear Gas. Batman subjected Crane to a dose of his own "medicine" before the villain was arrested. Once recovered, Crane became intrigued with the idea of a man who had no fears, deciding to focus on breaking the Batman along with the rest of Gotham. To this end, Crane researched relentlessly to create a batch of Fear Gas that could even break the Dark Knight.

Over the years, Crane repeatedly broke out ofArkham Asylum, hoping with each breakout to infect the citizens of Gotham with his Fear Gas to study their fears; as an added bonus, this would lure in Batman so Crane could douse him with his Fear Gas. However, he was repeatedly bested by Batman and doses with his Fear Gas again and again over the years. This had an unintended side-effect on his self-preservation cortex (the part of the brain that controls the survival instinct/fear). Crane was gradually beginning to lose his own sense of fear, increasing the instability of his mind; however, due to Batman being what he saw when infected by Fear Gas, Crane retained a fear of bats no matter how much his immunity to the toxin increased. The last known time Scarecrow attacked Gotham was when he took over a school and pumped it full of his fear toxin.

Even though Scarecrow was returned to Arkham, he continued his plans from asecret loft hidden at theIntensive Treatment Center, where he plotted his next move with some stolen blueprints of the Asylum. In secret, Scarecrow managed to hide three canisters worth of his Fear Toxin in Arkham West. Unbeknownst to him,The Riddler would discover the cache and make it one of his riddles for Batman. Scarecrow was later incarcerated at Arkham Asylum as theSuicide Squad arrived. Crane managed to escape when the Joker let everyone out of their cells, allowing Crane to infect officers with Fear Toxin and escape, though he was eventually recaptured.

While incarcerated, Crane was assigned to Dr. Murphy for treatment, but was later sent to Dr. Combs. Managing to sneak in some of his Fear Gas, Crane broke Combs. As Combs saw horrifying visions of the deaths of his family, security arrived and captured Crane, who noted that it was impossible to continue his research with the Arkham staff impeding him at every step.

Three weeks later, Crane was referred to Dr.Stephen Kellerman. Despite Kellerman's attempts to treat him, Crane acted as though he were conducting the sessions, even dictating notes, patronizing Kellerman. Crane toyed with Kellerman during each session, shared his philosophy on fear as the driving force behind the human condition, and even used everyday examples from the therapist's supposedly fulfilling life as evidence.

These meetings rattled Kellerman, who came to believe that Crane was simply sadistic rather than insane (with there not being much difference). Crane's mind games were actually having even more of an effect on Kellerman due to the Fear Toxin chemicals with which he had laced his cologne. He also exposed the guards who brought him to each session to Fear Gas, all part of a plan to further his research. Crane rigged theMedical Facility's air conditioning system to flood the building with the rest of his latest Fear Toxin formula. Everyone exposed to both components began to hallucinate their worst nightmares.

Before Crane could continue, Batman crashed into the room. Kellerman had realized what his patient was up to, and provided the Dark Knight with a sample of the toxin to create an antidote, which he gave to Arkham Asylum GuardAaron Cash to disperse through the rigged air conditioning system. Scarecrow was amazed that Batman seemed to be unaffected by the gas, then gleeful when he implied that he was being affected as much as anyone else. Crane pleaded with Batman to tell him about the visions he had seen, but was defeated, arrested, and returned to his cell, once again having lost to the Dark Knight's willpower.

Arkham Asylum Incident

Scarecrow was one of the Arkham inmates on the Joker's "party list" and was released during the Clown Prince of Crime's takeover of Arkham Island, both to distract Batman and for the Joker's general amusement, as Crane's experiments often left his victims dead of heart attacks. Crane made use of his secret stash of Fear Toxin, intending to break Batman this time. A fake patient session the Joker had with Batman suggested that Crane had been studying Batman with the Joker, but both were confused as to why Batman hadn't snapped and come over to their side yet.

Batman tracked a kidnapped CommissionerJames Gordon to the island's Medical Facility. While Batman saved the staff, Joker refers to Crane as one of two "old friends" coming to the party: "one will be absolutely terrified if you leave without saying hello." After he rescued the staff, Batman took out a raiding party ofhenchmen before he took the elevator to the lower levels to follow Gordon'sforensic trail of tobacco. The Joker taunted Batman through the Asylum's CCTV system, and considered releasing the elevator from its cables as a joke. As Batman made his way into the basement levels, he began coughing due to a colorless gas being pumped into the elevator; "prepare to face your greatest fears... All of them!"

Scarecrow had already gone to work with torturing new victims for research data, injecting them with his Fear Toxin and watching as they all died of heart-attacks before fleeing into another part of the building. Noting that the "good doctor" had started work early, Joker laughed that Batman would be buzzed through for his "appointment" when Scarecrow was ready, going on to ask what the Dark Knight feared most.

Batman used the vents to bypass the doors, finding Commissoner Gordon calling for help through one of the grates. Moments later, Batman emerged from the vents to find the corpse of his dear friend. His mind reeling from one of his greatest fears, Batman attempted to callOracle to inform her, but was met with an automated message telling him that her number was not in service. Batman attempted to hunt Scarecrow down, only to find himself in the Morgue, where he was confronted by the reanimated corpses ofhis parents anda twisted obstacle course that was overseen by a giant, omnipotent Scarecrow. After he realized that he was experiencing a Fear Toxin-induced hallucination, Batman overcame the delusion by avoiding the Scarecrow's fiery gaze, and shined aBat-Signal — a symbol of his willpower — directly into Scarecrow, temporarily defeating the hooded villain and freeing himself from the hallcuination.

Batman returned to his senses, just in time to discover that Scarecrow was long gone; the most likely explanation is that the Fear Toxin in Crane's syringes had run out, and he needed to refill them before making another attempt to break Batman. The Dark Knight returned to the corpse he thought was Gordon, but found it was actually a security guard; the Fear Toxin had affected Batman's mind more than he had thought.

Over the course of the night, Batman uncovered the mystery of theTitan Formula and investigated theArkham Mansion to either find Dr.Penelope Young or to destroy her notes. Although he succeeded in the latter, the Joker wasn't outdone yet, and sentVictor Zsasz after Dr. Young. Batman raced off to find her, but was gassed by Scarecrow again, trapping Batman in a hallucination of the night his parents weremurdered. Batman walked down a seemingly never-ending hall that turned intoCrime Alley. Hearing the voices of his parents and their murderer, he fell to his knees and tuned into his nine-year-old self, kneeling before his parents corpses. He overcame this part of the delusion by remembering the kind words of a younger Gordon, returned to his adult state, used all his skills to once again avoid the Scarecrow's gaze, and temporarily defeated him with the Bat-Signal. Batman managed to free himself a second time, discovering that he had gotten himself trapped inside the belfry. This also made him too late to prevent Zsasz from taking Dr. Young hostage in WardenQuincy Sharp's Office.

As the night wore on, Batman learned fromPoison Ivy of a plant spore in the Asylum's sewer system that would help him concoct an antidote to the Titan Formula and returned to the Intensive Treatment Center to retrieve it fromKiller Croc's Lair. As Batman made his way to the elevators, he began coughing from the Fear Toxin again and experienced a strange kind of vertigo: his vision was filled with static to the distorted sound of the Joker's laughter. At this point, Batman began reliving the earlier events of the night, but in Joker's place.

The Joker arrived at Arkham in theBatmobile with a handcuffed Batman in the passenger's seat. The Joker took Batman to the Intensive Treatment Center. Batman ranted and raved, insisted that he hadn't killed "that family," and demanded to be cut free. He resisted Crane's attempts to examine him, leading Scarecrow to declare him a lost cause. Left to the Joker's mercy, the Clown Prince of Crime aimedhis gun at Batman's head and fired at point-blank range.

After he realized that he was suffering yet another Fear Toxin hallucination, Batman climbed out of his own grave and made his way past the cells that were full of other insane Batmen to find the Bat-Signal. Just like last time, Crane made Batman see him as an omnipotent giant that could kill him with a single palm strike; he even called in henchmen to attack him, but Batman beat them easily. About to break Batman's mind, Crane was shocked when Batman shined the Bat-Signal.

Free of the illusion, Batman grabbed Crane by his hood. However, Scarecrow plunged his syringes into Batman's gauntlet, dosing the Dark Knight with more Fear Toxin to fight off. The illusion now had the giant Scarecrow watching Batman resist numerous skeletal attackers, including two Titan-enhanced henchmen. With Batman occupied, Scarecrow fled into the adjacent corridor; the bars would keep Batman at bay the next time he broke free.

Every time Batman defeated a number of enemies, one of the three Bat-Signals would activate and damage Scarecrow. Batman prevailed yet again, and defeated as manyskeletal warriors as needed to strike Scarecrow with the three Bat-Signals. Scarecrow was left shocked by this turn of events as Batman once again gripped his hood through the bars. He gave Batman another quick injection of toxin, buying himself time to flee to the elevator with a pouch full of his toxin.

As Batman regained his senses, Crane taunted him, asking why the Dark Knight couldn't see that the relationship between him and the super criminals was symbiotic - they need each other. Crane rode the elevator all the way down to the lowest level to access the sewers, unaware that the sewer system served as the lair of Killer Croc. Joker's henchmen locked the door behind him, hoping Croc would eat Crane, as they find him creepy; however, Batman pummeled them and unlocked the door.

As Batman examined a Titan-mutated plant, Scarecrow appeared and warned him to stay away, threatening to drop the bag of Fear Toxin into the underground river, which would fill the cave with Batman's worst nightmares and, even worse, contaminate Gotham's water supply for 100 years. Before Scarecrow could make good on his threat, Killer Croc burst from the water and grabbed Crane, having mistaken him for a guard, a stray inmate, or Batman. Scarecrow lost his grip on the Fear Toxin and dropped it harmlessly to the ground.

Fearing for his own life, Scarecrow flailed hopelessly to get free of Killer Croc's grip. Right as the monster was about to take a bite out of him, Batman saved Crane by throwing a Batarang at Croc's electrified collar to briefly activate it. Though the zap from the shock collar stopped Croc from eating Scarecrow, he still refused to let go, and dove back into the water with a screaming Crane in his grip.

To Scarecrow's bad luck, the collar's zapping angered Croc. In retaliation, Croc severely mauled Crane's face. Batman again saved Crane's life from Croc when the mutated man-eater detected the Dark Knight's footsteps on the floating planks deeper in the sewers. Croc left Crane to die of his injuries in favor of killing his main target: Batman.

AfterArkham Asylum Incident

Though terribly injured, Scarecrow managed to swim out into the Gotham river, grabbing onto a crate of the Titan Formula. Using it to float, he managed to sneak into Gotham, where he received medical attention. Having his leg in Croc's grip had broken the bone in it and caused irreparable damage, so he needed a leg brace. His face had been severely disfigured as well thanks to Croc; Crane was now missing many teeth, his right eye had become blind, and he had lost large chunks of his nose and lips.

Though Crane had no-one to blame but himself for being careless enough to venture into Killer Croc's Lair, he blamed Batman for his injury, even though Batman's intervention is what kept him from being killed. Crane decided he needed to show Gotham that their hero was nothing more than a man by unmasking Batman on live TV and breaking the Dark Knight's will with his Fear Gas.

To this end, Crane managed to find a hideout onBleake Island, where he set up a lab behind the storeroom of Mr. Chen's toy factory. He also gained control of the top floor of another building, where he built a gassing chamber with a two-way monitor for communications. He brokered withThe Falcone Crime Family, obtaining a boat next to their shipping yard; the hull's contents included crates Crane specifically requested be filled with insects with neurotoxins. With these hideouts, and possibly others, Crane remained hidden from the public eye as he continued to experiment to create the ultimate Fear Toxin to break Batman once and for all.

As the months passed, Crane remained hidden from Gotham, leading most of theGCPD to believe that Croc had killed him; however Batman persisted in trying to find Crane, or some evidence of where his corpse was. WhenOld Gotham was converted into the super prisonArkham City, Crane saw a good chance to obtain an abundance of test subjects for his research, as theIndustrial District served as Joker's territory. Among his many test subjects was one of the Joker's most devoted followers,Roach. Crane could see the goon was fighting off any visible signs of fear and decided to explain the details of his latest batch of toxin and his desire to prevent another failure like the one back at Arkham Asylum.

Crane appeared to have been in contact with both theIdentity Thief and the Riddler, as several containers of his Fear Gas were found in the thief's hideout and in one of the rooms in which Riddler held a challenge for Batman. If true, that would explain how Crane's old mask became one of the riddles that Nygma had prepared for the Dark Knight, unless it was just a copy to remind Batman that he hadn't found Crane yet. Batman also found Crane's hideout, where Roach had a brief panic attack the moment Batman examined him, and then died. Crane was nowhere to be found, possibly having found a way to enter and leave Arkham City unnoticed, as no-one butBlack Mask (who used explosives) had managed to escape the prison.

Oracle was also not convinced that Crane was dead, even temporarily thinking that he managed to gas Batman and trick him into becoming the Identity Thief, as the inmates all kept saying "Bruce Wayne" was responsible for the thief's crimes. The Joker appeared to know he was alive, as he suggested his Fear Toxin was the reason Batman was hallucinating. If true, this would explain the relative ease with which Scarecrow could get a hold of victims to experiment on with his Fear Toxin, as Joker was a sadist who thoroughly enjoyed causing others misery; the Clown Prince of Crime cared little for his minions, and disposed of them when they weren't useful.

Crane later sent three hidden radio frequencies on theCryptographic Sequencer to Batman. Each was a numeric code which, once translated, read:"I will return Batman!" "You will pay for what you have done to me!" and"Fear will tear Gotham to shreds!"Following the closure of Arkham City, Scarecrow listened in about the explosion at Arkham, which many mistakenly believed claimed Batman's life, commenting on how stupid the police are, as guns do not scare criminals and even empower the weaker thugs. He continued to play the message over and over, hoping Batman would learn of his impending return.

BeforeArkham Knight Incident

Penguin later employedMr. Hammer andSickle to track down Scarecrow, wanting him to join his group to bring order back to Gotham. Possibly leaking information deliberately, Crane managed to lure them into his hideout in Chinatown, where they found a scarecrow dressed like Batman strung to the ceiling. Sickle made the poor choice of smashing the bottles in Crane's Lab, sending both brothers into a hallucination of their father attempting to kill them. Crane tortured them for days, perhaps using their strong wills and bodies to test how lethal his toxin had become. He ended up sewing them back together, a wish the twins had, and stuffing straw into Sickle's mouth; he sent them back to Penguin with a message.

Needing better resources for his research, Crane entered a partnership withSimon Stagg. After months of extensive research, Crane ended up creating a strain of Fear Toxin that could be absorbed through the skin, effectively making gas masks useless; though hazmat suits would be effective. Another project of theirs was theCloudburst, a device that could spread the Fear Toxin as a giant cloud, while amplifying its potency; the Nimbus Cell powering it would effectively double as an EMP, disabling any electronics not powered by the cell. Secretly, Stagg sought to reverse-engineer the Fear Toxin to cure depression; he was annoyed with Crane's obsession with revenge against Batman, willing to take the formula by force if needed.

With two years worth of time spent mostly by himself, Crane's mind began deteriorating at a much greater pace. With his hatred of Batman fueling him, Scarecrow became a near-inversion of his former self, a cackling mad scientist dedicated to studying the effects of his research; he had now become more somber, though still dedicated to his study of fear. He had come to believe that fear was the very motivation for everything, even for Batman. Crane planned to cover the entire Eastern Coast of America in his Fear Toxin, turning it into "his domain"; in other words, Scarecrow wanted nothing more than to create complete and utter chaos. If Scarecrow wasn't stopped, eventually, the entire world would fall victim to his Fear Toxin and civilization would collapse.

At some point, Crane underwent facial reconstruction surgery. The end result was his face became more hideous than it already was, resembling his iconic mask with threads linking his jaw to what remained of his upper lips and two gas mask tubes attached to his jaw. Many who saw him found it hard to keep their lunches down; others wondered if he had deliberately taken a knife to his face and cut chunks of it out. Other believed he was simply wearing a mask, due to the quality of the surgery.

By this time, Scarecrow had established his main base on Arkham Island, afterTYGER was disbanded following the attempt of Protocol 10. He was found by the Arkham Knight, who sought him out because he was the only foe Batman had faced that could attack him psychologically (aside for theMad Hatter, who is hard to stand being around, let alone talk to); Scarecrow agreed to work with the Knight to break Batman and unmask him, though he explained that once Batman was broken, killing him would be an act of mercy.

To this end, Scarecrow called the remaining super criminals together; he met with Riddler privately, appealing to his ego, and coaxed him into launching his own challenge to Batman onHalloween as multiple threats would stretch the Dark Knight thin. Believing that Poison Ivy could further strengthen his Fear Toxin, Scarecrow taskedHarley Quinn and Penguin with freeing her from the Bludhaven Police Department.

With Ivy rescued, Scarecrow explained the plan to her, Harley,Two-Face and Penguin; they would force a mass evacuation of Gotham, leaving it to their gangs and theArkham Knight's Militia, thus outnumbering Batman and the GCPD. Ivy flatly refused, stating that she wasn't interest in his "petty human games"; thus Scarecrow knocked her out and sent Ivy to the gas chamber in his safe house in Chinatown. This way he could test the toxin on Ivy, while ensuring she couldn't use pheromones to brainwash the militia guarding her. To cover the cost of the Militia's equipment, Crane, Harley, Two-Face, and Penguin paid a combined $3,000,000,000 to the Knight. Deathstroke joined them as a back-up commander and adviser to the militia as he helped the Arkham Knight recruit the soldiers and was the toughest foe Batman ever faced; they paid in advance, ensuring the mercenary's help.

The Knight also revealed a crucial piece of information to Scarecrow; Barbara Gordon was one of the Batman's allies. If they kidnapped her, this would break Batman's alliance with her father, leaving the Commissioner more vulnerable and reckless. Scarecrow favored the idea as it played on fear.

Arkham Knight Incident

Gotham Abandoned

On October 30th, Scarecrow andhis army initiated their plan. The Knight went toPauli's Diner, with a bag of the Fear Toxin to make a public demonstration of its new potency; the patrons exposed to the gas tore at each other, withOfficer Owens being the sole survivor. Scarecrow then publicly broadcast to all of Gotham, and explained that horrific scene was caused by just five ounces of Fear Toxin. He followed up with the threat to detonate bombs that contained the Fear Toxin around Gotham, which prompted a mass evacuation. Many of thecriminals believed that Scarecrow must have a sense of humor as he chose Halloween for his attack.

However, only Batman and the outmatched GCPD were left to faceGotham's Most Wanted - who were under Scarecrow's "protection" - as well as the Knight's Soldiers andDrones. The militia usedFounders' Island as their main base. Scarecrow spent most of his time here, broadcasting to the monitors in Gotham; this reminded some of the crooks of whenHugo Strange did the same thing back in Arkham City. Most of the criminals got tired of his lectures, wishing he would at least crack a joke or something. Ominously, Crane announced that soon all of Gotham would be receiving a gift from him; he would release his toxin upon the city, allowing those infected with it to become the dark beasts that they truly were inside.

Believing they would need reinforcements, Scarecrow reached out toMr. Freeze; in exchange for helping them, the militia would provide better resources to find a cure forNora. However, Freeze had taken the advice Batman gave him in Arkham City to heart; he was staying away from crime and focusing on curing Nora. Annoyed, Crane had the militia attack Freeze's ship,The Nora, taking Nora's cryo pod and damaging the reactor for her cure. Scarecrow promised Victor that Nora would be returned in exchange for Batman.

Batman attacked Scarecrow's Chinatown safehouse, hoping to find him. Instead, all he found was militia troops guarding Ivy, who was locked inside the gas chamber, strapped to a chair, with a guard discouraging escape attempts. After Batman took out the guards, the one next to Ivy radios Scarecrow, who appears on the screen in the back of the gas chamber. Crane explains that he is sorry to disappoint Batman with not being able to be there in person, but he will instead give a demonstration of what was to come later than night; he gassed the room, infecting the guard, who was promptly knocked out by Ivy. The toxin had no effect on her, since she had analyzed the toxin and made an antidote for it from plant spores. Ivy proceeded to explain Scarecrow's plan, while he sent militia drones to attack her and Batman; the attempt failed.

With the militias help, Scarecrow seized control ofAce Chemicals where he set out to the Central Mixing Chamber, to mass produce the Fear Toxin to create a bomb powerful enough to take out the entire Eastern Seaboard. The Arkham Knight was to give final warning of when the explosion would go off, but Crane didn't care if there were still any troops around; infecting others with his Fear Toxin was all that mattered to him. When Batman and the GCPD arrived on site, the Knight destroyed the bridge to the facility with his attack chopper. Though the Arkham Knight wanted to kill Batman on sight (and thus make all of their planning moot), Scarecrow overrode his vehicle's systems, stated that if he killed Batman, he'd have nothing left to fear, and ordered him keep Batman away from Ace Chemicals until his work was complete.

After Batman evacuated the two surviving Ace Chemicals workers from the site, he confronted Scarecrow in the Central Mixing Chamber. Maintaining his composure, Crane knelt down with both of his hands behind his head, and showed no resistance. However, Batman smashed his head against the control panel, and demanded to know how the Fear Toxin could be stopped. Confident, Crane explained that it's impossible to stop, and that the building would soon explode and release his Fear Toxin. Scarecrow then warned the Dark Knight to release him, claiming that Barbara Gordon would be killed if he didn't comply. Batman distracted himself to contact theClock Tower, at which point Oracle was abducted. Scarecrow escaped, and locked Batman in; departing, he taunted Batman by telling him that nothing hurts more than the death of someone closest to you.

Scarecrow left Batman to perish in the explosion that would consume Ace Chemicals, departing in a Militia helicopter to watch his Fear Toxin cover Gotham. However, Batman managed to put enough neutralizing agents in the mix to reduce the blast radius to just the area around the factory before the building collapsed. Having seen that his main plan had failed, Scarecrow realized that Batman must have escaped his trap, and would resume hunting for him. Crane realized that he would have to resort to the more time-consuming Plan B.

Attempting Break Batman

After Ace Chemicals, Crane returned to the Militia's HQ, where he would keep tabs on Batman's progress with fighting Gotham's Most Wanted. Scarecrow continued taunting Batman via the monitors, insisting that everything that happened to Batman's allies was the Dark Knight's own fault, and that his efforts over the years were pointless. At one point, he wondered if Batman had thought he was dead before this Halloween night, due to his near-death experience back at the Asylum. Noting that Batman used fear to control thugs, Scarecrow declared that he has usurped the "the throne" the Dark Knight ruled from; Scarecrow saw himself as "the sovereign" now.

Under the threat of death from the Arkham Knight, Scarecrow was forbidden from harming Barbara Gordon or injecting his Fear Toxin into her; unknown to him, the Knight was actually an old friend of Barbara's that still had a soft spot for her despite his hatred of Batman -Jason Todd.

Scarecrow had the militia harpoon Stagg's Airships and pull them back to Founders' Island, needing the Cloudburst for his Plan B. He had the Knight lock the unsuspecting Stagg in an experimentation cell as punishment for double-crossing him. Crane then went to prep the Cloudburst, ordering the militia to begin supplying power to it as knew Batman would catch wind of this. At the time, Batman had found the holding cells containing the victims of Crane's experiments, and was interrogating Stagg about his whereabouts. When Stagg began talking about the Cloudburst, Crane gassed him remotely to keep Stagg silent.

Scarecrow soon found no Nimbus Cells were being sent to charge the Cloudburst, meaning Batman had taken out his guards; he awaited the Dark Knight's entrance. Batman found him, but Crane was able to gas him with Fear Toxin; unbeknownst to Scarecrow, he was only able to do this because Batman was seeing hallucinations of the Joker, and had picked one disguised as him by accident.

Batman writhed in agony on the ground, trying to fight off the effects of Crane's Fear Toxin. Crane paced around, taunting Batman, explaining that he would soon remove the Dark Knight's mask and show the world that he was nothing more than a man forced to face his fears. Once this happened, the people of Gotham would no longer have a savior to give them hope as there would be no more Batman. Taking Scarecrow by surprise, Batman said he has already disappeared; tossed aside, an astonished Crane decided to watch this new reaction in Batman play out. What Scarecrow didn't know was that the consciousness of the Joker had surfaced in the Dark Knight and was ready to take his body for a test drive.

The possessed Batman pummeled the militia soldiers that came to backup Scarecrow within an inch of their lives, as the mad doctor watched. As the effects eventually faded, Batman regained control of his body, and Crane remarked something about him seemed different and that he was showing fear. When warned by Batman that there was nowhere to run, Crane backed up to the wall and laughed, then said "Who said anything about running?" Holding onto the ladder, Scarecrow and the Cloudburst were pulled away from the airship by a helicopter. When Batman attempted to follow him, Scarecrow had the Arkham Knight run interference by launching rockets at him, preventing Batman to reach Scarecrow, although failing to kill Batman.

Once safely away from Batman back at the Militia HQ, Scarecrow broadcasted a message to all of Gotham, demanding Batman's attention. As part of his twisted mind games, Scarecrow has placed Barbara in his gassing chamber back in Chinatown. Batman arrived, Scarecrow doused him with Fear Toxin; Barbara was kept unaffected due to being in the gassing chamber. In Batman's mind, Barbara had been gassed and was freaking out at the sight of him. Seeing this, Scarecrow decided to take advantage of the Dark Knight's fear and "instructed" Barbara to pick up a gun and "deny him". To Batman, Barbara futilely shot at the glass, ultimately committing suicide via gunshot to keep herself from being attacked by the monster she saw in Batman's place; this even fooled made Batman misread the information in Detective Mode.

Little did Crane know, this "punishment" almost made Batman consider just letting the Joker's influence take over to rid himself of his pain. Once Batman left, Scarecrow waited until the gas in the room faded before sending in the Militia to collect Barbara from the gassing chamber.

Crane kept the fact that Barbara was still alive a secret, hoping to push the Dark Knight further and further, until his facade broke and everyone saw the fraud he truly was. He contacted Batman through the monitors again, asking what it was like to see the hallucination react to seeing "his true self" - whatever kind of monster the fear gas would make Batman look like; he defended this action, calling it necessary, not cruelty. As Batman never responded to him, Scarecrow began wondering aloud if the Dark Knight's mask helped push down any actual emotion that he should be feeling.

Unknown to Scarecrow, Batman had theBatwing circling the three islands of main Gotham to find the Cloudburst, which gave off a unique energy signature; at the time, more Nimbus Cells were being loaded into the device, leaving it vulnerable to being destroyed.

As two enormous plants had erupted out of the ground onMiagani island, Scarecrow released an unlikely alliance had be struck between Batman and Ivy; the two were working together to revive plants with pollen able to neutralize the effects of this new strain of Fear Toxin. Crane broadcast to Gotham again, telling Batman it was a wasted effort; Ivy would also be paying a steep price for defying him. Scarecrow sent the militia's drones to kill the plants, hoping to find the one Ivy was hiding in; with her dead, nothing would be able to hinder his efforts to unleash terror upon Gotham. However, they were destroyed by the combined efforts of Ivy manipulating the roots and the Batmobile's weapons.

Seeing no other way to accomplish his plans, Scarecrow finished powering the Cloudburst and had it attached to the Knight's personal tank, sending him to Bleake Island to activate Plan B. Seen from all around Gotham, a large blast of fear toxin was launched from the machine, high into the sky; it exploded, releasing an electrified fear cloud that swallowed Miagani, Bleake, and Founders' islands. The rest of Gotham was left untouched by the release of the fear cloud, allowing those still unaffected to see the horror.

The City of Fear

Within the confines of the infected area, all the rioters had begun attacking each other in terror; each was seeing whatever it was that they feared most in place of their fellow criminals. Gotham was left glowing orange from the fear cloud, which was sustained by the Cloudburst. As a side-effect of using the Cloudburst, the Batmobile was left inoperable as it did not run on a Nimbus Cell.

Once the blast had subsided, Scarecrow broadcasted to Gotham again, stating that it had been transformed into his City of Fear. Having been exposed to his toxins, the inhabitants of Gotham have now seen Batman wasn't unstoppable and had finally failed them. The Cloudburst also had the effects of amplifying the toxin to the point were it was leeching the life from the plant-life in Gotham. To keep the plants from dying, Ivy connected herself to them, feeding them her own life energy to keep them alive. Aware of this, Scarecrow broadcasted again, telling Batman that while his toxin attacks the human mind, it's killing Ivy.

Batman proceeded back to Stagg's Airship, where he knocked out the militia guarding the hole left by the theft of the Cloudburst. Stagg had escaped from his cell, forcing Scarecrow to order the other half to the group to find and silence him, to keep any remaining information about the Cloudburst secret. Batman knocked them out and confined Stagg in one of his own specimen cages; he proceeded to take a Nimbus Cell, to re-power the Batmobile. Batman braved the fear toxin cloud, refitting the Batmobile with the Cell, and went to help release third plant to clear the toxin. Once the plant was out, Batman headed off to destroy the Cloudburst.

Scarecrow continued watching these events, seeing Batman drag the Knight out of his tank and onto a rooftop. The Knight attempted to choke Batman, who pinned him and proceeded to pummel him. However, Batman began hallucinating again, allowing the Knight to flee. Scarecrow told the waiting Deathstroke that he had his chance to go after Batman, letting him use the majority of the militia however he pleased. Without the Cloudburst to maintain it, the Fear Toxin cloud was cleared away by Ivy; however, the strain of doing so cost Ivy her life. Comforted by Batman, she dissolved into dust and blew away in the wind.

Abandoning the Arkham Knight

The rogues were left enraged that Scarecrow had subjected them to such horrors. Crane was then left to rethink his plans, deciding to again focus on unmasking and breaking Batman. He broadcast to Gotham, explaining the militia now obeys him, and that while his Fear Toxin was cleared away, he had succeeded in breaking the faith Gotham had placed in Batman; the Dark Knight was not as omnipotent as everyone had thought he was. Adding onto this was the long time the city would need to recover from the attack.

Crane soon captures Gordon, who had tracked him down to rescue Barbara. The deranged Master of Fear offered the overprotective father a deal; he would release Barbara, in exchange for bringing Batman to him. Though disappointed with the Arkham Knight, Crane allows him to use Gordon as bait to lure Batman to his secret HQ. This leads to the successful destruction of the Batmobile, by the Knight's giant excavator. The fight between the two leads into the HQ, where the Knight reveals himself to be Jason Todd, Robin 2; having been tortured by the Joker for over a year in an abandoned wing of Arkham Asylum, and then abandoned, Jason had focused all his pain into a monomaniac hatred of Batman, who he blamed for his ordeal. After Batman shows kindness to him, the Knight vanishes into the city, leaving Scarecrow in charge of the remaining forces.

Per the agreement struck between them, Gordon lead Batman to an elevator leading them to the roof on a building under construction. Meeting together, Crane reveals Oracle is alive and the pact he made with Gordon, ordering him to carry out his end of the deal by threatening to push Barbara off the building. Gordon intentionally shot Batman in the chest (where he knew that Batman'sarmor was the strongest) and Batman fell off the building. But Scarecrow, who didn't want Batman dead, pushed Oracle off the building where Batman caught her mid-air. Though Barbara was safe, Crane made his leave with the Militia and Gordon as his hostage by helicopter. He sent drones to check and see if Batman lived; not only was the Dark Knight still alive, he had a second Batmobile, which reduced the drones to scrap metal.

Forcing a Final Confrontation

After Batman returned Barbara to the GCPD Lockup, Scarecrow sent drones to assault the GCPD while Crane used Gordon to accessPanessa Studios. He likely learned about the victims of Joker's blood and wanted to see if he could use them in his research. Instead, he found their corpses and bothRobin and Harley locked up in cells. Though Robin attempted to attack them, once released from his cell, the militia succeed in subduing him and breaking his bo staff. Scarecrow then had his mark painted on the cell, as a calling card to Batman, hoping that with two hostages, he had twice the control over Batman's fears. However, he also refused to release Harley, who held no further purpose in his plans.Batman later returns and sees the scene, being informed by Harley about what happened and of where the next message from Scarecrow would come from. Appearing on a monitor at storage depot in Kingston, Crane informed Batman that if he wanted to save Robin and Gordon, he had to surrender himself to him. Batman accepted, turned himself over to Scarecrow, and abandoned hisutility belt. Batman then entered a van and was driven to Arkham Island, where Scarecrow was waiting for him. After he arrived at the Arkham Mansion at the abandoned Arkham Asylum, Batman found Gordon and Robin being held captive by Scarecrow.

Batman Unmasked

Scarecrow revealed he was broadcasting live across the city, seeking to make Gordon unmask Batman so that Gotham could see their beloved hero's face as he succumbed to the Fear Toxin. Initially, Gordon protested, so Scarecrowshot Robin in the chest. Robin lived due tohis suit's armor, but Scarecrow threatened to shoot him in the head if Gordon didn't cooperate. Batman told Gordon it was the only way and the Commissioner reluctantly unmasked him; upon Batman's unmasking, the televisions showing the broadcast and its reaction were full of shock as the Dark Knight was revealed to beBruce Wayne.

Scarecrow was surprised to see that his old foe was a supposed billionaire playboy. He then explained he wouldn't kill Bruce, but instead "set him free" to watch as Gotham fall apart at the shock of learning Batman's true identity, and to watch thugs attack his allies to get revenge for all that Batman has done to them. Scarecrow then proceeded to inject Bruce with his fear toxin, hoping to expose him as a fraud. He then watched as Batman began writhing in agony as the toxin began taking hold on his mind.

During this process, Batman hallucinated driving in the Batmobile in a toxin-covered Gotham City, contending with agiant version of Scarecrow, whom he would have to defeat to break free of the hallucinations. This happened three times, before the Joker would begin to infect Batman’s mind.^[1]

Moments later, he gloated that soon Bruce's life would be over. To his shock, Crane heard Batman say it was a good thing. Baffled, Scarecrow asked if Batman could understand it's over. Batman told him to get ready for the encore, laughing madly. Wondering "why aren't you scared?", Crane injected Batman with another dose of the Fear Toxin. Unbeknownst to Scarecrow, he was actually speaking to the Joker, who had managed to gain control of Batman's body. However, this extra dose of the toxin was just was what Batman needed to show Joker his own fear of being forgotten, and eradicate his presence in his mind.

To Scarecrow's shock, Batman flatly told him he wasn't scared. Annoyed, Crane gave him another dose of the Fear Toxin. However, Batman continued to fight off the effects. Declaring that life is meaningless without fear, Scarecrow pulled out his pistol, pointing it as Batman's head. However, it was shot out of his hand by theRed Hood, who sided with Batman once more. Scarecrow ready another injection, hoping to kill Batman with a stabbing to the head. However, Red Hood's next shot freed Batman's arms.

Grabbed by the Dark Knight, Scarecrow was given a dose of his own medicine, despite his protests. Feeling the effects of the toxin, Scarecrow tried fighting off the visions it gave him. However, upon hearing Batman ask if he was scared, Crane let go of all restraint, yelling in fear; he saw Batman as a demonic bat figure, commanding a swarm of bats. Trying to flee, Crane was knocked out by Gordon.

Crane was then taken to the GCPD Lockup in the Batwing. Reduced to a mumbling, cowardly former shell of his self, Crane was locked in the maximum security cell along with the rest of the other super criminals, Crane spent the entire night, sitting cross-legged, holding his head in fear, and scanning the cell. Seeing that "the lights were on, but nobody was home", none of the other super criminals made an effort to talk to Scarecrow. Scarecrow would constantly utter word salads when others did speak to him, especially Harley Quinn (see below).

AfterArkham Knight Incident

Scarecrow was returned to Arkham Asylum once it was refurbished and reopened. Harley Quinn spent years using her psychology training to get the basic formula forFear Toxin out of his broken mind; developing her own, less potential version to counteract the Demon Bat hallucination. During the mass breakout orchestrated by Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn decided to break Scarecrow out of prison, though she essentially assisted him in even the most basic tasks, due to his condition, even helping him put on his old costume. After being ambushed by a member of the Arkham Enhanced Defense Soldier Freeze-Fire Unit, Scarecrow fled in panic. It is presently unknown what happened to him after that. It is safe to assume however, that he has been reduced to a constantly-terrified, wandering, mentally broken shell of a man.

Scarecrow's gauntlet ended up in theHall of Justice.

Personality

Scarecrow underwent an extreme personality change betweenArkham Asylum andArkham Knight, that was presumably due to being driven into a bitter traumatization after his near-death experience with Killer Croc.

InArkham Asylum, Scarecrow closely followed his over-the-top comic book portrayal: a downright, sadistic villain who took glee in murdering innocent people and/or driving them into insanity, complete with a high-pitched voice with a loud and dramatic tone to it. As evidenced by hisInterview Tapes, Scarecrow was extremely intelligent and manipulative, as he managed to convince at least two of his doctors that he wasn't actually insane. This included Dr. Young, who even entertained the possibility that he was innocent. Scarecrow displayed a respect for the concept of fear that bordered on veneration. He believed fear to be the driving force in people's lives, saying that almost every action you took was a byproduct of fear, and wanted to prove his megalomania by using fear to control others. This is further shown inArkham Knight where after detonating the Cloudburst, drowning Gotham in his toxin he proudly describes it the "city of fear" and "my domain."

Unlike many of Batman's foes, who commit crimes in order to gain money or power, Scarecrow's only motivation seemed to be a compulsive need to cause fear in others. In his interview tapes, Dr. Kellerman stated that the only thing Scarecrow seemed to care about was his "research." This is exemplified by Scarecrow treating their therapy sessions as though HE was the doctor, and Kellerman was his patient. Scarecrow would even create interview tapes of his own while observing his victims, and expressed fascination in understanding the root of their fears while showing no concern for their safety or wellbeing. Even in the middle of being captured by Batman, Scarecrow desperately asked him what he saw while under the effects of his toxin in order to continue to "study" its effects.

InArkham Knight, two years afterArkham Asylum, Scarecrow was almost a complete inversion of his former self. He possessed an incredibly calm and deep voice and spoke in a soft-spoken monotone. While he was a giggling psychopath inAsylum, Scarecrow was an emotionless mastermind who only laughed twice. He still retained his sadism, his unmatchable brilliance, his religious dedication to fear, and proved himself to be a omnicidal maniac, as he planned to cover the entire Earth in Fear Toxin starting with the Eastern Seaboard.

His bio also mentioned that after years of forcefully being injected with it thanks to Batman, Scarecrow was utterly immune to not only his own Fear Toxin, but fear itself, as not a single concept could arouse him into a fearful state, except bats. That fear may be natural, but could also be caused thanks to Batman. Even when being face-to-face to a wildly angered Batman, Detective Mode proved that Scarecrow was still calm. Scarecrow's only examples of emotion was temporary fury when the Cloudburst was destroyed, and when he was permanently reduced into a terrified, mumbling mess after a colossal dosage of his own Fear Toxin that was injected into him by Batman at the Arkham Mansion.

Scarecrow's psyche was fractured so much afterArkham Asylum, that he didn't care about Batman's true identity as long as he got to destroy him and show the world who was really behind the cowl. He was serious about accomplishing this to such a point that he was even willing to resort to using firearms to get his way (something he normally does not do). Scarecrow's obsession with fear became even more warped, which lead him to desire to coat the world in his Fear Toxin to destroy millions of minds. Although he does not care much about who Batman truly is under the cowl, he does not seem to mind mocking the revelation of Batman’s true identity by comparing Thomas and Martha Wayne to “useless dogs”.

Whereas inArkham Asylum he treated fear as a religion which governs every actions of every day, givenArkham Knight he has begun to see it as a fundamental factor of life and without it, life itself would be meaningless. This can be attributed to his obsession with laying bare the legend of Batman, proving to the world that he was just a man and nothing more, as witnessing a man who was by all means fearless was an insult, almost blasphemy to Scarecrow's views of life, a prospect of his fear-religious ideals. As a person, who was essentially a man of fear he understood that hope was the catalyst of terror, and has shown multiple times to be against its concepts. As Batman was the embodiment of hope in Gotham by unmasking him Scarecrow would equivalently be taking all which he stood for, placing Gotham in a (literal) reign of fear without his protection.

His life and personality (pre-Scarecrow) is explored inArkham Shadow, where he is shown as disdainful towardsDr. Quinzel's "talk therapy"-focused treatment philosophy. Crane, at least in his pre-criminal days, put his faith in bio-chemistry alone and held no truck with Quinzel's gentler, sensitive approach, at one point chastising her expression of sympathy towards a patient with "That's it? The subject has no use for your feelings, Doctor. He needs a clinical diagnosis, not a bleeding heart!".

WhenLock-Up was unable to command the prison'sTYGER guards and Crane was put in charge, he very vocally expressed disinterest in hearing about the specifics of their duties, including their attempts to stop Batman from bypassing prison security. He merely wanted to be left alone to conduct his research, and considered everything else a trifling distraction.

Appearance

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Like most villains in the series, Scarecrow's appearance changed depending on setting, materials and even his psychological condition. The basis for Scarecrow's costume may have been similar to his mainstream DC Comics counterpart, referencing the Headless Horseman trick fromSleepy Hollow and the Scarecrow fromThe Wizard of Oz, inspired by his love of reading, and a rather on the nose symbol for the role that he wished to play in his victim's terror. Before the events ofArkham Asylum, Scarecrow used a costume that was slightly similar to his comic appearance, which incorporated an actual scarecrow-like appearance with a burlap mask that showed his eyes and mouth, and was topped off with a hat and a cloak.

After he was captured and released, Crane may have had to scavenge for materials to complete the costume that was seen in the game. Scarecrow was shirtless, and his trousers, cowl, and sleeves appeared to be woven together from various rags, possibly from an Arkham inmate uniform. His mask had been altered into a cowl with the aesthetics of a hood and a noose, and acted as a gas mask. Scarecrow wore a brace over his right hand with syringes that extended over his fingers, which allowed him to simultaneously attackand inject a victim with Fear Toxin if they didn't breath in his gas. Scarecrow was often seen hunched over so that his skin was hardly visible and looked more like a scarecrow.

Batman: Arkham Knight

Scarecrow's appearance was vastly different due to the injuries that he had sustained at the hands of Killer Croc. Scarecrow's right eye became permanently white, implying it had been blinded, however it was his face that received the worst amount of damage from Killer Croc: huge chunks of his face had been removed during his mauling, with his nose and lips being completely gone. Because of how drastic his appearance was now, it was no longer clear how much of his face was a mask or the scar tissue caused by his mauling, however, rumors began spreading that Scarecrow's current appearance was actually the result of reconstructive surgery following Killer Croc's attack, purposefully done to make his face resemble his original mask, with pieces of string surgically grafted onto where his upper and lower lips were to further the resemblance to his burlap sack mask. His left leg may have been permanently broken as it was secured in a leg brace. Even with his broken leg, Scarecrow now stood much taller than inArkham Asylum due to not hunching over.

Crane's new gas mask also appeared to be surgically grafted to his throat, as it didn't cover his mouth or nose. It was mentioned by random Militia chatter that after Killer Croc's attack on him at Arkham Asylum, Crane underwent surgery to make his face appear as it did inArkham Knight: he surgically grafted the mask to his face.

Crane may have sustained damage to his windpipe that necessitated a respiratory bypass, which explained why his voice was so much more gravelly than before. Another piece of evidence to support that theory was the presence of two tubes going into the underside of Crane's lower jaw, with one of them being attached to one of his Fear Toxin canisters.

Another possibility was that Scarecrow's voice inArkham Asylum may have not been his real voice and he altered it to make it more scary. Whether or not Crane took micro doses of his own Fear Toxin to make himself immune to it was unknown.

To better wage his war, Scarecrow wore a trench coat that was modified to hold multiple vials of Fear Toxin, which provided him with a larger supply. Scarecrow's fingertip syringes were upgraded to include claws that were latched to his wrist for combat. Altogether, Scarecrow resembled an undead being.

Batman: Arkham Shadow

Jonathan Crane's appearance prior to becoming Scarecrow is revealed inArkham Shadow. He was shown to be a thin man with brown hair (which was greying) and blue eyes. He looked tired and unkempt and his eyes bloodshot, likely down to his lifestyle devoting most of his time to his research (and possibly being exposed in some way to his toxins). He is shown to have slight yellow pigment of the skin.

He wears a shabby white trenchcoat, along with a brown waistcoat and black shirt and a necktie that resembles a noose, foreshadowing his future as Scarecrow (who would don a proper noose as part of his supervillain costume).

Crane was also shown to be partially sighted, relying on black circular spectacles.

When conducting his fear experiments he wears a brown coloured gas mask, acting as a precursor to his future Scarecrow mask.

Victims

• Numerous citizens of Gotham over the years
• Several Arkham Asylum guards
• Two asylum orderlies and one patient
• Several rioters
• A militia guard
• Poison Ivy

Psychological Profile

Dr. Penelope Young

Scarecrow

Real Name: Dr. Jonathan Crane

Possibly one of my greatest successes here at the asylum. Despite his tendency for extensive role-play (oddly common among Gotham City's criminals), it's unclear to me why Dr. Crane was ever considered insane. In our long discussions, I've been impressed with his genius for psychology and biochemistry, and I fully believe that if presented with a stock of his fear-inducing gas, he would feel no compulsion to use it. He seems to have entirely turned away from his former life of crime as the Scarecrow.

Additional Notes

He's valiantly battled a history of anxiety disorder, due to a difficult childhood and adulthood trauma, through an intense study of psychology and the causes of fear.

I've come to believe that the accusations that he experimented on human subjects are wildly exaggerated.

GENIUS at Chemistry!

Would he have something to contribute to 'Titan' research?

Attributes

• Genius in chemistry and psychology.
• Creator of a fear-inducing gas that causes nightmarish hallucinations and fatal cardiac arrest.
• Obsessed with creating fear in others.
• Cares only for results in his twisted experiments.

Patient Interviews

Batman Arkham Asylum Patient Interviews of The Scarecrow

The Scarecrow's Patient Interview Tapes.

Batman - Arkham Knight - Scarecrow Audio Tapes

Scarecrow Audio logs.

Tape One

• Jonathan Crane: Patient Interview 1. Patient was referred to me after the incident with Dr. Murphy. He appears to have suffered a breakdown of sorts. I believe it was brought about after the loss of his wife and child. As yet, the patient has been unable to speak. Continued observation shows little mental activity. It's as if the shock of what he saw triggered his mental collapse.
• Security Guard: There's someone in here! It's him! We've found him! Break down the door!
• Jonathan Crane: Note to self. As ever, it is difficult to continue my research under such conditions.
• Security Guard: Step away from Dr. Combs. Now! Get down on the ground! We've found them. Someone get a medic! Oh God, what's he done to him?

Tape Two

• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: Patient interview 6. Dr. Crane has been back in custody for 3 weeks. Regular sessions have been inconclusive. I am not sure he is actually insane.
• Jonathan Crane: Good evening, Stephen. How are you tonight?
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: I'm conducting the session, Jonathan.
• Jonathan Crane: Of course. If that helps you cope, I wouldn't have it any other way.
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: Let's talk about the events 3 weeks ago. What did you think you'd achieve? Dr. Murphy is still in therapy.
• Jonathan Crane: I wanted to understand him. His personal demons. His fears. It's all quite fascinating, really.
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: But you are... were a respected doctor. A brilliant mind, now just another resident in Arkham.
• Jonathan Crane: Can I have a drink? A strong one? This kind of question bores me.
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: I'm afraid not.
• Jonathan Crane: Interesting choice of words, Doctor. Tell me, what are you afraid of?

Tape Three

• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: Patient interview 9. Dr. Crane continues to evade questions. I believe he is quite sane. Just evil. He takes no interest in the people he has hurt. His research appears to be the only motivating factor in his life. What is it about fear that drives your obsessions?
• Jonathan Crane: Fear drives everything, Stephen. Everything. Your life is governed by fear. Every decision you make is a product of that fear.
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: Don't be ridiculous.
• Jonathan Crane: You married your wife...Margaret, isn't it?...because you were scared of dying alone. You have children because you are scared of leaving nothing behind that really matters. You go to the doctors because you're scared of dying. Do I need to go on?
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: No. I think that will be all for today. Guards!

Tape Four

• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: Today I have another interview with Crane. I cannot say I am looking forward to it. I've been feeling anxious. I don't like to admit it, but...I think he's getting to me.
• Jonathan Crane: How are you today?
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: I keep telling you, this is my session.
• Jonathan Crane: It was your session, Doctor, but not anymore.
• Security Guard: Are you OK, doc?
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: I think...yes..I...
• Jonathan Crane: Oh, he's fine. Just questioning his grip on reality. You should be doing the same any second...
• Security Guard: Mom, is that you? Wait, what are you doing?
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: Get off of me... Help. I need help here. I can't breathe...
• Jonathan Crane: Like I said... You're all part of my experiment now!

Tape Five

• Jonathan Crane: Asylum interview 1. My experiment is underway. Working alone, I have created my ultimate Fear Gas, its potency a revelation.
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: Ah! Ahh! They're all over me!
• Security Guard: Please, daddy, don't do it! Ah! Ahh!
• Dr. Stephen Kellerman: Keep away! Keep away! Keep away!
• Jonathan Crane: I have pumped enough gas into the Medical Center to break 100 minds. It should only be a matter of time before... [Sound of glass shattering] What?
• Batman: Give it up, now!
• Jonathan Crane: How...how are you still standing? How come it's not affecting you?
• Batman: Who says it's not?
• Jonathan Crane: I knew it. What was it like? What have you seen?
• Batman: Officer Cash. Get this formula to the air-conditioning system. Now! You failed, Crane. Again. I've been working with Dr. Kellerman, creating an antidote to the toxins in your cologne. He fooled you, Crane. How does that make you feel? Threatened, humiliated? Scared?

Quotes

Batman: Arkham Asylum

• "There is no Crane...Only Scarecrow!"
• "Poor little Bat. You're in my world now."
• "Is the world falling apart or just your mind? Are you scared? Embrace it."
• "Look around you. These are the broken fragments of your mind!"
• "Are you scared, little Bat? Do you need your mommy?"
• "I will tear your mind apart!"
• "Your mind will shatter like glass!"
• "What are you, Batman? Chicken?"
• "There's no escape!"
• "Everything you see is under my control!"
• "I will break you!"
• "What was that?"
• "What are you doing, little Bat?"
• "There you are, Batman!"
• "Stay still, this won't hurt!"
• "Dare to step into my gaze!"
• "I see you, Batman!"
• "I know you're there."
• "What are you trying to do?"
• "Do you believe what you see, Batman?"
• "Are you scared to come out and face your fears, Batman?"
• "Just got to check your prisoner, dear!"(Harley Quinn, illusion)
• "No, he's not. We really should feel sorry for him. He never fully got over his parent's death. It left him quite insane."(Batman, illusion)
• "What is going on inside your head, Wayne? Bah, he's gone! Just a twisted shell of a man."(Batman, illusion)
• "He's all yours, Joker!"(Batman, illusion)
• "I think you need a little more!"
• "Tell me, what demons do you have left to beat? Shall we see?"
• "Are you enjoying the extra dose, little Bat?"
• "Oh, I won't rush things this time. I'm going to savor every moment of your terror as I slowly destroy you."
• "You're fighting back. Good. It can only weaken your resolve."
• "How much more do you think you can take? Does it scare you to know that I have almost defeated you?"
• "How are you doing this?"
• "You've ingested enough toxins to drive ten men insane. What are you?"
• “No! (As Batman defeats him the the final nightmare)
• "Why fight it, Batman? You're as crazy as the rest of us. You need us as much as we need you. And to prove it, I'll flood the catacombs with enough Fear Gas to break the minds of everyone in Gotham for a hundred years."
• "Too late, Batman!"
• "One step closer... and this goes into the water!"
• "The cave will fill with your deepest, darkest nightmares and you will never reach your precious Venom roots."

Batman: Arkham Knight

• "Gotham, this is your only warning, abandon the city, or I will unleash your greatest fears."(Trailer)
• "How many more bones will you crush? How many lives will you destroy in the pursuit of what you call justice? You are the product of everything you fear: violence, darkness, helplessness. All that remains is for you to watch, as I drag your beloved Gotham into oblivion."(Trailer)
• "This demonstration used just five ounces of my latest toxin.
• "Tomorrow, this will seem like child's play."
• "Gotham, this is your only warning."
• "Were you expecting to find me, Batman? I'm afraid I must disappoint you."
• "Take a look at the chamber. I want you to know the fear that is coming."(To Batman about Poison Ivy)
• "Remnants of Gotham, I have messages for you all. To the vandals who stayed behind to pick the still warm flesh from Gotham's bones: Have your fun. You are under my protection. To the cowards quaking behind the police department's walls: You will not be spared. And to Batman: I have already won. Emptied your city with a vial of toxin and a few threatening words. That's how little the safety you provided was worth. And when the dawn comes...when Gotham lies in ruins and I turn my gaze to the world beyond...the legend of the Batman will be worth nothing at all."
• "In death he has nothing left to fear. Keep him away from ACE Chemicals. Your vengeance will come."(TotheArkham Knight about Batman)
• "We have not broken him yet. It will come."(TotheArkham Knight about Batman)
• "Why do you hate him so much?" (To the Arkham Knight about Batman)
• "Your revenge is at hand. This is his last night."(To the Arkham Knight about Batman)
• "Is the strike team ready?"(The Arkham Knight)
• "The asset is a crucial element of my plan. Do not disappoint me."(The Arkham Knight)
• "Gentlemen, tonight is the night that Gotham changes forever. The night it becomes a wasteland of nightmares, a forsaken symbol of Batman's failure, a monument to fear."(Militia Soldiers)
• "But more than that: we're about to turn Gotham into the epicenter of a blast that will transform the entire Eastern coast of America into MY domain."(Militia Soldiers)
• "Need I remind you that we are on a tight schedule here? Gotham is going to pay for what its 'savior' did to me."(Militia Soldiers)
• "You each have been given a task. Complete that task and pray that you will not experience my fear toxin firsthand."(Militia Soldiers)
• "The people of Gotham can run all they like, but they will not avoid their fate."(Militia Soldiers)
• "Each element you carry is vital to my plan. My toxin's design has been perfected over of clinical trials. The speed at which it enters the bloodstream is matched only by the ferocity with which it takes hold."(Militia Soldiers)
• "Once released into the atmosphere, the gas cloud will cover the entire Eastern seaboard. From there it has the potential to reach the farthest corners of the continent. An entire nation gripped by fear. By my estimates, the fallout will last for a century or more."(Militia Soldiers)
• "It appears that the flow of chemicals has stopped, which can only mean that you are here, Batman. I've been looking forward to seeing you again."
• "I thought you brave enough to confront me."
• "I know you're out there. The door is open."
• "Do you really think you've won?"
• "Fear makes you predictable."
• "I am in complete control."
• "Let me go, or she dies."
• "Barbara Gordon."
• "Nothing hurts like losing one of the family, knowing that there is no one to blame but yourself."
• "You might fool everyone else, but you can't fool me. There's something different about you. You're afraid."
• "You've always buried your fears, locked them away deep in your subconscious. Hidden. But something is gnawing away in the darkness of your mind, isn't it? Something even you can't control."
• "The cracks are forming as it pushes its way to the surface. I can almost taste it."
• "Chase after your ally, Bat, if you can through a city MY army now controls. With luck, you'll find her before I show you how tonight is really going to end."
• "You raised yourself above them, Batman, inspired the herd. But what happens when their idol falls from his pedestal in front of their eyes."
• "It all falls apart, Batman. Everything you worked for. The peace you built on a foundation of sand."
• "It's gone, Dark Knight-the grip you had on Gotham. Your long reign of fear. I'm sovereign now."
• "He despises you, this Arkham Knight. What did you do, hero, to enkindle such hatred?"
• "Did you think you stopped me at ACE Chemicals, Batman? You merely delayed the inevitable."
• "Gotham is mine, to do with as I please. And the same can be said of your friend."
• 'Poor little Barbara Gordon. Close your eyes. Can you see her? Cowering in the darkness? Cursing the hero who failed her?"
• "She has become your weakness, your obsession, dragging you deeper into the abyss."
• "I could have her killed right now. It would be cruel. Sadistic. Brutal. But I have other plans in store for both of you."
• "Gentlemen, an announcement. Our one-time friend Mr. Stagg neglected to keep the Cloudburst charged and ready for operation. We will need to do the job ourselves."
• "I need men in Biological Engineering ferrying energy cells to charge the device, and I need more men to defend them. Do not fail me."
• "Our work is nearly done. My calibrations are almost complete and the Cloudburst will soon be charged. Until then, keep supplying me with energy cells."
• "Are you afraid of what I will do when the Cloudburst is charged? Don't be. I have guaranteed your protection. Fear what will happen to you should you fail to charge it."
• "Not yet. The Cloudburst must be fully charged."
• "You're not dying, it just feels like you are. My toxin is filling your lungs, drowning you in your greatest fears."
• "What can you see? A city engulfed in fear? Betrayed by those you trust the most? Your darkest secrets revealed?"
• "As I tear your mind apart, Gotham will watch. I will cut that mask from your face, and the whole world will see the fear in your eyes. Then they too will understand. There is no savior. No more hope... No more Batman."
• "What?"
• "Astonishing. Such brutality."
• "You almost killed these men. You were ready to abandon your beliefs, everything you stand for."
• "You tell yourself you are not like us. You tell yourself you are something more, something better."
• "But fear reveals the truth, erodes your self-control. Soon you will kill and become that which you hate the most. Soon, the Bat will be broken!"
• "Something's changed. You're different!"
• "Who said anything about running?"
• "How does it feel to see your city on the brink of ruin, your friends in the clutches of death?"
• "You stretched yourself too far this time, Batman, and now your failure is all but complete."
• "As that final dying breath escapes her body, she will know you are the one who failed her."
• "We both know fear is theatrics, Batman, so permit me the indulgence of putting on this show."
• "Yes, you see it now. The horror behind the glass, the monster that will be your end... unless you pick up that gun and deny him."
• "You will bring death to all who follow you."
• "Batman, what happened at the safehouse was not some cruel game. It was necessary."
• "Tonight is about more than Gotham. It's about what you became in that room. The hero who failed. That's what I want the world to see."
• "Do you mourn, Batman? Or are you really the stoic caricature you play? Beneath that mask is a man, I'm sure. A man who grieves, a man who suffers. A man who fears the reckoning to come."
• "Do you still see it, Batman? The terror in her eyes as she looked upon your true self? Savor that image. There are many like it still to come."
• "Good. Are we still on schedule?"
• "Your patience will be rewarded soon."
• "Welcome to Gotham...The City of Fear."
• "Do you see this, Batman? Your poisoned, desolate city? Its people tearing out each other's throats, their own throats, in terror? The world sees it too. Next, the world will see what happens to the man who tries to stop me. And when it does, the world will know fear. You aren't fighting for Gotham, tonight. You're fighting for every desperate fool who thinks that when their worst fears come to pass, a hero might come and save them. And you're losing."
• "Do you see them? All the monsters you created."
• "My toxin will fill the streets, and bring this city to it's knees. I will take from you everything you fear to lose, and I will watch you suffer. Scared yet?"
• "What do you seek on those tunnels, Batman? Hope? You will find none."
• "How did you persuade Poison Ivy to come rallying to the aid of a city she despises? Threats? Blackmail? Charm?"
• "She's dying. My toxin strikes at the minds of humans, but it leeches the life from her."
• "Dr. Isley cannot stop me. But how noble you were to make her Gotham's first line of defense."
• "How can the world know fear-true dread-when it has you? A stalwart knight, ever ready to slay monsters. Fear isn't pure biology, Batman. It's more than instinct. True fear is the absence of hope. And hope is the spread wings of a Bat, shining on the clouds."
• "You promised that Gotham would be safe. Protected! But what does the world see now?! My toxin choking its streets! Blotting out the moonlight! Poisoning the saplings you thought could stop me!"
• "And now, Dark Knight, I turn to you. But don't be afraid. It's not your life that needs ending, it's your myth. The hope that you stand for. The hope that dies tonight."
• "Don't fret. This tree won't make any difference. Ivy isn't strong enough to purify Gotham. No one is."
• "Your escort is almost gone, Knight. Protect the Cloudburst, withdraw."
• "What do you think you're doing?"
• "This is not the plan we agreed upon."
• "He's trying to overheat the cloudburst. Leave now."
• "You will have your chance to kill him."
• "The cloudburst is not bait, Knight. It is mine."
• "The cloudburst won't withstand another strike. Retreat."
• "Batman! The Cloudburst was mine! My greatest weapon! My instrument of fear! I will exact vengeance for this on you and all your allies. Like Poison Ivy. My toxin overwhelms her. She's paying the price for opposing me right now."
• "You actually believe you've won, don't you, Batman? Savor this fleeting delusion of victory."
• "The Arkham Knight may have fled in terror, but now his army answers to ME!"
• "For even as my toxin dissipates, it leaves behind a forsaken city, forever tainted by your failure."
• "Tonight, the myth of Batman dies and Gotham dies with it."
• "Batman has arrived ahead of schedule. Lock down the elevators and find him."
• "Do you still believe that you are Gotham's savior? Soon, the world will see you for what you truly are: a fallacy, a figment of hope in a world of suffering and pain."
• "How many more bones will you crush? How many lives will you destroy in the pursuit of your crude justice? We are all products of our fears: I look at you and see a man born of violence and darkness."
• "What will you give to save your friends, I wonder? Are you ready to reveal your secret? Are ready for your legend to die?"
• "The commissioner placed his trust in you, to keep his city safe, his family safe. Can you still atone for your failure? Are you still the master of your own destiny? The answers are waiting, Batman, as am I."
• "Stop this, Knight. Everything is in hand."
• "We had a plan. He is going to suffer."
• "So you did it. I must admit, I had my doubts that you could make this happen."
• "And I'm not talking to you. It is time." (Gordon)
• "Call in the transport. We're leaving." (Militia Soldier)
• "It is time for the people of Gotham to see their savior for who he truly is. A man. Just a man. Devoid of hope, betrayed by his friends, crippled by fear."
• "You both still have a part to play." (Gordon)
• "Once I understood your greatest fear, controlling you was simple. You blame yourself for her condition."
• "You need to protect her, but buried deep down is the inevitability that you will one day fail."
• "And that fear makes you mine."
• "Think very carefully about your next move, Commissioner. Her life depends on it."
• "Did you think I wanted him dead? Did you think that would save your daughter?"(Gordon)
• "Do you know what happens when a man refuses to be controlled by his fears?"(Gordon)
• "He must face them!"(Gordon)
• "Shh... It's OK to be afraid." (Oracle)
• "Do not listen to Batman's false orders. The Knight is gone. You answer to me and me alone."(To the militia at the clock tower after using the voice synthesizer too much)
• "Do you take pride in what you have reduced them to? The mewling babes your assaults exposed? I will do that to you, Dark Knight. I will peel back every layer of the Batman before the night is through."
• "Gallant police force of Gotham. I have a message for you. You are not safe. You are not protected. Batman will not save you. This is the beginning for the end for you, Dark Knight."
• "GCPD- The home of Gotham's brave men and women, a beacon for hope in a city of chaos and despair. Watch as I obliterate it, and the lives of all that cower within its walls!"
• "Remove them."
• "Barbara Gordon."
• "You cannot sustain their hope any longer, Batman. They will die afraid and forsaken. Reflect on your failure as you salvage their corpses from the rubble."
• "You cannot stop it, Batman. Their world is crumbling."
• "Nothing's changed, sergeant. Reduce that edifice to dust and this battle is ours."
• "The ones that fight at your side still believe in you. I will show them how misplaced that belief is."
• "It's time. Send them in."
• "You played your part. Now Batman will play his."
• "Looking for someone? You should know by now that nowhere is safe. The Commissioner was so eager to betray you earlier, when his daughter's life depended on it. And now, I have your Robin, the caged bird. Fascinating that your fears would drive you to lock your closest ally in a prison cell. Now those same fears will make you do as I say. There's a storage depot in Kingston. Go there, alone. Prepare to take off that mask. Or your friends will die."
• "Your fears got the better of you I see. How fitting that I will win and Batman's life will be over... not because of what I have done to your precious city, but because you are scared of what I will do to your friends, your family. They are your weakness, hiding just below the surface. I'm sure that you're scared of what will happen when I tear that mask from your face. What will we find? Your true identity, or proof that without your mask you are nothing. Impotent. Powerless, Afraid. Leave your equipment on that table, and we can find out."
• "Now, the truck."
• "The die is cast, Batman, and from now on I need your undivided attention. The nightmare is almost over, your failure almost complete. I can see it, and soon the whole world will see it too. Your eyes betray you. You are truly afraid."
• "Are you ready?"(Batman)
• "Enough bravado. It's too late for that. I don't care who you are, but they will. I'm going to rob them of hope. As they stare into your eyes they will blame you...Failure will have a face and a name."
• "It's time."
• "Mister Gordon, I would like you to do the honors."(Gordon)
• "Take off that mask or my next shot will kill him. NOW!"(Gordon)
• "Wayne? Bruce Wayne?"
• "Now the world can see you for what you truly are. A legend laid bare. Powerless. Human. Afraid."
• "Do you know what happens now, Mr. Wayne? I'm not going to kill you... I'm going to set you free... Free to see the city you swore to defend tear itself apart. Free to see everyone you love hunted down and killed. Every scream, every death, vengeance for all that Batman has done."
• "What? Do you not understand? It is over." (Joker is in control of Batman)
• "Why-aren't-you-scared?"
• "Do you understand, Gotham?"
• "You have no savior."
• "No more hope... No- more- Batman!"
• "I've won."
• "Impossible..."
• "Without fear, life is meaningless."
• "No!" (before being injected with his own toxin by Batman)
• "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" (after being injected with his own toxin by Batman and facing his own fears.)
• "You fooled everyone but me, Batman. I see right through the mask to thefrightened little boy…that scared little boy who dreamed every night for a hero to savehis parents frombeing gunned down like two useless dogs." (Scarecrow mocking the revelation of Batman’s true identity during Batman’s nightmarish showdown with him.)

Game Over Lines

Batman: Arkham Shadow

• "Ah, the moment of defeat. Tell me. Are you afraid?"
• "My work is only beginning, Batman."

Batman: Arkham Asylum

• "And at the end of fear, oblivion!"
• "You failed, now suffer!"
• "Now madness takes you, forever!"

  

Batman: Arkham Knight

• "Didn't you know, Dark Knight, you can't fight fear?"
• "Die, knowing that I will make them suffer, every one."
• "You die here and your legend dies with you."
• "You have failed to stop me Batman, now Gotham will fall."
• "This is the end Dark Knight, you have nothing to be afraid of anymore."
• "I wanted more than your death and Gotham's destruction, but you force my hand." (When leaving a bomb to detonate in Campaign for Disarmament.)
• "Prepare yourself, Batman. My reign of terror starts now."

Gallery

Batman: Arkham Shadow

Dr. Jonathan Crane Concept Art

Jonathan Crane Portrait

Dr. Crane Observing the Session

Batman: Assault on Arkham

Scarecrow in Assault on Arkham

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Scarecrow's Profile Picture Arkham Asylum

Scarecrow Biography Arkham Asylum

Penelope Young's Notes on Scarecrow

Scarecrow Concept Art Arkham Asylum

Scarecrow Character Trophy Arkham Asylum

Scarecrow's Fear Gas Containers

Scarecrow's Lair at the Intensive Treatment Center on Arkham Island

Batman: Arkham City

Scarecrow's Mask at Amusement Mile in Arkham City

Batman: Arkham Knight

Scarecrow Poster Arkham Knight

Scarecrow Promotion Image (without text)

Scarecrow Biography Arkham Knight

Arkham Knight Scarecrow Bio Image

Scarecrow's Henchmen

The teasers of Scarecrow's new design

Scarecrow inArkham Knight

Scarecrow inArkham Knight 2

Scarecrow in Arkham Knight 3

Scarecrow with the Arkham Knight

Scarecrow in the Arkham Mansion

Scarecrow on top of the Arkham Knight's Headquarters

Scarecrow's face illuminated by lightning

Scarecrow Nightmare Monster

A Giant Scarecrow in the Scarecrow Nightmare Mode

Scarecrow vs. the Batmobile

Scarecrow's Bio on the Arkhamverse Website

A closeup of Scarecrow on the Arkhamverse Website

Arkham Knight Scarecrow Nightmare

Scarecrow with the Arkham Knight and their Militia

Scarecrow's display case in the Evidence Room at the GCPD Lockup in Arkham Knight

Scarecrow action figure from Arkham Knight

Arkham Knight Scarecrow Wallpaper

Trivia

• The Doctors Murphy and Combs that were mentioned in Scarecrow's Patient Interview Tapes referenced, who played Scarecrow inThe Dark Knight Trilogy, fitting as and, the two most recent depictions of Scarecrow at the time of release ofArkham Asylum, and, the voice of Scarecrow inThe New Batman Adventures.
• Scarecrow's glove inArkham Asylum resembles the iconic bladed glove ofFreddy Krueger, the fictional serial killer from theNightmare on Elm Street films, especially since both of these characters use fear-based tactics.
  • Robert Englund, who originated the role of Freddy Krueger in theNightmare on Elm Street franchise, would go on to voicean alternate version of Scarecrow in the gameInjustice 2.
  • His glove inArkham Knight, however, were more evocative ofMarvel'sWolverine, as the syringes were retractable and only notably activated when Scarecrow made a fist.
    • Crane needing to make a specific gesture with his fingers could also be a nod to Spider-Man as well; specifically, his web shooters. Spider-Man could only activate them with just his middle and ring fingers, so they wouldn't go off by accident if he made a fist.
• ThroughArkham Shadow, it is revealed that Crane was directly/indirectly responsible for the creation of several villains, either due to his experiments or his overall hostile nature. The specific villains in question were:
  • The Ventriloquist &Scarface: Due to Crane experimenting on him with theShadow serum, Wesker’s darker side emerged and created a second personality that took form when he took possession of the puppet named Woody, which would seemingly become sentient and tell Arnold to kill his creator,Donnegan.
    • The murder would happen the first night after Crane's treatment of Wesker, and come the Day of Wrath, he killed aTYGER guard and proceeded to escape to Gotham, all under Woody’s “suggestion”. Wesker and the latter would then go to become the villainous pair of "the Ventriloquist" and "Scarface", respectively.
  • Harley Quinn: Crane played an indirect role in Harleen Quinzel's turn to a life of crime. During their time as fellow psychiatrists inBlackgate Prison, Crane would constantly belittle Quinzel for her approach to dealing withinmates, believing a clinical diagnosis was required to deal with psychological issues, rather than Harleen’s more sympathetic and personal strategy.
    • These issues would only worsen when Crane would straight up kidnap Quinzel’s patients for his experiments due to running out of test subjects in the form of other inmates. An example of this was when Crane outright took Wesker to a “more clinically structured environment” during one of Quinzel's group therapy sessions, even though he was only meant to be overseeing said session. This hostility would culminate in Crane, upon becoming Blackgate's temporary warden after Bolton was hospitalized by Malone, firing Quinzel due to her confronting him with allegations of abduction, experimentation, and abuse of her patients.
      • Crane's hindrance of her work would leave Quinzel frustrated and unable to feel like she was able to make a difference in either her patients, who she claimed didn’t respect her as a doctor, or herself, making her feel tossed aside and insignificant. To add to the latter, Quinzel admitted to Batman that she should wear a mask like him, because then everybody would know who she is. This ultimately made her more susceptible tothe Joker’s manipulations as he (seemingly) gave her the validation that she felt had been unjustifiably denied; thus, making her become dependent on him in the process.
        • All of this would end with Quinzel becoming Joker’s sidekick, "Harry Quinn", at which point after she fully committed herself to him, Joker would proceed to treat her no better than other people she knew from her past. This demonstrates how Crane’s depravity helps to create monsters, even if it wasn't his intention, especially in a direct manner.
  • The Rat King/Two-Face: Even though he was only a therapy client, Crane still used the experimental Shadow on Gotham D.A. Harvey Dent which, under the guise of treating his mental health issues, only made them subsequently worse. This would be evident when Dent, who suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder like his abusive fatherChristopher, would unknowingly develop a second personality known as "the Rat-King" while under the influence of the drug.
    • As the Rat King, Dent would spread anti-authority propaganda to themost desperate of Gotham's citizens, causing riots and social unrest. This led to the events ofArkham Shadow, all of which culminated in the Day of Wrath. The latter saw Crane (who was also under the influence of his own drug per being exposed to it during his experiments and recent first battle with Batman the night before) unintentionally but remorselessly maim Dent by smashing the Shadow canister on the D.A. whenMatches Malone (Batman in disguise) accidentally smacked it away from the unhinged doctor during the undercover vigilante's pre-trial hearing.
      • Due to the Shadow chemical becoming caustic from air exposure, it burnt not only the left side of Dent's face, but his entire left arm and mid-upper left torso, subsequently giving Gotham's (former) "White Knight" his trademark comic appearance and further contributing to his mental decline.
        • Upon realizing that he himself was the Rat King and finding out that the Batman was his childhood friend Bruce Wayne (although Dent's memory of the latter would wither away), a new split personality, which would come to be known as "Two-Face", assumed control over Dent's already-fractured psyche. In the end, Crane played an enormous role in Dent's fall to madness.
  • Scarecrow: While Crane himself is evidently the supervillain Scarecrow, the persona was also a direct creation of his own making. Additionally, it is hinted that Crane would've likely continued his experiments on the Blackgate inmates if he hadn't been found out by Quinzel and Batman.
    • After the events ofArkham Shadow, Crane would be fired for his unethical practices. His dismissal and newfound instability per being exposed to the Shadow serum during the “treatment” of his patients and his first confrontation with Batman, combined with Crane fully subjecting himself to the serum during Malone's hearing, led to the doctor being unable to pursue his research in a legal manner. Thus, Crane resorted to a life of crime, and further refined his Shadow serum, which he would rename "Fear Toxin", in order to bring about the people of Gotham's greatest fears to life, definitively becoming "Scarecrow" in the process.
      • Crane's choice of a more violent approach to his “research” would bring himself into further conflict with Batman numerous times over the years, but he would be defeated by the latter each time, making Scarecrow only more determined to break the Dark Knight by making the toxin ever more potent than before. Unfortunately for Scarecrow, by the time ofArkham Knight, Batman would defeat the deranged fearmonger for good when he injected Crane with his newest concoction of Fear Toxin, reducing him into a stumbling, terrified shell of his former self, now literally jumping at his own Shadow.
• Scarecrow was the only villain inArkham Asylum to refer to Batman as Wayne, having said his surname during the third encounter. However, as Batman was wildly hallucinating at the time, it was very unlikely that Crane himself actually knew Batman's secret identity, and inArkham Knight, he was surprised when he found out Batman's identity.
• AfterBane's defeat, Dr. Kellerman said that "Just after you took the elevator down, the PA was full of screaming. It was horrible." if Batman returned to the Patient Observation Room to speak to him.
• Within the comics Scarecrow wasn't actually the first Batman villain to use a fear-inducing substance asHugo Strange used a similarly named "Fear Dust" in one of his schemes in a story that predated Scarecrow's debut by a year.
• Scarecrow had his ownChallenge Map that was titledScarecrow Nightmare. Crane himself appeared in the background, similar to his in-story hallucination appearances, and taunted Batman as he fought the Fear Gas skeleton henchmen under his command. The goal was to survive for as long as possible against the never ending waves of thugs without taking a single hit, which instantly killed Batman.
• During the final nightmare with Scarecrow, the cutscene with Joker taking Batman to the asylum could not be skipped, which made it the only unskippable scene in the game.
• Like Joker, Scarecrow didn't have an identifiable cell at Arkham Asylum.
• In Scarecrow's Lair under the elevators, computer monitors showed security camera images of Batman escorting Joker through Arkham.
• During the nightmare sections ofBatman: Arkham Asylum, Batman would occasionally appear as Scarecrow, which made Scarecrow technically a playable character.
• While Batman is under the effects of Scarecrow's toxin, it is assumed that Scarecrow flees the Medical Facility and is not actually there while Batman is seeing Scarecrow in his nightmare.
• InArkham Asylum, during the cutscene when Scarecrow was seen being taken by Killer Croc during his mauling, his cowl could be seen flying off his face for a split second, which meant that his cowl was not attached to the rag by his chest.
• Crane's appearance inArkham Asylum had been ranked as the 38th Greatest Moment in Gaming.
• The Arkhamverse Scarecrow made a cameo in the DC game,Injustice: Gods Among Us. The game had many damaging stage transitions, one of which took place in the Arkham Asylum Stage. One player could throw another through a wall and into Crane's cell. Scarecrow would inject the player with his Fear Toxin, which triggered a voyage into Crane's nightmare world, before they were thrown into another section of the level.
• Scarecrow is the only villain to physically appear inArkham Asylum, who doesn't have his face revealed in game.
  • His face was first revealed inArkham Knight. Listening to Militia chatter reveals that he underwent facial reconstructive surgery after he was attacked by Killer Croc, and isn't wearing a mask, meaning his face has been remodeled to look more frightening.
    • Additionally, his jaw has a pair of gas mask breathers.
  • His appearance prior to becoming Scarecrow is shown inArkham Shadow.
• InArkham Asylum, Crane's skin was deathly pale and he was extremely skinny. Oddly, Crane appeared much taller inArkham Knight,which was unusual given his crippled state. It should also be noted that duringArkham Asylum, Scarecrow walked hunched over whereas inArkham Knight, he walked normally.
• The injuries Crane sustained from Killer Croc's attack, along with the surgery he went through, would explain the drastic change in his natural voice betweenArkham Asylum andArkham Knight.
  • Despite Croc being responsible for his mutilation, Scarecrow has never made any attempt to exact revenge on him.
• In his Game Over Lines forArkham Knight, Scarecrow's voice was always distorted by his Fear Toxin. That was even when he's not actually around when Batman died.
• A barely noticeable outlining of Scarecrow could be seen next to theAzrael symbol at theChurch and Medical Center inArkham City.
• The "City of Terror" code that was required to unlock Crane's Barge was one of the hardest security codes to decrypt inArkham City, because it was at level five on the Cryptographic Sequencer.
• In the one of the phone calls to Batman inArkham City, the Joker implied that he was aware that Scarecrow was still alive.
• Scarecrow's redesign inArkham Knight is slightly reminiscent of his redesign inThe New Batman Adventures. Much like in the game, in the Scarecrow's design takes on a darker and ghoulish appearance than the one that preceded it, as he legitimately looked like an undead being than a living one. In both designs, their teeth were visible as well, though while in the former's case, it was his genuine teeth, in the latter it was left ambiguous, as the producers were uncertain if there was someone under the mask.
• Canisters full of Scarecrow's Fear Gas appeared as Easter Eggs throughoutArkham City, most prominently in the Riddler's third hostage room: an area that was covered with razor wire which could be examined either in first person mode or by aRemote Control Batarang, and also atHush's Hideout. Upon viewing these specific canisters, if you listened, you could hear strange voices in the room, that were possibly started by the leaking Fear Gas.

• 

It was initially presumed that Crane had his own agents in Arkham City; as duringProtocol 10, many dead prisoners appeared to be in presumed orange-brown skeleton/scarecrow outfits. This in truth was a glitch where the leg textures of the prisoners were plassed over the head, which was later patched in theBatman: Return To Arkham editions.

• Scarecrow's choice to attack Gotham on Halloween further showed his fascination of fear, and why he chose to take advantage of the night that lore had said fear would be at it most powerful, since monsters, like Scarecrows, are said to be at their strongest on Hallow's Eve. Some of the rioters will comment that Scarecrow must have a sense of humor initiating his plan on Halloween, which is considered to be the scariest night of the year.
• Scarecrow "getting a taste of his own medicine" inArkham Knight seemed to have been taken from the first movie of theDark Knight Trilogy,Batman Begins, and the episode "Nothing to Fear" fromBatman: The Animated Series. In all three cases, Crane saw Batman as a demonic version of a bat. The only difference was that inArkham Knight, the dose severely broke him into becoming harmless, while inBatman Begins, it made Scarecrow a lot more dangerous.
• From a certain point of view, Scarecrow won his last battle against Batman, as the Dark Knight's identity was revealed to the world, which forced Bruce Wayne to fake his death, though his legend was kept intact. His remark of this night being Batman's last was ultimately correct.
  • Scarecrow managing to publically unveil Bruce Wayne's identity gave him the distinction of not only being the only incarnation of Scarecrow to do so, but the onlyBatman villain in any medium thus far to succeed at that.
• The final nightmare that Scarecrow forced Batman to experience inArkham Asylum, specifically that of Batman going insane and the numerous Arkham inmates beginning to run the city, was fulfilled inArkham Knight.
• In theArkham Knightnovelization, Scarecrow was aware that Batman was hallucinating the Joker and revealed to the Dark Knight that he and Joker were working together. Joker contacted Scarecrow after he injected Batman with his blood and Scarecrow modified his Fear Toxin to bring out the Joker in Batman. However, it seems that Crane is unaware when the Joker surfaces in Batman as both times he either thought Batman was just acting different or wasn't afraid despite being injected with fear toxin.
• When Batman was trying to put the canisters in place at Ace Chemicals, Scarecrow's old gas mask fromArkham Asylum could be seen laying on the floor.
• It seems that Crane had duplicates of his old mask, given there was one inKnight, and inCity.
• In a sense of irony, Scarecrow adopts the kneeling position mentioned in Hugo Strange's rules for Arkham City - "if a TYGER guard approaches you for any reason, you must adopt a kneeling position with your hands behind your head. Failure to do so will be treated as an aggressive response and dealt with with extreme force" - but is hit by Batman regardless.
• Save for Batman and Crane himself, all people that were infected with Scarecrow's new Fear Toxin died. Crane himself was supposed to be immune, but even he waspermanently affected by the end ofArkham Knight. That gave an indication as to how strong the new Fear Toxin actually was.
  • The official website forArkham Knight gave an indication that Scarecrow did in fact gain partial immunity to his toxin, presumably from having used it for his whole career.
• For some reason, Scarecrow's face and personal attire slightly resembledErmac's face and personal attire inMortal Kombat X, mainly due to Ermac's face resembling a zombie as well as usually wearing hooded long robes. In some YouTube video images, they use Ermac instead of Scarecrow.
• The Arkhamverse Scarecrow also bears some similarities to theReapers, a criminal faction from the videogameInfamous:
  1. Their attires include hoods that conceal their faces and bandages wrapped on their feet.
  2. The Black Tar drug, which they distribute and infect civilians with, causes hallucinations, can be weaponized as a gas and could lead to death with high enough exposure, much like the Fear Toxin.
• Some comic book incarnations of Scarecrow show that he was a psychologist, and some show him as a psychiatrist. InArkham Knight, his bio shows that he is a psychiatrist and not a psychologist.
  • Scarecrow's display case shows that he has a Ph.D. in Psychology, but when his bio showed that he is a psychiatrist, it's supposed to show a medical degree (M.D.) in psychiatry; this is possibly an oversight as well. To become a psychiatrist, you would need to complete medical school in order to earn an M.D. in the field.
• The pistol that Scarecrow uses to force Commissioner Gordon to unmask Batman is based on the Sig Sauer P226.

References

External Links

• Scarecrow on theDC Comics Wiki