Jonathan Crane

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Jonathan Crane
Aliases:	Scarecrow Doctor Jonathan Crane
Continuity:	DC Universe
Notability:	Antagonist
Type:	Supervillain
Gender:	Male
Race:	Human
Location:	Arlen, Georgia Gotham City; Arkham Asylum
Associations:	Injustice Gang Injustice League Legion of Doom Secret Society of Super-Villains
Known relatives:	Karen Keeny ^[1] Gerald Crane ^[2]
Status:	Alive
First:	World's Finest Comics #3
Actor:	Ted Knight Don Messick Henry Polic II Cillian Murphy Charlie Tahan

The Scarecrow, whose real name is Jonathan Crane, is a fictional comic book costumed villain and a major recurring antagonist featured in comic books published by DC Comics. He is associated with the Batman line of titles and made his first appearance in the eleventh story in World's Finest Comics #3 titled "The Riddle of the Human Scarecrow" in the Fall of 1941. The Golden Age version of this character made scant few appearances, but he was re-tooled for the Silver Age era as an Earth-One character and was re-introduced in Batman #189 in February, 1967 in a story called "Fright of the Scarecrow". This was also the first appearance of the Scarecrow's patented fear toxin, which becomes his primary weapon of choice for many years to come. The character's existence was maintained in the continuity reboot that took place following the 1985-1986 maxi-series event Crisis on Infinite Earths, though later stories would expand upon his origin. The character was re-imagined a third time for DC's "New 52" continuity, which took the place of the previous Post-Crisis continuity following the events of the 2011 crossover storyline, "Flashpoint". This version of the Scarecrow was created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo and was introduced in Batman, Volume 2 #1 in November, 2011.

Biography[]

Origin[]

Jonathan Crane - 189 — Jonathan Crane from *Batman* #189 (Feb. 1967)

Jonathan Crane was born out of wedlock and suffered severe abuse as a child. His father took off before he was even born, and his mother was made to leave her new born son in the hands of her grandmother, a religious fanatic with less than pure intentions for the boy. As a child he was exposed to severe emotional and physical torment and torture from his great grandmother, the worst of course being the Keeny families chapel, where flocks of crows nested, and he was forced to dress in a suit contaminated with a homemade chemical designed to enrage nearby crows and force them to attack the source. It was because of this that Jonathan developed a crippling fear of his grandmother.[2] In his childhood and teenage years, Jonathan Crane was the victim of taunts and jeers due to his lanky frame and spindly legs. He was also bullied for his own personality traits. His grudge against the people who hurt him grew stronger and Crane was eventually tired of being a victim. He developed his own style of "violent dancing" which he combined with elements of Kung Fu and he learned the recipe for the fear chemical that his grandmother used to scare crows. Certain night, Crane dressed up as a ghoulish scarecrow to terrify some of the people who bullied him at high school. Unfortunately, his fear methods proved to be a bit too successful and caused the ultimate death of the bullies. Crane became fascinated with the whole event and he then proceeded to murder his grandmother using the same fear chemical she previously used on him.

After high school, Jonathan enrolled at Gotham University where he became a professor of psychology after eliminating the main teacher by exposing him to his fear toxin. Crane strated his classes with an emphasis on the study of fear, which caused his eventual sacking for using harsh methods such as using firearms in class

Later he went on to murder people responsible for his dismissal. Following this, he was transferred to Arkham Asylum and became the head psychologist, where he performed fear-inducing experiments on his patients. He took the moniker "The Scarecrow", the favorite taunt of the hated bullies.

Around his time, Crane also worked as an intern at a psychiatric clinic, where he was left in charge of a young and disturbed Thomas Elliot, but instead of curing him, he allowed the kid's mental state to worsen.

Alternate versions[]

Gotham

The Scarecrow has appeared in numerous forms of media which adapts characters and concepts of the Batman mythos. The first of such versions appeared on the 1968 cartoon series The Batman/Superman Hour. The Scarecrow was the main villain in the second vignette from episode 1x10, "The Great Scarecrow Scare". He was voiced by Ted Knight in this episode. This was his only appearance on the series.

Ten years later, the Scarecrow would take on a slightly more prominent role as a member of the Legion of Doom, which was a group of super-villains who battled against the forces of the Justice League of America every Saturday morning on Challenge of the Super Friends. This iteration of the character was introduced in the series premiere, "Wanted: The Super Friends" and was voiced by Don Messick. He appeared in sixteen out of eighteen episodes of this series, but did not always have speaking lines.

The Scarecrow became one of the many villains to pop upon on the popular 1992 program Batman: The Animated Series, which is part of the greater DC Animated Universe. Voiced by actor Henry Polic II, he was introduced in the tenth episode of season one, "Nothing to Fear". He made seven regular appearances in this series in total, one of which was a cameo appearance.

The Scarecrow made his first live-action appearance in the Batman film series of the mid-2000s, which is referred to as "The Dark Knight Trilogy". All three films were directed by Christopher Nolan and the part of Jonathan Crane was portrayed by Irish actor Cillian Murphy. The Scarecrow served as a secondary antagonist in the 2005 film Batman Begins, and had minor roles in the film's two sequels, The Dark Knight in 2008, and The Dark Knight Rises in 2012.

The Scarecrow appeared on episodes of the live-action FOX Network television series Gotham. Actor Charlie Tahan played a teenage version of the character, and was introduced in the fourteenth episode of season one titled, "The Fearsome Dr. Crane". He also appeared in the following episode, "The Scarecrow". Crane was not seen again the series until season four, where he took on a much larger role as one of the main villains of the season. At the end of the season four premiere, "Pax Penguina", he adopted the guise of the Scarecrow.

Equipment[]

Fear toxin: The Scarecrow's fear toxin is a chemical solution developed by former teacher Jonathan Crane. It is a poisonous gas that causes massive hallucinations in those who inhale it. Specifically, it forced the victim to experience and/or re-live their greatest fears. This is Crane's primary weapon in his criminal career as the Scarecrow.
Qwardian power ring: Jonathan Crane almost got his hands on a Qwardian power ring when he was being offered membership into the Sinestro Corps. Green Lantern Corps officers Hal Jordan and John Stewart however manage to stop him from getting the ring while he was still in Arkham Asylum.

Abilities[]

Psychiatry: Jonathan Crane is a trained psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders. He is the world's leading authority on phobias and maintains a textbook knowledge of every form of fear.
Chemistry: Jonathan Crane is skilled in the scientific field of chemistry. He has a high enough proficiency to create his own toxic gases that can induce traumatizing fear in others upon inhalation.
Martial arts: Jonathan Crane may not seem like much of a physical combatant, but has used his height and lanky frame to create his own martial arts form, which he refers to as "violent dancing".

Notes & Trivia[]

The character of Jonathan Crane was created by writer Bill Finger, artists Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson.

No version of the Scarecrow ever appeared on the 1966 Batman live-action TV series.

Marvel Comics has their own super-villain who goes by the name of Scarecrow. His name is Ebenezer Laughton and he is primarily associated with the Avengers and Ghost Rider lines of comic titles.

The Scarecrow received a two-page origin recap in Countdown to Final Crisis #19 in February, 2008.

The Scarecrow was once offered membership in the Sinestro Corps, but Green Lantern Corps officers Hal Jordan and John Stewart intercepted the Qwardian Power Ring before Crane could be initiated. If chosen, Crane would have worn the ring of the late Sinestro Corps member Amon Sur. He received another yellow ring during Blackest Night, but only temporarily as a deputy member. ^[3]

Appearances[]

Recommendations[]

External Links[]

References[]

↑ Year One: Batman/Scarecrow 1; Mother, alive.
↑ Year One: Batman/Scarecrow 2; Father, alive. On Gotham Gerald Crane is killed when Jonathan is still a teenager.
↑ Green Lantern Vol 4 27

[1] Year One: Batman/Scarecrow 1; Mother, alive.

[2] Year One: Batman/Scarecrow 2; Father, alive. On Gotham Gerald Crane is killed when Jonathan is still a teenager.

[3] Green Lantern Vol 4 27

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Jonathan Crane

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