Jonathan Crane

The Scarecrow
Full name	Jonathan Crane
Alias	Scarecrow
Family	Gerald Crane (father, deceased) Karen Crane (mother, deceased)
Status	Alive
First	"The Fearsome Dr. Crane"
Appeared in	4 episodes (see below)
Portrayed by	Charlie Tahan

"Jonathan Crane isn't here anymore. Just the Scarecrow!"

—Jonathan Crane to Grady Harris^[src]

Jonathan Crane is the son of the late Gerald Crane and Karen Crane, who is exposed to his father's Fear Toxin, and later adopts the moniker Scarecrow after embracing his fear.

Biography

Early life

Jonathan lived with both parents in a house outside of Gotham. Though most of the exact details of his childhood (and the exact relationships he had with both of his parents) are unknown, it is known that his mother died in a fire when he was eight years old.

Assisting his father

During his first appearance, a teenage Jonathan helped his father murder people by killing them with their worst fears, although he did so with some reluctance and second thoughts over his father's actions. While Gerald was in the process of drowning a bound and gagged Scottie Mullen at a swimming pool (due to drowning being her worst fear) he ordered his son to return to the van and feed the parking meter. But Gerald's plan to kill Scottie failed as detectives Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock arrived on the scene and save her, though Gerald managed to escape in the van with Jonathan.

Using the adrenal glands taken from his victims, Gerald created a serum which he believed would remove all fear. He uses it on himself in order to face up to the death of his wife, having felt extreme guilt over allowing her to die due to his fear. When the process works Gerald plans to use it on Jonathan to eliminate his fear. The terrified young man flees their home and showing reluctance at his father's beliefs says he isn't afraid, though Gerald manages to convince Jonathan to return home by saying that he's trying to help mankind. Later that evening Gordon and Bullock track them down. Out in a field, Gerald withdraws a large amount of the serum (which Jonathan tries, but fails, to tell him is 'too much') with a syringe and injects it into Jonathan's arm; as he looks up at a Scarecrow, with the serum immediately kicking in, he starts screaming in terror. At the scene Gerald ends up being killed when (due to not having fear) he opens fire on the two detectives, which leads to him being shot dead. Jonathan is taken to hospital, where the doctor reveals to Gordon he is exhibiting very odd brain activity. When Gordon asks whether or not he will make a full recovery, the doctor says he won't and will be forced to witness his worst fear every moment of his life. Gordon watches a terrified Jonathan, who is strapped to a bed and under a great deal of stress as he hallucinates a monstrous scarecrow sneaking around his bed, and eventually 'attacking' him.

At some point afterwards, Jonathan Crane was sent to Arkham Asylum.

Becoming the Scarecrow

Jonathan Crane becomes the Scarecrow

Years later, Warden Reed released Jonathan from the asylum and handed him over to Grady Harris and his cousin Merton who wanted Crane's formula to use as part of their plan to send a message to Penguin, who wanted all criminals in Gotham to use a license so he would get part of their earnings. A confused and still unstable Jonathan took the gang back to his family home, where he uncovered his father's notes from the floorboards of the porch, and was ordered to make a new batch of the formula. To make him comply, the gang forced him to be in the presence of a large scarecrow, causing him to go into a panic. Jonathan managed to replicate the formula, which the gang used to attack a bank. Before they led their planned attack on Penguin's new club the Iceberg Lounge, they locked Jonathan in a room with the scarecrow. While begging to be let out, he heard a 'voice' call out to him (which he believed came from the scarecrow) and, his mind having finally snapped, Jonathan took apart the scarecrow and began wearing it as a suit, giving him the form of a terrifying living scarecrow. When Grady returns after a failed attempt to rob the Iceberg Lounge, he initially begins barking orders at Crane to make another batch of Fear Toxin in order to bust Merton out of jail, but when he opens the door to the closet Jonathan is in, he is confused to see Jonathan standing in the corner and questions him. Under his new persona, Jonathan informs Grady that "Jonathan Crane is [no longer present]", before turning around and spraying Grady in the face with the fear toxin while identifying himself as the Scarecrow.

Equipment

• Scarecrow Suit: After being locked in a closet with a scarecrow, Jonathan's sensitive fear-filled mind snapped, and thus, he tore apart the scarecrow and began wearing it as a costume.
  • Fear Toxin Dispenser: On his right arm, Jonathan wears a device that is capable of spraying Fear Toxin unto his victims.

Abilities

• Illusion Casting: Using his Fear Toxin Dispenser, he is capable of casting illusions which can make people hallucinate their deepest and most disturbing fears in demonic forms.
• Genius Chemist: Despite claiming to have only helped his father's experiments "some", and not knowing everything about them, he is a masterful chemist, having used his father's notes to recreate the Fear Toxin, even while he was under the stress of being in the presence of a scarecrow, his greatest fear.

Weapons

• Scythe.

Appearances

Season 1

• "The Fearsome Dr. Crane"
• "The Scarecrow"

Season 4

• "A Dark Knight: Pax Penguina"
• "A Dark Knight: The Fear Reaper"

Notes

• The character, more commonly known as the fear-based supervillain Scarecrow, was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger and he was introduced in World's Finest Comics #3 (Fall 1941). Although he initially made only two appearances, the character was revived during the Silver Age of Comic Books by writer Gardner Fox and artist Sheldon Moldoff.
• Interestingly, when Jonathan identifies himself as the 'Scarecrow' to Grady, he can be heard growling like an animal.
• Jonathan having a device on his arm capable of dispensing Fear Toxin is likely a nod to the Arkham Asylum and Arkham Knight video games, in which he used a glove to inject Fear Toxin directly into his victims' bloodstream.