Jonathan Crane (New Earth)
From DC Database
Contents |
History
As a youth, Jonathan Crane was forever the victim of taunts and jeers due to his lanky frame and spindly legs. The other boys in the neighborhood would throw rocks at him and call him cruel names such as Ichabod and Scarecrow. Because of this, Crane became obsessed with fear and thoughts of revenge, but he was too overwhelmed by his own perpetual state of fear to ever take action. Some five years later, he learned the origin of one of his nicknames when he read Washington Irving's short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He regarded the story's main character, Ichabod Crane, as his personal hero, particularly, the man's skill at dancing. However, he also despised the fact that Ichabod was an utter coward and Jonathan swore that no one would ever laugh at him again. Inspired by the tale, Jonathan developed his own style of "violent dancing" which he combined with elements of Crane style Kung Fu.
When Crane was seventeen, he developed a crush on a high school classmate named Sherry Squires. Unfortunately for Crane, Squires was romantically involved with another boy named Bo Griggs. Griggs embodied many of the traits shared by the bullies that used to torment Jonathan as a child. In October of that year, Jonathan mustered up the courage to ask Sherry to be his date at a costume party. Sherry agreed, but in truth, she was conspiring with Bo Griggs to play a cruel prank on Crane. Sherry led Jonathan into a dark room where Griggs surprised him, wearing a Jack O'Lantern mask. Much like the antagonist Brom Bones from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Griggs chased Crane and threw the pumpkin where it smashed across the back of Crane's head. Crane swore revenge against both of them. He committed his first murder at the age of eighteen by brandishing a gun in his high school parking lot during the senior prom. Dressed in the ghoulish scarecrow costume that would later consume his identity, Crane attacked Griggs and Squires in their vehicle, causing them to have an automobile accident which paralyzed Griggs and killed Squires. Crane then discovered a savage delight in frightening people -- literally to death.
After high school, Jonathan enrolled at Gotham University where he became the prized student of psychology professor Avram Bramowitz. Although he had great respect for Bramowitz, he was bothered by the fact that his mentor could so easily dismiss the importance of the psychology of fear. Despite this, Crane wanted to be Bramowitz' colleague, however, there were no available staffing positions at the school. Undeterred, Crane turned his interests towards chemistry where he developed a powerful hallucinogen that caused people to psychologically experience their greatest fear. He used this toxin against Professor Bramowitz, leading to the pedagogue's death. With Bramowitz out of the way, Crane was able to take his position as a professor of psychology with an emphasis on the study of fear. Crane was eventually dismissed for firing a bullet at a flower pot in a classroom demonstration of a body's reaction to fear. (a shard hit a student in the face, just missing her eye). After which, he killed the people responsible for his dismissal and became a career criminal. He took the moniker "the Scarecrow", the favorite taunt of the hated bullies, as part of his revenge. [1]
The deaths of the Gotham University dean and four regents earned Crane the attention of Gotham City's newest guardian - the Batman. Batman, working alongside the recently promoted police captain James Gordon, investigated the case and fought with the Scarecrow. Crane was apprehended and sent to Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
The Scarecrow was a regular member of the Injustice Gang and briefly joined the Secret Society of Super-Villains. In later years, his modus operandi has made him unsuited to work in teams, and he is not often seen outside the Batman family of characters.
A psychopathic sadist, the Scarecrow was one of the many criminals in Gotham City to be confined to Arkham Asylum whenever Batman apprehended him. Ironically, the Scarecrow had a phobia of birds, although he has been shown occasionally as having a pet crow named Craw.
During the events of "War Games", the Scarecrow was briefly transformed into a murderous creature known as the Scarebeast by the Penguin to kill off the Penguin's disloyal colleagues.[2] In this incarnation, the Scarebeast possessed super strength and endurance and could release an even stronger hallucinogenic gas. After being defeated by Batman, the Scarebeast reverted back into Jonathan Crane.
The Scarecrow later became the pawn of Darkseid and his sycophantic toadie DeSaad. They used their resources to transform Crane into a being named Schrocken. Crane was taken to Apokolips, but was later rescued due to the efforts of Batman and Superman.[3]Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Psychology: Jonathan Crane is an expert in the field of psychology, specifically the study of anxiety orders. He is a walking textbook on the study of fear, and can recite the name and description of nearly every known phobia. He often demonstrates his intellectual prowess by analyzing his fellow patients at Arkham Asylum.
Chemistry: Jonathan Crane is a proficient chemist and has used this skill to develop his infamous "fear toxin".
Violent Dancing: When forced to fight, Crane uses his own martial arts style he calls "violent dancing", which is based in part on the crane style of kung fu, and makes full use of his long arms and legs.
Intimidation: Using a variety of toxins that cause his victims to hallucinate that their phobias have come to life, the Scarecrow instills fear in all who see him.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Skull Bulb
Weapons
- Fear Gas
- Various
Trivia
- In Batman Begins instead of using his Skull Bulb to dispense his Fear Gas he uses a special tube concealed in his jacket. and sprays the gas from his wrist.
- Cillian Murphy, who plays Dr. Jonathan Crane in Batman Begins, originally tried out for the part of Batman himself. While Murphy didn't receive the role he initially auditioned for, director Christopher Nolan was so impressed with his performance that he granted him the role of Scarecrow/Crane.
- One consideration for the part of Scarecrow in Batman Begins was Marilyn Manson. Irish actor Cillian Murphy won the part instead.
- 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.[4] The same ring was offered to Batman.
Appearances in Other Media
In the 1970s animated series Super Friends, the Scarecrow appeared as a member of Lex Luthor's Legion of Doom. In this series, he was voiced by actor Don Messick. This version showed no powers at all and was used mainly when the plot called for an incompetent villain. The character's identity and motivation were expanded upon and the character finally became three-dimensional, using his fear inducing devices for the first time in the show's final season's episode "The Fear". As part of the original thirteen members of the Legion of Doom, the Scarecrow was originally slated to appear again on the DC Animated Universe again on the third season of Justice League Unlimited, but apparently due to a "Bat-Embargo" enforced by Warner Bros, this did not occur.
In the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series, the Scarecrow was voiced by Henry Polic II and in Gotham Knights, a follow-up to that series, the Scarecrow got a more horrifying makeover and was voiced by actor Jeffrey Combs. In an episode of Gotham Knights, fans where shocked when The Scarecrow apparently killed Batgirl (Barbara Gordon). By doing this, Commissioner Gordon found out that his daughter was Batgirl and that Bruce Wayne was Batman. Enraged that they kept this secret from him, he blamed Batman for Barbara's death and the incident lead to an all out assault on Batman, Robin and Nightwing. In the end, it was revealed that the events of the episode were a hallucination by Barbara induced by the Scarecrow.
The Scarecrow also appeared in the 2005 movie Batman Begins, portrayed by Cillian Murphy. This version of the Scarecrow was a disturbed, corrupt psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist at Arkham Asylum, secretly allied with Ra's al Ghul and Carmine Falcone, smuggling the former's hallucinogenic drugs into Gotham to create fear toxins to use upon his patients in cruel experiments. Though not donning the full Scarecrow costume as seen in the comics, Crane did wear the Scarecrow's trademark mask: a poorly stitched burlap sack with a hangman's noose dangling around the neck. The mask acted as a gas mask used to enhance the hallucinations. It was put to good use when a victim was contaminated with the toxins (i.e. Batman sees bats literally flying out of the "mouth", while assistant district attorney Rachel Dawes sees worms growing from it). At the end of the film Crane was briefly seen secured in an unbound straitjacket at Arkham before his mask is returned by Ra's al Ghul's thugs. He sported it once again on his rampage through Gotham's streets before his exit. The movie's ending revealed that the Scarecrow had not yet been recaptured, leading to many rumors and speculations on the character's possible return to the franchise. Murphy said in an interview that he would indeed return if director Christopher Nolan were to ask for it. Sure enough in The Dark Knight, the Scarecrow did appear again when he had a meeting with a Russian mobster, the Chechen. Crane supplied fear-toxin drugs to the mobster's consumers who reacted fatally. Their meeting is interrupted by Batman and other Batman copycat vigilantes. Crane, his men, and the copycats are captured by Batman and presumably arrested by the police.
See Also
- Discuss Jonathan Crane (New Earth) on the forums
- Appearances of Jonathan Crane (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Jonathan Crane (New Earth)
- Quotations by Jonathan Crane (New Earth)
- Images featuring Jonathan Crane (New Earth)
Links and References
Footnotes
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