Scarecrow

Scarecrow
Biographical Information
Full Name	Jonathan Crane
Occupation	Psychologist (formally) Professional Criminal.
Base of Operations	Gotham City
Physical Description
Hair	Brown
Eyes	Blue
Height	6 ft 0 in/ 1.83 meters
Weight	140 lbs.
Game Information
Voice Actor	Dino Andrade (Arkham Asylum) John Noble
First Appearance	World's Finest Comics #3 (Fall 1941)

"There is no savior, no more hope.....no more Batman"

—Scarecrow

Taunted and bullied in his youth, Dr. Jonathan Crane vowed to overcome his fears through the study of psychology and biochemistry. Kicked out of his university for experimenting on human subjects, Crane adopted the identity of the Scarecrow and armed himself with a specialized fear-inducing gas that makes a person's deepest fears become frighteningly real. His ongoing criminal reign of terror makes him one of Batman's most psychologically dangerous foes. He is one of 2 main antagonists of Arkham Knight.

Incident Reports

Arkham Origins

When Batman goes to Blackgate Prison during the break-in at the opening, "Jonathan Crane" has been checked into the visitor's log six times, but has not yet been checked out, meaning he was probably still in Blackgate (as a visitor or doctor) when the Joker (impersonating Black Mask) broke in. He presumably fled Blackgate during Joker's break-in, most likely forgetting to sign out in all the panic or he hid somewhere in the prison and left later the same evening.

There are also, on board the Final Offer, flyers about "Jonathan Crane Research", suggesting Crane's research on fear had already been started at this point and that he may be using Blackgate inmates as test-subjects.

Road to Arkham

Years later, he was now calling himself Scarecrow, unleashing people's greatest fears with his own sinister creation: the Fear Gas toxin.

Just before the events of Arkham asylum an anonymous tip to Scarecrow's activities noted in the patient interviews in the form of a vial of the Scarecrow's Fear Gas was left at police headquarters. Using this, Batman was able to create an antidote. The Scarecrow was found by Batman using his Fear Gas to attack his state-sponsored psychologist. Batman apprehended the Scarecrow and locked him up into Arkham Asylum. It was revealed that the vial came from Dr. Kellerman. Even though, Scarecrow was locked up in Arkham, he continued his plans from a secret loft hidden in the Intensive Treatment Center, plotting his next move and even getting his hands on the blueprints of Arkham Asylum.

Arkham Asylum

"There is no Crane... only Scarecrow!"

—Scarecrow

The Scarecrow was one of the inmates of Arkham on the Joker's "party list." As part of the Joker's schemes, he led Batman to the Medical Facility where the Scarecrow pumped the elevator Batman was in full of Fear Gas. As Batman made his way to the bottom floor he saw the Scarecrow spraying his Fear Gas into an operating room of Arkham staff and patients, causing them to panic to the point of death. Eventually, Batman began seeing a vision of Commissioner Gordon, crying for help, before being dragged out of view. Batman found Gordon's body, and sadly tried calling Oracle to tell her he was too late. He could not contact her, however, as Barbara's voice said that the number he was trying to reach was unavailable, and to hang up. Batman then made his way to the morgue.

In the morgue, an echoing voice told Batman "You shouldn't be here!" and "Get out of here!", slowly growing louder, and creating an ominous, ghostly feeling in the air. Batman turned around and exited the room, only to find himself entering the exact same room. There lay three body bags, two of which contained his deceased parents, speaking to him, taunting him about the night they were murdered, with the Scarecrow jumping out of the third. It turned into a cat and mouse game in a surreal other world made up of elements of the asylum, where a giant Scarecrow sought out the hiding Batman. Batman was able to finally break free from the Scarecrow's hold by avoiding his assailant's gaze and shining a Bat-Signal, a manifestation of Batman's will power, at him, destroying the giant Scarecrow and ending the hallucination. Back in reality, Batman went back to Gordon, only to find that the body actually belonged to a murdered security guard.

The Scarecrow later attacked Batman with his Fear Gas once again, after Batman destroyed Dr. Young's Titan formula. This caused Batman to relive his parents' deaths, walking down a long, never-ending hall that turned into a city street in the pouring rain. As Batman walked down the 'street', he heard his parents and a younger version of himself talking in the background, before they were met and attacked by Joe Chill, with his voice monstrously distorted. Batman then briefly took the appearance of his eight-year-old self, hearing Jim Gordon and another officer discussing the murder in the background, before Gordon himself asked the young Bruce about the criminal. The voices soon ended, and another giant Scarecrow hallucination ensued, in which Batman escaped Scarecrow's hold once more by shining a second Bat-Signal at him. This time, upon returning to the real world, Batman found that he had somehow made his way into the top of Arkham Mansion's clock tower, and was locked in.

Scarecrow used his Fear Gas for a third time when Batman re-entered the Intensive Treatment center. The toxins caused Batman to relive the starting events of the game, but with the Joker and Batman in opposite positions. This hallucination ends with Joker shooting Batman and killing him (the player will receive a game over message telling them to do an impossible command), which progresses into the next hallucination, with Batman breaking out of his grave and continuing the cat-and-mouse game with Scarecrow. Upon completing this one, Batman found himself in the real world holding Scarecrow by the collar. Scarecrow gave Batman a second injection, which sends Batman into a fight with a group of skeletons, two of which are giant (in reality, Joker's goons, two of which are injected with Titan). Eventually, Batman broke free again, despite having received enough toxin to drive ten men insane. Furious, Scarecrow ran off to Killer Croc's lair. Batman followed Crane there and confronted him by an underground river, leading straight to Gotham's water supply.

The Scarecrow threatened to drop a bag of his Fear Toxin into the water supply, plunging Gotham's citizens into constant terror for up to one hundred years. Before he could do anything, however, Killer Croc attacked Scarecrow from the water, knocking the toxin bag harmlessly to the ground. Batman stopped Croc from eating Crane by activating his shock collar with a Batarang, causing Croc to retreat into the water, dragging Crane with him. Scarecrow, however, apparently escaped Croc through unknown means. In one of the three alternate endings after the credits, Crane emerged from the water by docks and grabbed onto a floating crate containing the Titan formula. The same goes for Croc, and Bane.

After Arkham Asylum

No one has seen Scarecrow since he was attacked by Killer Croc in the sewers below Arkham Asylum. Some say he escaped certain death by dragging what was left of himself onto a Titan container and floating out to sea, while others believe he was eaten by Croc. Undeterred, Batman has spent months searching for Crane, refusing to believe that he is dead. If Crane is out there, plotting his revenge on Batman, then Batman knows Gotham will never be truly safe.

Arkham City

"I will return Batman"

—Scarecrow's Message

Scarecrow does not physically appear in the game, however there are several hints to his presence in Arkham City, spread around the prison. His mask can be found as part of Riddler Challenges; a boat owned by Falcone Shipping is flooded with Fear Gas and a dead thug with a short sequence; Joker aware in his voicemail to Batman that Scarecrow is alive; during Protocol 10, near Maxie Zeus' Gotham Olympus are several buildings with what seems to be six scarecrow thugs (although their masks are the same shape as the Joker ones but with crummy brown, leather pachwork covering, so it is most likely a texture glitch); Riddler's third hostage building contains an area with razor wire that can be examined with first person mode or a remote control batarang that has Fear Gas canisters; in Hush's hideout, the player can find canisters of the Scarecrow's fear gas and you can hear strange voices in the room started by the fear gas.

Finally, there are three hidden radio frequencies on the Cryptographic Sequencer that allude to Scarecrow's return: "I will return Batman!" "You will pay for what you have done to me!" and "Fear will tear Gotham to shreds!"

Arkham Knight

"Tonight... Gotham falls... and a city of fear rises."

—Scarecrow

One year after the events of Arkham City, Scarecrow has returned to Gotham and has united Batman's enemies to destroy the Dark Knight.

With his new strain of fear toxin, Scarecrow is recognized as the main villain in this new adventure, leading Gotham to its downfall.

Jonathan Crane upgrades his original fear gas, to create an all new type of fear toxin to destroy Batman forever and with the help of the rest of Dark Knight's rogues gallery including his most powerful gang leaders Penguin, Two-Face, Harley Quinn and his new major partner the mysterious and deadly Arkham Knight, Crane sets up his Halloween "trick or threat" battle with his enemy in a conflict between justice and terror.

Easter Egg

Although Scarecrow is never shown as a main character in Arkham City, there are references to him. One being that Batman can find his mask on haystacks around the city. The second is inside a boat underneath the drawbridge that leads to the Sionis Steel Mill. If Batman uses the Cryptographic Sequencer on the boat, you can open the hatch if you use the password "City of Terror."

Inside the boat are many broken glass holders filled with cockroaches and an unconscious Joker Thug in the back. If you zoom in on the Thug, he will scream in terror and become unconscious again. Next to his body on the wall is a purchase form made out to "J Crane" from Falcone Shipping.

Psychological Profile

Scarecrow

Real Name: Dr. Jonathan Crane

Dr. Penelope Young

"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?

Batman's Database Profile

Police records shows that Crane has putting up his plan to create a toxin with inducing fear that gives them darkest nightmares to be afraid which the poison kills them. Scarecrow's latest plot that time puts up of creating most of his deadly fear toxins that is about to come with more life to let it out anything for the toxin which fear embraces to a life time of Crane's option to bring it to shreds as part of a nightmare.

Attributes

• Creator of fear-inducing gas.
• Motivated by an obsessive need to create fear in others.
• Genius in the fields of psychology and chemistry.
• Cares only for results in his twisted experiments.
• Uses either his Fear Gas or his knowledge of the fears of the human mind to scare people to the point of suicide or cardiac arrest.

Patient Interviews

Batman Arkham Asylum Patient Interviews of The Scarecrow

The Scarecrow's patient interview tapes.

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's got 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."
• "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!"
• "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?"
• "Just got to check on your prisoner, dear!" [to Harley Quinn]
• "No, he's not. We should really feel sorry for him. He never fully got over his parent's death. It left him quite insane."
• "What is going on inside head, Wayne? Bah, he's gone! Just a twisted shell of a man."
• "I think you need a little more!"
• "He's all yours, Joker!"
• "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 10 men insane. What are you?"
• "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."
• "Tonight... Gotham falls... and a city of fear rises."
• "There is no savior... No more hope... No more Batman."
• "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."
• "Your vengeance will come." - Referring to The Arkham Knight.
  

Game Over Lines

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman Arkham Asylum Game Over Scarecrow

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

Gallery

Batman: Assault on Arkham

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Concept for Scarecrow

Penelope Young's notes

Scarecrow's Fear Gas Containers

Scarecrow's Hideout

Batman: Arkham City

Scarecrow's Mask

Batman: Arkham Knight

Scarecrow's Henchmen

The teasers of Scarecrow's new design

Scarecrow in Arkham Knight

Scarecrow in Arkham Knight

Scarecrow in Arkham Knight

Trivia

• The mention of "Doctor Murphy" in Scarecrow's interview tapes could have been a reference to Cillian Murphy, the actor who played Scarecrow in the films Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. The tapes also include a "Doctor Combs" which could reference to Jeffery Combs, the actor who was the voice of Scarecrow in the fourth season of Batman: The Animated Series.
• The needles on the Scarecrow's right hand, bear a strong resemblance to the fictional serial killer, Freddy Krueger's claws. The Scarecrow and Freddy Krueger both send their victims into terrifying dream worlds, where they are killed or driven insane.
• If you use Detective Mode on the vision of "Commissioner Gordon"'s corpse, the skeleton doesn't show; hinting that the corpse isn't real.
• Scarecrow is the only villain in Arkham Asylum to mention Batman as Wayne. He says his surname during the third encounter. However, as Batman was wildly hallucinating at the time, it is very unlikely that Crane himself actually knows of Batman's secret identity. More than likely, this version of Scarecrow was simply a part of Batman's hallucination, much like the Joker, Quinn, Scarface and Zsasz were at the time.
• It was thought the screaming of the orderlies and the inmate at Secure Access was heard from the Patient Observation's public address. After defeating Bane, Stephen Kellerman confirmed this after saying that "Just after [Batman] took the elevator down, the PA was full of screaming. It was horrible." if you return to the Patient Observation to speak to him.
• On Dr. Young's page, he has a question mark on the left bottom corner of the 1st page, which can mean he is working with the Riddler. A piece of evidence is the riddle where Riddler knew that Scarecrow had a secret place, which Riddler might have gone to. This is more so confirmed in Arkham City were fear gas canisters can be found in one of the Riddler's puzzle rooms.
• Scarecrow has his own Challenge Map titled "Scarecrow Nightmare." Crane himself appears in the background of this Challenge Map, rapidly taunting Batman as he fights the Fear Gas skeletonized thugs under his command.
• During the final nightmare with Scarecrow, you can not skip the movie scene where Joker is taking Batman to the asylum. Making it the only non-skipping scene in the game.
• Like Joker, Scarecrow doesn't have an identifiable cell in the Asylum. Theoretically, he could be held in the "Extreme Isolation" area of Arkham, which is the one place the player can not explore.
• In Scarecrow's secret hiding place under the elevators, computer monitors show security camera images of Batman escorting Joker through Arkham. This indicates that Crane may have already escaped his cell prior to the riot, or that he had a way of slipping in and out of his cell without being noticed, given the number of supplies present.
• As an Easter egg in Batman: Arkham City inside a ship is a thug and a list that reads that Scarecrow was there. If the player looks at the thug for a minute, he screams and then falls over.
• Scarecrow left three messages on the Cryptographic Sequencer: "I Will Return, Batman", "You Will Pay For What You Have Done To Me", and "Fear Will Tear Gotham City To Shreds." They need to be decoded in a variety of means as the messages are strings of numbers.
• During the nightmare sections of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman will occasionally appear as Scarecrow, making Scarecrow technically a playable character.
  • He is the first villain to be playable in Story Mode, while the second is Joker.
• Crane's appearance in Arkham Asylum has been ranked as the 38th Greatest Moment in Gaming.
• Scarecrow makes a cameo in the DC game Injustice: Gods Among Us. The game has many environment hazards, with one on the Arkham stage being the same Scarecrow from the Arkham games where, if knocked into his cell, will trigger him stabbing you with his glove, making you go into his world, thus making him bigger, and will literally slam you out back into the fight.
• During his entire time in the Arkham series, his full face is never once shown.
• When looking at Crane's masks, one can see two pipes, indicating that his mask is just a cloth-covered gas mask.
• His skin is deathly pale and he is extremely skinny, indicating that he has anorexia, presumably from not eating for the sake of more time spent in his experiments. He is however, a skilled swimmer, as shown in the secret Scarecrow ending of Arkham Asylum.
• A barely noticeable outlining of Crane can be seen next to the Azrael symbol on the church.
• The fact that Crane has a new mask explains why he abandoned his old one on a bridge in Arkham City.
• Crane suffered injuries in his encounter with Killer Croc in the Sewers underneath Arkham Asylum, as seen in Batman: Arkham Knight. He is possibly blind in one eye and his face seems to be damaged, but it is unknown by how much. His leg is also broken, indicated by the leg brace he wears. Also, if one can look closely, they will notice that Crane's lips and part of his nose are missing and his torso was torn apart by Croc.
• His injuries and his changed voice make him resemble at least from a distance an undead being.
• Joker implies in a call in City that he is aware that Scarecrow is alive.
• Scarecrow's new attire has a sort of cape surrounding his legs, like the end of a long coat. This might be an attempt to hide his injuries, or at least the extent.
• It is very likely that the majority of criminals that are not with the other villains will join Scarecrow's gang, especially since the majority of the criminals thought Scarecrow was dead and will probably make amends by joining him.
• It is likely Scarecrow is attempting to conceal the extent of his injuries and very likely tried to heal himself during his two year absence.
• Scarecrow mocks Batman in one of the demoes. He asks Batman how many more bones will he break or in Scarecrow's view, "crush" indicating that Crane is aware that *Batman has left permanent marks on the underworld. He also asks him that "how many lives will you destroy in pursuit of what you call justice?" implying that Crane saw or heard of criminals committing suicide or losing everything to Batman or the reformed police. He also states that Batman created the criminals that plague Gotham because of his actions and that their schemes which resulted in darkness and death were on him. He then tells him that "All that remains is for you to watch as I drag your beloved Gotham into oblivion.", which implies that Scarecrow wants everything to come full circle and destroy the Dark Knight psygologically by destroying Gotham and then killing him. This is similar to Strange's speech in Arkham City.

• During the same demo, he calls Batman a product of fear. His statement on that subject which states the Caped Crusader's worst fears are "violence, darkness, helplessness", imply that Crane has discovered the Dark Knight is Bruce Wayne. It is likely that if Crane is aware of who is under the cowl, he learned who it was from the Arkham Knight who is very heavily implied to know who the Bat is.

• The version of Scarecrow in Arkham Knight is extremely popular among fans. it also resembles his incarnation in the 4th season of Batman: The Animated Series. In that season, Scarecrow resembled a legitimate undead being with a preacher's outfit.

• It is unknown how Scarecrow met the Arkham Knight, and the fact that he asked him why he hates the Dark Knight so much indicates that Scarecrow merely sees the Bat as an annoyance.

External Links

• Scarecrow on the DC Comics Wiki