Dr. Jonathan Crane, also known as the Scarecrow, is a notorious Gotham City criminal, specializing in techniques and chemicals that manipulate fear, such as his powerful Fear toxin. Crane was originally a well-respected doctor and a colleague of the late August Cartwright.[1] In the new multiverse, he is currently incarcerated at Arkham Asylum and due to the severe amount of damage he’s caused and his reputation, Jonathan is considered one of the most dangerous supervillains in the world.[2]
Biography[]
Original multiverse[]
Arkham Asylum patient[]
The Fear toxin spilling on the ground.
At some point, Jonathan Crane was captured and sentenced to Arkham Asylum, where he was designated as patient #856220. Crane's belongings, including his vials of Fear Toxin, were placed in storage in the evidence room.
When The Flash tried to hit Nora Fries with a lightning bolt, he accidentally hit Crane's belongings, which released the Fear Toxin inside the room and made him and the Green Arrow hallucinate their worst fears. When John Deegan opened all the cell doors in the Asylum including Crane’s, it can be assumed that Crane attempted to escape with the other inmates, but was recaptured by the Asylum security guards and put back in his cell.[2]
Anti-Monitor Crisis[]
During the Anti-Monitor Crisis, Crane as well as everyone in the multiverse except for the seven Paragons, was killed in an antimatter wave by the Anti-Monitor on December 10, 2019,[3] only to be restored a month later, after the Paragons and the Spectre created a new universe.[4]
New multiverse[]
Crane was a colleague of August Cartwright. At some point, he created the Fear toxin and became a criminal known as Scarecrow.[1]
On one occasion, Crane attempted to hack the internal computers on the Gotham City's trains. This incident caused Gotham's trains to be modified to run on an "independent analog system".[5]
Powers[]
- Hallucination inducement: Jonathan’s powers come from his fear gas which allows him to induce nightmarish hallucinations into the minds of his opponents.
- Fear inducement: Jonathan’s fear gas overloads his victim’s fear response and causes them to suffer uncontrollable panic attacks by seeing visions of their worst fears.
Abilities[]
- Genius-level intellect/Expert tactician/Leader: Crane is an extremely intelligent individual, due to his background as a physician[1] and his fame as one of the greatest criminal mastermind of Gotham able to create straightforward and ruthless plans to terrorize the city.[5][1]
- Expert chemist: Crane is very proficient in chemistry and biochemistry, as evidenced by him being able to develop the Fear toxin on his own.[1][2]
- Computer specialist/Expert computer hacker: Crane once hacked into the internal computers of Gotham City's trains.[5]
- Expert hand-to-hand combatant: As Jonathan managed to escape Batman and the police for a long time before finally getting captured, he is likely a highly skilled fighter, even being able to contend with the dark knight.
Equipment[]
Former equipment[]
- Fear toxin: Jonathan Crane’s trademark is a powerful hallucinogen that makes victims see their worst fears and can bring anyone to their knees. His vast vials of fear toxin was apprehended when Crane was arrested and put into evidence at Arkham Asylum.
Appearances[]
Arrow[]
Season 7[]
- "Elseworlds, Part 2" (name seen)
Batwoman[]
Season 1[]
- "How Queer Everything Is Today!" (mentioned)
- "Off With Her Head" (mentioned)
Season 2[]
- "Bat Girl Magic!" (mentioned)
- "I'll Give You a Clue" (mentioned)
Season 3[]
- "Meet Your Maker" (name seen)
Trivia[]
- Dr. Crane is possibly the namesake of Jonathan Cartwright, since he was a colleague of the boy's father.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- In the main DC comics continuity, Jonathan Crane is a criminal in Gotham City who takes pride in spreading fear using his specially-designed fear toxin, and is an adversary of Batman named "Scarecrow".
- Scarecrow couldn't be used in Batwoman during the second season, at least, as he was being used at the time as the main villain of Titans season 3.
- Scarecrow hacking into the trains is a reference to Batman Begins, where the trains are taken control of by Ra's al Ghul, whom Crane was working for in the film.
References[]
| Other versions of Jonathan Crane | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To see other versions of this character, click the Earth name below for that Earth's counterpart of J. Crane. | ||||
| New multiverse | ||||
| Earth: Prime | ||||
| Original multiverse | ||||
| Earth: 1 • 38 | ||||
| Transmultiversal multiverse | ||||
| Earth: | ||||