How The Scarecrow Became Gotham's Boogeyman | Batman The Animated Series

[@Bobbybillybillbob]

I like how the Batman Arkham games sort of took the same route with Scarecrow, starts off his classic version gets mauled and disfigured in some way (Killer Croc) and is re-designed in a horrific-gruesome fashion

[@LordMegatron818]

Arkham Scarecrow is the GOAT.

[@marcusblackwell2372]

​@@LordMegatron818Especially Knight

[@LordMegatron818]

@@marcusblackwell2372 Yeah!

[@Jammy922]

Arkham knight scarecrow and new adventures scarecrow are the best versions

[@Legacy_Superman_Clark2019]

Yeah

[@cherrypopscile3385]

"His method of scaring people was jumping out and shooting people" Thats an amazing tactic ngl.

[@canadiancanucklehead8310]

“BOO!” 🔫💥

[@travisdrawsstuff]

Worked for Son of Sam.

[@kasythelassy2510]

Surprise funeral

[@changvasejarik62]

As the saying goes, a plan is only stupid if it doesn’t work.

[@ZX-Gear]

I mean......being mugged does work in that regard.

[@poppajournee8323]

I liked that harley greeted crane as if she were just his student who showed up for class early. Harley is a psychologist too, so maybe she studied under him at some point? I just like how he cheerfully greeted her back before continuing his mad ramblings

[@canadiancanucklehead8310]

“Hi Professor Crane!” :3 “Good evening child.” 😊 I couldn’t help but laugh.

[@iloveemeralds4622]

It makes sense since there both professional psychologists that they’d at a bare minimum know about each others reputation or something.

[@theshuman100]

yea as someone whose entire family consists of doctors. almost every doctor know each other.

[@paytonburrows2325]

I like to think Scarecrow in general has a soft spot for students; there’s a one shot story in Joker’s Asylum where Prof. Crane pretends to be a college therapist and meets a girl who’s been bullied and tormented by her peers. He pities her and decides to take her under his wing, orchestrating a sleep over where each one of the girl’s bullies was traumatized by Scarecrow’s fear gas. He’s caught in the end by Batman…but the story ends with the girl that Scarecrow helped finishing the job by shoving her last bully into an open grave with fear gas.

[@changvasejarik62]

@@paytonburrows2325I do enjoy it when scarecrow has his fear gimmick played with, like when lock-up scares him more than batman, never fear where his plan involves making people fearless fools, or this one story in no man’s land where he tries to cause a gang war at a church using only words(those chemicals are still expensive) and is thwarted by huntress convincing to people he manipulated to show forgiveness and kindness. As much as he’s obsessed with fear he can’t escape other emotions be it in himself or the people around him.

[@superomegaprimemk2]

I think Scarecrow's first outfit was coppobled together in a rush because his desire for revenge was burning red hot, while the second was him trying to make improvements to create more fear and the third is likely him finally breaking after being exposed to his own gas and seeing his worse fears and he decided to show everyone else what fear is truly like and likely his greatest fear is to die, a nobody!

[@terrymcdonald7877]

I like that explanation. Also, to support that idea, his character in the first episode is very impulsive. Doesn’t think things through, gets really frustrated when things don’t go his way. Your explanation would definitely match his behavior in the episode.

[@kanemccarthy1979]

The final Scarecrow is an undead. In the canon game Rise of Sun Tzu he's hung and says "maybe this time the reaper will come for me." For whatever reason, Scarecrow is some sort of zombie

[@Frredster]

​@@kanemccarthy1979 IIRC the backstory for him was that he was a victim of a failed hanging and he only thinks he's dead.

[@kanemccarthy1979]

@@Frredster that was the unused episode explaining it. A more canon explanation is literally that he was scared of Kraang (stg)

[@jordanloux3883]

Here's an idea: You keep the idea that Scarecrow was so frightened that he decided to up his game, but it wasn't because of The Krang. It was because of Lock-Up. Lyle's cruelty, and his constant presence in Arkham as an inmate, forces Crane to really dig deep and find a more human, tangible form of fear as opposed to the symbolic kind he used to cling to.

[@SerumLake]

That’s the great thing about the redesigned scarecrow never getting an official explanation - we can come up with all sorts of cool potential backstories.

[@realJoeMavro]

I'd rather pretend that episode never happened because Crane was such a scrub in it. Bolton may be smarter than the average thug, but at the end of the day, he's still a thug and Crane's cunning enough to know how to deal with them, as he's proven in the past.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

​@@realJoeMavroGranted, DCAU Scarecrow is no manipulative genius. Meantime, I don't mind Lock-Up unwittingly making things worse for the Rogues. Case in point, Harley may have lost her chance of turning a new leaf in "Harley's Holiday" because of the guy.

[@nataliapanfichi9933]

@@SerumLake Jonny crane/scarecrow is like a theater kid with a psychology major. fear me you fooolssszsss fear me i say !!!!! . lol that part in the episode lock up is funny. (american dude traying to sound like a posh british gentlemen while in prison)

[@tashibalampkin8555]

The creators went hard in the PAINT for the third design of Scarecrow. He looks so menacing. A quick look of him and a person is already sweating bullets. And that's before he says something. Scarecrow's voice is calm and clear. At first, you think you're dealing with a some animalistic monster. But, no. Scarecrow is intelligent man and simply running away and hiding won't save you.

[@dark7element]

That scarecrow redesign was fucking amazing. It was such a shame how little he appeared, outside of a single memorable episode.

[@ThyDungeonman2]

Two episodes. The one where he removes fear and the one where he gasses Batgirl and we get to see the fever dream. Admittedly, he was just a plot device in the second one...

[@MarioMastar]

I keep thinking of that plague doctor looking on in Injustice. Just the thought that this guy goes from literally wearing a sac on his head all the way to shriveling his skin and becoming a plague doctor oozing with fear toxin constantly really goes to show how far they can take this guy if they REALLY want to.

[@Scrinwaipwr]

I always assumed that Scarecrow's costume just kept getting damaged in his fights with Batman and Crane repairing or replacing parts is what changed its appearance.

[@MarioMastar]

That sounds the most valid, he's the only costumed villain who isn't wearing a specially tailored and hardened suit, but literally just some twine bags sewed together with a hole ripped for the mouth and eyes. Very makeshift and "done at the last minute" but easy to mend. Plus it fits so perfectly because as he keeps trying to "restore" it, the costume would look more worn and bruised and even rotted out, leading to the foreboding third version where he's just like "F8ck it... no more games." (Given he survived a hanging.... I don't blame him).

[@tyraydew5668]

There may be a relationship between Scarecrow and the monster men after all. Hugo Strange was the first villain to use a fear inducing gas in the comics. Scarecrow’s design drawing from Strange’s monster men could be a subtle nod to the gas’ comic origin.

[@SerumLake]

I think it would be very cool if the DCAU Hugo Strange was involved in Scarecrow’s transformation. He really wasn’t used enough in the show or the tie-in comics!

[@Scrinwaipwr]

Doctors Strange and Crane really should've teamed up on some stuff.

[@hawktalon7890]

@@Scrinwaipwr They did in the comics once; read Prey and its sequel Terror. Both published in the 1990's.

[@Brianna-eo8nu]

I like the idea that, during one incarceration at Arkham, Strange experimented on Crane and turned him into the scarecrow we see in TNBA.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Sure explains why Strange is a fearmonger in The Batman 2004.

[@N2Deep00]

Imagine instead we didn't get Scarecrow with fear toxins, but Scarecrow jumping out and shooting at people. He doesn't mug you or even shoot the bullet at you. All he does is >Jumps out >Shoot around you, but never on you >Scares you >Refuses to elaborate >Then leaves

[@hyperion3145]

As he runs away he says "BoooOoo!" and sneaks into a Prius or something

[@zemox2534]

One of the things that annoys me about Crane is how underutilised he has become in recent years. He is just used as a prop, a gimmick that can be used again and again without really exploring the character (though to be fair there are a few good Scarecrow comics that explore him and make him a little sympathetic but they are usually overlooked). In TAS, Jonathan Crane was rarely explored or developed as a character. However, his threat level slowly grew. He went from seeking petty revenge to attempting to plunge gotham into absolute fear for his experiments. As for the redesign, I love it. Combined with Jeffrey's voice work and you have a very horrifying version of Scarecrow. But once again, he was not explored as a character and only made 2 appearances in the New Adventures. Even the TAS tie comics gave Crane some development. Anyway, I am just ranting. I just wish Crane was utilised more effectively in comics. Is there any chance of you making a video about The Ventriloquist one day?

[@SerumLake]

I did make some notes about the Ventriloquist but I’m not sure if it’s be a substantial enough video. Part of the issue is that he hadn’t been around for more than a few years when he appeared in BTAS, so there wasn’t much source material to draw from. I think they even got his name wrong (Albert instead of Arnold) but that may have been one of the tie-in comics. I’d have to double check!

[@SerumLake]

I think that name predates the Resident Evil games. I’m going to have to dig through my BTAS comics and double check that!

[@fictiontheorizer4253]

I feel like the problem with Scarecrow is that he's too limited. He doesn't have a bunch of different weapons to expand the kind of antagonist he is, or the threat he possesses, and his personality isn't too dissimilar from the average goon that Batman fights. It doesn't help that he isn't actually scary the way that Joker is actually funny, or Babydoll is actually cute, or Mad Hatter is actually mad. They would have to go above and beyond to make him stand out at this point.

[@knoxure]

​@@fictiontheorizer4253 I would recommend that you read Batman: Scarecrow, Year One- the story an amazing job fleshing him out as a character. I do agree with the fact that Scarecrow "fights" overall don't have much potential since his whole gimmick is weakening his foes with fear gas and taking advantage of them. I feel like the problem with him feeling like a limited character is due to how underutilized he is and how with most of his appearances- he's just kinda there. He holds a lot of potential, and in Year One- he shares a lot of similarities to Batman, almost serving as a warped reflection. I feel like the only way to really "fix" Scarecrow is to just have him appear more, have more writers expand and explore his character and the interesting dynamic he has with Batman. Again, the character holds a lot of potential, all he needs is for writers to tap into it.

[@fictiontheorizer4253]

​@@knoxure Well that's part of the problem. His fights aren't all that interesting. His torture segments are, but he's not the kind of guy who pulls them off subtly or with authority if things go wrong. And the problem with Revenge Villains is that eventually they run out of victims, unless they start targeting by type. Personally, I think they need to drop the idea of him as a in your face sadist, or a cringing coward. Either he's comfortable doing his dirty work from a distance, or he's a true monster who can deal with people up close and personal. Either one of these things would be easy to pull off, and the former wouldn't even require changing the character that much, relatively speaking. Either way, adding a different tactic once in a while would greatly improve his bag of tricks. Even altering his fear gas so its effect is more subtle than full blown hallucinations, could make for a vastly different story than what we've seen before. If Scarecrow isn't going to become a horror figure like the Joker, then he needs to play to the strengths of his method of attack which is subtly. I shouldn't know that something is up with the way people are acting until much later in the story.

[@cyclopsboxhead5318]

That monster men connection was so unexpected but SO COOL!!! Also hearing Ti Templeton's explanation for the new look never gets old. Jonathan Crane believing he's a dead man walking is SO GENIUS and it's honestly shocking we haven't gotten that in comics yet.

[@SerumLake]

Imagine if Hugo Strange had experimented on The Scarecrow and made him this way. There was a story in Legends of the Dark Knight that was kinda similar…

[@MasterOfTheLemons]

I just can't believe that the BTAS Scarecrow and TNBA Scarecrow are the same man. Most of the redesigns I can accept as just stylistic changes, but the new scarecrow (which is AWESOME) seems like just a totally different character. Talks differently, his schemes are darker, and he's got a totally different build and is like a whole foot taller than Crane. The ambiguity of that is REALLY unnerving, that he could just be a copycat and we actually have no idea who, or _what_ , he is. Best redesign by far!

[@SerumLake]

I do like the idea that he’s a second scarecrow. I couldn’t imagine Henry Polic’s voice coming out of that design.

[@mattboy5296]

Arkham Scarecrow is similar, the way he was depicted in Asylum and Knight are radically different, but there is an explanation for his change in appearance with Killer Croc mauling him to near death. But that doesn’t explain his change in voice unless he got vocal cord surgery, and it made him sound different.

[@MAHAManiac1]

The thought of Scarecrow thinking he can use his PHD and extensive knowledge of fear to become a criminal only to have him wear a mask, surprise people, and then shoot them is HILARIOUS!!!

[@Perdix64]

I remember one explanation given by Pastra is that he did commit suicide, neared to death and the rope snapped, he found death so horrific that he made himself look like that purposefully, he even decided to keep the noose as a reminder of what happened to him.

[@plasticweapon]

is pastra a kid in a schoolyard?

[@Perdix64]

@@plasticweapon a KZbinr who loves horror…

[@theshadowwalker9672]

​@@Perdix64Oh please, tell me about it.

[@_Tzer]

hey a pastra enjoyer nice

[@MarioMastar]

I kind of feel like the whole "almost killed himself" thing sounds so ... new age fanfictiony. There's no indication that he was "suicidal" anymore than the other arkham members or even out in the open and given both allusions to botch suicide look like they're from like Gen -Z era stuff, it just doesn't really fit with the "lore" of Batman and his villains. The closest we got to a villain even contemplating self destruction was ... well Roxy Rocket for the literal thrill and ultimate high, and Mr Freeze who chose not to be saved to atone for his crimes and be with his one true love again. Just having Scarecrow randomly almost kill himself though... leaves a very "lol Gen Z humor" bad taste in my mouth... Even if you could make a compelling argument that Scarecrow may be so afraid of his own toxin applying to him that he feels suicide is the only escape and he thus wakes up in a near comatose state as a result, I'd rather hear it from the official authors that that's the direciton they want to go with the character, than a fanfiction.

[@ScrambledAndBenedict]

I always liked to think, that enough repeated exposure to those chemicals rotted away his body and mind, to the point he's not even wearing a costume or acting a part anymore: he's now a literal monster just lashing out.

[@DisneyFanatic2364]

"Power, money, to buy more books!" Wow, I'm in the wrong line of work.

[@gadiesandlentlemen]

exactly my thoughts

[@michaelandreipalon359]

It may still be a crime, but man, is it a far nobler crime than just traumatizing civvies.

[@meltdownremix1996]

BTAS scarecrow was really just a cackling maniac without the depth he could have enjoyed on this show of all things, but the tie-in comics give him some very interesting stuff that could make for btas worthy episodes! He finds a struggle between truly, genuinely caring about Education so much it hurts, yearning to not be the scarecrow, but an honest and nurturing teacher... But he just can't help himself. He can't help being torn between incompatible desires. It's such a shame that not only there wasn't any stories like this for him again even within the dcau, but that him being a professor altogether has been tossed out of the window in favor of just making him another scary psychologist, just another Hugo Strange (when he's not simply reduced to a Fear Gas dispenser). It would put a very unique spin on him to revisit this aspect for deeper stories and characterization, I think.

[@AlriikRidesAgain]

"Hello Child~". Yeah, Crane taught Quinn. There's few things that can tear a doctor away from their rants, and one of those things is seeing someone they helped mentor.

[@deslacooda]

Zombie Scarecrow forever. Man I hated Joker's redesign due to lack of the character I was used to (subjective of course) but Scarecrow's was perfik. A villain that revolves around fear should embody it..also Scarecrow was actually my nickname when I was a teen (I was so happy it stuck)

[@Inferno144]

Useing Jeffrey Combs as the New Batman Adventures voice actor was such a genius decision. That mans voice drips with fear, with manipulation. How he chooses his words and hangs on them with that elevation as if vibrating with joy.

[@FunkatronicGeek]

I've become a big fan of his in recent years after realizing he's played so many characters in both live action and cartoons. He's done so many characters in Star Trek. He plays Scarecrow much like Weyoun but a lot more menacing

[@NotMyRealName6]

Yeah, Scarecrow needed that.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Hence the Question.

[@edmonblackmouth2743]

Love the idea that the Scarcrow, the Master of Fear, got Cotard's syndrome from a failed execution and now doesn't fear death because in his mind he's already dead.

[@nooneinparticular5256]

Alright, I have a story idea for Scarecrow's zombie transition. After so much exposure & testing of his fear toxin, he's finding himself developing an immunity to it, and finding it difficult to even feel fear at all. He even goes back to the home of his childhood trauma--the old chapel full of crows--and he still feels nothing. He becomes frustrated, but spending time in a chapel again gets him thinking about the professed 'fear' of god as a way of "loving" god. And his research leads him to following the history of an infamous Methodist preacher, Father Gorrister. According to legend, Gorrister grew frustrated with how few were showing up to his masses, and how they seemed so concerned with their day-to-day lives (rather than their spiritual lives). He did something to give the townsfolk nightmares of hell, to scare them enough to repent. This seemed to work for a time, until a gang of bounty hunters entered the town, and the people paid them to get rid of Gorrister. The gang beat him, skinned his head, and nailed him to a cross in a field of crops, where he died cursing the people he claimed to have cared for. Crane finds some truth to this legend, and finds the skin (which had been preserved as a trophy). He steals his skin, his robe and his hat, but is caught by the decendants of the gang, and hung. He's about to die, when the noose around his neck breaks. He hears the curses left by Father Gorrister, and feels the fear he spread again. He feels truly alive once more, and full of "love." And he returns to Gotham to spread that "love" once again.

[@ladyaceina]

im glad we have no official explanation makes him all the scarier fitting of the master of fear

[@AnAverageGoblin]

it would be fucked up if TNBA Scarecrow was a patient that was tortured and turned into someone that thought they were Scarecrow

[@SerumLake]

I like that idea

[@changvasejarik62]

Gives me a idea for sequel to lock up.

[@raideurng2508]

When you want someone sinister to voice your character, you get Jeffery Combs.

[@gatodestructo4933]

I dunno how to word this properly, but there was a similar change in the Scarecrow's design, and personality in the Arkham games as well. In Arkham Asylum, he was a massive threat to be sure, however he was still a little goofy. That was until he was brutalized by Killer Croc. The encounter leaving him scarred, and deformed broke him, and much like in the DCAU, his appearance, and demeanor changed. Perhaps a similar encounter happened in the DCAU.

[@SerumLake]

You summarised that very nicely! Ty Templeton says that he planned on the Scarecrow getting chemical burns on his face - an accident that he would blame on Batgirl - but it never came to pass.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

​@@SerumLakeBetter Batgirl than Jason Todd being why the Penguin changing his look.

[@kode.7637]

5:07 Good evening child. Still has his manners.

[@changvasejarik62]

Not having manners just gives the joker more reason to kill you.

[@jamesfriesen4203]

5:54 it makes perfect sense and I'm guessing scarecrow is a big fan of HP Lovecraft

[@Jdove-fk4ii]

Any video covering my favourite batman villain I like and the quality of the video is honestly great your channel is gonna go far you have a really good voice for narration

[@SerumLake]

Thank you, that’s very kind of you to say!

[@shorewall]

The explanation is simple. Crane decided that he wanted to actually look scary. :D

[@vaegontargaryen9203]

I always preferred pumpkin head scarecrow. The fear of victory I think was one of the times I remember most vividly being freaked out by the show. I always found Henry Pollock’s voice in this role more threatening. I also like the idea that unmasked the scarecrow the master of fear underneath the mask being nothing more than a physically unimposing fearful man. Having him look ghoulish underneath the mask as well kind of under cuts the dichotomy between his persona and who you actually is.

[@dreamquesttv]

I'm in total agreement. Henry Polic's Scarecrow is the closest to the Scarecrow of the comics and he was both underrated and underutilized.

[@Naoto-kun1085]

I also agree!! And while I adore the TNBA design, something about his over-the-top personality in the previous phases really appealed to me. I loved that his desire to be feared comes from his narcissism and a sense of superiority due to his intellect, I felt it added a bit of depth to his character!

[@roberthunter6122]

5:05 I love how he practically does a 180 on his attitude to Harley, then back again to batman. xD

[@VALonYouTube]

Thank you so much for this video. I've been a BTAS (and DCAU) fan for years and there are tidbits of information referenced in the video about the Scarecrow's TNBA transformation that I was not aware of until now.

[@madhat2k]

The original design looked more like a Freakazoid character than something you'd expect to see in BTAS.

[@vaegontargaryen9203]

Yes he kind of looks like the cousin of candle Jack.

[@FunkatronicGeek]

@@vaegontargaryen9203 "I'm going to need more rope"

[@agentblackbird9435]

I haven’t even watched this series but this is the second video I’ve seen by you and I’m enjoying it

[@SerumLake]

Thank you! I hope you find the time to watch the show as well

[@anitabath8315]

Something I like about the new batman adventures design that I like is how it reminds me of the design of Caleb from blood. It’s mainly the hat.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Ophelia... nooooooOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[@seanwieland9763]

2:10 "It's not about the money. It's about sending a message. Everything burns."

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Always with those hilarious in hindsight moments pertaining to TDK.

[@derelictgasstation]

The fact the original scarecrow just went "boo" *bang* is hilarious

[@smashbother5684]

I see a little bit of Batman Beyond aesthetics in this Scarecrow design. The face being partially shadowed into a backdrop was used in Mr. Freeze, Robert Vance, and the news reporters, etc, in that show.

[@SeasideDetective2]

I was excited to learn that the Scarecrow is, like Batman's top foes, from the Golden Age! I always assumed he was created in the 1970s or '80s. With Michael Keaton returning as Batman, I want to see Tim Burton's take on this wonderful, underrated villain! I believe that the right portrayal could make Dr. Crane scarier and more sadistic than even the Joker.

[@SerumLake]

I’d be very interested in seeing Tim Burton return to the franchise. Blockbuster movies have changed quite a bit since the 80s, so I bet he’d make something quite different.

[@SeasideDetective2]

@@SerumLake As a matter of fact, I want to see BATMAN TRIUMPHANT - an aborted film from nearly 25 years ago - finally get made. It would be fascinating to see how Burton's version of Gotham City had changed in the past three decades - and, of course, how Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne had changed. I'm actually working on a version of the script that imagines a 68-year-old Bruce slowly dying of cancer, reconciling with Vicki Vale and Selina Kyle, and training his son to be the new Batman after he is gone. Along the way, he'd deal with the guilt of both his parents' deaths and his killings of the Joker and various other criminals.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Well, even if we can't get a movie (blame The Flash 2023 for that), at least we're having those '89 comics.

[@wilhelmtheconquerer6214]

My "perfect" scarecrow design would be a torn straightjacket, a noose around his neck, a sack over his head with an incorporated gas mask and finally a leather gauntlet with syringes strapped to his wrist. Some hay poking out of the seems of the straightjacket might also be a nice addition to further sell the "scarecrow"-look

[@Taitosalad]

I actually like the idea of scarecrow being scared and wanting to become scarier as a means of changing design and maybe a means of coping. What if Crane had a near death experience that haunted him possibly an attempted murder framed as a suicide which failed resulting in the noose in his new fit.

[@Jaxvidstar]

Jeffrey Combs aka the most seen cloned vorta in Star Trek: DS9. Could've been a opportunity for a explanation in a Batman Beyond comic episode if the body of BTAS Krane was discovered. To introduce the idea of that zombie crow to be resurface again.

[@sjmhadsock4586]

Having him be played by Jeffrey Combs helps too

[@sonicgen20]

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Crane just wanted to keep updating his scarecrow costume to make it scarier and scarier.

[@yasup9442]

His new look may be referencing the "Hat Man" people claim to see when hallucinating.

[@blizzardblast101]

I love it when fans give a better if not darker explanation, whether or not it's considered cannon.

[@dirge7459]

The fan comic version actually feels more grounded, in that Scarecrow killing himself/being sentenced to death and then being revived, paved the way for an entirely new, more darker persona, which in turn fit well with the new redesign. The canon explanation makes no sense and was also tied to what should be a non-canon event tie in comic.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

What about Templeton's?

[@WillScarlet16]

I believe the earliest version of the Scarecrow was also something of a Riddler knockoff who left bits of old nursery rhymes as clues.

[@DocBruceBanner]

Scarecrow predates Riddler by almost a decade.

[@camerondodge2070]

To this day, I want to see a story written that features Hugo Strange, Professor Milo, and Scarecrow. All three have used fear toxins in their crimes (and in that order), have connections to horror themes/imagery (Strange with his monster men and that time he pretended to be a ghost, Milo and his werewolf formula, Scarecrow's whole thing), and it would just be fun to see them either combine their talents or try to scare the others to death in increasingly ghastly ways. We're never going to get that because Milo is forgotten, and Scarecrow and Strange are almost never used to their full potential, but it's nice to dream.

[@gen8901]

Scarecrow used guns..? Wow do I ever learn from you haha.(Here from a recent community post link btw)

[@J.J.Jameson_of_Daily_Bugle]

I think change between Scarecrow's first and second costume can be rationalized by him simply making a new costume to appear more intimidating, as he was now full-blown career villain. His New Adventure design was just cool design I guess, however it's worth nothing that they also changed how his powers work. Here he wasn't inducing fear in people, his gas would actually take away people's fear, making them reckless, and in a way it made him even more dangerous villain.

[@AYVYN]

I believe the most menacing villains are the ones hidden away, inconceivable and indefinite. Court of Owls behind their influence and prestige, Professor Pyg behind the disregard for the impoverished, and Scarecrow hides behind your own mind’s deterioration.

[@_Tzer]

scarecrow making himself look different seems in character for him if people get well adjusted to his look they wont fear him as much.

[@kaylaturnis9486]

I had first seen Scarecrow in The Challenge Of The Super Friends series where he was apart of Lex Luthor's Legion Of Doom along with Sinestro, The Riddler, Giganta, Gorilla Grodd, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Toy Man, Black Manta, Bizzaro, and Brainiac! Those were the days! However, it was the mad scientist version of Lex Luthor who lead the Leigon Of Doom and not the corrupt, businessman version who came years later, and their base reminded me a lot of Darth Vader's helmet!!!

[@randomness5986]

Personally, I don't care much for Scarecrow's final design. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the character, I hate that it's supposed to be the same character as we saw in BTAS. What was so great about the "Pumpkin Head" design is that it's very unassuming; even when out of costume, Crane doesn't look like much of a threat. But the stuff that he does is genuinely terrifying. He's walking nightmare fuel wrapped in a frankly adorable package. Not to mention Crane losing his accent is just so dang tragic😭 My point is that the Scarecrow never had to be visually terrifying to work as a villain in this franchise. What made him so scary was his knowledge of fears and how to weaponize them to further his goals. Then TNBA comes out and turns this scrawny, unassuming madman into a literal monster both inside and out... Why? At the very least, I don't think they had to go so hard. Personally I think it's just way too much, especially since we've gotten no official explanation for why his appearance changed so drastically.

[@sasha1mama]

"Zombie" Scarecrow looks like a Mike Mignola lend. Which says a lot about how unnerving they wanted him; Mike's renowned for his heavy use of shadow in favor of color shading. Should've gone for a deeper voice actor, though. You expect a grating, scratchy rasp to rattle up out of that gullet like the rumble of a shifting gravestone...not Dexter the Librarian AI. "Pumpkinhead" is the most recognizable (and essential) version, to me. It just...it's *right,* you know? That's what you think of when you imagine an evil scarecrow.

[@AmericanBrit9834]

Mr. Reanimator was a fantastic choice for his new voice!

[@persephoneblack888]

Motivated to do crime to get money for books? I can understand that haha 😂 I never knew the original origin story from the comics, only the ones from the animated series. I really liked the creepy scarecrow with the noose necktie. That was always a favorite of mine.

[@jamesmcdavid1673]

5:06 Hi Harley.

[@WolfJarl]

The fact Scarecrow was voiced by Jeffrey Combs, The Reanimator himself, in The New Batman Adventures added a ton to the character. Even funnier with the admittedly terrible implication that TMNT tied to his appearance change, is that Combs also voiced the Rat King in TMNT 2012, who was another deranged scientist character.

[@knuckson8304]

My fav batman villain, I wish the scarecrow appeared in more episodes

[@nicholasbrunell8210]

Cards on the table, I never really liked the 3rd design, mostly because it didn’t make sense to me. The man uses aerosolized hallucinogens to make his victims see their worst fears. Why would he need to put so much effort into scaring people with a costume when said costume would already be morphed into something animatedly more terrifying through the victim's warped perception of him? That aside, I never knew about the connection with the Monster Men. Thanks for shinning a light on that.

[@melancholyentertainment]

@@supremegroden3021 I’d hardly call any variation of the fear toxin a “lame crutch” or the creator of it a “dumbass”. If anything the self-proclaimed master of fear should be above leaning on a scary costume. Beyond that the third costume just comes across as trying too hard to look scary to me. I always found the more subtle bag head design more genuinely unsettling as a kid.

[@CosmicPsychonauts]

I love how the silhouette of his final design is the same as the hat man which is an actual boogyman from deliriant trip reports.

[@mrheroprimes]

From what I understand it is between the events of Btas and the new Batman adventures jonathan Crain decided to relocate to a Two different city in another state and got up to his shenanigans with fear toxin, But because he was arrested by regular police he was actually put on trial properly and considering a fear toxin is basically a chemical weapon he was probably tried for domestic terrorism And and probably murder which is probably what got him the death penalty

[@HobGungan]

Am I the only one who absolutely LOATHES the NBA redesign of Scarecrow and vastly prefers his BTAS MK2 design (Fear of Victory onward)?

[@SerumLake]

I don’t loathe it, but I do prefer the pumpkin head design.

[@The_Phantasm]

No but you are in the vast minority.

[@obsidianblack7249]

Then there was his and Mad Hatters nursery rhyme battle in the long halloween.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

I really need to reread those comics.

[@Maniac536]

His superpower is that he’s voiced by J Combs

[@chikken2]

a perfect voice actor for scarecrow in TNBA would be Ron Perlman, his voice for the lich in AT perfectly fits him

[@michaelandreipalon359]

For me, there's Keith Silverstein, although he might sound way too similar to his Johann Liebert from the superlative English dub for Monster.

[@Xehanort10]

That's my second favourite Scarecrow look next to Arkham Knight's.

[@Beefaroni_Bert]

i honestly wonder if Crane is even the scarecrow anymore. His voice and accent are so different across the show that it made me question as a kid if it was even the same guy underneath. Maybe its really not? Maybe crane really did die by hanging and someone took his place. it could explain the different voice, body type, and even why he wesrs the noose. People think crane is dead, whats scarier than dressing up as someone everyone believed was dead?

[@wulf1046]

It's like his change in the Arkham games where he was changed after Killer Croc dragged him into the sewers in arkham asylum.

[@ThayneGill]

I’ve actually heard of another origin from Ty Templeton of the Redesign, basically Scarecrow was horribly disfigured following an explosion inadvertently caused by Batgirl, so his mask may have been his real face.

[@marcusblacknell-andrews1783]

To me, the Scarecrow is one of Batman’s greatest villains. The Master of Horror and 😰

[@DavidHammond-xf3gb]

I did like that the video game 'Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu' implied the hanging origin of this new look. When after Scarecrow is defeated and gets his noose snagged, he states while choking: "Maybe this time... the reaper will come."

[@JackMcHugh-m8c]

Scarecrow being nice to harely 5:06

[@lancevance60]

I'm a Pumpkin Head appreciator. Far more disturbing than the zombie design.

[@nataliapanfichi9933]

love his transatlantic accent he sounds like a new jersey dude trying to sound like a posh british man.

[@justanothercollector43]

This channel is 🔥

[@Ingenuity009]

Never Fear is a phenomenal episode and one of the best from Vol4

[@razzledazzle3001]

Cool thing I wanted to bring up but at 7:55 the art is from some kids chapter books and in 3 of them show an unmasked Jonathan Crane whos completely fine. I know those books are not canon but it's still cool.

[@speckielishouspie8942]

From BTAS Scarecrow to even the modern day interpretations like the Arkham games, one thing is clear he embodies the fear of not knowing who you're really dealing with. That you can't trust your own mind and that no matter how you "conquer" those fears they will always lurk in the dark recesses of your subconscious watching and waiting for any opportunity to haunt you.

[@Dhf0]

I was first introduced to Batman comics though the Lego game but now I’m so happy I know most of them

[@deathstrokeclanrules8562]

6:10-18+6:32-40 "When I was alive, I might have been a little naughty. But after they killed me, I became something much, much worse...the stuff nightmares are made of." -Freddy Krueger

[@barriehannon6857]

i dunno his original scare method sounds rather effective to me

[@ChrisBear1989]

Its hard to imagine someone being obsessed with fear they use it as a gimmick bringing out your worst fears and such. Its entertaining to watch but really messed up realistically.

[@ftwsam2246]

I like the idea from the Arkham games, where he gets attacked in the asylum by killer croc and reappears in Knight disfigured.

[@42ndLife]

I was hoping you were going to tough upon his apearance in "Happy Halloween Scooby Doo" were Prof Crane takes on an Hannibal Lectre role ala "Silence of the Lambs"

[@marshallkelin1716]

Man I can’t believe they put that design in a “kids” show. Really freaky, and it had to be some inspiration for the Arkham knight scarecrow yeah?

[@JanetStarChild]

Personally, I don't consider B:TAS and TNBA as being the same universe; so, I don't have to reconcile all the strange differences with in-canon explanations.

[@Tbone680]

That Legacies of the DCAU comic came out on my birthday!

[@B4dr4bbit]

I do love all 3 designs, though somemthing about the first just makes me wanna see it used again, even if on a diffrent character.

[@melancholyentertainment]

I always found the first design the creepiest. The second one looked much more human, and the final design was just trying too hard even to childhood me. Too “ooo scary”. I was genuinely unsettled by the bag head with no eyes and the scrawny, gangly figure. And the way the red fear gas came from his pointy fingertips.

[@nameynamename3758]

ooooooor, he simply decided to switch things up

[@Murdercide626]

I personally like to think that the most likely explanation for Scarecrow's different look is the simplest one: Crane realized that his previous costume(s) wasn't frightening enough, so he amped it up, resulting in him looking more like a corpse than a proper scarecrow. No trauma or near death experience, just a guy wanting to be respected and, most of all, feared. As for the different voice? A simple retcon, like several other characters that got different VAs in TNBA. lol

[@alejandrocaudillo2993]

Zombie corpse scarecrow is the better version with Jeffrey combs is easily my definitive scarecrow for animated versions

[@garbagegremlins4707]

I love how I really cannot escape Jeffery combs. He’s just everywhere.

[@SerumLake]

Don’t. Look. Behind. You…

[@vaegontargaryen9203]

I once saw a Star Trek meme where it was the Alien who explains to Picard that her race seeded the entire Milky Way galaxy with life. The meme Hey Sir explaining this and then says and so we filled the galaxy with life and that is why every race has a Jeffrey combs and sometimes more than one.

[@garbagegremlins4707]

@@SerumLake oh man I can’t believe he followed me to my terrible stand up show again… you’d think if he insisted on coming he’d at least laugh at my jokes

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Not to me. He's good, but I think he's still quite niche compared to Steve Blum, Christina Valenzuela, Jennifer Hale, and Billy West. Then again, I'm not that big on Star Trek, and most likely never will be, Star Wars Legends fanboyisms aside.

[@l0stndamned]

The lack of a team-up between Scarecrow and Hugo Strange in the show was a missed opportunity.

[@iceluvndiva21]

Eh, scarecrow's pumpkin look is my favorite. Something about it feels like the right balance of visually scary & just ridiculous.