University of Panels

18: Scarecrow

(Dr. Jonathan Crane)

 

Out of all the villains in Batman's rogues gallery, Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka the Scarecrow) may the most dangerous to the dark knight on a mental and psychological level. Ever since he was a child, Crane had always displayed a near-psychotic obsession with the concept of fear, as evidenced by him scaring birds as a hobby. His fascination with fear eventually drove him to attaining a position at Gotham University as a professor of psychology. But he was soon fired after the board of directors discovered him conducting unethical experiments on fear, using his own students as test subjects. Desperate to continue his research on what causes fear in others, Crane soon adopted the criminal identity of the Scarecrow, becoming one of the most notorious of all of Batman's enemies. 

 

While on the surface, he appears to be a scrawny guy with a gunny sack on his head, Scarecrow is not one to be underestimated. His most deadly weapon of his own design: Fear Toxin. A chemical hallucienogen that when exposed to, will cause its victims to experience their worst fears. Batman himself has been exposed to this toxin on more than one occasion, often causing him to relive the night his parents were murdered. With his complex knowledge of the human psyche, as well as his obsessive-compulsive need to spread fear to others, will Scarecrow be the one to cause the dark knight's mind to finally snap?