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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]
Psychology: Jonathan Crane is an expert in the field of psychology, specifically the study of anxiety disorders. 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.
  This character, team or organization, is or was primarily an enemy of the Batman, or members of the Batman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Batman Villains category." |
The Scarecrow is one of Dorothy Gale's companions on the way to the Emerald City in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. Rescued from a field where he was tormented by crows, the strawman, or straw-frog, joins Dorothy, in the hopes of acquiring a brain. Glinda appears to be smitten with him.
The Scarecrow puppet is differentiated from the regular Kermit puppet in that it is made from green burlap instead of felt.
 A close-up of Kermit's burlap "skin" |
 Glinda and the Scarecrow |
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