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Everyone has something to fear.

Scarecrow is a recurring antagonist in the Injustice series, serving as a cameo antagonist in Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013) and a major antagonist in Injustice 2 (2017).

About Scarecrow

Jonathan Crane was the son of a psychologist who researched the emotion of fear. Unable to find proper test subjects, he used his own son for his experiments. Jonathan was locked inside a tiny, dark room while his father would study the effects on his son. During one such experiment, Jonathan’s father collapsed from a heart attack and died, leaving him locked inside the room in which he was trapped. His father’s employers later called the police, concerned about his prolonged absence. The police discovered, to their horror, that Jonathan was still trapped inside the test chamber, surviving days of starvation and terror. As a result of this unfortunate turn of events, Jonathan was traumatized for much of his childhood, until he came up with the idea of controlling fear to avoid living in it. Obsessed with this goal, he became a psychologist with a concentration in phobias. He would use his patients as unwitting test subjects for his project which he called “Fear Gas”, a plant-based toxin which causes its victims to hallucinate their worst fears. He was suspended from college when he dumped a bucket full of live tarantulas on a student with arachnophobia. Jonathan would then adopt the alias “The Scarecrow”, after which he became a genuine threat to Gotham City, New Jersey, where he would take criminal measures to perfect his fear gas. He would become a terrifying adversary of Batman soon after.

Overview

Scarecrow plays on the fears of the unknown to inflict terror on his victims. An anarchist obsessed with using chemistry and psychology to spread and study fear. He joins the Society to sow panic on a global scale.

Appearance

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Scarecrow's appearance in this game is heavily inspired by his Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) appearance: he wears raggedy brown garbs over his chest and stitched brown pants, a hangman's noose over his neck, with his mask having both a hood over it and needle-like stitching in it, with gas filters on both sides of his mouth. On his right hand, he wears a customized glove with several syringes attached to them connected to a tube filled with his fear toxin.

Injustice 2

Injustice2ScarecrowHumanForm

Scarecrow's ordinary appearance

Scarecrow - Fear Gas

Scarecrow while fear toxin is present

Scarecrow's appearance in this game is vastly different: his normal appearance appears to have been inspired by his appearance in the Dark Knight Trilogy, in that he wears a white lab coat over a formal suit, a burlap bag (that features three gas filters, one on each side of his jaw, and a third in the middle, over his mouth, as well as a pair of telescope-like lenses over his eyes) over his face and a loose hangman's noose around his neck; his in-game playable appearance is far more terrifying due to the effects of his Fear Toxin (although his true human form appears briefly during one of his attacks): he takes an appearance of a tall, nightmarish creature, with features resembling those of a scarecrow and a skeletal corpse, his eyes and mouth glow bright orange, and in-game, he fights with a chained hook-like sickle.

To the right is the base skin for Scarecrow, Fear Gas. He is wearing his default gear. The remainder of his costumes can be found on his gallery page.

Biography

Injustice Comic

During Year 1, the Joker had kidnapped Scarecrow and brought him to Metropolis to develop his fear toxin for Joker's scheme. Joker then subjected Crane to his own Joker gas, seemingly killing him. His body was later found by Flash at the city docks, which he showed to Batman.

During Year 5, Scarecrow and several other members of Batman's rogues gallery battle Robin, indicating that he is still alive.

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Scarecrow appears in the Arkham Asylum stage as a transition hazard appearing in cell A8. He injects the player/opponent with his Fear Toxin, takes on a massive appearance, beats up the player/opponent before sending him/her into the Asylum Kitchen/Theatre.

Scarecrow also appears in one of the S.T.A.R. Labs Missions belonging to Batman. He escapes Arkham Asylum and later takes control of Raven and gets her to fight Batman. As well as in the background of Nightwing's S.T.A.R. Labs Mission, Look Out, where he is tied up, struggling to get out.

Injustice 2

Scarecrow is seen in the first scene in the swamp as a member of Grodd's society, transporting his Fear Gas to an unknown location. Deadshot becomes impatient over the process, though Scarecrow assures him that the gas will be delivered by tomorrow. When Poison Ivy captures a spying Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Harley Quinn. He sends Deadshot away and goes over to investigate. When Poison Ivy finishes explaining her motives in joining the Society, the trio of heroes escape via knife Harley had, and Harley battles Ivy while Black Canary and Green Arrow take on Scarecrow. While Harley emerges victorious, Scarecrow had managed to subdue Green Arrow and Black Canary with his fear gas. He attempts to dose Harley with some of the gas before Harley mocks the attempt, claiming she used to sniff the gas for fun. This hardly fazes Scarecrow, claiming that he had a new and upgraded batch of Fear Toxin, and upon giving Harley a second dose, Harley envisions Scarecrow in his monstrous form. Scarecrow compliments her high tolerance before engaging in a fight with her, with Harley emerging victorious. Upon his defeat, he gases Harley again, so she sees the Joker, but he is defeated, breaking the illusion. He is then seen escaping the swamp on a boat from Swamp Thing.

He is later seen gassing Wonder Woman, so she envisions Superman attacking her, stating she corrupted him and manipulated his grief. Wonder Woman manages to break the illusion by stabbing the illusion of Superman before Scarecrow shows himself and gives her another dose to once again appear in his monstrous form. He is defeated by her, and he tries in a last-ditch effort to give her another dose before Wonder Woman slashes his wrist, finally bringing him into submission. Wonder Woman presumably leaves him behind to save Supergirl from Cheetah.

Along with the other members of the Society, he disbands once he learns that Brainiac will destroy the Earth rather than let them conquer it.

Powers and Abilities

Scarecrow is a master of intimidation and fear induction, using his own appearance, knowledge of psychology, and chemical creations to inspire terror in his victims, letting their own fears cripple and destroy them.

In his exaggerated monster form, Scarecrow uses a customized flail-type sickle to attack his opponents, grabbing them and pulling them towards him. The sickle is extremely long-ranged, reaching his opponent from afar. In this form, he also has fear powers of his own, as he can generate his specialized Fear Toxin, shooting it out of his mouth and from his hands.

Special Moves

  • Death Spin: Scarecrow lifts his chain up high in the air and spins it around, akin to a helicopter, attacking the opponent. He can either move forwards or backwards during this move. The Meter Burn variation has Scarecrow slam his sickle down, bouncing the opponent upwards for an extension of combos.
  • Scythe Grab: Scarecrow launches his sickle towards the opponent, grabbing them by the stomach then pulling them forcefully. The Meter Burn variation shows Scarecrow pulling his opponents closer with the sickle, grabs them by the neck, then blasts out Fear Toxin from his mouth into their face.
  • Toxin Breath: Scarecrow fires out a blast of Fear Toxin from his mouth towards the opponent, damaging them.
  • Fear-Ferno: Scarecrow uses his fear powers, summoning a wave of Fear Toxin from the ground-up. The Meter Burn variation has Scarecrow moving forward and summoning two waves.
  • Fear Toxin Scarecrow fires off a gigantic blast of energy from his hands, knocking the opponent away. It also does extra damage over time after hitting them.
  • Schizophrenia: Scarecrow grabs the opponent, then all of a sudden he teleports to both sides of them, as the two versions of himself (his exaggerated monster form and his regular form), and grabs his opponent's limbs. They then pull the limbs, snapping their bones, and then the "monster" Scarecrow slams them onto the ground as the "regular" Scarecrow vanishes.
  • Panic-Port: Scarecrow sinks into the ground, vanishing into a portal, to which he then reappears behind the opponent.

Character Trait

  • Inner Fear: Scarecrow's character trait ability is a trait that has a fear meter, which can be charged up to perform a devastating move.
    • If the Fear Meter is completely charged up, Scarecrow has the ability to perform Tramautize, a full screen move in which Scarecrow stomps the ground, sending a shockwave of energy that stuns the opponent. The Fear Meter can be charged up by doing any fear toxin-related moves, which includes almost all of Scarecrow's special moves.
    • This trait also does slight damage to the opponent over time whenever Scarecrow is close enough to them.
    • If legendary gear is equipped, Traumatize can be meter burned, resulting in one of two effects (depending on whether the player is playing online or in Multiverse mode): in multiverse mode, opponents will be prevented from using special attacks for a short time. In online mode, opponents controls will be reversed.

Other Moves

  • Grab: Scarecrow grabs his opponent, then uppercuts them with his sickle, spinning them around. He then uses his sickle to hook the shoulder of his opponent, and then forcibly pulls them towards the ground.

Super Move

  • Death Bed: Scarecrow uses his sickle to rip open a hole in reality, as crows come out to signal the coming of an even bigger chain coming from inside the rip. The opponent is then pulled into a graveyard, where a gigantic version of Scarecrow drags the opponent with the chain, smashing and pounding them into the ground twice. The move eventually ends with Scarecrow smashing the opponent downwards into a grave with their name engraved on the headstone.

Move List

Basic Attacks
Name PlayStation Xbox
Scarred Strike [ ■ ] [ X ]
Brutal Kick [ ▲ ] [ Y ]
Ground Shaker [ X ] [ A ]
Hideous Heel [ ← + ■ ] [ ← + X ]
Heavy Hook [ ← + ▲ ] [ ← + Y ]
Scythe Swipe [ ← + X ] [ ← + A ]
Soaring Crow [ → + ■ ] [ → + X ]
Hook Lunge [ → + ▲ ] [ → + Y ]
Scythe Slam [ → + X ] [ → + A ]
Side Cut [ ↓ + ■ ] [ ↓ + X ]
Rising Scythe [ ↓ + ▲ ] [ ↓ + Y ]
Spinning Fear [ ↓ + X ] [ ↓ + A ]
Air Attacks
Name PlayStation Xbox
Blade Bash [ ↑ + ■ ] [ ↑ + X ]
Cross Swipe [ ↑ + ▲ ] [ ↑ + Y ]
Swinging Scythe [ ↑ + X ] [ ↑ + A ]
Throws and Escapes
Name PlayStation Xbox
Forward/Reverse Throw [ ← / → ■ + X ] [ ← / → X + A ]
Back Throw [ ■ + X ] [ X + A ]
Roll Escape [ → → R2 ] [ → → RT ]
Up Air Escape [ ↑ + R2 ] [ ↑ + RT ]
Away Air Escape [ ← + R2 ] [ ← + RT ]
Combo Attacks
Name PlayStation Xbox
Hallucinations [ ■, ■ ] [ X, X ]
Dark Perception [ ■, ■, X ] [ X, X, A ]
Mind Tricks [ ■, ▲ ] [ X, Y ]
Subliminal Messages [ ■, ▲, X ] [ X, Y, A ]
Chemical Mayhem [ ← + ■, ▲ ] [ ← + X, Y ]
Fear Is Power [ ← + ■, ▲, ■ + X ] [ ← + X, Y, X + A ]
Another Experiment [ → + ■, X ] [ → + X, A ]
Delusional Episodes [ → + ■, X, X ] [ → + X, A, A ]
Deep Agony [ ▲, ▲ ] [ Y, Y ]
Grip On Reality [ ▲, ▲, → + X ] [ Y, Y, → + A ]
Nature of Horror [ ← + ▲, ▲ ] [ ← + Y, Y ]
Beware [ ← + ▲, , ■ ] [ ← + Y, Y, X ]
Be Afraid [ ← + ▲, , ■, X ] [ ← + Y, Y, X, A ]
Mind Over Body [ → + ▲, ■ ] [ → + Y, X ]
Lord of Despair [ → + ▲, ■, X ] [ → + Y, X, A ]
Overdose [ X, → + ▲ ] [ A, → + Y ]
Succumb To Fear [ X, → + ▲, ■ + X ] [ A, → + Y, X + A ]
Special Attacks
Name PlayStation Xbox
Death Spin [ ↓ , ← , ■ ] [ ↓ , ← , X ]
Scythe Grab [ ← , →, ■ ] [ ← , →, X ]
Toxin Breath [ ← , →, ▲ ] [ ← , →, Y ]
Fear-Ferno [ ↓ , ← , ▲ ] [ ↓ , ← , Y ]
Fear Toxin [ ↓ , ← , X ] [ ↓ , ← , A ]
Schizophrenia [ ↓ , ← , → , X ] [ ↓ , ← , → , A ]
Panic Port [ ↓ , ↑ ] [ ↓ , ↑ ]
Death Bed [ L2 + R2 ] [ LT + RT ]
Character Power (1st) and abilities
Name PlayStation Xbox
Inner Fear [ O ] [ B ]
Traumatize [ O ] [ B ]

Ending

After studying Brainiac's blood, I tweaked my fear toxin to exploit his alien biology. And as I gained control of his shattered mind, I also gained control of his ship. I began to explore Brainiac's enormous collection, soon realizing it was an unprecedented opportunity for study. Billions of species, from millions of worlds. Each with its own phobias and fears. Now, the Skull Ship is my laboratory. As it glides through the vast darkness of space, its collected beings are subjected to their worst nightmares. With each I study, my knowledge grows. It may take decades, but I will become the universe's greatest master of fear.

Trivia

  • Scarecrow's appearance in Injustice: Gods Among Us and stage transition in the same game is a reference to the 2009 video game, Batman: Arkham Asylum.
    • Scarecrow appears differently in the comic than he does in the game, most likely because he was not revealed as a stage transition character until some time after his initial appearance in the comic.
  • Scarecrow's voice actor, Robert Englund, is most well known for playing the famous slasher film character, Freddy Krueger, a demonic being that also feeds on fear.
    • Rober Englund also portrayed Freddy Krueger in Mortal Kombat (2011),another game from Netherrealm.
    • In fact, one of Scarecrow's intro quotes is "Welcome to your nightmare", which is a quote said by Freddy Krueger.
    • When a round ends, Scarecrow will occasionally say, "Now I'm playing with power", which is another quote said by Freddy Krueger.
    • Robert Englund has voiced DC villains before, specifically Felix Faust in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, as well as The Riddler in the animated series, The Batman.
    • Additionally, more (subtle and most likely unintentional) references to Freddy Krueger can be found in the design of Scarecrow's monster form and certain gear pieces, as well as his dialogue against other fighters.
      • Many of Scarecrow's color shaders are named after real-life phobias, and many radically change parts of his overall appearance. (Following the films' shift towards the more comedic aspects of Krueger, he often donned various different outfits and appearances; additionally, in an interview with Syfy [on Florida Today], Robert Englund revealed his unique idea [that features infinite possibilities] to make Freddy Krueger scary again: reimagine Krueger inside the minds of children related to his original victims [or children whom have merely heard the stories of Krueger's terror], so they're haunted by what they envision him as.)
        • Certain "head" gear pieces give him a dark fedora. (A dark fedora is one of Krueger's iconic pieces of clothing, the others being his iconic weapon of choice [a right-handed glove that features knife blades integrated into the fingertips] and a dark red/dark green-striped sweater; additionally, it could possibly be a throwback to Scarecrow's radically revamped design in The New Batman Adventures.)
          • Other "head" gear pieces give him a boney-looking "face" that matches his "scarred skin", and a long, pointed nose. (In A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Freddy's face was given bone structure, and a long, pointed nose in an effort to make him resemble a warlock [also known as a "male witch"].)
        • Certain "body" gear pieces give him a trench coat (albeit tattered and torn). (In Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Krueger is given a dark blue trench coat as part of his updated design; additionally, it could possibly be a throwback to Scarecrow's radically revamped design in The New Batman Adventures.)
        • Certain "leg" gear pieces can make Scarecrow be either taller or (slightly) shorter than most other characters.
      • Much of Scarecrow's dialogue against other fighters often includes him making sarcastic wise-cracks based on his opponent (example: Wonder Woman: Fearing me would be prudent. Scarecrow: Ooo, I'm shaking in my boots.) (From A Nightmare of Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors onwards, many of the films shifted in tone to emphasize the comedic, wise-cracking aspects of Krueger.)
        • Against Joker, though, two pieces of his dialogue are more vengeful (Scarecrow: You stole Fear Toxin! Joker: An artist doesn't steal, he homages. Scarecrow: EITHER WAY, YOU OWE ME!). (Krueger [at one point in his life] married a loving wife and tried to live a normal life, but was secretly filled with a deep desire for retribution against those who wronged him in his life [as a child, he was bullied for being the "son of a hundred maniacs" {due to the fact that his mother, Amanda Krueger, a nun that worked at an asylum for the criminally insane, was accidentally locked in a room with 100 maniacs, was repeatedly raped and attacked over the holiday weekend, and when she was finally freed, she was barely alive and ultimately pregnant}, and grew up with an abusive alcoholic adoptive father], and, following his death, he was approached, and "resurrected", by the Dream Demons [whom offered him the chance to become their agent in the Dream World to continue his killing spree].)
      • Scarecrow's monster form features "scarred skin" that mimics the appearance of Krueger's scarred and burned skin. (Krueger's skin is heavily scarred due to him being burned alive by the wrathful parents of his child victims.)
      • Scarecrow's weapon of choice is a heavily-modified agricultural bagging hook. (In the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, he was the groundskeeper [as opposed to a power plant employee, like in the original] of Badham Preschool; additionally, it might be a nod to the villain "Candyman" [whom wields a large hook in place of his right hand and also feeds on fear], of the eponymous horror trilogy.)
  • The name of one of Scarecrow's combo attacks, "Fear is Power", is a quote that was said by Scarecrow (voiced by Jeffrey Combs) in the episode "Never Fear" of The New Batman Adventures.
    • The name of another of his combo attacks, "Grip on Reality", is another quote that was said by Scarecrow (voiced by Dino Andrade) in "Patient Interview Tape #4" from the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum.
  • How Scarecrow survived the Joker's gas is never explained, though it could be possible that it rather put him into a coma instead of killing him, especially considering the fact that he has developed a strong immunity to toxins.
    • This is given further credibility where, during one of his fights against Joker, he angrily demands that Joker owes him for stealing Fear Toxin, showing that he is fully aware of what happened.
  • The concept of Scarecrow's monster form being able to generate Fear Toxin is most likely a nod the storyline "As the Crow Flies", where he is secretly mutated by Dr. Linda Friitawa (aka, "Fright") who, under Penguin's orders, modified his genetic experiments (without his knowledge) and infect him with them, causing him to become a monster known as the "Scarebeast" with greatly enhanced strength, endurance and the ability to naturally produce Fear Toxin from himself (though, like Bruce Banner/Hulk, he needs to be under physical strain or duress to change into the Scarebeast).
    • More references to this are in Scarecrow's gear sets, where certain pieces are labelled "[Gear] of the Scarebeast".
  • In one of his encounters with Atrocitus, he states that Sinestro seeks Scarecrow's power, and Scarecrow responds by saying he'd gladly wear Sinestro's Yellow Ring. This is most likely a nod to the "Blackest Night" storyline, where Scarecrow was temporarily inducted into the Sinestro Corps to combat the threat of the Black Lanterns (and, on a more personal level, to be able to feel fear again, as constant exposure to his various Fear Toxin formulas left him literally fearless, to the point only Batman could make him truly feel fear), only for Lex Luthor (consumed by the orange light of Avarice) to steal his Yellow Ring.
  • In one of his encounters with Batman, Scarecrow parodies Heath Ledger's famous Joker line, "Why so serious?" (Scarecrow: You reek of paranoia. Batman: I call it "vigilance". Scarecrow: Why so vigilant, Batman?)
  • A pre-fight interaction with Enchantress indicates a history between them where they betrayed one another.
  • A pre-fight interaction with Black Manta reveals that the latter used him for his fear toxin.
  • a pre-fight interaction with Swamp Thing reveals that they had fought previously, resulting in Swamp Thing losing to being gassed by fear toxin. Another interaction between them reveals that the fear toxin is plant-based.

External links

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Playable Characters
Injustice: Gods Among Us AquamanAresBaneBatmanBlack AdamCatwomanCyborgDeathstrokeDoomsdayFlashGreen ArrowGreen LanternHarley QuinnHawkgirlJokerKiller FrostLex LuthorNightwingRavenShazamSinestroSolomon GrundySupermanWonder Woman
DLC Characters BatgirlLoboMartian ManhunterScorpionZatannaZod
Injustice 2 AquamanAtrocitusBaneBatmanBlack AdamBlack CanaryBlue BeetleBrainiacCaptain ColdCatwomanCheetahCyborgDeadshotDoctor FateFlashFirestormGorilla GroddGreen ArrowGreen LanternHarley QuinnJokerPoison IvyRobinScarecrowSupergirlSupermanSwamp ThingWonder Woman
DLC/Preorder Characters AtomBlack MantaDarkseidEnchantressHellboyRaidenRed HoodStarfireSub-ZeroTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
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