Identity: Jonathan Crane – The Scarecrow

Origin & Backstory – 

Jonathan was born and raised in Gotham, his father was a award winning chemist named Walter H. Crane, and his mother an influential psychoanalyst named Amy Crane. Amy was a local of Gotham, having been born and raised in the city. While Walter was a local of Metropolis who came to Gotham for it’s superb Chemistry courses. It was at The University of Gotham that she met Walter, and the two soon fell in love. The pair decided after the conception of Crane to stay in Gotham, to be closer to Amy’s family.

However, at the age of three years old Amy died in a car crash in Gotham, and Walter, overcome with grief, threw himself into his work. He hoped to develop an anesthetic powerful enough to dull any pain, physical or emotional. After two years of work on this, however, he was approached by local thugs hoping to turn his chemical compound into something more sinister. He denied them, and because of his heroism he was killed, his lab burned to the ground. 

Jonathan was sent to live with his maternal grandmother, Harriet. There he learned the true meaning of Pain and Fear. Harriet was a religious zealot and a sadistic old woman, demanding utter obedience and perfection from Jonathan. As he grew older in Gotham, his peers ridiculed him for his skittish and shy behavior, and soon he became a social pariah. Though unfortunately for Jonathan, the true torture would begin in High School. 

They would take to calling him Scarecrow for his lanky and gaunt form, with a constant serious and melancholy appearance. He made only one friend in High School, named Oliver Kinsley. Oliver would attempt to pull Jonathan up from seclusion, and this culminated in a final event known as Prom. 

Jonathan would ask his high school crush to this dance, one Shannon Leary, only to have her publicly reject and humiliate him, and have her (unknown to Jonathan) boyfriend Bruce Turner, begin to physically beat the youth any chance he got. Because of his failure to find any social acceptance from his peers, Harriet took Jonathan’s punishment to the next level.

The days leading up to and after Prom, Harriet would take Jonathan to an abandoned church known as The Church of Saint George’s Redemption, and there she would lock him into the crumbling building, and ring a large bell to summon a swam of Crows that lived in the church. At first, these punishments would scare the young Jonathan greatly, but as time went on he found Harriet was correct in one thing. He found fear ebbing from him slowly, first of the crows and the church, then his grandmother, and finally of Bruce and his peers. 

Yet at the age of eighteen, he was freed of his sadistic grandmother’s grasp, and began going to The University of Gotham, and found he had a natural affinity for Chemistry and Psychology, following in the footsteps of his parents. After graduating with a Doctorate in Psychology and Master’s Degree in Chemistry, he began teaching at The University of Gotham as a Psychology professor. 

Year 1: The first year that Super Humans revealed themselves to the common people, Jonathan was still in college as a student, and finishing up his education. He had to admit, he was thankful to them for dealing with the parasitic alien threat, but felt about as much trust in them as he did towards the Government. He was a vocal supporter of Agencies rising up to create Contingency Plans in case our Hero's weren't actually Hero's after all.

Year 2: Jonathan was attending the Haly's Circus that fateful night that the Massacre took place. He didn't much care for social interaction or going out to events such as this, but a old friend named Oliver Kinsley pressured him into going out with him after having not seen each other in years. Both men survived, but Oliver was left far more traumatized than Jonathan. After they escaped the ensuing bloodbath, Jonathan bitterly told the frightened Oliver [i]THIS[/i] was why he didn't like to go out.

Jonathan had officially finished his education at the University of Gotham this year, and believed that the emergence of the Injustice Gang was simply more proof that those with these special abilities were to be carefully registered and looked after. His disdain for the near God like beings running rampant on Earth only grows. He spends a year relaxing and vacationing after the completion of his Education.

Year 3: Jonathan begins his first year as a Professor of Psychology, and after the arrival of Batman to ferociously put down The Joker, Jonathan begins to consider Batman not much better than the powered freaks of nature roaming the earth, such as Superman and Green Lantern. Though Jonathan did not go to the Circus of Strange, nor did Oliver pressure him to go this time, Jonathan heard it was a innocent enough affair. Though he has disdain for both Joker and Batman, his attention is primarily on Amazo, a machine powerful enough to even take on the Justice League. Jonathan begins to put his Faith into Science to bring accountability to the Powerful.

Year 4: Jonathan is now in his second year of teaching, and is eager for the events of the New Year to unfold. He has been working feverishly on Chemistry in his off time, having discovered rough notes left by his Father on how to make a powerful compound anesthetic. Jonathan believes he can tweak this compound into some form of neutralizing agent powerful enough even to detain Super Humans.

Powers & Abilities

-Near complete deadening of his fear response. 
-Mastery of Psychology and Chemistry.
-Increased Resilience to physical or emotional torture.

How is this character different?

I aim to explore Jonathan Crane as not only a villain, but as a person in general. I aim to make him an interesting antagonist as well as make him sympathetic as a character, and give realistic reason to his actions. 

What is your goal with this character?

My goal is to allow a creative outlet and interact with other DC fans, and try and increase my skills at exploring and interpreting The Scarecrow character.

Sample Post

An explosion echoed through the halls of Blackgate Penitentiary, and a man with a black crisp suit stepped through the rubble that used to separate the prisoners in the recreational yard from the citizens of Gotham. Upon his head sat a burlap mask that seemed the spitting image of fear, and on all sides of the man poured thugs with pistols and shotguns poured into the compound. The prisoners stared dumbfounded at first, before the realization of what was happening dawned on them.

The prisoners nearly as once rushed toward the opening in the wall, and just as quickly armed security personal rushed into the yard, barking orders into radios. As the thugs exchanged gunfire with the security forces, the man with the man seemed serenely calm, walking with careful footsteps forward toward the door leading inside the building. 

Inside the building he found nearly as much chaos as in the yard, the prisoners were rioting against the remaining guards, with a handful of thugs working quickly to shoot the cuffs off of the inmates. Yet as the man moved silently towards the armory, he found the door wide open with a group of six guards inside, frantically loading the weaponry in a panicked rush.

Yet as the incarnation of fear stepped into the room, the man turned to him slowly, as if sensing his presence. One man raised a assault rifle, shaking slightly as he aimed down the sights. The Scarecrow chuckled darkly, and a chill ran up the spine of the men closest to him. The Scarecrow slowly closed the door, locking it as he did. Yet as the oldest and most grizzled of the men stepped forward, pointing a shotgun, he snarled to the man in the suit.

[b]“You won’t get away with, freak! You want us to be scared of you..? Because we’re not!”[/b]

[b]“Oh..?”[/b] replied the Scarecrow, clenching his fists and allowing a yellow aerosol mist to shoot forth from a contraption on his wrists. As the air in the room began to get heavier and darker, the mans cold and calm voiced seemed to ring through the ears of his victims.

[b]“If you aren’t yet, you will be…”[/b]

Finally for the men trapped in the room with him, darkness descended over them, and demons overtook their minds.