Watchtower Character Challenge Entry 02 - THE SCARECROW
Of the members of Batman's Rogues Gallery, none can be said to have more polarizing a career than the Scarecrow. By turns magnificent and pathetic, no one can accuse Dr. Jonathan Crane of being dull. He went through more costume changes than any of his fellow villains in the Batman Animated Series, got his own animality in the form of the Scarebeast, and Sinestro still refuses to give this man a ring. What the hell?!
Scarecrow is played by Matt, and I can think of no one else more qualified for the role. Matt is Watchtower's resident Brit, a refreshing spot of shadow amidst the shininess. If you want your character's face mutilated, or perhaps need a guy skinned from head to toe by a mysterious maniac, he's your man. Scarecrow, then, is familiar ground for Matt, a character slipped into with all the ease and comfort of donning an old glove.
As he is in his best incarnations, Scarecrow is a reclusive villain, much more adept in mind games than he is in physical combat. Not that he's bad at that - as Hush can attest, underestimate the Scarecrow in a brawl at your peril. But it is Dr. Crane's intensity, his unceasing search for the fear in every heart, that truly makes him a great character. The interview between he and Lois is a triumph for the character, showing that even without his costume, without his gas and his toxins, Crane still wields power. He unnerves Lois, a reporter with nerves of steel, and he does this even as he professes to be reformed.
Indeed, the Scarecrow's crowning triumph is that he can be a 'reformed villain,' yet still every inch as feared as he was with a burlap sack over his head, if not more so. His attempts at legitimacy are questioned by most, even his 'partner in crime' the Riddler, and with good cause - for unlike Nygma, who glories simply in the intellectual triumph, Crane's only happiness comes from the debasement of others. He has a twisted relationship with Alice Logan, an intrepid young woman who simply got too close to him, and now through a combination of drugs and twisted charisma, is little more than a shambling slave to his will. Alice Logan is an extension of Crane, a representation of his perfect person, and even then he alternates between amused derision and outright contempt. Logan does not earn his compassion, as Crane has no compassion to give.
Despite his frail frame, Crane is a well-known name in Gotham. His name gives even other costumed criminals pause, and he would have it no other way. For a man like Crane, alliance with the likes of the Riddler is nothing more than a convenience, and given Eddie's love of getting himself into challenges, a break in their union seems inevitable. The Scarecrow may work with others, but he respects no one, and as the Riddler is much the same way, eventually these egos must clash.
What awaits the Scarecrow from there? Ultimately, Crane can form all the alliances he likes - each one will inevitably end in betrayal and a blast of fear gas. For Crane sets no higher goal than to taste the sweet taste of fear, as much as possible, whenever possible. Legitimacy serves his ends, having allowed him to operate more freely and without the pummeling of the Bat, at a time when his battered frame could use a break after years of beatings. Having come to taste the benefits of legitimacy, Crane is not likely to relinquish it easily, although in the end, his desires will come first - as they always have. Scarecrow has a long history, but as we've seen from his recent work, Matt is poised to take our Dr. Crane down paths he has never before walked, and that is the mark of a truly talented player at his craft.
Send that man a ring, Sinestro, because Dr. Crane is going places.