The Batman’s First Spin-Off May Star A Dark Knight Trilogy Villain (Report)

In most DC Comics continuities, Scarecrow’s backstory is a pretty straightforward one. Jonathan Crane spent his youth bullied and mistreated, creating resentment within him toward the world. He develops a fascination with fear, which leads him to use his knowledge of chemistry and psychology to terrorize the people of Gotham. He creates his patented fear toxin, using it to terrorize those unlucky enough to get in his way. His mind and resources make him a formidable foe for Batman, but what could his reign of terror look like in the «Batman» universe?

«The Batman» doesn’t offer direct adaptations of the titular hero’s enemies. Instead of a rich, spoiled, temperamental crime boss, Oswald «Penguin» Cobblepot (Colin Farrell) is a power and money-hungry lackey to Carmine Falcone (John Turturro). As for Riddler (Paul Dano), he’s an outcast with a searing hatred for the rich and powerful, not some goof in green spandex with a love for brain games. 

Thus, it would only make sense for this universe’s take on Scarecrow to differ from his comic book counterpart. Perhaps he’s inspired by the fear and panic Riddler caused in the previous film and uses his status as an Arkham psychologist to get close to him, learning from him how to make people fearful. Maybe Batman slighted him in some significant way, and he figures the best way to get even is to attack his mind by preying on his deepest fears and insecurities.

The Scarecrow character can go in several different directions if he gets his own spin-off and joins the universe of «The Batman.» If such a project is on the way, surely Matt Reeves is cooking up something special — and horrifying — for the Master of Fear.