TREMBLE

I don’t think I want to revive a Christmas card from Jonathan Crane, not after reading this issue…

“Wearing a mask often changes the wearer’s personality — allows acts normally taboo.”

All four of these panels are Jonathan Crane during the Fear State run. From a brown haired, put together main to a mousy little redhead academic to a grungy and grimy ginger - to the Scarecrow. He alternates between all of these, with the text bubbles changing each time, like a shapeshifter wearing different masks.

The mask is an integral part of not only Batman’s character but also most if not all the characters within Batman - even characters who don’t technically wear a mask have a cognitive dissonance between what they show the outside world and what is underneath.

Crane is ruled by fear. Scarecrow weaponizes it. Crane is logical and rational about his acts. Scarecrow is emotional and impulsive. They are two distinct personalities aware of each other and the world around them, and no matter how much they pretend to be sane and unaffected, they aren’t.

Crane feels naked without a mask. He has immersed himself fully in it, can’t talk properly to Batman without it. This goes beyond a quirk. This is a part of him that shows how deep his insanity runs. Keep in mind a lot of people with mental illness don’t believe they are mentally ill, and someone with, say, a degree in psychology, could easily mask most symptoms. Even I masked so well my psychiatrist and therapist didn’t even realize I had BPD until recently when I was diagnosed.

Crane’s reverence of the mask is him revering his plausible deniability - the mask is what changes my personality, not my illness.