I just had a thought that Scarecrow is the only "costumed criminal" in Batman's main rogues gallery. Joker, Riddler, and Two-Face all just wear suits. Freeze and Firefly need their outfits to protect them from environmental hazards. Croc just looks like that, as does Joker concerning the clown look. Jonathan Crane is the only one who went, "I'm going to dress up like guy made out of burlap and straw," before he started trying to cause trouble. Thoughts?
I think with Crane his costume is a form of immersion and a particularly villainous sort of empowerment--sure, it serves its intended purpose by inspiring fear in others, but ultimately I think he wears it mostly for himself. When Crane was growing up he was frequently taunted by bullies calling himĀ āscarecrowā in both the Scarecrow: Year One and Masters of Fear origin stories:
And that led Crane to internalize those taunts into self-loathing:Ā
In Scarecrow: Year One scarecrows are a recurrent theme in the flashback scenes from pivotal moments in Craneās childhood, like when Granny Keeny chastises him for wanting to wear a Halloween costume and when Crane observes a murder of crows attacking a scarecrow doused in the same potion Granny Keeny used on him during his chapel punishments:Ā
Just like Bruce Wayne choosing to become a bat in Batman Begins because he is frightened by them, Crane chose to become a scarecrow not only because they are symbolic of fear, but because they were also symbolic of every traumatic, powerless, and oppressive moment in his past.Ā
For years he had been called a scarecrow as a form of mockery and so he decided to become the most frightening scarecrow of all--itās likeĀ āyou want to call me a scarecrow? Fine, Iāll show you exactly what kind of scarecrow I am.āĀ
