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The plan that Scarecrow is enacting in current issues of Batman is reminiscent of his goal in the Nolan trilogy…but this time, it might succeed.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman #111, on sale now from DC Comics.
Scarecrow’s recent plans to induce a Fear State in Gotham City have been attempted before in the films directed by Christopher Nolan. During Batman Begins, Jonathan Crane worked alongside Ra’s al Ghul to expose Gotham’s population to his fear toxin, thereby inducing mass hysteria. In the movie, Scarecrow was little more than a pawn in Ra’s’ greater plans whereas in Batman #111 (by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles), it is Scarecrow who is pulling the strings, and this one detail could mark the difference between success and failure.
In Batman Begins, Scarecrow wanted to expose the human race to his fear toxin. He believed that fear was the primary motivator for all human decisions and emotions. As a result, he also believed that if fear could be removed from the equation, peace would be achieved. His newly developed fear toxin would be the tool through which humanity would transcend its fear and achieve a greater world than the one before, with him leading the human population as its master and shepherd.
Ra’s al Ghul had a much more realistic use for Scarecrow’s fear toxin. Recognizing that the gas was ideal for inducing mass hysteria, Ra’s approached Scarecrow, offering to fund his plans to manufacture greater quantities of fear toxin to be released into the water supply, only for Ra’s to then vaporize the water and make the toxin airborne. Scarecrow believed Ra’s would let him take the lead from there, bringing about a new age. But Ra’s knew that the only thing that would follow the release of Scarecrow’s concoction was chaos and destruction, and there was no need to let the mad doctor know that.
Batman was able to stop Scarecrow as he moved on to confront Ra’s. That was the end of Scarecrow’s primary threat to Gotham in the film universe, but over in the DCU the plan is getting a second shot. Scarecrow has been meticulously manipulating Batman, the Magistrate, and Gotham City, priming all of them for the beginning of his fear state. And while the method of delivery is still unknown, the end goal is the same as in the film: to expose all of the residents of Gotham City to Scarecrow’s fear toxin.
The only difference here it seems is that Scarecrow intends for this to be some kind of lesson as opposed to a way for him to ascend to the position of leader over humanity. However, there is the shared belief that exposing a great quantity of people to fear toxin will force them to overcome their inner demons, and Scarecrow is curious to see just what would become of a city that is ruled by fear.
The reason the plan of Scarecrow has a better chance of succeeding this time is because this is a more seasoned villain acting as the puppeteer instead of the puppet. Scarecrow has tricked Simon Saint into believing that he serves the Magistrate and its motives and has also eluded Batman at all turns, distracting him by furthering the Magistrate’s goals until the time was ripe for the fear-inducing criminal to betray them and initiate his plans.
In short, Scarecrow could be victorious because there is no one else’s grand scheme standing in his way. He is aware of all the players and their plans and also has years of experience compared to his younger movie counterpart, who wasn’t even calling himself the Scarecrow at the time he started working with Ra’s. The Fear State that the Scarecrow is working toward is more likely to succeed now because the villain is holding all the cards and has carefully engineered and thought out his plans for Gotham’s future.
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