Spoilers for Arkham knight and possibly some other batman related stuff as well.
So....I started this countdown again because enough time had passed and between the first one and now that My opinions had changed fairly drastically and quite a few new villains had popped up. And of course one of the first things I did was mention how some of my choices from the first one were perhaps iffy compared to how I saw things then. One of those things was....Well trying to recall strictly from memory I think my words were
"Scarecrow? Really?"
Yeah rocksteady games decided to remind me why this villain has and still kicks a lot of ass.
First and foremost I thought arkham knight was pretty damn good but not without problems. I'd say second best in the series next to city myself but one of the highlights in the game was by a long shot the new portrayal of scarecrow who was last seen in the series being dragged into the sewers by killer croc. Suffice it to say...
He took a few dings on the way down...and yes that IS his face.
So for those not in the know Scarecrow Aka Johnathan Crane is a former Psychologist who specializes in the field of fear. He became obsessed with fear to the point of bringing a gun into a classroom he was doing a lecture at to see people's reactions. People reacted badly. Suffice to say after that stunt money came hard and he decided to use his knowledge to commit robberies and a few years of fear toxin later he's bananas.
This version of scarecrow has more of a purpose. After his short lived hobby of crocodile wrestling he came back with a much different purpose. This time he's out to reveal batman's identity and show to the world he's just a person. Not some symbol. I honestly think the scarecrow teaser does the best possible job of really putting how at least I think they intended him to come out.
Think about what he just said.
"How many bones will you crush?
How many lives will you destroy in search of what you call justice?
You are the product of everything you fear.
Violence, Darkness, Helplessness"
Between his desire to Prove batman is a hoax and that line there is why I think this villain and this version is interesting. Hell even his design is interesting. Batman himself has his ethics but uses violence and let's be honest beating the tar out of people to make them stop being dicks. Scarecrow's design in this I really hope sticks. He's not only missing god knows how much of his skin from croc but even his bones are in bad shape. His leg has a harness with metal bracers. He couldn't hit someone if he tried. A nonviolent criminal and a violent hero.
I think this version of Scarecrow is intended to be the exact polar opposite of batman. Even more then The joker who in this series seems to represent his weakness. This is why I always say I prefer scarecrow to joker and always will. But there is one more reason. His Mission in Arkham Knight was to reveal batman's identity to the world. and he did.
The end of the game has batman seeing no other option but to give himself to scarecrow to see both Gordon and robin released and in doing so he is unmasked on live television. Scarecrow Won. Even if batman did end up using his own toxin to at least for the time turn crane into a man doing an impression of a rock (Ya know cause he's curled up in an assball....cause of the toxin and fear.....ya know..yeah) The toxin will more then likely wear off eventually and the world will still know batman is just a man. The story does end on a downer note with a massive ray of hope kind of deal but that's still something huge for the villain.
While I may not dislike the joker and in fact rather like him as a villain I still kinda think that Scarecrow can be better and Arkham Knight proves this to me.
Well that brings us to the number 1 spot. I've made a lot of changes to this list since I started it but there was always one thing constant. Number 1. There was always one thing I had to put at one. One certainty. The Ultimate Villain.
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