First Reaction The Witches Familiar

Click here to find out how Moffatt Managed to pull this one off fairly well.

Top Ten Villains round 2 #2 Scarecrow

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.



First Reaction: The Magician's Apprentice

Steven?......Mr Moffatt. You Evil....evil man you. Click here to find out why I'm saying this. Other then the obvious.

Top Ten Villains Round 2 #3: The Master

I'd say spoilers but it's a little late for that....plus it's close to a year screw you.

 

 

I had to bring at least one massive villain from Doctor Who and while I adore the daleks one massive thing has changed since the last list. The Master came back and dear sweet Christmas do I realize why They should have been number 1 last time.

 

Now don't get me wrong the daleks are incredible villains but the master has one thing above them and that's the ability to change and reform via regeneration to keep things fresh and while we haven't had much information about the role she'll play in season 9 if it's anything like she was in 8 I will gladly take it.

 

First off let's go through the basics about the master for those who don't know. The master is the literal opposition of the Doctor. The Doctor chose his name as the one who helps, heals, makes people better. The Master or in the case of this Incarnation The mistress or missy took the name as someone who controls, Who Takes, and Who rules. There are also some interesting concepts to taking the name "The Mistress" But I'm not touching that with a ten foot clown pole.

Formally a best friend of the doctor They became deranged after a rite of passage; staring into a rift in the time vortex gave them a permanent sound of drumming in their head. It drove them berserk and eventually after finding out the time lords were keeping an eye on them they went rogue and spent the rest of their existence trying to conquer everything in existence and make the doctor's life a living hell. Until the end of time where the master (at the time John simm) ended up trapped on gallifrey during the time war.


And then Missy happened.

At the end of the first episode of series 8 we met a character who seemed like some kind of guardian of heaven. She welcomed a dead character into what she called heaven and called herself missy. Also she referred to the doctor as her boyfriend.....again not getting into that cause it just feels very fanfictiony to me.

But throughout the season we got glimpses of her and theories went from a guardian of the underworld, to a robot, to yes a time lord. But when the episode finally dropped where her identity was revealed as the master most people pooed themselves.

To quote myself "When I find myself in times of trouble. Steven Moffatt fucks with me" followed by about twenty idiotic sounding "WHAT THE FUCK!?" 'S

But after that episode we had one week to realize something. How is this master going to compare to the others? Let me put it this way. This is my favourite version of the master and that is saying a LOT. Missy very quickly proved herself to be both exceptionally funny but damn scary at times.

I think there is one moment we all recall being just incredible and goddamn just terrifying. The death of Osgood.

One of the main things that came out of The 50 year anniversary special "The day of the doctor" was more Information about the new UNIT group; Namely a doctor fangirl named Osgood. In the movie she wore a 4th doctor scarf, and when dealing with missy she wore a bow tie. Like I said Fangirl. She was dorky, Had an inhaler, Whole nine yards. And She was also a pretty charming character so when thinking of ways to make The returning master more threatening and well nuts Osgood's death was number 1 on the list.

The Scene is a perfect example of why missy is such a great villain. She starts off singing "Hey Mickey" then goading Osgood into coming close to whisper "I'm going to kill you in a minute" and having the most giddy smile on her face afterwards. After slipping out of her cuffs and somehow getting them into Osgood's pocket she practically teleports behind her, Kills any guards in the room and after Osgood points out how missy could use her to get to the doctor to stall for time. Missy agrees....and then kills her anyway and grinds her glasses into the ground. THAT was the moment I knew that this may well be my favourite version of the master.

She may have only been in really one episode as the master but need I remind you this is still the master. Everything, Every act the master has committed missy is guilty of. At the time of me writing this series 9 of doctor who starts in exactly 8 days and it's confirmed that missy is returning. This was exactly what I needed to get pumped for this season. Not that I was excited after series 8 but that especially for me was exactly what I needed to hear.

Now last time I did one of these lists the master was at number 2. And The daleks aren't on this list so who the hell managed to hit number 2? Well let's just say I owe someone an apology.