#I shall affectionately call him cultcrow

[fandumb-whimsey]

So. My interest in crafting a variation of Scarecrow that leans into the "violent dancing" aspect aka turning him into more of a physical threat has also somehow spiraled into making him the leader of a fear cult. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So it all started with some dc wiki perusal and, at the mention of his violent dancing style, the page linked to the wiki entry for drunken boxing. I don't know why this is tbh, but the ideas started percolating. Now, I wouldn't apply any of the styles 1:1 to Jonathan because I don't think it'd be suitable; he wouldn't be like Jackie Chan in the Drunken Master, etc. The general conception, however, is very appealing:

It's unpredictable. Disorienting. Pretty ideal for someone who enjoys dishing out some delicious fear. But one of my fave parts:

I like the idea of him appearing unbalanced even when he's not actively engaged with an adversary. Because someone standing there looking like they could fall over is just a fun and potentially unsettling gimmick. Of course, this would also mean he has killer core strength. As much as I like ghoulishly thin Dr. Crane, this version would have muscle. He'd still be an ectomorph body type though so definitely more wiry and flexible.

Going from there, I started pondering on designs which would facilitate a more active fighter. My idea is very derivative of the Arkham Asylum version followed by TNBA Scarecrow and Arkham Knight designs for vibes. Looser/less clothing, more practical than spooky (unfortunately). My version of his mask is more horror movie to accommodate that. I asked myself what scares me and that's mortality and body horror, so some skull elements were definitely used. I'd love to go more into detail about it but it'd be better to have a doodle to go with my atomic level rambling on design choices. Initially, I veered more towards a medieval executioner feel, but it 1. was before I was like "okay but what if he had a cult" and 2. didn't mesh with the fighting thing. I guess. I kept it though since his look changes with a single article of clothing and it works with the whole life and death theme I have going. I call one look the Shepherd (has a hood, sickle with long handle as a "shepherd's crook" for weapon) and the other the Executioner (mask only, full on scythe mode). This would make more sense with drawings, though I'm not much of an artist. (Ｔ▽Ｔ) I'll still try though. Soon.

I don't know where the cult idea popped up from. Maybe it was the God of Fear comic storyline? Maybe it's all the shitty darksynth with ominous pipe organ and satanic chanting I listen to??? Anyway. The general idea is college professor Jonathan Crane would really like funding for experiments related to fear, but no one is interested. Somehow gets the idea to start some secret society (named something edgy and cool like Eye of the Crow Order) based on, you guessed it: fear! The concept would be making individuals stronger mentally by forcing them to confront their fears. And other philosophical bs. At least on the surface. Jonny boy really just wants willing participants in his experiments but shhhh they don't know that. Induction into the group would involve being injected with a weaker form of the fear toxin or something. With time, more people join in. People who want to get hit with the fear toxin again would prob get subjected to higher dosage or a more experimental variant.

The turning point is after he's fired for, you know, the whole shooting a gun in a classroom thing. He kidnaps those responsible and decides to make a spectacle of their murder during a meeting of the secret society. This causes massive division within the group and a double or nothing scenario; people who aren't cool with murder and craziness obviously bail out, but those completely devoted to the "doctrine" go all in. And so begins the era of Scarecrow and his fanatical cult following.

This version would have no need to hire thugs. He has his "flock" fully willing to carry out his vision. The most committed of them (his "Disciples" perhaps?) are probably those who volunteer for multiple occurrences of fear toxin experimentation (and live through it) which has left them a bit unhinged and probably very dangerous. These are the ones which would likely also get shipped to Arkham if caught. But yeah, the cult angle is great because it adds an element of intrigue (is this otherwise polite Gotham citizen part of his cult??) and it makes Scarecrow a bit more threatening not only to Batman and the Batfam, but to the other rogues. Can't imagine some of the latter would be very keen on dealing with zealous cult members if a team-up was orchestrated.

As for Jonathan, the whole thing starts as a front just to get bodies to experiment on but, after huffing enough toxin over the years, he starts fully believing he is the Master of Fear and deserves to be worshiped over it. ALSO. He has a nice, tidy murder of crows. He gets all of them to mimic the sound of creepy laughter and say "hroo hraa" :)

also also trying not to feel A Way at him calling his followers "lambs"