| “ | Ever since your mother's death, it's just been the two of us, hasn't it? Us against the world. I know it's been tough sometimes. Maternal care -- Koff Koff -- is difficult to replicate. But I've tried to care for you as best as I could. Maybe I don't tell you this enough, but I'm proud of you. You're a pioneer. My co-pilot. You and me, explorers on the sea of fear. Now, shake it off. You bear my name, Jonathan...... Make sure you live up to it. | „ |
| ~ Dr. Crane inciting his son Jonathan into following in his footsteps on the research of fear through lies and manipulation. |
Dr. Crane is a minor posthumous antagonist from DC Comics, debuting and only appearing as the posthumous overarching antagonist of the Cycle of Violence arc of the 2011-2014 comic book series Batman: The Dark Knight, set in the "New 52 / Prime Earth" continuity of DC Comics.
He was the abusive father of Jonathan Crane, also known as Scarecrow, which was the reason behind his obsession with fear. When his son was just a child, Crane was involved in government research on fear, which he hoped to synthesize and weaponize for war efforts by forcing Jonathan to be his test subject whether he wanted or not, shaping him into one of Batman's most dangerous foes in the long run.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
- He is, for starters, the main reason Jonathan Crane became the Scarecrow in the first place, as upon the passing of Jonathan's mother, Dr. Crane incited his son to help him on his experiments whether Jonathan wanted or not, often manipulating him by saying that serving as his guinea pig would make him proud and passing off his abusive methods as his way of parenting.
- While he mentions that his wife's death hit them hard, Dr. Crane doesn't seem to miss his spouse at all, making it likely that he didn't love her because, if he did, he would have cared for and raised their son the best he could have.
- Assisted the United States of America government in a scientific project about fear that involved synthesizing and weaponizing fear for war effort.
- He forced Jonathan to be his test subject by throwing him into a dark cellar full of creepy puppets and mannequins, leaving him locked up there for hours while he could monitor his heart rate and his sweat through the devices he forced his son to wear to make the necessary modifications for his experiments.
- To make matters worse, Dr. Crane often told his son that he knew he didn't like to be tested, but that he was his "partner" in this business while they were just the two against the whole world and that he would be proud of him if he cooperated.
- He ends up passing away from a heart attack, but this isn't karma as he died so unexpectedly for unrelated causes not linked to his cruelty and, by not making sure to unlock the cellar if something happened to him, forced Jonathan to stay captive in the cellar for days until he was found, not to mention he would have starved to death had he not been found by the authorities.
- The trauma and abuse inflicted on Jonathan would eventually lead him to become the Scarecrow, one of Batman's most dangerous enemies known for his mind-breaking Fear Toxin, which he intended to spread over Gotham City to make his father proud. Even if Crane can't be blamed for the many atrocities Jonathan committed later on, his requests to his son that he live up to the Crane name prove that he wanted Jonathan to carry on his work, no matter how unethical it was.
Trivia[]
- Only the "New 52 / Prime Earth" continuity version of Jonathan Crane's father qualifies as Pure Evil, due to his original "Post Crisis / New Earth" version just being an absent father who didn't even know of his bastard son's existence (plus is implied to be a decent family man) and the Gotham version being a well-meaning scientist who wished to help his son with his fears.
- Dr. Crane is the second Pure Evil relative of a version of the Scarecrow who played a pivotal role in his descent into villainy, the first being Jonathan Crane's great-grandmother Mary Keeny of the "Post Crisis / New Earth" continuity.
External Links[]
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 Pure Evils
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