>>93221626I like Scarecrow, but there are several problems with the character that hold him back from truly being one of the great Batman villains.
Scarecrow's fear gas is an extremely interesting gimmick for a character, but the problem is that everything he does revolves around it. Most Batman villains tend to start off as gimmicks, yes, but usually, after sufficient development, they become actual characters who utilize the gimmick, and not the other way around. But Scarecrow's gas is everything there is to him most of the time. And when they try to deviate from it, we end up with shit like Scarebeast.
The other problem is that he lacks a connection with Batman that makes it worth bringing him back, which is what saves a lot of the more basic Batman villains. "Batman strikes fear into criminals so here's a character that weaponizes fear" is too basic and limited.
You make him a pathetic jobber, and the entire point of the character (he scares people) is moot. You make him too effective and invincible, he becomes uninteresting and his eventual losses stretch believability.
I feel like Scarecrow would benefit much better if he stopped being a Batman villain and ventured into other settings, because with Batman it doesn't seem like there's much else to be done with him. All his encounters with Batman are pretty much the same
>>93226067However, if he could terrorize other characters, maybe even a cast of younger characters ala-Freddy Kruger, then he could be used with more variation.
Hell, why not turn him into a more neutral figure instead of always a villain ? Fear affects everybody, even criminals. Why not write stories where Scarecrow ends up going after villains too in order to see what they are scared of ?
He could be like The Shadow, a villain that terrifies villains, but with goals rooted in scientific experimentation/the thrill of superiority.
