| Storyline |
Captain
Gordon used his new signal to call Batman. He showed
him photographs of five Gotham University employees
who appeared to have been literally scared to death.
Batman investigated records at GU and found they'd
had another death about a year previous. This professor
was replaced by Dr. Jonathan Crane, who'd recently
been fired by the five dead men for his unorthodox
methods. Batman went to his last known address.
There, everything was packed and gone. He set off
a booby trap - a scarecrow sprang up and gassed
him. Batman's innermost fears came to life for him.
After the gas came a bomb. Batman was thrown from
the third-story apartment.
Crane had a troubled upbringing, lanky and uncoordinated,
most of his peers made fun of him. By the time he
was a senior in high school, Crane began to fight
back. He attacked two fellow classmates (a girl
who jilted him and her jock boyfriend) after the
prom. The boy was paralyzed and the girl was killed.
Crane was overjoyed that he caused others to fear.
After college, Crane used a chemical gas he created
to cause his professor to commit suicide. Crane
received the dead man's job, but was fired shortly
thereafter for firing a gun during class as a demonstration.
Gordon informed Batman of Crane's next murder -
the owner of a chemical plant in Gotham City. Batman
hid in the home of one of the latest victim's rivals,
and Scarecrow was soon to arrive. Batman was immune
to the fear gas - he'd prepared a filter for his
mask. He chased Crane to the outskirts of town -
a corn farm. Scarecrow was defeated and placed in
Arkham's care.
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