10 Most Sadistic Batman Villains Of All Time

By Bryant Lucas /

8. The Scarecrow (Dr Jonathan Crane)

Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Dr Jonathan Crane (loosely modelled off of Ichabod Crane from The Ledgend of Sleepy Hollow) is one of Batman€™s oldest foes, making his first appearance in World€™s Finest Comics #3 (1941). Although The Scarecrow only made two appearances during the Golden Age of comics, the character saw a major revival during the Silver Age under the pen of Gardner Fox and ink of Sheldon Moldoff. The Scarecrow has made numerous appearances across various different mediums, including cartoons such as Batman: The Animated Series (1992) and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008). He€™s also made appearances in various Batman videogames and was the focus of the first instalment of the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy. Obsessed with fears and phobias, Dr Crane is a disgraced psychiatrist who dons the persona of The Scarecrow. Breaking the Hippocratic oath about 1,000 times over, Dr Crane experiments on his patients and random bystanders using a toxin called €œfear gas€ to instil terror into the minds of his victims. In small doses this toxin can wear off; however, in large enough quantities, fear gas can leave victims permanently unhinged in a state of terror. Fear has always been a major facet of Batman€™s motif; therefore, the Scarecrow servers as an interesting foil to the Dark Knight. He€™s one of the few Bat-rouges that can literally scare the hell out of Batman.