10 Terrifying Comic Supervillains That Gave You Nightmares

Probably the poster boy for fear creating villains, Scarecrow's whole gimmick in centred around fear.

It's also one of the most sinister uses of science to exist in the DC universe, as a toxin that uses the infected's greatest fears to psychologically break their psyche is naturally horrific to anyone who has ever had a phobia - which is, you know, everyone.

The most frightening part of Scarecrow as a villain is that his early fear serums were developed during his tenure as a psychologist on mental patients at Arkham Asylum, meaning totally helpless people were subjected to horrific mental torture with no chance of escape, as the more they reacted the more mentally unstable they would appear.

Scarecrow's absolute lack of empathy for those around him is what makes him truly frightening, as at the least villains like Zsasz and Pyg think they are doing good, even if it is by horrific methods. Crane is sane enough to know what he is doing helps nobody, but is twisted enough that he only wants to cause permanent harm to society and those in it.