Gotham: 10 BEST Changes To The Comics

Even before Gotham had aired, the Scarecrow already had a couple of origins under his belt in the comics. Originally, Jonathan Crane became fascinated with fear after being bullied throughout high school before taking his revenge; Crane would later studying psychology at Gotham University. A second origin was then provided by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, where the Scarecrow was raised and abused by his fanatically religious grandmother, whom he would later murder.

Gotham's take on Scarecrow's origin is featured in the episodes "The Fearsome Dr. Crane" and "The Scarecrow", in which Jonathan's father - Gerald Crane - fashions the fear toxin instead as a way of confronting, and subsequently overcoming, people's fears. Gerald Crane eventually meets his end - after his lack of fear prevents his sense of flight during a police shoot-out - but not before injecting Jonathan Crane with a near-lethal dose of the toxin, creating an obsessive fear with the family scarecrow.

Although some felt that Jonathan not making the toxin himself diminished the character, this revised origin presents Scarecrow with a newfound gravitas, weighted in tragedy and dramatic irony. By altering the abusive past from one of hate to one of misguided love, Gotham diversified Scarecrow as a symbol of the many forms that fear can take, ultimately making the beloved foe a supremely harrowing figure once more.