The Scarecrow is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane , the character first appeared in World's Finest Comics #3 (September 1941), and has become one of the superhero Batman 's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery .
172-523: In the DC Universe , the Scarecrow is the alias of Jonathan Crane , a professor of psychology turned criminal mastermind. Abused and bullied in his youth, he becomes obsessed with fear and develops a hallucinogenic drug —dubbed "fear toxin"—to terrorize Gotham City and exploit the phobias of its protector, Batman. As the self-proclaimed "Master of Fear", the Scarecrow's crimes do not stem from
344-594: A god complex ; he creates an enormous hologram of himself that he projects against the sky, so he will be recognized and worshipped by the citizens of Gotham as a literal god of fear. Abigail O'Shay is a Gotham University student who writes her doctoral thesis on vigilantes like the Bat-Family , whom she calls the "cape and cowl crowd". She is fascinated by the kind of trauma a person would have to go through to fight criminals while in costume. She learns about such trauma first hand when Jonathan Crane, then uses her as
516-455: A pacemaker into his body, effectively gaining control of his heart. At the Joker's mercy and unable to remove the device himself, Hush turned to the one man he felt he could trust (or rather, predict): Bruce Wayne. Bruce consented to help Hush on the condition that he allow himself to be treated in, and confined to, Arkham Asylum . Hush agreed, and then immediately escaped after being told that
688-640: A "DCU logo on them" in addition to corner boxes with icons of the characters to help identify the family of titles; titles outside the DCU, such as Injustice: Gods Among Us and DC Bombshells would simply have the DC logo on them. DiDio also added that the Young Animal imprint would continue as a separate line of titles. In 2021, DC announced a line-wide relaunch of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. A number of miniseries and one-shots were also announced. It
860-435: A chair. Scarecrow later tries to take over Gotham with an army of hypnotized college students, commanding them to spread his fear toxin all over the city. His lieutenant is the son of the first man he killed. He is confronted by both Batman-Azrael and Anarky and tries to escape by forcing his lieutenant to jump off of a building. Batman-Azrael knocks him out, and Anarky manages to save the boy. Despite his criminal history, he
1032-401: A child, Tommy exhibits a genius level intellect due to his capability to think and plan strategically. Tommy despised both his abusive father and his frail, submissive mother, who came from poverty and willingly endured every abuse dealt to her and her son to keep her lavish lifestyle. For all their failings, however, Tommy's parents made sure he was well-educated, in particular teaching him about
1204-553: A college professor, Crane mentors a young Thomas Elliot . The character also has a cameo in Sandman (vol. 2) #5. In stories by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale , the Scarecrow is depicted as one of the more deranged criminals in Batman's rogues gallery , with a habit of speaking in nursery rhymes. These stories further revise his history, explaining that he was raised by his abusive, fanatically religious great-grandfather, whom he murdered as
1376-527: A common desire for wealth or power, but from a sadistic pleasure in subjecting others to his experiments on the manipulation of fear. An outfit symbolic of his namesake with a stitched burlap mask serves as the Scarecrow's visual motif. The character has been adapted in various media incarnations , having been portrayed in film by Cillian Murphy in The Dark Knight Trilogy , and in television by Charlie Tahan and David W. Thompson in
1548-576: A default human form, eventually attempting to perfect this analysis by releasing Cassius Payne from prison, reasoning that samples from Cassius would be more useful as he is the only 'pure' Clayface... the only one who was never human in the first place. After Clayface realised that he was being manipulated, he provided Batman with a sample of himself to find a cure for Alfred's condition despite knowing that this would not leave Batman with time to cure him, and also ensured that Alfred's name would be cleared by ensuring that his final appearance after death would be
1720-517: A fake psychological profile of him to Mother, claiming that Batman is a scarred child terrified of losing the people he cares for to make Mother think she understands him. In the present day, as Mother unleashes a new hypnotic signal to take control of the world's children, the Bat-Family abduct Scarecrow to brew up a new batch of his trauma toxin after determining that it nullifies the controlling influence of Mother's signal until they can shut down her main base. In DC Rebirth , Scarecrow works with
1892-408: A fatal heart attack before he could let Jonathan out. Jonathan was trapped in the test chamber for days until being freed by some employers of the university. As a result of this event, he was irreparably traumatized and developed an obsession with fear. He became a psychologist, specializing in phobias. Eventually, Crane began using patients as test subjects for his fear toxin. His turn to criminality
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#17327795358412064-520: A fear of bats. In 2011, as a result of The New 52 reboot, Scarecrow's origin (as well as that of various other DC characters) is once again altered, incorporating several elements that differ from the original. Born in Georgia, Jonathan Crane is abused by his great-grandmother, and is bullied at school for his resemblance to Ichabod Crane from Washington Irving 's " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ", sparking his lifelong obsession with fear and using it as
2236-675: A few examples. These 'beings' are most often created by individuals who possess vast intellects, like scientists Professor T.O. Morrow (maker of the Red Tornado), Dr. Will Magnus (who constructed the Metal Men) and Professor Ivo (who fabricated Amazo and other advanced androids using a form of Nano-technology developed by Lexcorp). Brainiac also emulates this technology as well as technology from other worlds. Similarly, some characters use technology to enhance their armor or modify cybernetic functions, for example Steel , Cyborg and
2408-476: A form whose fingerprints so closely resembled Alfred's that the detectives would assume that they had made a mistake (The aforementioned events occur in issue #50–55 and #61–72). The Joker eventually returned to Gotham City with an army of trained pigeons and retaliated (in Batman: Gotham Knights #73–74). He captured Hush and kept him sedated for three weeks, during which time he implanted
2580-553: A kind of Valhalla for deceased speedsters. The Flash: Rebirth reveals that Barry Allen is a living generator of the Speed Force ever since the accident that transformed him into the Flash. It is possible to travel in time in this universe by several means, including moving faster than the speed of light. The Legion of Super-Heroes from 1,000 years into the future in particular have access to time-travel technology (although
2752-484: A large cash sum. Tommy, by this time having discovered Nygma's criminal background, instead offered to pay him to kill Bruce. Realizing that they shared a common hatred for Wayne, Tommy and the Riddler decided to pool resources to bring him down. To this end, Elliot created for himself the persona of "Hush". Riddler said that the name started out as a joking reference to the need to keep Tommy's identity secret, but became
2924-481: A large number of them are humanoid, even human-like, in form (such as Kryptonians, who outwardly appear identical to Earth-born humans); some can even interbreed with Terrans. Some of these races have natural superpowers, but they are usually the same for all individuals of the same race, unlike Earth's metahumans. This was explained by the fact that in Earth's distant past Martians experimented on humanity, severely culling
3096-620: A longtime associate of Batman. In return, Harold 'bugged' the Batcave with several devices that altered Batman's mind, but nevertheless remained loyal to the Caped Crusader; he was certain that Batman would triumph over whatever followed. Hush then killed Harold in front of Batman, and immediately engaged the Dark Knight in battle. Batman was at first disoriented by Hush's quoting of Aristotle , prompting him to briefly wonder if Hush
3268-481: A more permanent alias when Scarecrow started to sing the lullaby " Hush, Little Baby ". In their attempt to destroy Batman, Hush and the Riddler manipulated several other villains into unwillingly helping them. These included the Joker , Harley Quinn , Two-Face , Poison Ivy , Scarecrow , Killer Croc and Clayface . They even manipulated some of Batman's closest allies ( Superman , Huntress , and Catwoman ) against
3440-595: A more wary approach, however. Back during World War II they started "Project M" to create experimental soldiers to fight in the war, such as the Creature Commandos . Most of these experiments remain a secret to the public. Currently, the government deals with metahumans and similar beings through its Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO), and more recently A.R.G.U.S. Covertly, they use an organization of costumed (but non-superhuman) agents known as " Checkmate ". The government also formed Task Force X (known as
3612-470: A murderous creature known as the "Scarebeast", who Penguin uses to kill off his disloyal minions. The character's later appearances all show him as an unmutated Crane again, except for an appearance during the War Games story arc. Scarecrow appears in the third issue of War Games saving Black Mask from Batman and acting as the crime lord's ally, until Black Mask uses him to disable a security measure in
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#17327795358413784-452: A new fear toxin that is powerful enough to affect a Kryptonian . The toxin forces Supergirl to see visions of a Black Lantern Reactron , but she is able to snap out of the illusion and help Robin defeat Scarecrow. He is eventually freed from Arkham when Deathstroke and the Titans break into the asylum to capture one of the inmates. In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC universe. Scarecrow
3956-481: A niche for himself, beating his former accomplice the Riddler to within an inch of his life. Hush even drives the Joker out of the city, thus proving to the Clown Prince that Hush can be a threat to him. He also temporarily killed Poison Ivy during a failed attempt to recruit her. Following a short-lived alliance with JLA nemesis Prometheus , Hush began to torment Bruce Wayne with help from Clayface. Exploiting
4128-828: A plague. Even the Almeracian Empire was victim to impending destruction by Imperiex . Order is kept around the galaxy by the Guardians of the Universe and their agents, the Green Lantern Corps . Rival peacekeeping organizations include the Darkstars (created by the Guardians' rivals, the Controllers ) and the interplanetary mercenary organization L.E.G.I.O.N. Criminal organizations include
4300-416: A psychologist, taking a position at Arkham Asylum and performing fear-inducing experiments on his patients. He is also a professor of psychology at Gotham University, specializing in the study of phobias. He loses his job after he fires a gun inside a packed classroom, accidentally wounding a student; he takes revenge by killing the professors responsible for his termination and becomes a career criminal. As
4472-496: A result, almost once per decade since the 1980s, the DC Universe experiences a major crisis that allows any number of changes from new versions of characters to appear as a whole reboot of the universe, restarting nominally all the characters into a new and modernized version of their lives. Meanwhile, DC has published occasional stories called Elseworlds , which often presented alternate versions of its characters. One told
4644-434: A reversal to Scarecrow's fear toxin, Madame Crow has a set of gauntlets that fire needles filled with "anti-fear" toxin, which removes fear in the hope of keeping people from fighting to avoid their own trauma. As one of Batman's most recognizable and popular opponents, the Scarecrow appears in numerous comics that are not considered part of the regular DC continuity, including: DC Universe The DC Universe ( DCU )
4816-473: A rooftop chase. As a last-minute means of escape, Elliot dove into an open window, only to be shot by the homeowner who mistook him for an invader. With Batman severely injured and not on good terms with the police, he left Hush's body without examining it himself. Bruce seemed initially satisfied with the official police identification of the body as Elliot's. However, he later admits suspecting that Hush's skill for strategy and plastic surgery could have fabricated
4988-445: A secret safe house. Hush, still wearing Bruce's appearance, decides to fake his surrender, waiting for the right moment to escape. In Streets of Gotham , Batman's biological son Damian Wayne visited Hush in his cell as the new Robin, and they played chess. When Damian left to deal with a new crisis, Hush surmised that Firefly was behind the attack. He noted how Gotham City had fallen apart in Batman's absence, and pondered how to use
5160-582: A single unnamed universe with a single history. However, not all the books rebooted post-Crisis. For example, the Legion of Superheroes book acted as if the Pre-Crisis Earth-1 history was still their past, a point driven home in the Cosmic Boy miniseries . It also removed the mechanism DC had been using to deal with continuity glitches or storylines that a later writer wanted to ignore (which
5332-480: A single-panel cameo in issue 19 of Batman (vol. 3), wherein he is an inmate at Arkham Asylum and beaten up by Bane . Then, in the one-shot Batman: Prelude to the Wedding: Nightwing vs. Hush #1, Hush is tipped off to Batman's upcoming wedding by the Joker . Hush attempts to attack Batman's bachelor party, causing an explosion to distract Superman and then attacking Batman and Nightwing . In
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5504-540: A slightly revised origin for Hush was revealed; he was still Tommy Elliot, a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne , but in this version, his parricide is explicitly described as a way for him to get closer to Bruce (who had started distancing himself from Tommy after the death of his own parents) rather than as a way for him to receive his inheritance or escape abuse and neglect. Hush turned public opinion against Wayne Enterprises by blowing up one of Batman 's hidden weapon caches (known to be connected to Wayne Enterprises after
5676-494: A sunken boat at the bottom of the Gotham river after his defeat on the bridge. After performing surgery on himself to remove the two bullets from Harvey Dent's gun, Hush is shown to crawl ashore only to run into Harley Quinn and the Joker , who puts a gun to his head. The epilogue then ends with a To Be Continued. Still out to destroy Batman and determined not to let the rest of the villains get in his way, Hush quickly carved out
5848-581: A teenager. Scarecrow plays a prominent role in Doug Moench 's "Terror" storyline, set in Batman's early years, where Professor Hugo Strange breaks him out of Arkham and gives him " therapy " to train him to defeat Batman. Strange's therapy proves effective enough to turn the Scarecrow against his "benefactor", impaling him on a weather vane and throwing him in the cellar of his own mansion. The Scarecrow then uses Strange's mansion to lure Batman to Crime Alley , and decapitates one of his former classmates in
6020-461: A terrifying hallucination. Its potency has upgraded to an extreme level over the years; in some stories in which it appears, fear toxin is depicted as capable of prompting almost instantaneous, terror-induced heart attacks , leaving the victim in a permanent psychosis of chronic fear. Other versions of the toxin are powerful enough that even Superman can be affected; in one story, he mixes the toxin with kryptonite to simultaneously weaken and terrify
6192-684: A twice-monthly release schedule, a number of existing titles relaunching with new #1s, and the release of several new titles. DC has used the Green Lantern: Rebirth and The Flash: Rebirth miniseries as examples of the basis for the initiative, which has been described as a rebirth of the DC Universe. The DC Rebirth initiative will reintroduce concepts from pre- Flashpoint continuity, such as legacy, that have been lost with The New 52 and build "on everything that's been published since Action Comics #1 up thru The New 52." In October 2017, DC revealed that they would be discontinuing
6364-429: A video that she ultimately leaves for Hush to find, in the event that he survived. Hush, revealed to be indeed alive but wounded and crutch-bound, sees this video, before limping off into locations unknown. Later, posing as Bruce Wayne, Hush travels to Australia and Vietnam to loot the cash accounts of Wayne Enterprises ' subsidiaries. He is captured by Catwoman, and along with Nightwing and Robin, incarcerates him in
6536-462: A way to explain apparent inconsistencies in stories written, editors at DC came to consider the varied continuity of multiple Earths too difficult to keep track of, and feared that it was an obstacle to accessibility for new readers. To address this, they published the cross-universe miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, which merged universes and characters, reducing the Multiverse to
6708-411: A weapon against others. In his senior year, Crane is humiliated by school bully Bo Griggs and rejected by cheerleader Sherry Squires. He takes revenge during the senior prom by donning his trademark scarecrow costume and brandishing a gun in the school parking lot; in the ensuing chaos, Griggs gets into a car accident, paralyzing himself and killing Squires. Crane's obsession with fear leads him to become
6880-503: A weapon cache below the Martha Wayne Foundation hospital, which Hush had rigged to explode as a backup plan. Batman defeated Hush, but was then informed that the government had seized control of Wayne Enterprises and its holdings due to its involvement in the catastrophic explosions around Gotham. Hush then taunted Batman, stating, "Maybe you're right Bruce, maybe I'm not you. But right now, who would want to be?" Hush
7052-466: A woman identified as Doctor Reid suggests a connection between Project Cadmus and Hush. However, Waller insists that they keep their knowledge of this Hush quiet. Using the new Bat-Wraith (a robot designed to replace Terry as Batman), Bruce intervenes in Hush's attempt to kill Catwoman. Hush demonstrates a knowledge of Bruce's old methods—including his equipment trials with Alfred and his habit of making
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7224-402: Is Maxie Zeus . He noticed that Hush used Deadshot 's two-gun fighting style, and theorized that he was either the assassin himself or one of his protégés. When Tommy finally revealed himself to a worn-out Batman, the Dark Knight was saved only by the intervention of Harvey Dent, whose Two-Face persona had been unwittingly wiped out by Tommy when he repaired Dent's disfigured face. Once again on
7396-569: Is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Created by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee , the character first appeared in Batman #609 in January 2003 as part of the twelve-issue storyline Batman: Hush . Hush serves as a criminal foil to the superhero Batman , as an example of what Batman could have been had he used his intellect and wealth for malice, and belongs to
7568-539: Is a central villain in the Batman family of books and first appeared in the New 52 in Batman: The Dark Knight #4 (February 2012), written by David Finch and Paul Jenkins . His origin story is also altered; in this continuity, his father Gerald Crane used him as a test subject in his fear-based experiments. During one of these experiments, Crane's father locked him inside a little dark room, but suffered
7740-767: Is also collectively known as the Dominion. Other aliens in the outlying galaxies control armadas like the Khunds, Gordanians, Thanagarians, Spider Guild and, most recently, the Reach. Even though the majority of the DC Universe is policed by the Green Lantern Corps, and later the United Planets , most rogue races strive to conquer the known universe. One oddity is the Vegan star system. Due to an arrangement with
7912-412: Is also markedly different in this version; the New 52 Scarecrow is fired from his professorship for covering an arachnophobic student with spiders, and becomes a criminal after stabbing a patient to death. The Scarecrow kidnaps Poison Ivy , and works with Bane to create and distribute to various Arkham inmates a new form of Venom infused with the Scarecrow's fear toxin. With the help of Superman and
8084-488: Is among the villains who meet with the Riddler to discuss the Superman Theory. Wanting to take on villains outside his rogues gallery, Shazam flies to Gotham City where he hears about a hostage situation caused by Scarecrow. Shazam starts to fight him when he begins to get affected by the fear gas. Batman shows up and regains control of the situation by defeating Scarecrow and administering the antidote. As Scarecrow
8256-453: Is arrested, Batman states to Shazam that Scarecrow is too dangerous for him to fight. During Infinite Frontier , a re-designed Crane is the main foe of the crossover Fear State . A master strategist and manipulator, his genius labels him as one of the most cunning criminal masterminds. Crane is a walking textbook on anxiety disorders and psychoactive drugs ; he is able to recite the name and description of nearly every known phobia. He
8428-460: Is available - but it is usually very expensive, and usually only rich or powerful individuals and organizations (or the scientific geniuses who create them) have access to them. S.T.A.R. Labs is an independent research outfit that often develops these devices, while Lexcorp is the main company selling them. The government also runs the secret Project Cadmus (located in the mountains near Metropolis) to develop clones and genetic manipulation without
8600-527: Is defeated by Batman. Scarecrow returns in Batman: Dark Victory as part of Two-Face 's gang, and is first seen putting fear gas in children's dolls on Christmas Eve . He is eventually defeated by Batman. He later appears as one of the villains present at Calendar Man 's trial. It is revealed he and Calendar Man had been manipulating Falcone's son Alberto ; Scarecrow had determined that Alberto feared his father, and poisoned his cigarettes with
8772-491: Is drawn. As well, certain dimensions function as crossover opportunities for heroes from different comic book companies to interact, either from competing companies, or from companies absorbed by competitors. The most notable example of the first kind of crossover has been between DC Comics and Marvel Comics , and the latter with Wildstorm Comics . An example of the latter kind of crossover would be DC's acquisition of Fawcett Comics , Quality Comics , and Charlton Comics and
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#17327795358418944-474: Is even known to have a frightening ability to tamper with anyone's mind with just words, once managing to drive two men to suicide, and uses this insight to find people's mental pressure points and exploit them. Despite his scrawny build, Crane is a skilled martial artist who uses his long arms and legs in his personal combat style known as "violent dancing", developed during his training in the Kung Fu style of
9116-513: Is how Earths B and E came into existence) resulting in a convoluted explanation for characters like Hawkman. The Zero Hour limited series (1994) gave them an opportunity to revise timelines and rewrite the DC Universe history. However this failed right out of the gate as the writers had Waverider state all alternate histories had been wiped and yet have the Armageddon 2001 saga in the timeline which required multiple timelines to work. As
9288-547: Is left behind in the pocket dimension despite Nightwing's attempts to help him. However, in Batman (vol. 3) #70, Hush is apparently back in Arkham Asylum as he is one of several villains Batman beats up during his escape after having been captured and subjected to mental torture by Scarecrow , The Flashpoint Batman and Bane . Later, Hush is shown to be a member of Bane's police force after he had taken control over
9460-483: Is only because most monsters play a less substantial role in the DC Universe. The plot-lines of Dinosaur Island and Skartaris are but a few examples of the experiments the DC universe contrives, yet its role in DC comics are played down when in comparison to other companies, therefore they are included as being a race from Earth. An easternized influence is more evident in most Marvel Comics literature, while DC Comics are exaggerated, under-influenced or sustained into
9632-530: Is part of a larger DC Universe and DC Multiverse . Originally created from the First Crisis , it was allegedly erased from existence because of the Flashpoint – Convergence effect, being replaced by " Prime Earth ". By the end of the storyline Superman Reborn , the timelines of New Earth and Prime Earth have realigned into one single reality. Many of the superhumans on Earth owe their powers to
9804-429: Is problematic for him, as he is addicted to fear and compulsively seeks out confrontations with Batman to feed his addiction. He is also known to have a warped sense of humor, though not to the level of Black Mask or the Joker , as he has been known to frequently make taunts and quips related to his using his fear toxin or his love of terrifying others. During Alan Grant 's "The God of Fear" storyline, Scarecrow develops
9976-462: Is released by an intern named Jonathan Crane , who becomes the villain Scarecrow. During the next few years, Tommy tended to his mother. When Bruce's parents were murdered, Tommy resented him for inheriting the Wayne family fortune, just as he had hoped to do with his parents' money. Shortly before Bruce returned to Gotham City , Tommy befriended a young woman named Peyton Riley (who would later become
10148-527: Is revealed Whale has a pathological hatred of "masks" because his grandfather was one of the first citizens of Gotham killed by a masked criminal). The story arc ends with Whale beating Scarecrow up and leaving him bound and gagged, as a sign to all "masks" that they are not welcome in Whale's new vision of Gotham. Scarecrow appears in Batman: Hush , working for the Riddler and Hush. He composes profiles on
10320-526: Is seeking revenge for Hush's attack on her. The three track down Hush, but are unable to convince him that he is merely a clone. The group is only able to defeat him when Bruce temporarily overrides Hush's control of the Bat-Wraiths. Hush is then accidentally impaled and killed on a Bat-Wraith when Terry throws him off of the real Grayson, the clone being impaled by a Bat-Wraith coming out of a pit that it had previously fallen into before both fall back into
10492-431: Is still recognized as a skilled psychologist. When Aquaman needs insight into a serial killer operating in his new city of Sub Diego — San Diego having been sunk and the inhabitants turned into water-breathers by a secret organization—he consults with Scarecrow for insight into the pattern of the killer's crimes. Scarecrow determined that killer chose his victims by the initials of their first and last names to spell out
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#173277953584110664-553: Is the Secret Society of Super Villains of which there have been several versions. Most villain teams are usually small, having been formed of individuals who know each other personally, such as the Central City Rogues , or have some other reason to work together (mercenary groups like the H.I.V.E. , fanatical cults such as Kobra , etc.). Technology more advanced than that which currently exists in real life
10836-704: Is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC continuity . It contains various superheroes such as Superman , Batman , Wonder Woman , Aquaman , and Flash ; as well as teams such as the Justice League , the Suicide Squad , and the Teen Titans . It also contains well-known supervillains , including Joker , Lex Luthor , Cheetah , Reverse-Flash , and Darkseid . Beyond
11008-582: Is the follow-up to the DC Rebirth relaunch. In late 2022, DC announced a new line-wide initiative titled the Dawn Of DC. The Dawn of DC is a year long story telling initiative with various new, ongoing and limited series. The Dawn of DC titles received a new trade dress. The initiative meant to change the tone for the DC universe into something brighter and lighter, as well as creating more inter-connectivity between multiple series. The basic concept of
11180-432: Is too powerful in the physical world, where harnessing magic can distort and even destroy reality if not properly controlled (e.g., if a Lord of Order succumbs to certain events, so will a Lord of Chaos). There are several types of cosmic entities, such as: The DC Universe is composed of a number of different dimensional planes , most notably parallel Earths (see Multiverse ), but the latter were eliminated when reality
11352-707: The Batman: Arkham video game series. Hush resurfaced in Batman: Gotham Knights , and later in Detective Comics and Batman: Streets of Gotham . He was also the architect behind several of the events of Batman Eternal . Thomas "Tommy" Elliot was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne , and was also born into a wealthy family. The two boys often played a Stratego -esque minifigure game together, and Tommy taught Bruce to think like his opponents and to use their abilities against them to win, which proved useful years later when he became Batman. Thus, as
11524-780: The All-Star Squadron to protect the United States from the Axis powers . However, due to a magical spell cast by Adolf Hitler (using the Spear of Destiny and the Holy Grail ) the most powerful heroes were unable to enter Axis-held territories, leaving the offensive portion of the war to be fought mainly by normal humans such as Sgt. Rock while the superheroes participated in defensive activities in Allied territories. After
11696-565: The Batman: Gotham Knights series) ended unresolved. Hush returned in the later Man-Bat miniseries, and is later shown remembering how painful it was to remove the pacemaker alone, and how the time between Gotham Knights and Heart of Hush was mostly spent recovering from the damage suffered, confirming that Batman did desert Hush at the conclusion of "Payback". Hush returns in Detective Comics #846-#850, in
11868-654: The Black Glove 's upcoming attack on Batman. Hush seeks to prevent Black Glove from killing Batman, which Hush sees as his right alone. In the second part, Hush teams up with the Scarecrow . He performs routine plastic surgery on his own face, which is later revealed to be nearly identical to Bruce Wayne's. Hush then ambushes and subdues Catwoman after she scratches off a portion of his facial bandages, recoiling in horror at what she sees. He then cuts out her heart, places her on life support supplied by Mr. Freeze , and delivers her to Gotham General Hospital. Hush ponders
12040-571: The Cyborg Superman . There are a few intelligent races living on Earth that the public at large did not know about until recent times. Among these are the Amazons of Themyscira and Bana-Mighdall and the last survivors of Atlantis, who changed themselves into water-breathing forms, including the human-like Poseidonians and the mermaid-like Tritonians. Other species, such as Warworlders , were brief test subjects of Project Cadmus who fled to
12212-617: The Flash actually having museums dedicated to them—by the general public, though some individuals have decided that "the metahumans" must be dealt with less passively. Thus, an organization called "the Dome" was formed to help superheroes who needed to fight crime across international borders; the superhero group called the Global Guardians were their main agents. However the Dome eventually lost out, as its United Nations backing went to
12384-620: The Flash , Batman defeats the villains. The Scarecrow surfaces again in Batman: The Dark Knight #10, penned by Gregg Hurwitz , for a six-issue arc. The Scarecrow kidnaps Commissioner James Gordon and several children, and eventually releases his fear toxin into the atmosphere. Scarecrow is also used as a pawn by the Joker in the " Death of the Family " arc; he is referred to as Batman's physician. Scarecrow appears in Swamp Thing (vol. 5) #19 (June 2013), clipping flowers for his toxins at
12556-565: The Fox series Gotham , and Vincent Kartheiser in the HBO Max streaming series Titans . Henry Polic II , Jeffrey Combs , Dino Andrade , John Noble , and Robert Englund , among others, have provided the Scarecrow's voice in animation and video games. Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane introduced the Scarecrow as a new villain in World's Finest Comics #3 (September 1941) during
12728-551: The Golden Age of Comic Books , in which he made only two appearances. Ichabod Crane , the protagonist of Washington Irving 's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow , was used as an inspiration for the character's lanky appearance as well as his alter ego, Jonathan Crane. Scarecrow was revived during the Silver Age of Comic Books by writer Gardner Fox and artist Sheldon Moldoff in Batman #189 (February 1967), which featured
12900-617: The Mad Hatter escape. The Scarecrow gases Batman with fear toxin as he escapes, causing Batman to flee to his parents' grave as Bruce Wayne, where he is arrested by Commissioner Jim Gordon due to Wayne's suspected ties to Falcone. Scarecrow robs a bank with the Mad Hatter on Independence Day for Falcone, but is stopped by Batman and Catwoman. He later appears in Falcone's office on Halloween with Batman's future rogue's gallery , but
13072-548: The Metropolis Botanical Garden. Swamp Thing attempts to save Scarecrow from cutting a poisonous flower, not realizing who the villain is. Scarecrow attempts to use his fear toxin on Swamp Thing. The toxin causes Swamp Thing to lose control of his powers until Superman intervenes. He is later approached by the Outsider of the Secret Society of Super Villains to join up with the group. Scarecrow accepts
13244-603: The Penguin that Penguin is allied with the Suicide Squad . The villains wave off his warnings and mock him. He later leads the same four into a trap orchestrated by Tobias Whale . Killer Moth, Firefly and Lock-Up all survive, but are injured and unconscious to varying degrees, the Scarface puppet is "killed", and Peyton Reily, the new Ventriloquist, is unharmed, though after the attack she is taken away by Whale's men. Whale then betrays Scarecrow simply for touching his shoulder (it
13416-729: The Psions , the Guardians did not intervene in that system, allowing a cruel empire called "the Citadel" to govern there, until it was overthrown by the Omega Men . The Presence is the God of the DC Universe; he created all reality. He is also among the most powerful beings in Creation. There are several lesser beings in the DC universe that possess god-like powers, through energy manipulation, magic ability, or technological advancement. Magic and
13588-765: The Riddler to ruin Bruce's life upon discovering that he is Batman. Wrapping his face in bandages to conceal his identity, Tommy becomes a manipulative criminal mastermind called "Hush" to seek revenge against his former friend. The character has been adapted from the comics into numerous forms of media, having been portrayed in live-action television by Cole Vallis and Gordon Winarick in Gotham , and by Gabriel Mann and Warren Christie in Batwoman . Kevin Conroy voiced Hush in
13760-631: The Riddler with fear gas to manipulate Catwoman, and later aids Riddler when he fights Catwoman in Rome . Scarecrow accidentally attacks Cheetah with his scythe before Catwoman knocks him out. The Scarecrow appears in such story arcs as Knightfall and Shadow of the Bat , first teaming with the Joker to ransom off the mayor of Gotham City . Batman foils their plan and forces them to retreat. Scarecrow betrays Joker by spraying him with fear gas, but it has no effect; Joker then beats Scarecrow senseless with
13932-411: The Riddler , was diagnosed with terminal cancer and eventually hijacked one of Ra's al Ghul 's Lazarus Pits to regain his health. During this mystical treatment, which renders the participant temporarily insane, the Riddler experienced an unexpected epiphany: he realized that Bruce Wayne was Batman. Soon afterwards, the Riddler attempted to sell Tommy the secrets of his newfound revelation in exchange for
14104-702: The Teen Titans ) have either belonged to the League at some point, or have connections to it. As a general rule, being a superhero does not require powers anywhere near omnipotence . Furthermore, even major heroes and cosmic entities have distinct vulnerabilities, such as: Superman 's weaknesses to magic, kryptonite, and red sunlight ; Green Lantern 's initial problems with wood or the color yellow (which have since been largely overcome); or Batman 's lack of superhuman powers, which he supplements with keen intellect, constant training, and specialized technology. Superheroes are generally accepted or even praised—Superman and
14276-484: The White Crane , for which Scarecrow sometimes wields a sickle or scythe. Scarecrow also has proficiency in both biochemistry and toxicology , both important to the invention of his fear toxin, which he atomized with mixed chemicals, including powerful synthetic adrenocortical secretions and other potent hallucinogens that can be inhaled or injected into the bloodstream to amplify the victim's darkest fear into
14448-460: The second Ventriloquist ) – a relationship of which his mother never approved. When Tommy's mother recovered from cancer, she disowned him, subsequently cutting him off from the Elliot family fortune in retaliation for his continuing relationship with Peyton. As a result, Tommy murdered her by smothering her with a pillow, while Peyton killed their lawyer and destroyed Mrs. Elliot's new will. As far as
14620-478: The threeboot Legion lacks time travel technology) while Rip Hunter is the present day authority of the technology. Originally, it was impossible to change the past, or to exist in two places at the same time (a time traveler appearing in an era where they already existed would become an ineffectual, invisible phantom while there). However that was all changed after the Anti-Monitor tried to change history at
14792-535: The " Suicide Squad ") for " black ops ". Most members have been captured supervillains (and thus expendable and deniable assets), and were strongly "encouraged" to join (often with offerings of clemency if they survived their extremely dangerous missions). Outcast personalities are often relegated to the world of DCU supervillainry. They are then usually well versed in heists, kidnappings and robberies. Villains with meek powers contrive schemes of extraordinary complexity, yet—because of their simple talents—they only call
14964-611: The " metagene ", a genetic feature of unknown origin, which causes some people to develop superpowers when exposed to dangerous substances and forces. Others owe their powers to magic , genetic manipulation (or mutation) or bionics ( see below ). A large power gap resides between most superheroes and civilians. Still others owe their powers to not being human at all ( see races, below ). There are also superheroes and supervillains who possess no superhuman powers at all (for example Batman , Robin , Green Arrow or Speedy ), but rival their effectiveness with specialized equipment or "to
15136-691: The 1940s could not easily be reconciled with stories featuring a still-youthful man in the 1960s. To explain this, they introduced the idea of the Multiverse in Flash #123 (1961) where the Silver Age Flash met his Golden Age counterpart . In addition to allowing the conflicting stories to "co-exist", it allowed the differing versions of characters to meet, and even team up to combat cross-universe threats. The writers gave designations such as " Earth-One ", " Earth-Two ", and so forth, to certain universes, designations which at times were also used by
15308-541: The Architect and strapped to a bomb, but was forced to sacrifice Wayne Tower to save his life. In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Hush first appears in issue twenty-one of Batman Eternal as the apparent mastermind behind Commissioner Gordon 's downfall and Carmine Falcone 's return. After injecting Alfred with fear toxin , Hush was seen communicating with Jason Bard about taking control of Gotham. In issue twenty-six,
15480-649: The Bat-family again, Tim Drake activated a contingency plan set in place by Wayne himself to transfer controlling interest in Wayne Enterprises to Drake "if something should happen". This left Hush with no official standing in the company. Hush reappeared in Streets of Gotham for the story arc "House of Hush" beginning in #14. He attempted to push the boundaries of his new role as Bruce Wayne, such as recommending that convicted criminals be allowed back on
15652-552: The Black Lanterns. Overjoyed at finally being able to feel fear again, Scarecrow gleefully and without question follows Sinestro's commands. His celebration is cut short when Lex Luthor , overwhelmed by the orange light of Avarice , steals his ring. In Brightest Day , Scarecrow begins kidnapping and murdering college interns working for LexCorp as a way of getting back at Lex Luthor for stealing his ring. When Robin and Supergirl attempt to stop him, Scarecrow unleashes
15824-564: The Calendar Man out the window with a bomb attached to Day's chest. Terry chooses to try and save Day, but fails. Confirming that Tim Drake was under constant physical and psychological observation since his time as the Joker, Terry eliminates Drake as a suspect and proceeds to confront Dick Grayson . Meanwhile, Hush is revealed to have hired the new Catwoman to plant a tracking device on Batman, before proceeding to strangle her as part of his vendetta. A brief scene with Amanda Waller and
15996-504: The Clock Tower by literally throwing Scarecrow at it. Scarecrow wakes up, transforms into Scarebeast, and wreaks havoc outside the building trying to find and kill Black Mask. The police are unable to take it down, and allow Catwoman, Robin , Tarantula II , and Onyx to fight Scarebeast, as Commissioner Michael Akins had told all officers to capture or kill any vigilantes, costumed criminals or "masks" they find. Even they cannot defeat
16168-605: The DC Universe is that it is just like the real world, but with superheroes and supervillains existing in it. However, there are other corollary differences resulting from the justifications implied by that main concept. Many fictional countries, such as Qurac , Vlatava , and Zandia , exist in it. Though stories are often set in the United States of America , they are as often as not set in fictional cities, such as Gotham City or Metropolis . These cities are effectively archetypes of cities, with Gotham City embodying more of
16340-516: The Dark Knight, utilizing such methods as Poison Ivy using her pheromones to control the Man of Steel and Catwoman and Hush's seemingly benevolent funding of Huntress's vigilante activities. Part of their plot included fooling Bruce into believing the Joker had murdered Tommy; Clayface shapeshifted into Tommy's corpse to create this illusion. With these villains as their pawns, Hush and the Riddler set up an elaborate plot against Batman. Jason Todd , who
16512-569: The Haunter to release a low dose of fear toxin around Gotham on Christmas and sets up a small stand for her to pick up the toxin. Both he and Haunter are paralyzed by the toxin's effects, allowing Batman to apprehend them. The Scarecrow later emerges using a Sinestro Corps power ring to induce fear and rage against Batman in random citizens throughout Gotham, to the point where he provokes Alfred Pennyworth into threatening to shoot Simon Baz as part of his final assault. In Doomsday Clock , Scarecrow
16684-477: The Man of Steel. To instill his toxin, he often uses a hand-held sprayer in the shape of a human skull and special straws which can be snapped in half to release it. In one story, Scarecrow concocts a chemical containing wildfowl pheromones from his childhood that causes nearby birds to attack his opponents. In the story arc As the Crow Flies , after being secretly mutated by Dr. Linda Friitawa, Scarecrow gains
16856-803: The Manhunters, the Spider Guild and the Dark Circle . Most aliens are from different planets, who have a source of origin near the Solar System and in the Milky Way Galaxy, although, unlike the Marvel Universe , alien colonies are common within the Solar System. The Dominators are an imperialistic race of terrorist aliens who control most of the unknown cosmos in order to extract genetic resources from planets. The caste
17028-645: The New 52 universe when his and Batman's investigations into Scarecrow's crimes lead Batman to Mother, a woman who believes that tragedy and trauma serve as 'positive' influences to help people become stronger. To this end, Mother has Scarecrow develop a new style of fear toxin that makes the brain suffer the same experience as witnessing a massive trauma, but Scarecrow turns against Mother as the victims of this plan would become incapable of feeling anything. Recognizing that Mother will kill him once he has outlived his usefulness, Scarecrow attempts to turn himself over to Batman, but Batman uses this opportunity to have him deliver
17200-540: The Pre- Crisis infinite Multiverse, the collapsed Earth, and the Pre- New 52 52 worlds Multiverse. The Infinite Crisis event (2005–2006) remade the DC Universe yet again, with new changes . The limited series 52 (2006–2007) established that a new multiverse now existed, with Earth-0 as the primary Earth. The 2011 reboot of the DC Universe coincided with DC's publishing event The New 52 , during which
17372-690: The Rebirth branding and logo from their titles in December 2017, releasing everything under a single umbrella title as the DC Universe. Coincided with the release of the New Age of Heroes imprint, DiDio explained, "We want to make it clear that this is all the DC Universe... Rebirth pretty much is the DCU now; while we're taking Rebirth off the books, we'll be following the direction that Rebirth established." Titles also received new trade dress , with those "that tie in clearly to our larger DC Universe" having
17544-699: The Scarebeast, though he appears to have been defeated after the Clock Tower explodes. The Scarecrow reappears alongside other Batman villains in Gotham Underground ; first among the villains meeting at the Iceberg Lounge to be captured by the Suicide Squad . Scarecrow escapes by gassing Bronze Tiger with fear toxin. He later appears warning the Ventriloquist II , Firefly , Killer Moth and Lock-Up , who are planning to attack
17716-668: The Silver Age, the Justice Society was reimagined as the Justice League of America, which was founded with Major League Baseball's National League and American League as inspiration for the name. The comic book that introduced the Justice League was titled The Brave and the Bold . However, the majority of National/DC's publications continued to be written with little regard of maintaining continuity with each other for
17888-533: The Talons after Bane freed them from Mad Hatter's mind-control technology. Scarecrow then turns to his next plan, giving the other inmates a small dose of Bane's Venom to temporarily transform them. Upon Bane declaring that Gotham City is finally his, he has Scarecrow hanged between two buildings. In Batman and Robin Eternal , flashbacks reveal that Scarecrow was the first villain faced by Dick Grayson as Robin in
18060-577: The Underworld below Metropolis. There is also a tribe of highly intelligent, telepathic gorillas living in Gorilla City, an invisible city hidden in Africa; this is the home of Gorilla Grodd . Certain creatures created such as angelic beings, timeline driven entities, experimental deformities and dimension creatures are not considered hidden races because it is simply not included. However, it
18232-594: The United States in 2000, and entire cities and countries being destroyed. There are other minor variations, such as the Earth being slightly larger than ours (to accommodate the extra countries), and the planet Saturn having 18 moons rather than 19 because Superman destroyed one. "New Earth" is the Earth-like home planet to the main storybook characters of the DC Universe - the one with Smallville where Superman grows up, and Gotham City where Bruce Wayne avenges his parents by becoming Batman . This New Earth
18404-505: The Wayne fortune, Hush did not allow it to halt his scheming altogether. Hush had appeared, notably as a member of the Gotham Shield Committee, around Gotham quite frequently, often attempting to make connections. When Ra's al Ghul arrived in Gotham, promising to ruin the Wayne family in retaliation against Red Robin , he immediately sought out Hush. Faced with the prospect of Hush using Ra's al Ghul's support to turn on
18576-497: The Wayne fortune, reasoning that Batman's fellow superheroes will accept that Batman has earned the right to end his career. However, Batman is able to stave off the effects of the paralytic gas, recover Catwoman's heart, and warn Alfred of Hush's deception. Although Alfred disarms Elliot, Hush manages to get the Batcave, where he nearly kills Batman, but Alfred's continued interference and the arrival of Nightwing and Robin turned
18748-566: The ability to turn into a large, monstrous creature called the Scarebeast. As Scarebeast, he has greatly enhanced strength, endurance, and emits a powerful fear toxin from his body. However, he has to be under physical strain or duress to transform. During the Blackest Night mini-series, Scarecrow is temporarily deputized into the Sinestro Corps by a duplicate of Sinestro 's Power ring. He proves to be very capable in manipulating
18920-559: The absolute limit of human potential" training in special skills, such as martial arts. The humans first began using costumed identities to fight or commit crime during the 1930s. The first superheroes included characters like the Crimson Avenger and The Sandman . In November 1940, the first superhero team, the Justice Society of America , was formed. During World War II , all of America's heroes were banded together as
19092-579: The absorption into the DC continuity of the original Captain Marvel , Plastic Man and Captain Atom . In this way, heroes originally published by different companies are now part of the same fictional universe, and interactions between such characters are no longer considered intercompany crossovers. Additionally, the Marvel Comics Universe is also said to exist in the DC Universe as one of
19264-644: The alley in front of Batman. With the help of Catwoman , — whom Scarecrow had attempted to blackmail into helping him by capturing her and photographing her unmasked— Batman catches Scarecrow, but loses sight of Strange, with it being unclear whether Strange had actually survived the fall onto the weather vane, or if Scarecrow and Batman are hallucinating from exposure to Scarecrow's fear toxin. Scarecrow appears in Batman: The Long Halloween , first seen escaping from Arkham on Mother's Day with help from Carmine Falcone , who also helps
19436-440: The attention of powerless superheroes like Batman , or lesser superheroes like Booster Gold . When caught, any prison sufficient to contain these villains is suitable. More powerful villains strive to contest for greater goals like world domination and/or universal acclaim (from the public and their villainous peers). Usually more powerful enemies are imprisoned in maximum-level facilities—such as Belle Reve Penitentiary (which also
19608-617: The beginning of time during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Also, a number of alternate realities -known as Hypertime -now exist. A group calling itself the Linear Men formed to prevent anyone from changing history. In addition, an enormously powerful being called the Time Trapper , an enemy of the Legion, has been known to manipulate the timestream, even creating " pocket universes ". Hush (character) Hush ( Thomas Elliot )
19780-478: The belief of comical parodies; e.g. the story-line of the alien, Monstergirl, and her affluent life-style as a teenage recluse who turns into a monster or the purpose of Asmodel, an angelic inter-dimensional being from a conceptual Heaven who comes to Earth. Therefore, these particular races are not considered hidden but alien and extra-dimensional (see the following sections below for reference). There are many intelligent extraterrestrial races as well. Curiously,
19952-418: The black market, but is stopped by Batman and Damian Wayne . It also comes to light that Hush tried to have Bruce Wayne murdered as a boy, using his father's half-sister Catherine (who worked as a GCPD detective) to cover up the attempts by botching the investigations. The 2010 Batman Beyond miniseries revealed that Bruce Wayne's last fight with Hush occurred on a rainy night and consisted primarily of
20124-480: The characters themselves. Earth-One was the primary world of this publication era, as established in " Flash of Two Worlds " and "Crisis on Earth-One!". Over the years, as the number of titles published increased and the volume of past stories accumulated, it became increasingly difficult to maintain internal consistency. In the face of diminishing sales, maintaining the status quo of their most popular characters became attractive. Although retcons were used as
20296-522: The child, Scarecrow activates a Venom implant, causing the boy to attack Batman. He is defeated when Batman ties the boy's teddy bear to Scarecrow, causing the child to attack Scarecrow. After capturing Scarecrow, Batman forces him to reveal Hush's location. In the Battle for the Cowl storyline, Scarecrow is recruited by a new Black Mask to be a part of a group of villains who are aiming to take over Gotham in
20468-468: The collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery . Thomas "Tommy" Elliot was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne who attempts to murder his own parents and inherit their massive fortune. His plan fails when Bruce's father, Dr. Thomas Wayne , saves his mother's life, beginning his grudge against the Waynes. Tommy grows up to become a gifted neurosurgeon and, out of jealous resentment, allies with
20640-543: The complex continuity through streamlined storylines and events. The fact that DC Comics characters coexisted in the same world was first established in All Star Comics #3 (1940) where several superheroes (who starred in separate stories in the series up to that point) met each other in a group dubbed the Justice Society of America . Earth-Two was the primary world of this publication era, as established in " Flash of Two Worlds " and "Crisis on Earth-Two!". In
20812-550: The course of the confrontation, Hush's attack disrupts a dimensional gate Superman had provided that was intended to take Batman to a peaceful pocket universe, resulting in Hush and Nightwing being trapped in an in-between place for individuals who have lost all sense of individual identity. As Hush's rants affirm his inability to forge a life for himself outside of an obsession with Bruce Wayne, he reveals that he has given himself plastic surgery to look like Dick Grayson to try and recapture his old friendship with Bruce. Ultimately, Hush
20984-513: The current situation to his advantage. Hush faked experiencing spontaneous combustion, and when Alfred arrived at his cell to assist, Hush overpowered him and escaped. He then re-emerged as Bruce Wayne, claiming that he would donate a billion dollars a month to Gotham City until the financial crisis was over. Dick and Damian, along with the Outsiders and assorted other superheroes, explained to Hush that they would always watch and control him- with
21156-535: The debut of the character's signature fear-inducing hallucinogen or "fear toxin". The character remained relatively unchanged throughout the Bronze Age of Comic Books . Following the 1986 multi-title event Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot , the character's origin story is expanded on in Batman Annual #19 and the miniseries Batman/Scarecrow: Year One , with this narrative also revealing that Crane has
21328-409: The entire scenario. Some time after the events of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker , Terry McGinnis discovers the former Signalman murdered in a manner reminiscent of Two-Face 's M.O. He subsequently tracks the murderer to a hospital where an aged Jervis Tetch is being held and finds a bandaged man standing over a badly injured nurse. The man flees as Terry rushes over to the nurse, who says
21500-419: The events of Batman Incorporated ) below Gotham, killing an unknown number of civilians, policemen and military personnel. He was able to enter the cache with DNA taken from Alfred Pennyworth. After having blown up another weapon cache and having been shot through the shoulder with a grappling hook by Julia Pennyworth, Hush gave up his location to Batman to face him in a final showdown. They met and fought in
21672-474: The fear toxin to bring out the fear; Calendar Man, meanwhile, had been talking to Alberto, with the fear toxin making Alberto hear his father's voice. Together, they manipulate Alberto into making an unsuccessful assassination attempt on his sister, Sofia Gigante . After Two-Face's hideout is attacked, Batman captures Scarecrow, who tells him where Two-Face is heading. In Catwoman: When in Rome , Scarecrow supplies
21844-408: The fictional world is similar to the real one (for instance, there was a Roman Empire , and World War II and 9/11 both occurred), but many fantastic additions exist, such as the known existence of Atlantis . In recent years, stories have increasingly described events which bring the DC Universe farther away from reality, such as World War III occurring, Lex Luthor being elected as President of
22016-451: The first few decades. In the 1950s and 1960s, DC has introduced different versions of its characters, sometimes presenting them as if the earlier version had never existed, including: Flash ( Barry Allen ), Green Lantern ( Hal Jordan ), and Hawkman ( Katar Hol ). These new versions of the characters had similar powers but different names and personal histories. Similarly, they had characters such as Batman whose early adventures set in
22188-632: The formulation his plan in the wake of Batman's abandonment of him. While Catwoman is left in Doctor Mid-Nite 's care, Batman learns the location of Hush's headquarters from Scarecrow. Hush attacks Batman with a paralytic gas, and shows him the room containing Catwoman's heart, which is being kept alive through artificial means. He then confesses to Batman his plan: using his newfound resemblance to Bruce, he will kill and disfigure him to steal his identity, eliminating those who know him best and regularly interact with him, after which he will retire with
22360-470: The granddaughter of the original Hush (Nora Elliot before her marriage), seeking to atone for her grandfather's sins. Hush sends a transmission to the Batcave, revealing that he has taken control of the Bat-Wraiths. He threatens to destroy Gotham to save it by setting off bombs along a fault line and triggering a new earthquake . The wounded Terry is aided by Dick Grayson despite Bruce and Terry's concerns about his old injuries. They are joined by Catwoman who
22532-593: The impending war, by blowing up the bridges giving access to Gotham City. Scarecrow and Man-Bat attempt to steal the frozen Talons from Blackgate while Penguin is having a meeting with Bane. Killer Croc rescues Scarecrow and Man-Bat from Blackgate and brings Scarecrow to Wayne Tower, where he gives Killer Croc control of Wayne Tower, as it no longer suits him. Scarecrow begins waking the Talons in his possession, having doused them with his fear gas and using Mad Hatter 's mind-control technology in their helmets to control them. At Arkham Asylum, Scarecrow senses that he has lost
22704-501: The impending war. It was also stated that Talons from the Court of Owls were stored at Blackgate on ice. Later, looking over the divided city, Scarecrow claims that once the war is over and the last obstacle has fallen, Gotham City would be his. Scarecrow approaches Professor Pyg at Gotham Memorial Hospital to see if he will give his supplies and Dollotrons to Scarecrow's followers. Scarecrow goes to Penguin next, who has already planned for
22876-581: The institutions of Gotham . Hush duels with Batman, but loses. He was likely kept obedient through hypnosis by the Psycho Pirate . Hush resurfaces in Detective Comics #1031, where he takes advantage of the confusion during an anti-vigilante riot to drug and kidnap several members of the Bat Family : Batwoman , Nightwing , Red Hood , Signal , and two Batgirls ( Barbara Gordon and Cassandra Cain ). Hush plans to harvest their organs to sell on
23048-413: The invading Black Lanterns . The drug has taken a further toll on his sanity, exacerbated by Batman's disappearance in the Batman R.I.P. storyline; he develops a literal addiction to fear, exposing himself deliberately to the revenant army, but knowing that only Batman could scare him again. Using a duplicate of Sinestro 's power ring , he is temporarily deputized into the Sinestro Corps to combat
23220-436: The latter's shapeshifting abilities, Hush was briefly able to shed doubt on his true identity and had Alfred Pennyworth framed for murder, using samples taken from the new Clayface to infect Alfred with a virus that would allow Elliot to control him. Hush also attempted to analyse samples taken from Clayface with the goal of duplicating Clayface's shape-shifting abilities for himself without the usual side-effects such as loss of
23392-481: The light of fear to create constructs until his ring is stolen by Lex Luthor . Crane, in almost all of his incarnations, is cruel, sadistic, deranged, and manipulative above all else. Crane is obsessed with fear, and takes sadistic pleasure in frightening his victims, often literally to death, with his fear toxin. Crane also suffers from brain damage from prolonged exposure to his own toxin that renders him nearly incapable of being afraid of anything - except Batman. This
23564-559: The logo on his chest heavily armoured—and manages to shut down the robot. Hush then proceeds to attempt to hack the Bat-Wraith, which forces Bruce to use the self-destruct. Terry subsequently attempts to trap Hush by posing as current Bat-foe Mad Stan, only to be defeated and exposed by Hush's use of Shriek's technology. Hush unmasks himself, appearing to be a bitter and enraged Dick Grayson. He spares Bruce and Terry so that they can witness him in action saving Gotham. Bruce then directs
23736-551: The main continuity, the DC Multiverse encompasses all alternate realities within DC Comics. The primary universe has been known by various names over time, with recent designations including "Prime Earth" or "Earth 0" (distinct from " Earth Prime "). The DC Universe and its alternate realities have been adapted across multiple media, including film serials , radio dramas , and modern films, with ongoing efforts to address
23908-474: The man uttered a single word, "Hush". Returning to the cave, Terry learns what happened in Bruce's last fight with Hush. Terry soon discovers that the reformed villain, Armory, has been killed with sharpened umbrellas (the Penguin 's weapon of choice). Attempting to stay ahead of their foe, Terry and Bruce search out the Calendar Man (Julian Gregory Day). Upon confronting Day, Terry is suddenly ambushed by Hush, who broke in beforehand. During Terry's fight with
24080-621: The many alternative universes. The reverse may also be said with respect to the Marvel Universe. This is one method of explaining the various crossover stories co-published by the two companies. Heaven and Hell exist in the DC Universe but may not exist in the same continuum. Versions vary from the Vertigo and DC Universe series with writers of the Vertigo Universe depicting them in relation to religion and mythology while
24252-533: The message 'I can't take it any more', allowing Aquaman to determine both the true identity and final target of the real killer. In DC vs. Marvel , the Scarecrow temporarily allies with the Marvel Universe Scarecrow to capture Lois Lane before they are both defeated by Ben Reilly . In the 2004 story arc As the Crow Flies , Scarecrow is hired by the Penguin under false pretenses. Dr. Linda Friitawa then secretly mutates Scarecrow into
24424-414: The metahuman potential; this means that a species that was meant to have a wide range of powers, like Tamaranians or Kryptonians, ended up "just...human". However, there are also plenty of nonhumanoid races. The DC Universe has had many natural and cosmic disasters happen to their alien civilizations. The Martians were destroyed by war, the Kryptonians by a dying planet that exploded, and the Czarnians by
24596-489: The more famous Justice League. In general, DC Comics has led a parody of its own teams and organizations after the Watchmen storyline and the Batman run from a dark humor style which began during the 1980s and ended in the early 90s. Superhero teams such as the Doom Patrol and Justice League International led the writers to have a more subtle approach of semiotic dark humor with its own version of over-powered egos dominating personalities. The American government has had
24768-662: The negative aspects of life in a large city, and Metropolis reflecting more of the positive aspects. Sentient alien species (such as Kryptonians and Thanagarians) and even functioning interstellar societies are generally known to exist, and the arrival of alien spacecraft is not uncommon. Technologies which are only theoretical in the real world, such as artificial intelligence or are outright impossible according to modern science, such as faster-than-light travel, are functional and reproducible, though they are often portrayed as highly experimental and difficult to achieve. Demonstrable magic exists and can be learned. The general history of
24940-402: The new Catwoman on how to treat Terry's injuries. The new Hush is subsequently revealed as a clone of Grayson. Waller, determined to provide the world with a Batman , cloned Grayson based on DNA and memory readings taken after Grayson's last fight as Nightwing. Waller believed that Grayson was more stable than Bruce and would therefore be easier to control. Doctor Reid also reveals herself to be
25112-424: The new Hush, it is revealed that this Hush is not only capable of matching the current Batman in a fight, but is also aware of Bruce Wayne's identity as Batman. He regards Terry as an impostor with no understanding of what it means to be Batman. He also regards his murders of Batman's rogues gallery as orphaning Batman all over again by killing his enemies as the only loving family he has had. Hush escapes by throwing
25284-443: The offer. As part of " Villains Month ", Detective Comics (vol. 2) #23.3 (Sept. 2013) was titled The Scarecrow #1. Scarecrow goes to see Killer Croc , Mr. Freeze , Poison Ivy, and Riddler and informs them of a war at Blackgate Penitentiary is coming and learns where each of the alliances lives. Through his conversations with each, Scarecrow learns that Bane may be the cause of the Blackgate uprising and will be their leader in
25456-403: The other heroes acting as a 'board of directors' intended to 'supervise' his financial dealings- and that someone will always be ready to take him down if he steps out of line. With no other option available to him, Hush reluctantly agreed to play Dick Grayson's puppet, posing as Bruce Wayne, and thus keeping the public from realizing that Bruce was dead. Though this ruined his original plan to sap
25628-464: The philosophy of Aristotle , which he often quotes. Driven by his desire for independence and wealth, Tommy severed the brake line of his parents' car, causing a crash that killed his father and injured his mother; his mother, however, was saved in an emergency operation by Thomas Wayne, which enraged young Elliot. While at a summer camp with Bruce, Tommy attacked a boy and ended up in a psychiatric ward; he blamed Bruce and his mother for his outburst. He
25800-409: The public's knowledge. Technology can also come from outer space or different timelines. Apokolips weaponry is often sold in Metropolis to the criminal organization known as Intergang . Robots and similar creations, including cyborgs, can have superior intelligence when they are created as sentient beings. The Manhunters , the Metal Men , Red Tornado , Robotman , Hourman , and Metallo are but
25972-632: The publisher cancelled its ongoing titles and relaunched 52 new books, including a number of new books, set within a revised continuity. This follows the conclusion of the Flashpoint crossover storyline, which provided a jumping-off point for the existing continuity. A number of in-universe changes are intended to make characters more modern and accessible, though the scope of the changes varies from character to character. Some like Batman have their histories left largely intact, though compressed, while others were given wildly different histories and looks. DC stopped putting 'The New 52' logo on its publications in
26144-418: The rest of the world was concerned, his mother had died of a household accident. Finally the sole recipient of his family's fortune, Tommy abandoned Peyton and began traveling the world, as Bruce had. Although he went on to Harvard University and became a successful surgeon , Tommy continued to harbor an irrational grudge towards his childhood friend. At some point in his career, Edward Nygma, also known as
26316-420: The side of the law, Dent shot Hush twice, throwing him off a bridge. Although Batman was sure that Hush was his childhood friend Thomas Elliot, he was not able to unmask him. In 2022, a 20th anniversary edition trade paperback of the original Hush storyline contained a newly produced epilogue. Written and drawn by the original authors Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee , it detailed how Hush escaped to an air pocket in
26488-412: The story "Heart of Hush", which ties together with " Batman R.I.P. ". In this arc, set a few nights before the events depicted in "R.I.P.", Hush is portrayed in a slightly different thematic fashion than in his prior appearances. His past as a surgeon serves as an important thematic aspect of his modus operandi . In the first issue, Hush reveals that his return was hastened when he began to hear whispers of
26660-420: The story of Bruce Wayne as a Green Lantern. In another tale, Superman: Speeding Bullets , the rocket ship that brought the infant Superman to Earth was discovered by the Wayne family of Gotham City rather than the Kents. In 1999, The Kingdom reintroduced a variant of the old Multiverse concept called Hypertime which essentially allows for alternate versions of characters and worlds again. The entire process
26832-519: The streets. However, this plan backfired when the criminal Jane Doe—a woman who lost her face in an accident and had resorted to cutting off the faces of others—became obsessed with 'Bruce Wayne' after he had her released. She infiltrated his life by taking the face of his new assistant, and subsequently cut off Elliot's new face with the intention of becoming Bruce Wayne herself. The returned Bruce Wayne, once again acting as Batman, caught her and Hush, and they were both sent to Arkham, Bruce declaring that he
27004-540: The summer of 2015, coinciding with the Convergence anniversary crossover event which celebrated the history of the DC Multiverse and its various incarnations. In February 2016, DC announced its DC Rebirth initiative, a line-wide relaunch of its titles, to begin in June 2016. Beginning with an 80-page one-shot which was released on May 25, 2016, DC Rebirth also sees Action Comics and Detective Comics return to their previous numbering (#957 and #934 respectively), all books releasing at US$ 2.99 , multiple books shifting to
27176-491: The supernatural are often depicted as being real in the DC Universe, though some skeptics, such as Mister Terrific , maintain that there are scientific explanations to all such events. The narration of the mystic and harsh dark reality is more common in DC's Vertigo Comics because its stories lurk outside of superhero fantasy; the Vertigo series have beings that relate better to civilian life, although both universes are subject to fantastical realms and unworldly dimensions. Magic
27348-414: The surgery had been a success. He was intercepted by Batman before he could confront the Joker and demanded that Batman allow him to kill the Joker. Batman seemed to agree and began to leave, but then revealed that he had tricked Hush – the pacemaker was still in his body, and he had been allowed to escape from Arkham. At that moment, the Joker arrived, and Hush begged Batman not to leave him. The issue (and
27520-408: The test subject in experiments using his fear toxin, intending to test its readiness for use on Batman. She spends more than a year in Arkham Asylum recuperating from Scarecrow's experiments. Blaming Batman for her trauma, O'Shay adopted the identity of Madame Crow with the intention of making sure no one would feel the kind of fear she did ever again as she becomes a member of the Victim Syndicate. In
27692-531: The tide. Hush retreats on the Whirly-Bat, a one-man helicopter, but his bandages become tangled in the rotor, causing the vehicle to explode. In searching for traces of Hush, Batman, Nightwing, and Robin find only some bloody bandages, and conclude that he is dead. Doctor Mid-Nite surgically restores Catwoman's heart, but notes that she is unlikely to ever regain her physical prowess. While convalescing, she and her allies find all of Hush's secret bank accounts, and loots those funds for themselves, which she documents in
27864-469: The various villains of Gotham so Riddler and Hush can manipulate them to their own ends. He later gases Huntress with his fear gas, making her attack Catwoman. He attacks Batman in a graveyard, only to learn his fear gas is ineffective (due to Hush's bug), but before he can reveal this he is knocked out by Jason Todd . Scarecrow also appears in Batman: Heart of Hush , kidnapping a child to distract Batman so Hush can attack Catwoman. When Batman goes to rescue
28036-434: The wake of Batman's apparent death. He later assists the crime lord in manufacturing a recreational drug called "Thrill," which draws the attention of Oracle and Batgirl . He is later defeated by Batgirl and once again arrested. Scarecrow briefly appears in the fourth issue of the Blackest Night storyline. His immunity to fear (brought about by frequent exposure to his own fear toxin) renders him practically invisible to
28208-470: The war, under pressure from the paranoid Committee on Un-American Activities , the JSA disbanded. While many types of heroes were active afterwards (mainly non-costumed, such as the Challengers of the Unknown or Detective Chimp ), it was not until Superman's public debut that a new generation of costumed heroes became active. Soon after, the Justice League of America was formed, and they have remained Earth's preeminent superhero team; most DC heroes (such as
28380-435: The writers in the DCU have a tendency to narrate fantasy. The Speed Force is an extradimensional energy source which provides the speedsters of the DC Universe with their powers. Accessing the Speed Force makes it possible to run at incredible speeds, even faster than light, and even to jump in and out of the timestream, thereby travelling - albeit with a limited degree of control - through time. The Speed Force also acts as
28552-445: Was Batman's financial backer to make any attempt Hush might make to expose his identity basically irrelevant. During the events of Batman: Gates of Gotham , Hush was freed from Arkham by a new villain named the Architect. As this happened, Red Robin , Batman , and Blackbat realized that the Elliot family was connected to a series of bombings that destroyed three historical Gotham bridges. Batman found Hush, who had been betrayed by
28724-601: Was altered by the Anti-Monitor (although stories featuring parallel Earths have continued to crop up with various rationalizations in the following years). Other types of dimensions still exist, however, including the Antimatter Universe of Qward , the Pax dimension , the Fifth Dimension and the Bleed . Prison dimensions, such as the Phantom Zone , are meant to house superpowered criminals who are too powerful for any conventional means of containment. Dimensions make up many universes, of which some are created and destroyed with help from supernatural forces and elements from which power
28896-420: Was believed to be dead for years, entered the pact with the villains and gave them insights on how Batman thought. Using the shapeshifting abilities of Clayface, they created a decoy of the former Robin ; Hush collaborated with Riddler, Todd, and Clayface to use the Dark Knight's guilt over his ward's apparent death against him at Todd's gravesite. Around this time, Hush cured the disfigured Harold Allnut ,
29068-428: Was hardly going to be locked up in his own home. In All-Star Batman #10, Hush secretly allies himself with Penguin , Black Mask , and Great White Shark to trick Batman into procuring a MacGuffin called the Genesis engine for them. The ruse succeeds, but Hush and his allies are then ambushed and nearly murdered by the new villain Nemesis. After DC Comics' new line-wide relaunch Rebirth , Hush first appeared in
29240-485: Was possibly inspired by Alan Moore 's meta-comic, Supreme: Story of the Year (1997). The Convergence (2015) crossover officially retconned the events of Crisis after heroes in that series went back in time to prevent the collapse of the Multiverse. However, Brainiac states "Each world has evolved but they all still exist". It has been confirmed that all previous worlds and timelines now exist, and that there are even multiple Multiverses now in existence, such as
29412-419: Was secretly Task Force X's headquarters) and even alternate dimensions or outer space —because they cannot simply be killed by a bullet, electricity, or poison. Supervillains sometimes also form their own groups, but these tend to be short-lived because most villains simply do not trust each other. Most such teams are formed by a charismatic and/or fearsome criminal mastermind for specific purposes; an example
29584-446: Was then kept as prisoner in the Batcave , but broke out with the help of the then unknown mastermind behind the current threat. Hush proceeded to sabotage the equipment of several members of the Batman Family via the Batcomputer as they fought various villains, including crashing the Batwing with Batman still in it. He was then returned to captivity after having been ambushed by Alfred Pennyworth, Alfred harshly informing Hush that he
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