DC:first appearance 1941
Thin and lanky as a child, Jonathan Crane was shunned by his peers and found lonely and solitary comfort in books. As Crane got older, he buried himself deeper and deeper in his studies. He created a disaffected outer persona to hide the hurt and anger within him, releasing his rage only to frighten small, defenseless creatures. Cultivating this interest in fear led to Crane getting his doctoral degree in psychology, specializing in the study of phobias. Fired from his teaching post at Gotham University because of his bizarre teaching methods, Crane instead turned to a life of crime. Taking a cue from an old childhood nickname, Crane became the Scarecrow -- taking his delight in frightening his victims as he steals the wealth he needs to fund his next experiment in terror.One of the most intelligent foes the Batman has ever faced, the Scarecrow is a brilliant, yet twisted, scientist. The Scarecrow's finest creation is his "fear gas," a powerful hallucinogen that brings a person's greatest fears to life. A surprizingly good hand-to-hand combatant considering his physique, the Scarecrow has studied the crane style of kung fu and perfected his own unique fighting style which he calls "violent dancing."
Marvel:1963/64?
Ebenezer Laughton was a naturally flexible, lithe, double-jointed youth who saw a "rubber man" perform at a traveling carnival and became obsessed with emulating him. Training himself almost incessantly, Laughton learned to twist and bend his body into numerous unusual positions and perform various acrobatic stunts. A brief audition of his abilities gained him a job at a live variety show where he billed himself as Umberto the Uncanny. During one of his performances, Iron Man entered the theater in pursuit of a criminal whom he observed robbing the ticket vendor outside. Seeking publicity, Laughton stopped the thief with a simple acrobatic move. As Iron Man carried the criminal away, Laughton realized the potential in his particular skills for illegitimate gain.
After stealing a scarecrow outfit from a costume shop, he chose for his first outing as a costumed criminal, the apartment of wealthy socialite and industrialist Tony Stark. At first attempting to steal Stark's valuables and money, the Scarecrow discovered top secret industrial designs in the apartment and decided to sell them to the highest bidder. This theft led him into battle with Stark's alter ego, Iron Man, but first Stark pal Happy Hogan had a (unsuccessful) crack at him! 'Crow escaped with the assistance of his loyal crows (!). He planned to sell the stolen plans to Cuban agents, but IM popped up and made short work of them, and tossed 'Crow in the drink. As IM trashed the Cuban boat, he turned to see Scarecrow being dragged through the surf by his crows -- to Cuba!! Hmmm...which is worse: American prison, or Castro's Cuba?
After that he became an abitual Captain America villain, slowly turning obsessed by Cap and later by "the fear within everyone" (and within Cap).Became a mad serial killer because of his returning memories of his mother abusing of him when child. But it is against GR that he was really pumped up, as character and as powers.He was chirurgically enhanced (to produce fear inducting pherormones, to get stronger in presence of fear, accelerated healing factor also )
Most recently, he died and became an undead pawn of Blackheart, with the power to "possess" people.
