Jonathan Crane (Gotham)

"Jonathan Crane isn't here anymore, just the Scarecrow!"

- Scarecrow

Jonathan Crane is a character in the FOX television series Gotham, appearing as a reluctant accomplice and supporting antagonist to his father Gerald Crane in the season 1 episodes "The Fearsome Dr. Crane" and "The Scarecrow", and will return as the main antagonist in the season 4 arc A Dark Knight. He is portrayed by Charlie Tahan and acts as the origin to the Batman supervillain Scarecrow.

Backgroundb
Jonathan lost his mother Karen in a house fire when he was just a young boy, and was left in the sole care of his father Gerald Crane. Gerald was also traumatised over his wife's death, and looked for a way to eliminate fear in order to face up to it. Gerald began kidnapping people at a support group he attended under the name of "Todd" and exposed them to their greatest fears and then killed them. He extracted their adrenal glands as part of a plot to create a serum to eliminate fear. He got Jonathan to assist, although the boy was reluctant.

Season 1
Gerald's killing spree draws the attention of the Gotham City Police Department, with detectives Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock looking into the case.

Gerald kidnaps a therapist named Scottie Mullins from the support group and exposes her to her greatest fear - drowning, which he carries out at a swimming pool. Jonathan arrives on the scene to inform his father that the meter where they have parked is about to run out. He is shocked by what he sees, although aware of his father's plans. Gerald assures his son it will be alright, and gives him money to feed the meter.

In the midst of drowning Scottie, Gordon and Bullock arrive on the scene, with Bullock saving Scottie and Gordon giving chase. However Gerald manages to escape with Jonathan.

Gerald kills another victim and extracts their adrenal glands, and manages to create his serum which he uses on himself, which causes him to hallucinate a fire and his burning wife. Having gone through this hallucination, Gerald's fears are eliminated. He tries the serum on Jonathan, but in panic Jonathan flees the scene and into a nearby cornfield. Gerald gives chase and while running away, Jonathan dismisses his father, claiming that he isn't afraid and does not need the serum. Nonetheless, Gerald injects his son with the serum. After overdosing, Jonathan looks up at a scarecrow and begins to hallucinate it as a monstrous creature, causing him to scream in terror. Bullock and Gordon arrive, and Gerald (having had his fears eliminated) opens fire on the officers, but ends up being shot dead.

Jonathan is taken to hospital, where a doctor informs him that as a side effect of the serum, he will be in a constant state of fear. Strapped down on his hospital bed, Jonathan hallucinates a monstrous Scarecrow creeping around the bed before finally swooping down on the boy and "attacking" him.

Season 4
Jonathan will return for the fourth season of Gotham in which he has taken on the identity of ,,the Scarecrow '' and is seen using some form of fear toxin.

Personality
In his teenage years, Jonathan Crane was shown to be a normal boy forced into his crazed father's wave of crimes. Although he was an accomplice in his father's kidnappings, Jonathan is shown to be disturbed and distressed at the situation; but he continues to remain loyal to his dad. As Gerald continues his quest to eliminate fear, Jonathan is pushed over the edge and attempts to abandon his father, showing opposition to his scheme and claiming that he wasn't even afraid.

After being injected with the formula, Jonathan suffered frightening side effects and began to hallucinate a monstrous Scarecrow stalking him, sending Jonathan into madness.

In the following years Jonathan would don the identity of "The Scarecrow" and he begins his own crime wave in which he plots to plunge the city of Gotham into fear.

Season 1

 * "The Fearsome Dr. Crane"
 * "The Scarecrow"

Trivia

 * This version of the character is the youngest incarnation of the supervillain Scarecrow.
 * Ben McKenzie (who plays Jim Gordon) had expressed interest during the third season of the show of Jonathan Crane being reintroduced and further exploring the character; which came true for season 4.
 * Unlike most versions of Scarecrow, this one isn't a professor (due to his young age).
 * Jonathan's origin in the show takes elements from his different origins in the comics, although slightly changing them. In his Prime Earth counterpart, Jonathan was raised by his sadistic grandmother and never had contact with his real father Gerald (who in this continuity wasn't a villain) and had little contact with his mother Karen. When grown up, he attempts to get revenge on his father by killing him, but is stopped by Batman. In the New 52 backstory, Jonathan is experimented on by his father Dr. Crane as part of his research. When Dr. Crane dies, Jonathan is trapped in a darkened room and it takes a few days for authorities to find him as Dr. Crane's school reports him missing.