The following video is based on research done by Giant Panda King,
as well as their book Gotham 1919-1939, available at www.giantpandaking.com.
Viewer discretion is advised.
For the second episode in our deep dive series, I figured who better than the Fear monger himself,
the Scarecrow? Employee at Arkham Asylum and subordinate to Hugo Strange,
let’s see the real history behind this character in Gotham 1919-1939.
In Gotham 1919-1939, Jonathan Crane is based off of a number of actual historical figures
and subjects. A fair warning, this video will cover sensitive topics from World War II,
as well as chemical warfare in World War I. To kick it off, let’s look at the historical figures!
First up, we have Fritz Haber, a Nobel-winning German chemist. He was famous for helping to
formulate the Haber-Bosch method, a process that synthesized ammonia from nitrogen and
hydrogen gases under high pressure. He - along with colleague, Robert le Rossignol - developed
this method during their time at the University of Karlsruhe. This process was what won him a Nobel
Prize. As the years progressed, Haber was a known vocal supporter of the German powers rising just
before World War I. He was one of many scientists who signed the Manifesto of the Ninety-Three,
a document proclaiming the support of the German science community for the German government and
their direction. This proclamation was an attempt to sway the rest of the world in their favor.
With the start of World War I, Haber worked on a specialized team in the German army,
the gas warfare division. It was his time here that eventually earned him the title “father of
chemical warfare.” He developed numerous gas weapons for the Germans to use and faced much
criticism from the rest of the world for the death toll caused by his weapons. His response to these
critics was to state that death was death, by whatever means it is inflicted. In contrast to
Jonathan Crane, it is easy to see the similarities between him and Fritz Haber. Scarecrow would
have minimal regard for human life in the pursuit of his research and experimentation,
and would have similar experience in the field of chemistry in developing his own fear toxin.
The next historical figure we’ll cover in this video is Josef Mengele. Again, a warning to
anyone watching about the following information: it contains sensitive topics from World War II.
Now you might be wondering: why are we covering a historical figure from World War II if Gotham
1919-1939 takes place before that? Well, you’ll see once we get into this historical figure.
Josef Mengele was an officer of the SS and physician during World War II. The deplorable
acts he committed during the war earned him the title “Angel of Death.” He was responsible for
overseeing the selection of victims for the gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camps,
as well as the administration of the gas itself. He helped test the deadly Zyklon B,
a cyanide-based pesticide used in the Birkenau gas chambers. Whenever an epidemic broke out among the
prisoners in the camp, Mengele would use it as an excuse to either kill a sick individual in order
to perform an autopsy on them, or he would send an entire cell block (often Jewish individuals)
to the gas chambers, ordering their cell block to be disinfected. He did some truly awful,
evil things to these prisoners. One of Mengele’s other terrible acts was his research into heredity
through human experimentation. Heredity is the passing of genetic traits from parents
to offspring, whether sexually or asexually. This includes eye color, hair color, and numerous other
things. Heredity is also the thing that causes certain genetic traits to naturally accumulate,
resulting in the evolutionary process via natural selection. Mengele’s experiments took this field
of research and twisted it. He drew from the pool of prisoners at his disposal, focusing on twins,
people with heterochroma (two differently colored eyes), people with dwarfism,
and physical abnormalities. Mengele pressured a Hungarian Jewish scientist - another
prisoner - into aiding him in his experiments. This scientist stated that Mengele’s fascination
with twins stemmed from a desire to increase the birth rate of German citizens;
specifically those born with the “desirable” traits. Twins would be subjected to weekly
examinations by Mengele. The German officer would subject one of the twins to amputation,
typhus, or some other horrendous fate to observe its effect on the other twin. According to the
Hungarian Jewish scientist, Mengele once killed fourteen twins in one night in an experiment
where he injected chloroform directly into their hearts. These horrifying experiments - and the
blatant disregard or human life - are echoed by Jonathan Crane in the Gotham 1919-1939 universe,
but not nearly as deplorably. Josef Mengele was one of the worst people to walk the face of the
earth, and the trail of bodies left in his wake is a grim reminder of the terrible things done by the
Nazi party in World War II. Mengele also received a grant from the German Research Association which
he used to construct a laboratory. Even though Mengele came after the era of Gotham 1919-1939,
the parallels in his lack of morals are evident in the Scarecrow.
Something explicitly mentioned in Scarecrow’s Gotham 1919-1939 origin
is the Little Albert experiment. It is mentioned that he was a part of the experimentation process.
Something that not many people catch is that it was a real experiment. The purpose of the Little
Albert experiment was to determine whether it was possible to instill a phobia in an otherwise
normal child. The infant, nicknamed “Albert” was subjected to tests in order to develop an
emotional baseline for the child. Using Pavlovian theory, “Albert” was exposed to a rabbit,
white rat, dog, monkey, various masks, and other stimuli. In interacting with these things,
“Albert” showed no reaction of fear to any of them. After developing a baseline,
the psychologists then began the next phase of the experiment. They let “Albert” play with the
white rat for the next phase, but every time the child touched the rat, the psychologists
would hit a bar of metal with a hammer, startling the child. “Albert” would cry and show fear. They
subjected him to this numerous times. Eventually, they no longer needed the hammer and metal bar;
“Albert” would show distress merely upon seeing the white rat. He would cry and show fear whenever
near it, and even react similarly around other furry animals and objects, such as the rabbit,
or one of the masks that had false hair on it. It did not extend to everything with hair or fur,
but it had become a generalized response. It’s very easy to see why this historical
experiment would attract someone of Jonathan Crane’s caliber. His obsession with fear and
phobias would be in its early stages upon joining the team conducting the experiment.
One of the Scarecrow’s trademarks is his fear toxin. Whether in liquid or gaseous form,
its ability to instill fear and terror in its victims actually has basis in history too.
In the Gotham 1919-1939 universe, Scarecrow’s fear toxin draws inspiration from the chemical and gas
warfare mentioned earlier in the video. One such gas is chlorine gas. Also known as bertholite,
chlorine gas was used in World War I, along with numerous other gases. Chlorine gas was especially
deadly, as it reacts with the water in the mucosa of the lungs. It forms hydrochloric acid,
which is extremely destructive and potentially lethal. This is the reason that chlorine gas was
also used with phosgene. Phosgene is a colorless gas with an odor of fresh cut grass or hay.
It was first deployed by the French in World War I. Phosgene would affect the pulmonary alveoli,
resulting in a disruption of the blood-air barrier. This causes pulmonary edema to
set in. This is liquid accumulation in tissue and air spaces within the body.
This liquid accumulation can cause hypoxemia and respiratory failure. The reason phosgene was mixed
with an equal amount of chlorine gas was because phosgene is much denser. The lighter chlorine gas
would help to carry the phosgene further. Another gas used in World War I was mustard gas. It was
used by the Germans against the French, and had been previously developed by Hans Thacher Clarke.
Clarke had developed his research off of the work of numerous other scientists before him.
Mustard gas was especially dangerous because it could be easily absorbed through the skin.
This rendered gas masks at the time obsolete. Mustard gas was not as lethal as other gases used
in the Great War; it was only lethal in about 1% of cases. Mustard gas can cause discoloration of
the skin, blisters, irritation, and itching. This is all because the burns are chemical in nature;
the fumes can even penetrate clothing. All of these gases in some way shape or form inspired
the Scarecrow’s fear gas in Gotham 1919-1939. Gas warfare was very prominent in World War I,
and very well could’ve inspired Jonathan Crane in his development of the fear gas.
The Scarecrow’s costume has numerous bits of historical inspiration behind it. First off is
the Scarecrow from the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. A common theme in this story is that the Scarecrow
seems to be brainless; it’s what he asks the Wizard for. The Wizard of Oz gives him a brain
made of bran, pins, and needles. In actuality, this solution is a placebo. The Scarecrow only
thought he was brainless, when he was really quite intelligent. I could see this contrasting
in Crane’s ideation of himself; he could take this and run with it, considering himself
intellectually superior to everyone else. And, I mean, this look has pretty obvious parallels.
Another bit of inspiration is the 1920s movie The Scarecrow starring Buster Keaton. The movie
is about a farmhand who experiences a series of unfortunate events while trying to win the love
of the farmer’s daughter - played by Sybil Seely - and competing with his friend - played by Joe
Roberts. Throughout the course of the film, Keaton’s character crashes through windows,
scrapes against brick walls, and falls into a hay thresher which tears up most of his clothing.
He borrows clothing from a nearby scarecrow. This look could also provide inspiration for Jonathan
Crane; maybe he saw the movie, enjoyed it, and took it into account when creating his persona.
Next up, we’ll go into the materials used by Jonathan Crane to create his Scarecrow outfit.
The material he used was hessian burlap, commonly used to create storage bags in the 1920s.
Crane would’ve used some of these bags, cutting them up and sewing them together into a suit.
Hessian burlap originated in Jamaica and the Caribbean, and was used to make gunny sacks for
coffee, tea, grains, wool, tobacco, and cotton. The material in hessian burlap is breathable,
so it keeps condensation from ruining dry goods. Hessian burlap was also used in clothing, but for
varying reasons. In a religious context, hessian burlap was used for mortification of the flesh;
hair shirts worn on Ash Wednesday and at other times throughout the year.
This was not the case for all religious people, but it existed nonetheless. Hessian was also used
during the Great Depression when other materials were scarce. The only issue was that the burlap
could cause rashes and irritation after prolonged use. This would mean that Jonathan Crane would
potentially be dealing with these rashes and irritation every time he used his Scarecrow
outfit. Hessian burlap was also used on ghillie suits up until the Vietnam war. Its patchwork
nature made excellent 3D camouflage, as well as camouflage scrim on helmets. Hessian burlap would
have provided the exact look and aesthetic that Jonathan Crane desired in his Scarecrow outfit.
The final historical point to cover is the parallels between Jonathan Crane and Hugo Strange,
contrasted with the working relationship of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Jung and Freud met in
Vienna in 1907. This meeting sparked a five year friendship which eventually began to deteriorate
rapidly. Let’s take a look at where things went wrong. Freud was like a father figure to Jung at
the start of their friendship; someone with whom he could share all of his thoughts and feelings on
psychology. Freud saw Jung as fresh blood in the psychological field; someone who could revitalize
it. This conclusion could very well be drawn for the relationship between Crane and Strange
in Gotham 1919-1939. Where Freud and Jung’s friendship began to deteriorate was in their
disagreements about their field of study. Freud’s stance was that most human actions are driven by
the subconscious sexual nature of an individual. Jung disagreed with this on numerous counts. Some
of Jung’s stances took the spiritual into account - albeit minimally - and Freud disagreed with
this. These differences - among numerous others - caused their disagreements to become more and more
prominent, until they could no longer consider their working relationship to be friendly. This
parallels Crane and Strange; Crane started off by sharing his theses and research with Hugo Strange,
but, over time, began to communicate with him less and less. This was due to their conflicting
stances on certain practices and philosophies. This led to Strange eventually giving up Crane
to the authorities when the Bat-Man came looking for him. And that wraps up our summary of the
real history that inspired the Scarecrow in Gotham 1919-1939. If you liked this episode,
drop a like and let me know in the comments what other character deep dives you’d like to see!
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As always, thanks for watching, and remember: the night is darkest just before the dawn,
and I promise you, the dawn is coming. Have a great day and see you in the next video!