Nothing to Fear

Batman: The Animated Series episode
"Nothing to Fear"
Airdate:	September 15, 1992
Production Number:	3
Airdate Order:	10
Animation Services by:	Spectrum Animation Studio
Written by:	Henry T. Gilroy Sean Cathrine Derek
Directed by:	Boyd Kirkland

Nothing to Fear is the third episode of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series. Due to schedule changes it was the tenth episode to air. A criminal calling himself The Scarecrow starts a series of havoc and crimes in revenge against the Gotham University, stealing founds while intoxicating people with a gas that causes victims fear hallucinations. When Batman first tries to stop him, he gets intoxicated, and begins to see his worst fear: his father believes him to be a disgrace.

Plot

A criminal calling himself The Scarecrow starts a series of havoc and crimes in revenge against the Gotham University, stealing founds while intoxicating people with a gas that causes victims fear hallucinations.

When Batman first tries to stop him, he gets intoxicated, being only able to tear off a piece of the Scarecrow’s clothes. Batman then chases the criminals to a zeppelin they are using to escape, but the fear induced hallucinations start kicking in, leading to thoughts of rejection from his father, and fails to catch Scarecrow.

After successfully escaping, the Scarecrow reveals to his henchmen, he was actually a college professor at Gotham University. Since his childhood he was obsessed with fear, and when he later started conducting fear experiments on his students, the Gotham University board fired him, so he swore revenge.

Thanks to the piece of fabric Batman got from the Scarecrow and the Bat-computer, Batman is able to identify him as Professor Jonathan Crane, owner of a chemical factory, and get to his hiding place to apprehend him.

Background Information

Production Inconsistencies

• Water sprinklers do not work on gasoline fires; the bank would have burned to the ground even faster.

Trivia

• This was the first episode of the series to feature Batman's past. Only the 1989 movie from Tim Burton, and an episode of the Super Powers Team (the last season of the Superfriends), incidentally also featuring the Scarecrow as main villain, explored the Dark Knight’s origins outside comics medium before this episode.

• Bullock mentions Batman's refusal to comply with the investigation, saying to Gordon "Zorro here's been holding evidence." Ironically, Bruce's origin of Batman began when his parents were gunned down after seeing The Mark of Zorro. Bob Kane has said Zorro influenced the creation of Batman.

• This episode marks the first appearance of the Scarecrow, as well as the first of Bruce's late father, Thomas Wayne.

• At one point the Batmobile computer shows a list of nearby chemical companies. Among the companies shown are S.T.A.R. Labs from Superman's comics, which would later be featured in Superman: The Animated Series, and Axis Chemicals, which is the company that turned Jack Napier into The Joker in the 1989 Batman movie.

• Near the end of the episode, the people of the university are exposed to fear toxin and attack Batman in fear of him. Later, Batman exposes the Scarecrow to the fear toxin, which causes him to hallucinate that Batman is a monstrous bat-like creature. Similar scenarios later happen in the movie Batman Begins.

• The security guard at the bank is reading a Tiny Toon Adventures comic book.

• The Danny Elfman theme is used twice in this episode.

Cast

Actor	Role
Kevin Conroy	Bruce Wayne/Batman
Robert Costanzo	Harvey Bullock
Bob Hastings	Commissioner Gordon
Clive Revill	Alfred
Mari Devon	Summer Gleeson
Kevin McCarthy	Dr. Long
Richard Moll	Bat-Computer
Henry Polic II	Scarecrow

Uncredited Appearances

• Anthony
• Nigel

Quotes

Dr. Long: Your Father and I attended University together. He had big plans for you. Bruce: Well, I guess he'd be pleased. Wayne Industries is more prosperous than ever. Dr. Long: Pleased?! When your father was alive, Wayne was a name that commanded great respect. Now all Wayne stands for is a self-centered jet-setting playboy. It's lucky your father didn't live to see what you've done to his good name. He'd have died of shame.

Scarecrow: I am fear incarnate. I am the terror of Gotham. I am the Scarecrow!

Thomas Wayne: Bruce... Bruce, you have failed me. Batman: Father? Thomas: You have disgraced the family name.

Scarecrow: I taught there! I was professor of psychology. Specializing in phobias. Inducing terror has always intrigued me. Even as a boy, I loved to frighten things. People, animals it was all the same. I became obsessed with fear's crippling power. Later when I became their leading professor of subliminal psychology at the university, I began performing experiments on fear and its subsequent effects. Dr. Long thought I went too far. He called me a lunatic. So now, they will learn the true nature of horror!

Alfred: I know your father would be proud of you. Because, I'm so proud of you.

Scarecrow: My revenge is complete! The university is in the grip of fear! And Batman has been annihilated! Nigel: What? Scarecrow: Annihilated! Destroyed! Dead! Anthony: (points out the window) Then who's that?

Batman: I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!

Batman: What's the matter Scarecrow? Can't handle your own medicine?

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