Batman: The Animated Series (TV Series) Nothing to Fear (1992) User Reviews

'The Scarecrow' Makes People Face Their Worst Fears

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 30 June 2007]

Here's another cool villain, "The Scarecrow," who is an ex-professor of psychology. (No wonder he's nuts.) Anyway, things didn't go well for him at the local university, so he's paying them back with terrorist attacks. His gimmick is a smoke-bomb in which people who inhale it suddenly face their worst fears. So, if it's rats or spiders or parental rejection - whatever your greatest fear - it will consume you, while 'The Scarecrow" does whatever he wants to do.

With Batman, his fear is more psychological: fear of his father's rejection.

This was another entertaining show with nice Deco art and a cool-looking villain. Alfred the butler also had some humorous remarks. It kind of freaks me out knowing Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is voicing that character, as I still associate that actor from his glory days as a television star way back in the 1950s and 1960s.

One of the more unique villains

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 21 December 2016]

As Batman villains go, The Scarecrow is is full-on horror movie material. If you take his depiction in the Arkham games especially, the guy can get pretty scary. But feature him on a kids show and you're limited to . . . pretty much a literal scarecrow, with straw and everything. This is why 'Nothing to Fear' relies primarily on the writing, which is what makes this so effective. The bad guy, gangly and harmless, gets at Batman psychologically. Bruce is forced to conquer his inner fears (particularly those of failure and it results in one of the show's great lines: "I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman!"

There's a big zeppelin fight, but otherwise nothing flashy. Yet, it's still a great character story and well-executed, at that.

7/10

Batman must first conquer his inner turmoil before he can conquer the newly-emerged "Terror of Gotham!"

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 9/10 · 5 August 2016]

This is one of the earliest episodes of the series and is one of the first that I ever saw as a kid and I still love it a lot, it's dark, the villain's lively and a ton of fun, and it delves a little into the very nature of why Bruce Wayne is also Batman - and they never did an origin episode as such on the show, just rightly assumed it was common knowledge. Call me crazy but I always liked this version of the Scarecrow best. Some people find it a poor design but I think it's fine, he's a classic scrawny straw boogeyman figure, it's fun! To me a lot more fun and interesting than the goofy charmless look he's sporting the next time he appears in the show. They kept changing the design to try and make him appear more scary but I think they lost something about the character that's certainly not missing here. I like that wily voice, it's kinda spooky and a little demented! I could've sworn it was David Warner doing the voice.. I hate his dumb goons though, they're so stupidly clichéd that they might as well have just gone ahead and named them Rocko and Knuckles! So the story is that Batman confronts a vengeful Scarecrow and gets gassed by his fear toxin and then has to wrestle with his conscience as it wrecks havoc with his mind until he has to make a stand and take control. But is that really Bruce's greatest fear or were the cruel words of cranky old Dr. Long working in conjunction with the poison of the Scarecrow to stir his own buried guilty feelings over his parents deaths and that he might not be properly honouring his family name and making his late father proud? I love the emotional buildup and payoff of Bruce Wayne as he exorcises a personal demon as he shouts out what's probably the single most well-written and fine piece of dialogue in the entire series. I love how powerfully striking the Gothic atmosphere was at this point, the tone and atmosphere that the look and the backgrounds bring is just amazing and so masterfully done, especially in the poignant closing scene where Bruce lays the flowers on his parents' grave and walks away with the cold wind blowing and the symbolic shadow of the bat following him. There's such a strong visual poetry to that. This rather excellent episode is one of the all-time fan favourites and one of mine too. Brilliant timeless stuff, as far as this episode goes, you most certainly have nothing to fear!

One of the highlights of the series

[Diamond_Dog7 · 10/10 · 6 July 2010]

The Scarecrow is finely introduced to us for the first time in this episode. His aim: to get revenge at the university of former employ after they fired him for going way over the top in his experiments on fear. Sounds easy enough for Batman to foil, right? Wrong. Scarecrow uses a fear gas bomb, which when inhaled, will bring out your uttermost fears, giving him the perfect opportunity to casually walk past and set about his business. Then things get tougher when Batman himself gets affected, and bringing out a horrible fear of bringing shame to his father's name. Can Batman overcome the effects and stop Scarecrow? The episode is simply fantastic. Humour in the right moments, courtesy of Alfred, it has great action sequences, and a really decent villain. This episode is one of the darker ones, which is why its so amazing, and also shows us for the first time a highly troubled Bruce Wayne, struggling to overcome the guilt and fear, and not to let himself slip away.

Brilliant episode. 10/10.

A solid debut for the Scarecrow!

[TalesfromTheCryptfan · 8/10 · 23 November 2017]

A madman in a scarecrow outfit who is Professor Jonathan Crane aka The Scarecrow (voiced by Henry Polic II) who was once a professor of psychology of fears and stuff, the university thought he went too far with his fear experiments and they called him a lunatic. After that he wants revenge, so he terrorist attacks with gas bombs that make people see their fears like bats, spiders or parental rejection. Apparently Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy) has been exposed to the gas and sees his fears of parental rejection as he thinks his father is telling him he is disgracing the Wayne name and must try to get the fear out of his system so he can find out what Scarecrow is planning on doing next.

A very good debut to one of Batman's best enemies! i knew the character since the late 80s with reruns of Superfriends and Filmation's Batman cartoon and the comics back in 1989 and i knew he would be on this show and was excited. It's a well written episode that is a psychological one on what if our fears consumed us but if we want to fight that fear and Batman says his amazing line "Your not my father! i am not a disgrace! i am vengeance, i am the night, I AM BATMAN!" which is the best line he has ever said. Clive Revell voices Alfred in this one and a few episodes before Effon Zimibist Jr voiced him. Henry Polic II is pitch perfect as the Scarecrow yet in his debut costume he looks average then he evolved in no time with different scarecrow costumes.

"I am Vengeance... I am the Night... I am BATMAN!"

[maxglen · 8/10 · 30 August 2020]

'Nothing to Fear' is a visually pretty compelling story, the art direction is fantastic, especially in moments like when Bruce sees his father in the flames at the bank. Scarecrow is much more calm and concise in this than when we usually see him, although, his origin here does leave a little to be desired. A particularly enjoyable episode with some really great moments. A decent 8/10

Highlighting the PSYCHOLOGICAL in DC's Psychological Thrillers.

[David_del_Real_Reviews_in_IMDb · 9/10 · 30 November 2017]

---HIGHLIGHTING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL IN DC'S PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS.----

------- ------- ------- ------- A Psychological Thriller is by definition that in which the unstable psychological state of one or more characters is emphasized. Hitchcock and King (Stephen) are recognized as some of the most famous authors of this interesting sub-genre. Following this definition, many of the adventures of Batman can be considered at least partially (IMO) as psychological thrillers as many of their villains have some sort of disorder, even when it is not always very emphasized. From that point of view, the SCARECROW creates a particular kind of PSYCHO THRILLER as he can artificially induce fears into normally healthy people to the point of experimenting some temporary phobias.

This is also why the SCARECROW has given us some of the most memorable adventures of the DARK KNIGHT along the years both in the screen and the comic books, being the villain that Tim Drake defeated proving himself and the Batman that he was worthy of becoming ROBIN saving both BATMAN and Vicky Vale from dying (in the comic Robin: A Hero Reborn or specifically Batman #457), the one that showed us the origin story of the BATMAN in "FEAR" one of the episodes from the last season the SuperFriends, the one that once made BATMAN mad instead of afraid with the visions of the gas ( KNIGHTFALL series) and the one that he has to face in this adventure against a fear Bruce very probably wasn't even aware of: the possibility of the apparently relaxed and playboy-like life of Bruce damaging the good name of the Wayne family, mostly eminent Doctor Thomas Wayne's , the late father of Bruce.

By facing accusatory images of his father telling him he is a disgrace at the same time that he battles the SCARECROW, Batman will have to prove smarter that the false accusatory images of the deceased Thomas Wayne and put the Scarecrow into custody before he can hurt much more people.

Thanks for reading.

IMDb Review written by David del Real.

November 2017.

Mexico City, Mexico.

Don't fear, it's good

[Fluke_Skywalker · 7/10 · 16 March 2017]

Plot; A villain calling himself the Scarecrow preys on Gotham with his fear toxin.

Many of Batman's rogues' gallery--particularly the more iconic members--can't touch the Dark Knight in a hand to hand fight, and thus must rely on their cunning. That's certainly true of the Scarecrow, who uses a gas toxin that makes those exposed to it see that which they fear most. Given Batman's modus operandi often involves him using fear against his enemies, it makes the Scarecrow a nice foil. The episode is solid I wish they'd found a stronger fear for Batman/Bruce than that of disappointing his Father.

• Henry Polic II, who voiced the Scarecrow, had experience playing scary characters having played Dracula (albeit a reformed one) in the 70s TV series Monster Squad (not to be confused with the 80s film of the same name).

• The episode was co-written by Henry Gilroy, who has gone on to write 11 episode of Star Wars Rebels to date.

• Christopher Nolan famously and effectively used the Scarecrow in his Dark Knight trilogy, but never as the primary villain. I hope at some point he gets center stage in alive action Batman feature. I think he's absolutely strong enough to be the main baddie.

Nothing to Fear - Scarecrow's Worst Appearance

[jones-markjones-mark592 · 9/10 · 12 November 2018]

Story: Great theme of Bruce being a disappointment to the family and really drives the episode in an impactful way. Bit too much exposition though, mainly from Scarecrow. The flashback origin scene is interesting though. The blimp scene is great. (6/10)

Characters: Scarecrow's design is by far the worst of the three. His voice isn't very scary either. However, it is a good introduction to Scarecrow. The relationship between Batman and Bullock is great. The thugs are funny. Kevin Conroy is brilliant again. (7/10)

Animation: Good facial expressions and sound effects throughout. The beard animation is lazy. The skull scene at the end is exciting and even quite disturbing. However, nightmare Batman could be more detailed and look better. (5/10)

Verdict: 6/10

A Personal Story for our Protagonist

[tadavies-15568 · 9/10 · 7 July 2022]

While this is only episode three of the Animated Series we get to see a deep dive into Bruce Wayne's thought process, in particular his relationship with his father. The scarecrow stars here as the villain of the week and after spraying Batman with fear toxin, we get a subtle exploration into the relationship Bruce Wayne shares with the memory of his parents. Near the start he is told that his father would be disappointed in him and as the episode continues we see that the idea of him disgracing the memory of his parents is one of his greatest fears. This is a deeply emotional tale where by the end you feel Batman has grown as a character (despite the episodic nature of the animated series). This is a personal favourite. 9/10 (extra points for this being the first time Kevin Conroy says the iconic "I am vengeance" line).

Fear Can't Stop The Knight

[mkurland23 · 9/10 · 25 August 2018]

Despite getting gassed multiple times by the Scarecrow, the Dark Knight overcomes the toxin with his most famous statement: "I am vengeance. I am the Knight! I AM BATMAN!" The performance of Kevin Conroy making that statement would be repeated again in the 2015 video game "Batman: Arkham Knight." In fact, Kevin would receive more requests for that statement than any other line he delivered as Batman.

A True Masterpiece of an Episode!

[zanghi_james · 9/10 · 16 October 2022]

The first animated appearance of Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. The Scarecrow, the notorious fear-themed villain from the comics. His plan for revenge against those who have 'wronged' him and his deranged research is actually pretty basic, but the actor who voices him makes him rather nefarious and spooky. I really think he was a great choice for Crane, right up there with Cillian Murphy in the Dark Knight trilogy of Nolan's.

The real draw for the episode is the sub-plot with Bruce getting drugged by Crane during the opening heist, causing him to hallucinate and hear his father's voice saying that Bruce has disgraced the Wayne family name by being a billionaire playboy. This leads to a good scene with Alfred being an excellent father figure to Bruce, as usual, plus the utterance of one of Batman's most classic lines when he confronts the hallucinations at the climax.

All in all, a very satisfying episode that sheds light on the Animated Universe version of Bruce Wayne and Batman.

Reason Behind Fears

[Aegelis · 10/10 · 15 October 2023]

Scarecrow may seem a bit of a 'stretch villain' at first glance, but this story provides great motivation and history. For those who are aware of the actual psychological experiments such as with 'Little Albert', the reasons for this baddie are certainly plausible. Even fear-inducing hallucinogenics are truly a thing.

Batman is true to his detective form and has to battle the demons he carries with himself as well as a supervillain in charge of thugs. With so many foes surrounding him, he uses his wits as well as strength to come to a resolution, with of course the moral support of his butler.

Great story, action, animation, and unique setting complete a spectacular episode.