Batman Arkham: Scarecrow

Scarecrow collects 12 comic book issues about this Batman villain told over the decades ('40s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s). Here, we learn of Scarecrow's origin as a gangly, awkward, bookish child who would be incessantly teased into adulthood. Constantly fearful, he becomes obsessed with the study of it, eventually becoming Professor of Psychology at Gotham University. But his unorthodox and dangerous teaching style eventually gets him fired . . . and he becomes the Scarecrow, using the power of fear (through his fear toxin) to subject others to what he has endured for so long.

As with the Mr. Freeze and Clayface collections, I really like the concept of this series- seeing how both villains (and art, and storytelling) have evolved over the decades is fun and interesting. But with the others, as the art and storytelling evolves, most scarecrow stories have the same content: he seeks revenge on those who have wronged him by making them fear, and Batman arrives to stop him and return him to Arkham. I enjoyed this, but ultimately, my favorite Scarecrow depiction is in Batman Begins.

Rating: B+