Scarecrow: BTAS or TNBA?

[Tomato]

So as some of you might have heard, DCC has recently been doing their own take on figures based on the original Batman animated series. They've been doing a good job of covering both the original designs from BTAS, and the redesigns from Season 4, or "TNBA" as it's more commonly known. Well, last week they unveiled the prototype for Scarecrow, and they've based it on his TNBA appearance.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I was not surprised at all by their decision. Wave 5 is a TNBA heavy wave, and Scarecrow is one of the few characters that probably came out better during season 4 (though most of the credit for that should probably go to Jeffrey Combs, who also voiced fan favorite character The Question in JLU). Paul Dini and Bruce Timm have made no secret of the fact that they were never fond of the original Scarecrow design (and to the best of my recollection, it's the only design to substantially change during the original 3 seasons of BTAS) and it's probably the redesign they were most happy with during the TNBA era.

That said, while I do think the character was better during the TNBA era (not having an entire episode where he does nothing but cower in fear of a one off villain probably helped that >.>) and there's no denying he's definitely scarier, but the BTAS design is far more... classic, for lack of a better term. I've discussed it a bit on some other websites, but I was wondering what everyone else thought. I'll still probably go with the TNBA figure, but the whole idea of being able to mix and match the best of BTAS and TNBA has me thinking about this stuff a lot more.

[bat1987]

Voted for the redesign. TNBA is great design, but like you said this one is def the more classic looking one. So if given the choice I'd go with that one.

[Podmark]

I went with the redesign but I don't really love any of them. The original looks a little silly.

[Cyber Burn]

Kind of embarrassing to have to ask, but which one is the one in the middle, my memory is a little fuzzy.

[Tomato]

The one on the left is the original BTAS Scarecrow design, which was used in his first 2 appearances during Season 1. For Season 2 and after, they used a modified version of the design (the one in the middle), which they continued to tweak in small ways until the TNBA redesigns happened.

Personally, I have issues with all 3 of them. The first redesign is the best design of the bunch, but the stories weren't great and the aforementioned Lockdown turned the character into a giant joke among the other villains. TNBA really brought a whole new menace to the character, and having recently gone through the episodes again I really appreciate that fact. Plus, I have the more classic Scarecrow represented already... though Ironically I have the Sinestro Corp Scarecrow up instead of the more traditional DCSH figure, even though I own both.

[Cyber Burn]

Okay, the original is kind of cheesy (Sorry), and the last one, while visually the most interesting of the group, just doesn't have the feel of a "Classic" Animated Batman Villain. That said, I would have to go with the redesign. It's bright, it's colorful, and it matches the likes of the Joker, and the Riddler.

[Tomato]

well, to be fair to the original design, the color scheme was actually much closer to the redesign, I just couldn't find a decent shot of it outside of screenshots from the actual show.

[BentonGrey]

The first or the second, no doubt about it.  While they definitely improved the design over the course of the show, the lousy last season version loses something of the character.  Crane is not like Killer Crock or Clayface, physically intimidating in-and-of himself.  He's a scrawny little guy who looms large, not by his own account, but by his fear gas.  His costume is strange and unsettling, yes, but the later version displaces the source of his power into the man himself, and that's loses a little of his impact.  He's frightening DESPITE not being an entirely monstrous figure.

[Tomato]

Hrm.

I'll concede that the redesign for BTAS is better, but having just recently re-watched Seasons 1-3 and being halfway into Season 4... I have to say, they really botched that entire character. His first appearance especially is downright insufferable, with the writers focusing so much on "this is an elitist college professor and he uses big words" that they never once bothered to make Scarecrow SCARY. That, combined with his last major appearance being in Lockdown (which I've mentioned several times as being the episode that robbed the character of any remaining credibility) leaves us with a character that is not likeable, not scary, and not interesting as a villain for Batman to face. TNBA's design isn't good (and I agree with Benton that it loses some of the character), but Jeffrey Combs packs so much more menace into the character in the one episode he's given that I think it's wrong to dismiss the season out of hand. I think a marriage between the two versions would have been fantastic.

(Also, on a side note... having been rewatching the series again, I discovered one of my own personal pet peeves with "Season 4" actually has its roots in the last season of BTAS. In one of the last episodes, Batgirl daydreams of being kissed by Batman, which sets up her being in a relationship with him when the series resumes. That said, the fact that she was daydreaming about him and then ended up dating him makes the whole thing even worse... It feels like a student dating her favorite teacher.)

[BentonGrey]

'Mato, yeah, the whole Batgirl/Batman thing is one of many reasons I can't stand that season.  It is just completely inappropriate, and it robs Bruce of a portion of his moral authority, as well as making Batgirl a weaker character.

I think you're too hard on their treatment of Scarecrow, though.  He's got some dynamite episodes, and even if the Lockdown one isn't good (I don't think it's that bad, really), he still comes off well over the course of the series.  Scarecrow has plenty of scary moments, and they do it right too, his intimidation coming from his larger-than-life personality and his tools, not from his own carriage.

[HarryTrotter]

I liked TNBA design,just for being more scary.