‘Elseworlds’ Introduces Iconic Weapon From Batman’s Rogues Gallery

Technically, it introduced two, if you think about it. But during the Arrow portion of the “Elseworlds” crossover, fans were treated to an absolutely smorgasbord of Batman Easter eggs during the visit to Gotham City and, more specifically, Arkham Asylum. Aside from learning that Oswald Cobblepot, Pamela Isley, and Edward Nygma had been incarcerated — already making this Arkham infinitely more secure than the one on Gotham — two weapons from major Batman villains were utilized. But this isn’t about Nora Fries using the cold gun.

No, during the Arkham visit when all of the inmates had been freed and in the midst of the mayhem, Oliver accidentally knocked over several boxes of vials marked “Crane J.,” an obvious nod to Jonathan Crane, better known as The Scarecrow. As a result, Oliver and Barry became affected by Crane’s fear toxin and witnessed their worst fears, as they were forced to combat hallucinations of Reverse Flash and John Barrowman’s Malcolm Merlyn. Again, because this was just a hallucination, it turned out that Barry and Oliver were just fighting each other. Well, again.

Scarecrow’s fear toxin has been utilized several times on Gotham over on Fox, as well as in much of Batman lore, but the utilization of it here shows that the weapon is alive and well in the Arrowverse, as “Elseworlds” confirmed. Aside from this nod, Jonathan Crane was not one of the inmates teased or hinted at, unlike the aforementioned Nygma, Cobblepot, and Isley, but there does appear to be a Scarecrow in Gotham City.

With the introduction of Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane, who ended up stopping the fight between Barry and Oliver, perhaps we could see Scarecrow if Batwoman is picked up for a series. Admittedly, to speculate for a moment, it’s unlikely that a Batwoman series would utilize villains who are currently being used on Gotham. For example, Gotham’s take on the Dollmaker and Ra’s al Ghul came well after they were both used on Arrow.

It’s not impossible that we could see another take on Scarecrow here, in particular with Gotham preparing to bow out with its fifth and final season, but that remains to be seen. What did you think of the introduction of Crane’s fear toxin during the “Elseworlds” crossover? Would you want to see Scarecrow or other Batman villains introduced in a possible Batwoman series? Let us know in the comments below.

The “Elseworlds” crossover event concludes tonight with a new episode of Supergirl at 8 P.M. on the CW.