Summary
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Red Hood #2!While Gotham is filled with plenty of offbeat villains, there’s one that will never earn the Joker’s respect. Batman’s city is going up in flames during the intense “Gotham War” crossover, and it’s bringing Bruce’s greatest foes out of the woodwork. But when one tries going after Red Hood, the Joker makes his feelings known about one particular baddie.
In Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Red Hood #2 by Matthew Rosenberg and Nikola Čižmešija, The Clown Prince of Crime is searching for the Red Hood, who has just been reconditioned by Batman to feel fear when Jason’s adrenaline gets too high. Despite the changes to his mind, Red Hood tries to save a little girl from a burning building.
Unfortunately, Scarecrow has tracked down Red Hood and is getting ready to kill him. Thankfully, the Joker arrives in the nick of time to lend a hand. As the clown attacks, Joker calls out the Scarecrow and tells the villain he’s never going to be anything more than a C-list villain “Because doctors aren’t scary. They’re annoying.”
Joker Doesn’t Respect Scarecrow’s Gimmick or Profession
Things got out of control fast thanks to Batman and Catwoman’s latest tiff. Selina’s plan to reduce crime by training henchmen to become self-sufficient cat burglars like her created a desperate situation in Gotham’s criminal underworld. With no henchmen and Batman becoming more and more unhinged, the Dark Knight’s rogues teamed up to survive. Meanwhile, the Joker got into a war of his own in his comic, The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing, as he began searching high and low for his mysterious doppelganger while staying a step ahead of the Red Hood.
The Joker has known Batman’s rogues for nearly as long as he’s known the Caped Crusader himself. And the villain, despite being an unhinged maniac, is pretty good at reading people. While Scarecrow isn’t an unknown villain by any means, he sure isn’t on the same level of fame as Joker, Two-Face, or even the Riddler. Granted, the Joker is intentionally antagonizing Scarecrow to throw him off his game, but the Harlequin of Hate seems to have struck a nerve. It seems that Scarecrow, the master of fear, is secretly afraid that the Joker’s right and that Scarecrow will never rise above his station.
Joker is Right – Scarecrow Doesn’t Have What it Takes to Be a Better Villain
While Scarecrow has fought Batman numerous times over the years, he’s rarely eked out a victory like Bane or Joker have in the past. Scarecrow does have his fear toxin, but without it, there’s nothing else he really has that makes him super intimidating. Joker usually gives credit where credit is due, and it seems like Scarecrow’s gimmick just doesn’t get the approval the clown would hand out to others. Even worse, somewhere deep down, even Scarecrow probably knows that his gimmick isn’t good enough to make him as good a villain as the Joker.
Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Red Hood #2 is on sale now from DC Comics.
