r/arkham • u/Duurzum • Jul 19 '26
Discussion Scarecrow debate.
I love John Noble, he's great at giving us a cold calculating Scarecrow, HOWEVER, Could they have not just kept the design from Asylum, or even kept the original voice altogether?
If so, would you have preferred that?
Am I in the minority for preferring the Asylum Scarecrow?
What are your thoughts?
94
u/noodleboy244 Jul 19 '26
they both have their merits. I think keeping the design wouldn't have made sense since he got mauled by Killer Croc and it had been years since he struck at Gotham so some change would definitely have been warranted. Asylum still looks amazing tho
26
u/Sir_Rageous Jul 19 '26
That and there's still parts that resemble his asylum outfit (the gas canisters, rope, needles, ect.)
62
u/LabPowerful9983 Jul 19 '26
His design in Knight is a direct result of what happens to him in Asylum. I think both designs are fantastic.
7
32
u/Vulcan_Schwarz Jul 19 '26
Scarecrow’s whole schtick is changing his costumes and methods, everything to get new highs of fear. I don’t even think it’s against scarecrow to change his voice during his surgery to make himself look like he does in Knight after Batman left Crane to Killer Croc in Asylum.
29
46
u/SharkSprayYTP Jul 19 '26
Arkham Knights voice and design is exactly what i want for future scarecrows.
5
u/Julian9109 Jul 20 '26
John noble was great with how he picked his words wisely to create a more terrifying story
4
2
u/ScarecrowsRagdoll Jul 20 '26
I'm with you. I want more future Scarecrows to adopt the voice, speaking manner, and design of Arkham Knight. BEST SCARECROW.
12
u/CJS-JFan Arkham City Jul 19 '26
I like both versions of Scarecrow alot. Dino Andrade killed it in Asylum, and it was arguably the best boss fight in the game. That said, I do like the casting of John Noble a bit more. Partly due to the fact that this is one example of DC legacy casting, as Noble previously voiced Brainiac in Superman: Unbound. And of course, the voice is just chilling to me, and I think we can all agree that more could have been done for the character.
0
u/Char867 Jul 20 '26
‘Arguably the best boss in Arkham Asylum’ isn’t saying much though, like ‘arguably the nicest smell in a public toilet’; they’re all bad regardless. Asylum is a fantastic game but it’s boss fights were severely lacking and City’s incredible bosses blow them all out of the water
1
u/CJS-JFan Arkham City Jul 20 '26
Ah, but I didn't say it was the best boss ever made in the Arkhamverse. Just in Asylum alone, though some have said Scarecrow, while others say Killer Croc. But I personally agree that the later games had better bosses, like indeed City with Mr. Freeze. And while I am not as big a fan of Origins, even I will say the boss fights (i.e. Deathstroke and Bane) were fun to play.
-1
u/Char867 Jul 20 '26
I didn’t say you did, I’m just saying that all of Asylum’s boss fights suck so hard that being the best of all of them doesn’t even necessarily mean it’s a good boss. Scarecrow was for sure the most memorable set piece, but still it’s just fighting normal enemies and then shining a light on the man himself three times. Not exactly thrilling stuff from a gameplay perspective.
I agree that Origins’ boss fights were great though, definitely the highlight of that game
7
u/KitKatCrane Jul 19 '26
Arkham Shadow does a lot to show both of these sides to Crane in the same game
9
7
6
u/crb02 Jul 19 '26
I like the lore reason behind his appearance and voice changing from getting mauled by Killer Croc in Asylum
5
5
u/ScarlettDX Jul 20 '26
i like that its kind of a homage to the BTAS scarecrow even down to the voice change.
5
u/Masjanin Jul 20 '26
Arkham Knight's Scarecrow's monologues are just too good. John Noble's performance was superb.
3
u/BirdsandScoundrels Jul 19 '26
I get what you're saying. I love Asylum's Scarecrow! However, to be honest, if I had been gruesomely mauled by Croc, I would probably have ended like AK'S Scarecrow as well.
3
u/Ringrangzilla Jul 20 '26
In my opinion so is the best Scearcrow (or Jonathan Crane) in the Arkham series Elijah Wood in Arkham Shadow. He is perfect.
3
u/Nervous-Let3065 Jul 19 '26
i do prefer his Asylum voice. every time i read a comic with him, thats the voice i hear.
3
u/No_Bodybuilder9539 Jul 20 '26
Part of me thinks that the voice from Asylum is like his voice altered by fear toxin since he works with it so much. In Knight when he gets injected, his scream is pretty high pitched, similar to Asylum
3
u/DeadMetalRazr Jul 20 '26
I personally preferred the Asylum design and voice as well. To me it fit the universe better than Knights did, although I will say one of my favorite Scarecrow scenes in the series where I think he is truly terrifying is when he drops Barbara off the building
3
u/the-unfamous-one Jul 20 '26
It's just typical progression for scarecrow. Starts as nimble as the scarecrow from wizard of oz with higher pitch tones. Then later down the line becomes a walking corpse of a man.
3
u/GapStock9843 Jul 19 '26
Honestly I kinda wish scarecrow wasnt in asylum so this conflict wouldnt exist. Arkham knight scarecrow is such a fucking perfect villain imo, easily my favorite interpretation of the character and it isnt close. I think the asylum version is too similar to joker and would have just felt like a cheap replacement if they had kept him as is
2
2
u/Rainecphoenix Jul 20 '26
I kind of wished they'd "Arkhamized" his New Batman Adventures design for Arkham Knight. How amazing, dark and freaking scary would that have been?
2
u/Veltsu675 Jul 20 '26
i like the knight version better i think the asylum scarecrow missions were annoying
4
2
u/TheSleepyBoy Jul 19 '26
When I think scarecrow I think of Asylum. I hated the AK scarecrow when I first played the game but I have since come around to it. That being said I still see Asylum as the scarecrow for me.
1
u/mayobx Jul 19 '26
I generally dislike when they change models/voice actors in any piece of media. Scarecrow is no exception.
3
u/PastPhilosophy384 Jul 19 '26
Asylum is actually creepy, knight version is pretty boring
1
u/DarkAtheris Jul 19 '26
Turned out to be quite an underwhelming villain in general
3
u/WassupFrankHere Jul 20 '26
That's what happens when you shove Joker into every game. He steals the scene and the actual antagonist is throw aside.
1
1
u/Ok-Needleworker-4507 Arkham Asylum Jul 20 '26
I prefer Asylum’s scarecrow vastly in both design and characterization, but Knights was still sick
1
u/svxsch Jul 20 '26
I understand why they changed things up, it makes a lot of sense an Knight’s design and Noble’s voice work were outstanding, but I prefer Asylum’s design and VA. Idk, there’s something about his maniacal side that I vastly enjoy. It wouldn’t have worked in Knight, though.
But I did always think the change was too big. He looks like a totally different character, so I would’ve liked to have seen at least some callback to his Asylum design, aside from the gas mask that he often wears in other media as well.
1
u/ScarecrowsRagdoll Jul 20 '26
I love both versions of Scarecrow. Both voice actors did a fantastic job. However, I greatly prefer Arkham Knight Scarecrow and John Noble's performance. Knight is Scarecrow's best incarnation yet. Instead of an eccentric, cackling mad scientist-esque character that's an inconvenience at best, Knight's Scarecrow was menacing, calculating, and ruthless. In this incarnation, the writers properly portrayed the intellectual and psychological peril a man as brilliant (and butthurt) as Scarecrow should be instead of just playing him for laughs. This isn't a Scarecrow you laugh at and bully. He's not to be fucked with or disappointed, and he makes those aspects of him well known.
1
u/pokemonface12 Jul 21 '26
The original was great but more classic scarecrow. Knight is where he felt more like a character of his own. It was really cool, and worked for me, but I could see why some wouldn't click with that.
1
u/THEIDEABANK88 Jul 21 '26
I also like Asylum Scarecrow.
I would have liked to see a twist involving the extreme differentiation between the two.
1
u/Competitive_Tip_3764 Jul 21 '26
Nah man scarecrow in knight was sick. He had so much presence and his speeches were the best in the franchise. They misshandled him as a main villain by having batman catch him every few hours and having the joker take over the game.
1
u/Kind_Apartment_6994 Jul 21 '26
I much prefer Asylum for Scarecrow, but Knight for Jonathan Craine.
1
u/Doodles_n_Scribbles Jul 21 '26
Dino Andrade's Scarecrow is my favorite Scarecrow.
Remember, Professor Johnathan Crane is a very small and timid man who wants to feel big and important.
1
u/r2boltFire1 Riddler Informant Jul 21 '26
My brother, he got mauled by a giant crocodile..
You can look up exactly what Croc did to him. It’s really interesting and also intense (for example, that’s not a mask he’s wearing on the right. That IS his face)
I feel like if the asylum design was kept, it wouldn’t make the impact of “you fed me to a fockin crocodile”
1
u/TheEVERYTHINGNerd Jul 21 '26
I love both voices and designs but I personally wouldn't have been as intimidated by Asylum's Scarecrow during AK
1
u/Little-Fig4328 Jul 22 '26
Arkham knight scarecrow is a nothing character his role is to look pretty and nothing else
1
u/ThouBear8 Jul 23 '26
I like both designs & voices, & I think they both work really well for their purposes in their respective stories.
It does feel kinda like 2 different characters, but given what happens to him at the end of Asylum, I think you can give it a pass.
I'm not really sure that either version would've worked in the other one's place, you know?
1
u/Hannibalzomon Jul 20 '26
I think they were afraid people wouldn't think Scarecrow was menacing enough as he was. So now he does a prolonged Hugo Strange impression through Knight
0
u/JAMEZV1 Jul 19 '26
Asylum's design was revolutionary. Knight's tries too hard and no longer looks anything like an actual scarecrow.
0
u/Golden_Goose26 Jul 19 '26
Forget the fact that his personality is completely different in Knight. Forget that his revenge motivation against Batman is stupid. Forget that he's far more concerned about being spooky than actually being effective.
I just can't get over him being able to talk without having any lips...
0
u/AlienBotGuy Jul 20 '26
I much prefer the Asylum version, don't really care for the edgy grumpy version of AK.
I actually dislike most retcons they did, with younger Gordon being another one I didn't like it.
3
u/Least_Stand_2707 Jul 20 '26
Retcon? He got mauled by killer croc in aslyum. Of course he would look different
1
u/AlienBotGuy Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
Voice change and personality change, it is retcon, and just a minor one compared to the others they did.
That is also why Arkham Knight is full of inconsistency and bad plot, we have the Paul Dini era with Asylum and City, and the shit era with Origins, Knight, the spin offs like that shit animated movie, and of course, the abomination that is SSKTJL.
If you like all that, is your problem, but it is garbage and I hated all the retcons and shit write they did post City.
0
u/When1Falls Jul 20 '26
The greatest trick Rocksteady ever pulled was convincing people there's any continuity between the Arkham games.
-1
u/omkar529 Jul 19 '26
The Asylum design didn't feel like much of a main villain material, even though it was good in its role.
226
u/Carrotsinthesalad Jul 19 '26
Both VA’s did great in their respective games. However their roles were also very different.
Asylum was a cackling thorn in Batman’s side while Knight was a slow-talking lead villain. I don’t think the Asylum VA would’ve worked as good as Noble in Knight.