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An Elseworlds story where Year one Scarecrow becomes an anti-hero.
He’s not a member of the bat-family, but he works with them every so often. He starts as a straight-up villain at the beginning of the comic as usual, but after being defeated by Batman, having his fear toxin turned around on him kind of acts as a ‘wake up call’?
I came up with four separate scenarios and scenes that could take place in a universe like that. He almost becomes a red hood-like figure, but with fear toxin, snake venom, and crows. Lots of crows.
Might be a bit of a stretch but one of the ideas I had involved Karen moving to Gotham after the events of the comic. (Without her husband, she needed a job and a place to live, so she moved to some crap apartment with Jon’s sister. Everyone assumed Jon died, so she had no real worry about him popping up again.) Only to hear about this ‘Scarecrow’ running around and realizing she made a terrible mistake. Karen and Jon’s sister end up becoming reoccurring characters. (With, by the way, no incentive in the slightest for Jon to forgive her, in fact, it’s actually the opposite.)
In that type of scenario, a situation arises, as Karen gets into trouble with loan sharks and it results with Jon’s sister begin kidnapped. Jon finds out about this and saves her, maybe having some internal monologue about it, then returns her to Karen in person. (Basically to say ‘I’m not going to kill you anymore. Not because I don’t think you deserve it, but because Batman made me realize you’re not worth my time.’) Then he leaves.
This basically sums up how I imagine this type of story going. But honestly, that still could leave a lot of potential character relationships, scenarios, and other things open for possibilities.
Basically a fanfic of Batman Beyond and Batman the animated series. Almost a crossover, I guess? I don’t know what you would call it tbh.
Idk, I had this idea and wanted to put it down somewhere and share ‘cuz I thought it was neat.
Not sure about trigger warnings? I don’t think there’s anything worth warning about tbh. I’ll edit though if anyone says it might need one.
(Read below)
Basically, Terry runs into a villain one night while dealing with what he thought was a normal case.
Perhaps he’s going after some thugs, who basically explain to him in a panic that the person their working for is someone who shouldn’t still be alive. Terry dismisses this, maybe give him a one liner about how he’s dealt with that type before. “Oh, have you now?” a vocie from the darkness. Then, from the shadows, comes BTAS Scarecrow.
Terry is horrified and shocked. Remembering very vividly Bruce describing someone like this from when he was Batman. He goes after him, unmasks him expecting to see a copycat, but he’s no imposter. He looks exactly like he did in BTAS even, not a grey hair in sight. Scarecrow manages to get away, but Terry is more than just a little confused.
What’s worse? During the fight, this Scarecrow manages to break Terry’s wrist simply be grabbing it. Certainly not something Scarecrow could’ve done before.
Bruce already knows about it, having seen someone that looks like Poison Ivy on the news.
They quickly realize just about the entire rogues gallery is back, all of them exactly like they were back in the day, with every memory and fully intact personalities...mostly. You see, some of them have some slight differences. Joker and Harley for instance. Somehow, for some reason, this Joker actually does love Harley and the two are pretty much partners in crime. (Bonnie and Clyde style.)
They confront another imposter in this city, a Batman clone, who, once Bruce appears on the scene, is far more willing to help them figure out what’s going on.
And during a fight with the clone Joker, something happens. Dramatic scene ensues, where Harley is caught in the face by a batarang. She gets up, only to see her reflection in a nearby window, with half of her face torn away, to reveal mech under her skin. It’s here we realize these clones are bio-mechanical copies of the old rogues. Harley panics, Joker realizes what just happened, and they both get away.
Bruce, Bio-mech Batman, and Terry all find out where the bio-mechs came from, while the bio-mech rogues also track down this place (Having woke up dropped in Gotham in random places initially.) Coming in from different areas.
They all find the woman responsible, a crazed scientist obsessed with the old stories and history of ‘The Batman’. The way she talks about him almost makes him seem more like a cryptid, and she explains that she did this to try and get his attention so he’d come back to his life of crime-fighting and put this ‘great value batman’ in his place (She’s talking about Terry.).
The bio-mech rogues and the three batmen all clash, only for the batmen to realize one thing they haven’t noticed until now: The bio-mechs are actually alive. They’re copies of the originals, but they’re also their own people, with emotions like a normal human being.
They all band together to defeat the mad scientist, stopping her plans and putting her in an Asylum. The bio-mechs, having realized now that they’re not the original criminals, aren’t quite sure what to do next, so they all go their separate ways to try and discover what’s next for themselves.
Maybe add an ending chapter involving bio-mech Harley and Joker revealing to the other rogues what happened. Everyone has varying reactions to the news, with many basically having an existential crisis over not being who they thought they were. Some going into denial because, for god’s sake, they remember everything! Even their childhood! But then they recognize a huge gap in their memory from before they popped up in this future Gotham.
Maybe, just maybe, even add a part where a small group of them goes to their supposed ‘graves’, only to discover, yeah, they’re there alright.
Then they all conspire to find whoever made them and get revenge for making them go through this awful shock. After all, why not just make them know they’re copies?
...Yeah, I just had that Idea and I really like it, haha.
Steve decides to start incorporating team building exercises, with the real problems being Pietro and Wanda’s trust in Stark and the mutual trust between Loki and Thor. (As well as Loki and everyone else, except Peter P.) However, Peter decides to suggest another way of doing things after noticing everyone’s starting to get really bored of the old methods from Steve’s era, as well as many of them getting into fights during the exercises.
So Peter decides to suggest to Steve that they do something else, at least every other time they do these exercises. The suggestion is a bit strange to Steve at first, but after encouragement from an eavesdropping Sam, they decide to go through with it.
Next thing the public knows, word goes out that the Avengers have a YouTube channel. Sure enough, a channel featuring everyone doing miscellaneous tasks and challenges could be found.
Most of the team were hesitant about it at first, that is until some of them started getting fanmail and gifts sent to the tower. Tony gets letters from people who look up to him, Bruce gets letters from people giving advice on how to keep calm and empathizing with him in some cases, Loki even gets a few letters from people about how ever since he became an Avenger he’s become their hero, etc.
They basically end up becoming internet personalities by accident, and their team building goes from rocky and hating being on camera, to suddenly becoming more of a team and gaining trust with one another subconsciously while being preoccupied in trying to entertain the audience/fans.
-And that’s how the Avengers crew ended up getting into social media.
It basically ends up being like ten minute power hour, lol.
Idk this just came to mind and I thought I’d share:
Basically, Scarecrow ends up discovering that Santa Claus exists during one Christmas in Gotham, and the next year, he decides to pull a Jack Skellington and steal Christmas for his own. (Depending on which version of his backstory is used, there may be a reason. Personally I like the idea of using the year one backstory and having it be some kind of ‘making up for lost time’/getting back at Santa for the lack of care for his younger self at the same time.) Though, honestly I feel it might make more sense with the BTAS versions.
He, with the help of Jervis, Riddler, and a few other rogues, takes one of the horse drawn carriages from around the city and fashions it into a carriage of fright. The carriage pulled by eight mind-controlled deer taken from the nearby wilderness.
Batman, of course, finds out about the plot. (Maybe throw in a throw away line referencing Santa’s annual little visit to Apokolips as well.) He tries to stop it, but he can’t seem to figure out who would be organizing it, that is until he finally realizes Scarecrow’s the ringleader of the plot.
This all culminates in a climax involving Scarecrow and a few others in the carriage, riding around Gotham and throwing small boxes full of fear gas and miscellaneous rogue fixings as they go (Poison ivy having boxes full of fast-growing plants, Riddler’s boxes being mini riddler traps that shock you if you don’t answer correctly, etc.). With Batman hot on their tails trying to catch them and avoiding their attempts to stop him. In the end, they end up being taken in, but Scarecrow is given some mail from the outside, sure enough, Santa decided to give him a piece of coal. Petty, but not undeserved.
Idk, the idea came to mind and I couldn’t get the thought of a Scarecrow costume fashioned after Santa’s suit out of my head. ...That and the thought of Jonathan singing ‘What’s this?’ from Nightmare before Christmas. (And the batman rogues gallery singing ‘Making Christmas’.)
A Merlin TV show-style series about Thor, Loki, Sif, and the warriors three in their adventures before the events of the Thor movie. Please.
Even if it’s just a mini-series, I need this in my life.
Adventures in Asgard and the other nine realms, the team of six going on quests and battling to keep the peace within them. Odin and Frigga behind them to send them on those journeys, all the while cutting back to them every so often to show some political intrigue, the tense atmosphere of their relationship, and just to what extent they favored Thor over Loki.
Showing the daily lives of Asgardians and, hell, maybe cut to Laufey sometimes and show the events going on in Jotunheim as well? Maybe that point when Loki showed them how to get through to Asgard in the Thor movie wasn’t the first time he’d ever helped the Jotuns? The others just never caught onto most of it, or if they did, they just never told anyone for fear of Loki being exiled or something?
Maybe even show Loki having a thing for Sif, then eventually confessing his feelings only to get rejected as Sif fell for Thor? That’d be interesting! Especially since Sif was in love with him in the comics. (I know people don’t like love triangles, but seriously, they can be done well.)
I mean, especially the warriors three, at the very least. Because we BARELY knew them from their short time on screen, and they definitely deserve some love.
Maybe you could even show a few flashbacks of things that happened with Hela and Odin? That’d be interesting to see! Gives her a bit more character fleshing-out while also possibly giving some context for stuff that happens later? Cutting back between Hela’s time with Odin and the Brother’s time with him?
Bottom line: Someone at Marvel, or Disney, or whoever else- please, make this happen! (Bonus points if, because Marvel was bought by Disney, the series has musical elements to it. Seriously, I will die on this hill, a marvel musical would be amazing.)