Scarecrow vs. Scarecrow
As he creeped through the shadows of the Royal Canadian Institute for the Mentally Insane, Dr. Jonathan Crane AKA The Scarecrow couldn't help but giggle. There was no way Batman was going to foil his plans this time. Not all the way up in the Great White North.
On the exact opposite side of the same wall, Ebenezer Laughton AKA The Scarecrow also carefully crept. He was also thinking that moving his latest scheme to Canada was a stroke of genius. The further away from that nutjob Moon Knight, the better, as far as he was concerned.
As both men made their way down the dark hallway they spotted an opening up ahead in their adjoining wall. They both knew that they had to be careful when they reached the extra large doorway, anything could be on the other side. If only they knew.
The Scarecrow was standing in front of the doorway now. He took a deep breath and took one step forward. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his own reflection and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. It was a mirror, not a doorway!
The Scarecrow stopped and turned to face his reflection, which exactly mirrored his own movements. This didn't look like any mirror he had ever seen before, and not only that but his reflection didn't quite match — the costumes were slightly different. The Scarecrow brought his hand up in an open palm, circular sweeping motion and his reflection did the same.
Something was not right here.
The Scarecrow peered forward to study his reflection closer and his reflection did the same thing. The Scarecrow squared his shoulders then peered forward even closer, and his reflection matched his movements.
The Scarecrow crossed one arm across his chest and brought his other hand up to his chin to ponder the situation. He watched as his reflection did the same thing. The Scarecrow turned and took a few steps away from the mirror and then looked back over his shoulder. He saw his reflection in the same pose. The Scarecrow turned his head back away from the mirror and then quickly snapped it back over his shoulder, but there was his reflection, looking back at him over his shoulder.
The Scarecrow hunched over and brought his hands down to his knees and his reflection did the same. The Scarecrow shook his ass at the mirror and so did his reflection.
The Scarecrow and his reflection stood up and each walked closer to each other. The Scarecrow studied his reflection for a moment before turning to walk slowly past the mirror. He shook his head at his reflection and it shook its head back at him.
Leaning against the wall on the far side of the mirror, The Scarecrow loosened his mask and pulled his eye holes down slightly. He tilted his head back so that he could still see and leaned back into the mirror only to find his reflection looking back at him with his mask pulled down too.
The Scarecrow stepped back, fixed his mask, and pondered the situation some more. He then dropped to his knees and crawled to the edge of the mirror. He stuck is head forward and was faced, once again, with his reflection.
The Scarecrow stood back up and thought for a moment before prancing from one side of the mirror to the other. Each of his high kneed steps were matched by his reflection.
The Scarecrow then turned back to face the wall and hopped his away across the mirror to the other wall. Again, he was matched move for move by his reflection.
The Scarecrow turned back around and did a modified skipping hop back across the mirror and so did his reflection.
The Scarecrow hunched his shoulders and walked back in front of the mirror. His reflection, also with hunched shoulders, did the same. The Scarecrow suddenly broke out an old ragtime dance and so did his reflection. The Scarecrow abruptly stopped dancing and spun around on his heels. At the end of his spin he was back facing the mirror with his arms spread wide open. He was facing his reflection standing there in the same pose. Did the reflection spin as well? The Scarecrow didn't know.
The Scarecrow and his reflection then threw their hands up in the air and shook their hands rhythmically as they each walked off to the side of the mirror.
The Scarecrow suddenly had an idea. He removed his straw hat and holding it in both hands behind his back he solemnly walked out in front of the mirror again. His reflection appeared holding his own hat in the same manner. The Scarecrow began bouncing on the balls of his feet and so did his reflection. The Scarecrow walked slowly up to the mirror until he was practically nose to nose with his reflection. The Scarecrow and his reflection then began to circle each other until each found himself on the other's side. Again they bounced on the balls of their feet before circling back around to their original sides of the mirror.
The Scarecrow and his reflection stared at each other for a few moments and then suddenly The Scarecrow slapped his straw hat back on his head. His reflection matched his movements exactly, slapping his own straw hat on his head. The pointed at each other. They mimicked laughter. They pointed at each other again. The Scarecrow doffed his hat and began to bow respectfully to his reflection who mirrored his movements until in the course of bowing, the reflection dropped his hat on the ground at his feet. The Scarecrow reached down and picked his reflection's hat up and handed it back to him. His reflection nodded in thanks and they both bowed to each other a few times before the Scarecrow and his reflection replaced their hats on their heads.
The Scarecrow turned back around to face away from the mirror. He quickly reviewed the events of the last few minutes and an idea struck him. He turned back around to face his mirror image and promptly punched him hard squarely in the face.
Scarecrow vs. Scarecrow
Who Wins?
(Show your work)
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Is Scarecrow (for the DCU) wearing his Sinestro Corp ring?
I got my money on Scarecrow. It’s science.
‘Cause if he does it isn’t a contest.
DCU Scarecrow wins. Not because of anything he does, but because all the fanboys set fire to the Marvel Scarecrow.
Get it? They were flaming him.
Awesome setup, Conor. Crane wins by default for me because up until now I had no idea Marvel had a Scarecrow.
The winner: Me, for having just read that. Awesome job.
I don’t know who’s going to win, but I know for damn sure who loses: Brandon Lee.
This was amazing. It makes up for all the horrible things that happened today. I uh, don’t know which one is which from the pictures…
Screw it. The Wizard of Oz Scarecrow wins because he has some brains.
Conor- +5 Respect
Ebenezer falls back a few steps as Crane tries to follow with an uppercut. Ebenezer jumps to avoid and spin kicks Crane square in his jaw. Waiting for his opponent’s panic attack to set in, Ebenezer squares off against the recovering Crane. Ebenezer notices that he’s getting no strength boost. His power worked a couple of hours ago as during his set-up for his scheme, but now nothing. What could have happened?
"WHY?! Why aren’t you afraid?" -E
"Of what? A copycat? Then again, I have always wanted to see if I have any new fears, and since I’m immune, you’ll do perfectly." -C
Crane leaps forward hands first, as he releases a burst of his fear toxin. Ebenezer schreeches and covers his eyes as he falls back. When he opens them again, his opponent is gone. Replaced by the demonic version of himself from years ago.
"NO!! I WILL NOT GO BACK!!!" He turns to see Ghost Rider.
"FEEL ALL THE PAIN YOU HAVE CAUSED EBENEZER LAUGHTON! LOOK INTO MY EYES ONCE MORE!"
Crane looks down on his opponent as he bleeds from his eyeballs.
"God, I miss that feeling…" -C
Crane wins.
DCU Scarecrow wins…
Similar to the Fables universe, known characters are just better…
Holy shit! This needs to be an actual comic book.
Hahaha! Classic Marx Brothers!
Finally, someone got it.
Seriously, does Marvel use their Scarecrow? Ironically, I only really remember him from those old trading cards showcasing the DC vs. Marvel crossover (Flash vs. Quicksilver, Superman vs. Hulk, etc.). I’m not well versed in Marvel, but has anyone read a comic that featured him? More than one?
@Paul: Yep, he’s in the current arc in VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT. And he’s creeepy in it.
I really ought to be reading that. Missed the crazy boat!
And according to Wikipedia, he was also in Civil War. I vaguely remember this. Sometimes it feels like Civil War was ten years ago.
Anyways, I’m actually gonna go with Marvel’s Scarecrow on this one. Shocking, I know. But I always side with the contortionist. He’d weasel his way out of DC Scarecrow’s machinations through pluck, guile, and elasticity.
I’ll go with Marvel’s Scarecrow. He’s got some occult knowledge on his side and he seems like a better hand to hand fighter than DC’s version.
There is only one way to settle this battle in true Canadian fashion. No, not hockey. To settle this war of humans dressed as faux humans, they must partake in a true warrior’s competition… CURLING.
"HARRRD, HAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRD, HURRY HAAARRRRRRD!"
The winner? DCU Scarecrow because I had no idea Marvel’s Scarecrow even existed.
@conor-Actually, the only thing i pictured through that whole bit was the old
I Love Lucy bit with Harpo. And the family guy "Hitler and Stewie Hitler" moment.
Lucille Ball and Harpo Marx
Were you watching a clip when you wrote that or do you know the routine by heart?
@Tad: Not Lucy: Harpo and Groucho.
(And I was watching the clip)
Get these morons out of my country!
Harpo wins
Was halfway through and I thought "where have I seen this before?"
Marx Brothers. Classic.
Which came first, The Scarecrow or The Scarecrow? And is there copyright stuff on these characters?
Shit, I should of said, "And is there copyright stuffings on these characters?". My bad.
Hey Conor, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Duck Soup by the Marx Brothers, but you’ve pretty well reproduced the scene.
Marx Brothers Mirror Scene From Duck Soup
Sorry, sorry, sorry, just read Paul and Conor’s comments. This has already been identified as a Marx’s Brother routine.
Sorry, here’s the link done correctly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5lU52aWTJo
I also was unaware of Marvel’s Scarecrow. It’s funny to think about this since Moon Knight is often refered to as Marvel’s Batman, and now I find out they both have a villian called the Scarecrow.
Bruce Boxleitner steps into the fray. "Gentlemen," he says with gravel in his voice and a glint in his steely eyes, "there’s only one true Scarecrow. And that Scarecrow made sweet, sweet love to Kate Jackson."
The two combatants paused, then turned to resume the fight.
"Before," the erstwhile President Sheridan continued, "she got all that awful plastic surgery."
Abashed, the two heralds of horror concede the match. Even with his recent history of direct to DVD and SyFy flicks, there was simply no way to compete with the man who once had the "smart" Angel. No way, indeed.
@Rob: Awesome.
Oh wait, I do know the Marvel Scarecrow. He fought the X-Men in D.C., and I mean this was one of the very early X-Men issues. Believe it or not I own a very tattered copy of that issue.
Okay, here’s a quick conclusion to the story. Who wins? Well, just read below:
Scarecrow (Marvel) stands his ground letting his fear pheromones fill the air. "You will fear me, imposter! All fear me!"
"Oh, I so wish you could scare me. But alas I no longer feel fear, except for one man; and you are not him!"
Ebenezer lunges at his foe, while Crane sprays a thick cloud of liquid fear into the air.
"No, no, the horror!!" screams Ebenezer, as pure terror overwhelms his mind. He falls, arms flailing and leaving terrible marks on the floor from his enormous strength.
Crane smiles, having so easily faced down this foe. But as he watches, the smile quickly fades. This other agent of fear, is so similar, so much like himself. For a moment they were mirror images of each other. In this life, when will he ever find another so like this one. Without a second thought, he lifts his arm and releases the antidote.
Ebenezer’s tear stained eyes look up at Crane. "You have saved me. Why?"
"I have an idea."
Three months pass.
Back stage at the Radio City Music Hall, Ebenezer Laughton peeks out at the auditorium packed with a restless, impatient crowd. Not wanting to wait any longer for the now legendary MIRROR BROTHERS OF FEAR SHOW to begin. "It’s a packed house. Oh my, I think we should cancel the show. I’m not feeling well."
Crane, applying a thick coat of make-up to his thin face doesn’t even bother to look at his partner. He is all to use to Ebenezer’s anxiety for performing. "My friend, you will be just fine tonight as you are every night we started performing our Mirror Image routine." Crane stands, finally happy with the results reflected back to him. "But I do still envy your ability to fear such mundane situations. Oh how my chemicals have left me so fearless."
"I think I saw The Batman in the crowd tonight."
Crane shutters for a moment, a wave of adrenalin surging through his veins. There is one man who can still induce fear within him. But the fear lasts only a few heart beats as a mischievous smile creeps across Ebenezer’s face.
"There is no Batman in the audience." Crane says with a sigh.
"Well, at least not in costume," Ebenezer is able to get out before laughter overtakes him.
Crane smiles and joins in the laughter, an emotion he can still feel. "Oh, what am I going to do with you!"
Ebenezer puts his arm around his friend, and they head for the door; almost curtain time.
"Now I did spot that big-wig Bruce Wayne, but someone like that clearly wouldn’t make you nervous."
Crane laughs, "that billionaire playboy can only conjure fear in this shareholders, and that’s pretty rare nowadays. Did you see what Wayne Inc. shares were trading at? An increase that big must be criminal!"
And again another round of laughter – fear now the farthest thing from their minds.