'Gotham's Dr. Crane Isn't Who You're Thinking Of

As long as Gotham keeps adding more killer characters, let's hope they fall on the Victor Zsasz/Jack Gruber side of things rather than the Spirit of the Goat side of things. In the Feb. 2 episode, "The Fearsome Dr. Crane," Jim and Harvey will go after the Gotham phobia killer, a murderer who kills innocent people while they're experiencing intense phobias. If the episode title doesn't give a bold enough hint of what's ahead, next week's episode is called "The Scarecrow." Yes, Gotham is introducing another villain from Batman's rogue's gallery, but with a slight twist. The Scarecrow from the comics (and Chris Nolan's movies) is Dr. Jonathan Crane, madman and administrator at Arkham Asylum who starts wearing a costume. This version of character is Gerald Crane, a local biology teacher.

Just like the comics version of Dr. Crane, Gotham's version has a fascination with his victim's fear. Gordon and Bullock will have to figure out why a science teacher is forcing victims to experience extreme fear and then murdering them. As Dr. Thompkins says in the trailer, he's removing their adrenal glands, which produce adrenaline when a person is experiencing fear. It makes your heart pound or hands get sweaty and shaky when you're afraid, and harvesting the glands must mean that this killer is looking to get his hands on some form of adrenaline. Why? We'll have to watch the episode to find out, because not even the Gotham City medical examiner is quite sure.

But it looks like Edward Nygma will hold the crucial clue, even if he's forced to leave the police department because he's making too many waves as he discovers Crane's real plan. But "phobia support group" plus "adrenal glands" must mean that the killer wants to figure out or harvest the chemical principles of fear, just like Jonathan.

But the name "Crane" doesn't mean that we'll be meeting a baby version of Scarecrow as we know him from Batman Begins, which is a disappointment because I would love to see Cillian Murphy as a precocious 12 year-old. Anyway, in the comics, Dr. Jonathan Crane never knew his father, so it's totally possible that we won't hear or see anything about him at all, but it sure would be a huge coincidence that both Cranes are fascinated by exploiting other people's fears.

Images: Jessica Miglio/FOX; Giphy