As soon as DC Comics' Future State events ends, the Infinite Frontier will begin, returning the DC Universe back to the present. In Batman's case, it's recently been revealed that his classic foe Scarecrow will be making a big return this March, and he'll also have a brand new look as he dispenses new kinds of terror and fear throughout Gotham City. Additionally, current Batman writer James Tynion IV has expressed large amounts of excitement for Dr. Jonathan Crane's upcoming role in his series, teasing what he hopes will be one of the best Scarecrow stories of all time.
According to Tynion, Scarecrow will be playing a rather large role in the series. It's possible that Crane could be a contributor to what Gotham devolves into, as seen in Future State, with the Magistrate and its lethal campaign against anyone wearing a mask or operating as a vigilante. In the present, Scarecrow might stoke the fear that's already prevalent in Gotham as the result of the recent Joker War, which certainly instigated a large status quo change not just for Batman himself, but also in how the city views him and his allies, fostering a large rise in anti-vigilante sentiments. All things considered, Crane is the last villain Batman needs to contend with right now, as he's all about generating mass amounts of fear with his toxins.
This big return of Scarecrow is also going to be signified by an all-new look and design from artist Jorge Jimenez, making him much more intimidating, setting him up to be Gotham's next major threat. DC Comics just released the new design on Twitter, along with a very foreboding line, presumably coming from Crane himself:
In classic Scarecrow fashion, it looks as though Crane wants to take Gotham to the very edge, drowning the public in fear and hysteria despite Batman's efforts to stabilize things after the trauma of Joker War. Resembling the style popularized by the Batman: Arkham Asylum games, this new look for Crane sees him wearing syringe gauntlets, no doubt prepped and ready so he can directly inject his fear toxin into his victims' bloodstreams. Furthermore, the combination of the straw hat and elongated gas mask provide a fresh and unique take, as Crane had been wearing what looked to be a simple stitched burlap hood over his face with eye holes, as seen in past appearances.
This new design for Scarecrow looks to be incredibly promising for what's lies ahead for DC's Batman and it looks like the Dark Knight is certainly going to have his hands full with Crane. If Future State has shown fans anything, it's that Gotham is a powder keg about to go off in the present in some really bad ways, and Scarecrow is the perfect fuse to set it off if Batman can't find a way to stop him.