| Synopsis | - Once again, Scarecrow collects the fearful tears and sweat of the girl he kidnapped, and adds it to his formula. As yet, there is still one cubic centimetre of the fluid required for its completion. He is troubled though, as despite the torture he puts her through, this girl shows him compassion, and seems to care about his well-being. While she pleads to be let go, he crumples on the floor, filled with memories of his own confinement at the hands of his father. As part of his father's research, young Jonathan Crane was routinely locked in a room under the floor, surrounded by instruments of fear.
Elsewhere, Batman wakes, chained to a table in Scarecrow's lab. Looking over at the desk nearby, he spots his Batsuit, and orders his wrist armour to activate its laser, cutting through the chains holding him there. He dons the suit and sneaks down the hall. Suddenly, though, the Scarecrow appears, and slices open his chest with a scythe. Mockingly, Scarecrow points out that despite all his desire to escape, Batman never actually left the table. It was all an illusion caused by fear toxin.
On that subject, Scarecrow has finally finished preparing a very special super-toxin, so powerful that even he does not have antibodies against it, requiring the wearing of a special mask to keep himself safe.
Bruce is given visions of a man named Braxton Winthrop, who leads a life similar to that of Bruce Wayne. He is rich, he is nearly the same age, they are about the same height. The difference, though, is that Braxton Winthrop has a family, happiness, a life. He devotes himself to the light.
Their pasts are similar too. Braxton had a loving family, but a helicopter accident had taken the lives of his parents. Braxton was given a new life, and a new family, and he made the most of it. He inherited the Winthrop Rifles fortune, and sold the family business in favour of starting charities, orphanages, and scholarships. He found a woman he loved and married her.
When Bruce lost his parents, however, he chose the darkness. He put his head down and went along with the pain, burying it deep underneath the weight of assumed responsibility. It didn't have to be that way, though. Bruce could have had a different life, if he had only chosen light. Even still, he remains distant from his girlfriend Natalya. He took a ward, and never adopted him. He took in his own son, but doesn't publicly acknowledge the son he didn't know he had, because he had to be tricked into becoming a father.
It is not the darkness and the evil of the world that scares Bruce - it's human contact. Being Batman is a crutch that prevents him from having to get close to anyone - because if he did, they might leave. What is most troubling to Bruce is that he knows that Scarecrow isn't seeing any of what he's seeing. Which means it is something that he knows himself. Resigned, Batman whispers a question: what happened to the Scarecrow to make him like this?
Scarecrow recalls how he was thrown into the little dark room, while his father conducted tests on him. One day, though, his father experienced a heart attack while Jonathan was still trapped in the room, and he died. Jonathan banged hard against the trap door, calling out, but no one was there to hear. Dr. Crane's employers at the University became concerned about his prolonged absence, and eventually, police came, and broke into the house. When they spotted the trap door, they opened it, and were horrified to find young Jonathan alone down there, after days of starving and being afraid.
Coldly, Scarecrow turns away and decides that it is time to get his scythe. Alone, Batman looks over to the desk and commands his armor to activate the wrist laser again - this time, no luck. Bruce looks into himself, and thinks on his fears. He must take those fears and swallow them whole, make them his own, stare that fear in the eye until it becomes afraid, and backs down.
By the time Scarecrow returns with his scythe, Batman has broken free of his chains by sheer force of will, and put his suit back on.
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| abstract | - A pesar de que El Espantapájaros continua con sus experimentos sobre la niña que secuestro, ella demuestra preocupación por él como si sintiera afecto. thumb|left|306pxPara demostrarle que no esta solo, mientras ruega ser liberada le enseña un dibujo que hizo sobre ellos dos e inmediatamente los recuerdos de su padre encerrándolo en pozo oscuro regresan para atormentar la mente de Crane. Batman continua bajo los efectos de la toxina del miedo y se imagina a si mismo escapando para ver la luz, pero el espantapájaros aparece y le corta el pecho con su guadaña impidiéndole cumplir con su deseo. A modo de castigo, Crane alista todo y comienza a usar a Batman para probar la nueva super toxina que diseño. La nueva toxina actúa de forma diferente. Bruce tiene la visión de un hombre llamado Braxton Winthrop que tuvo un pasado similar al de Bruce, donde sus padres murieron en un accidente aéreo y él heredo una fortuna de muy joven. Pero contrario a lo que eligió Bruce, Braxton transito un camino de luz, reconstruyendo su vida, haciendo obras de caridad, casándose con el amor de vida, donando parte de su dinero y su tiempo, teniendo y adoptando hijos. Al contrario de Bruce, quien transito un camino de oscuridad cuando sus padres murieron. Él podría haber tenido esa vida si hubiera elegido la luz, pero la oscuridad lo consume aun en el presente, manteniéndose distante de Natalya, tomando un pupilo sin adoptarlo, teniendo un hijo que se niega a presentar en publico. Una voz en su cabeza clama que el peor miedo de Batman es el contacto humano. Bruce no sabe como es que el espantapájaros sabe esas cosas de él, entonces le pregunta que demonios le sucedió para ser así. El villano recuerda nuevamente ser encerrado por su padre en el pozo. Pero un día, mientras el dr. Crane realizaba sus experimentos sobre el miedo, un infarto al corazón terminando con su vida, dejando a su hijo encerrado en la oscuridad durante varios días hasta que la policía, alertada por lo colegas de Crane por sus constantes ausencia, lo rescataron al encontrar el pozo donde estuvo encerrado. Pero el niño que emergió de la oscuridad nunca volvió a ser el mismo. Decidido a dar por finalizado el experimento, Crane va en busca de su guadaña, pero Batman comienza a luchar contra sus ataduras. Cuando el villano regresa, Batman ya se ha liberado y puesto su trajes; y ya esta preparado para dar fin a los planes de Crane. Categoría:The Dark Knight: Ciclo de Violencia Categoría:Batman: The Dark Knight (Volumen 2) Categoría:Comic Categoría:The New 52
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