Christopher Nolan’s movies are supposed to be somewhat based in reality, but how does Scarecrow’s fear gas in Batman Begins really work–and is it possible to create? The 2005 Batman origin story, which introduces Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, focuses heavily on the concept of human fear. At the beginning of the film, Wayne is shown being swarmed by bats as a child, which sparks his initial fear of the animals that he ultimately overcomes and embraces to become the franchise’s titular hero. Similarly, there’s also the key moment after Wayne’s parents have been shot, and his father’s dying words to him are, “Bruce, it’s okay. Don’t be afraid.”
Fear continues to be heavily utilized throughout the rest of the film, especially in the context of Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) and Ra’s al Ghul’s (Liam Neeson) plan to destroy Gotham by polluting the water supply with “fear gas.” Scarecrow, whose real name is Dr. Jonathan Crane, is a former professor of psychology who’s created what Wayne deduces to be a “hallucinogen weaponized in aerosol form.” When a victim is sprayed with it, the mind-altering toxins tap into a person’s deepest anxieties, torturing them as though what they fear is actually attacking them in the present moment.
It’s certainly a clever invention, as one of the most reliable ways to manipulate the behavior of humans or knock them out of commission is to exploit the fears that eat at them the most. Since life is so inevitably riddled with traumatic and painful experiences (in addition to all of its good aspects), no one really gets away unscathed by insecurities or, in some cases, a some deep-seated sense of terror or powerlessness at one point or another. And since the brilliant yet deranged and villainous Scarecrow is so knowledgeable about the human mind and psychology in general, he knows exactly how to create a concoction that taps into the place where that instinctively avoided fear imprint is stored. At the moment a person is under the influence of heavily mind-altering and hallucination-provoking drugs, their brain is all the more fragile and susceptible to those potent anxieties.
The plot of Batman Begins begs the question as to whether or not such a weapon could actually be created. After all, despite their pleasantly mind-bending nature, Christopher Nolan’s movies are supposed to be somewhat grounded in reality. Many drugs, especially hallucinogenic ones, can cause a heightened sense of fear and paranoia. When that is coupled with a mind that is severely altered and less tethered to reality and logic, psychological mayhem can easily ensue. Narcotics such as LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and ketamine are known for their occasional ability to send a user on a “bad trip,” one where they’re terrified and don’t have their usual, firm grasp on reality.
While none of these drugs directly target a person’s specific fears, those anxieties can certainly bubble to the surface and send a temporarily compromised brain into a tailspin that seems impossible to calm. Though there isn’t a known version of the fear gas from Batman Begins existing in the world today, the idea isn’t a completely fictional concept and certainly has roots in reality. Someone with psychological understanding and scientific know-how could arguably create a drug that specifically targets the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for the fear response, and especially glutamate, the key neurotransmitter that generates fear. If that person had the sadistic nature of Scarcrow, and especially if they were knowledgeable regarding that particular person’s psyche, temperament, and life experiences, they could play into those variables to dangerous ends.
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