As a young child, Jonathan Crane was subjected to sick and twisted experiments on fear conducted by his own father. Emotionally scarred and mentally unstable from the ordeal, Crane spent his childhood living in fear until he made an important realization— if he could control fear, it would never again control him. Over time, this interest in fear become an obsession. Graduating from college with a doctorate in psychology and specialty in phobias, Jonathan began experimenting on others, subjecting them to a hallucinogenic fear toxin he developed that brought out their worst nightmares. Although Batman has developed a number of remedies to counteract these toxins, Crane is constantly improving upon his formula, creating more potent and deadlier versions.