Hush (comics)
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Hush is a DC Comics supervillain and an enemy of Batman. Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee, he first appeared in Batman #609 (November 2002). Following his 12-issue debut arc (Batman: Hush), Hush resurfaced in Batman: Gotham Knights, where he appeared as a recurring villain up until that series' cancellation in 2006, due to the sweeping changes of DC's Infinite Crisis.
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[edit] Character History
[edit] Origin
Dr. Thomas Elliot was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. Like Bruce Wayne, Elliot was born into a tremendously wealthy political family. Unlike Wayne, however, Elliot hated his parents as a boy. Driven by his desire for independence and wealth, he cut the brakes on his parents' car and convinced their chauffeur to stay home that night, causing a crash that killed his father. His mother was saved by Dr. Thomas Wayne, who tried in vain to save both parents, which enraged young Elliot. He took out that anger on Bruce, who promised Elliot that both would be saved, and he subsequently attacked his childhood friend. To Bruce's amazement, Dr. Wayne scolded him when he fought back, and comforted Elliot like a father would a son, something Bruce never fully forgave his father for. Meanwhile, Elliot's anger was further fueled by the subsequent murder of the Waynes, which put Bruce Wayne in just the situation Elliot had hoped to create for himself. His hope of inheriting his family's fortune ruined, he decided to wait for his lucky day. Elliot's mother later succumbed to cancer. While he went on to Harvard and became a successful surgeon, Elliot continued to hold an irrational grudge towards his childhood friend for having the good fortune he never had.
At some point in his career, Elliot became the doctor of Edward Nigma (also known as the Riddler). Nigma, diagnosed with terminal cancer, had decided to use one of Ra's al Ghul's Lazarus pits. In the insanity (or, as Nigma called it, clarity) that followed, Nigma managed to uncover that Batman and Bruce Wayne were in fact one and the same. Elliot, amazed that Nigma had been able to completely remove the cancer from his body, confronted him about it. Nigma says he figured Elliot would want to pay a fortune for a cure, as his mother died from it. After discovering that they both had a common hatred for Bruce Wayne, Elliot and the Riddler decided to pool resources to bring him down. To this end, Elliot created for himself the persona of Hush, a mysterious, trench-coated criminal with his head swathed in bandages who often quotes Aristotle. His persona came from when Scarecrow sang, "Hush Little Baby", (which is incidentally a nursery rhyme about a child who couldn't be pleased) while working with Dr. Elliot.
[edit] "Hush Begins"
In their attempt to destroy the Batman, Hush and the Riddler convinced and manipulated several other villains to help. These included the Joker, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Killer Croc and Clayface. Jason Todd, the second Robin, who was presumed dead at this point, also became involved. The manipulation did not just end with villains, however, as Superman also became involved thanks to kryptonite-laced pheromones given off by Poison Ivy, and Catwoman fell in love with Batman possibly due to Poison Ivy's pheromones.
With these villains and heroes as their pawns, Hush and the Riddler set up an elaborate plot against Batman, which included cutting the batrope with a batarang; inflicting on Batman near-fatal head trauma, for which Elliot performed surgery; getting Batman into a brawl with Superman; Elliot faking his own death and framing the Joker for it, provoking Batman into almost killing his archenemy (Batman #613); making Batman believe Jason Todd had returned to destroy him (Batman #617/18); and killing Harold Allnut.
The return of Todd as a villain in this story arc is open to confusion. While an empty grave revealed that Jason Todd's body was missing, the Jason Todd that Batman fought appeared to be Clayface, not Todd. However, future works suggest Todd was present at some point during the fight to satisfy a deal with Hush. Indeed, this is backed up by Batman Annual #25, where the resurrected Jason is seen making a deal with Hush to see if Batman had changed since his death. Following the ensuing battle with his former mentor, he was replaced by Clayface, allowing his return to be a source of speculation.
When Elliot finally revealed himself to a worn-out Batman, the Dark Knight felt frustrated by his childhood promise to Elliot and confronted him about making a big deal over it, only to learn the truth about the Elliots' murder. Batman was saved only by the intervention of Two-Face, who had been cured and again was Harvey Dent, betraying the villain by alerting former police commissioner James Gordon of the plot against Batman. Dent wound up shooting Hush twice, pushing him off a bridge. His body was never found; Superman has since suggested that it had been blown out to sea. Since the courts wouldn't charge Dent without proper evidence or a body, he was cleared of all charges and released. Thanks to Superman's x-ray vision, it was learned that Elliot had placed a tracking bug in Bruce Wayne's skull when he operated on him, which Superman destroyed with his heat vision. It was revealed that the Riddler was the real mastermind behind the whole plot, guiding Elliot and providing him with information from the shadows.
Although Batman was sure that Hush indeed was Thomas Elliot, the Dark Knight regretted that he'd never had the chance to actually unmask the villain.
[edit] "Hush Returns"
When Hush resurfaced, he did so with a vengeance. Still out to destroy Batman and determined not to let the rest of the villains get in his way, Hush quickly began to carve out a niche for himself, beating his former accomplice, the Riddler, within an inch of his life and even driving the Joker out of town. Hush also ended up killing Poison Ivy in a fruitless attempt to recruit her.
Following a short-lived alliance with JLA nemesis Prometheus, Hush then began to torment Bruce Wayne with the aid of an all-new Clayface. Exploiting the latter's shape-shifting abilities, Hush was briefly able to shed doubt on his true identity and apparently also had Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth framed for murder. His name has since been cleared, albeit through trickery.
[edit] Payback
The Joker eventually returned to Gotham City and retaliated (in Batman: Gotham Knights #73-74). He captured Hush and kept him sedated for three weeks, during which time he implanted a pacemaker into his body, effectively gaining control of his heart. At the Joker's mercy and unable to remove the device himself, Hush turned to the one man he felt he could trust (or rather, predict): Bruce Wayne.
Wayne consented to help Hush on the condition that he allow himself to be treated in and confined to Arkham Asylum. Hush agreed, and then immediately escaped after being told that the surgery had been a success. He was intercepted by Batman before he could confront the Joker, and the two men debated the merits of a code against killing such vile criminals. Hush demanded that Batman allow him to do what he wouldn't, and finish off the Joker once and for all. Batman seemed to agree and began to leave, but then revealed that he'd tricked Hush - the pacemaker was still in his body, and he'd been allowed to escape the asylum. At that moment the Joker arrived, and Hush began begging Batman not to leave him.
The issue (and the Batman: Gotham Knights series) ended unresolved. It remains to be seen what decision Batman made, although Hush returned in the recent Man-Bat miniseries.
[edit] One Year Later
Hush has not made any appearances following or been mentioned nearly one year after the events of the Infinite Crisis. It would seem to many that Batman probably left him to die since the pacemaker was controlled by The Joker. However, given that several mobsters and villains, such as The Penguin, have fled Gotham City due to the Great White's stronghold over organized crime, it is possible that he might have left Gotham as well. Leaving Hush to die would also be directly against Batman's moral code, making his death even more unlikely. The writers have yet to reveal as to what Hush did during the One Year Later storyline and what he intends to do in the future.
[edit] Character Analysis
Hush is in many ways Batman's dark reflection. Like Batman, Hush is a brilliant tactician and skilled fighter. He has shown that he is just as focused and driven as the Dark Knight and will commit to meticulous preparation and large amounts of time before initiating a plan. Whereas Batman loved his parents and mourned their loss, Hush hated his parents and even succeeded in killing one of them when he was just a child. The fact that he knows who Batman is and knows him personally makes him even more dangerous. Hush has shown that he will let nothing stand in his way and has even severely beaten the Riddler and the Joker. On one occasion Tim Drake, as Robin, commented that Batman was afraid of Hush, to which Batman replied, "Only a fool wouldn't be afraid of Hush. For him, it's personal. Maybe even more than the Joker".
[edit] Powers and abilities
Hush has no super powers, but he exhibits a genius level intellect. Initially he appeared to be a brain surgeon, but has appeared to be a very competent plastic surgeon as well, having "fixed" Two-Face. He is a master strategist, having set into motion the events of Hush years before they happened. Also in the last episode of Hush, he appears to be an expert marksman, shooting away batarangs as they head towards him. His knowledge of Batman's strengths and weaknesses, exhibited by the near perfect execution of the plan in his first arc, also makes him something of a mastermind schemer.
