Hush (character)
| Hush | |
|---|---|
| File:Hushx.jpg From Batman #619, Hush: The End. Art by Jim Lee | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | As Tommy: Batman #609 (January 2003) As Hush: Batman #619 (November 2003) |
| Created by | Jeph Loeb Jim Lee |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Thomas "Tommy" Elliot |
| Team affiliations | None, The Riddler, Jason Todd, Prometheus, Clayface VII |
| Abilities | Hush possesses masterful surgical abilities, as well as hand-to-hand combat skills on par with Batman's. He also wields firearms with the precision of an expert marksman. |
Hush is a DC Comics supervillain who fights Batman. Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee, he first appeared in Batman #609 (January 2003). Following his 12-issue debut arc, Hush resurfaced in Batman: Gotham Knights, where he has appeared as a recurring villain since issue #50 (April 2004).
Character History
Origin
Dr. Thomas "Tommy" Elliot was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne.
Like Wayne, Elliot was born into a tremendously wealthy family. Unlike Wayne, however, Elliot had no loving relationship with his parents, whom he grew to resent while still a boy. Driven by his desire for independence, he cut the brakes on his parents' car, causing a crash that killed his father. His mother was saved by Dr. Thomas Wayne, which secretly enraged young Elliot. His 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.
Although Elliot's mother later succumbed to cancer, while he went on to become a successful surgeon, Elliot continued to hold his irrational grudge towards Bruce.
At some point in his career, Elliot came across Edward Nigma (a.k.a. the Riddler), who had managed to uncover that Batman and Bruce Wayne were in fact one and the same. Discovering that they had a common foe, Elliot and Nigma decided to pool resources to bring him down .
To this end, Elliot created for himself the persona of Hush.
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, Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, Poison Ivy, The Scarecrow, Killer Croc and Clayface. Jason Todd (a.k.a. Robin II), who was presumed dead at this point in time, apparently also became involved. But the manipulation didn't just end with villians, as Superman also became involved thanks to kryptonite laced pheromones given off by Poison Ivy.
With these villains and heroes as their pawns, Hush and the Riddler set up an elaborate plot against Batman, which included the bat rope being cut by a batarang; Batman suffering near fatal head trauma; surgery at the hands of Elliot; a brawl with Superman; Elliot faking his own death (Batman #613); Batman being pushed to the edge and almost killing the Joker; an encounter with the Riddler himself, making Batman believe Jason Todd had returned to destroy him (Batman #617/18); and the death of Harold.
Whilst it was revealed that this was Clayface and not Jason Todd returned from the dead, his grave was still empty. Until recently, the whereabouts of Jason's remains were unknown but his apparent actual return suggests that he may have indeed been present at this fight after making a deal with Hush.
When Elliot finally revealed himself to a worn-out Batman, the Dark Knight 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, thus making him fall off a bridge.
Although Batman was sure that Hush indeed was Thomas Elliot, the Dark Knight regretted the fact that he'd never had the chance to actually unmask the villain.
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 framed for murder. His name has since been cleared, albeit through trickery.
Payback
Predictably, the Joker eventually returned to Gotham 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.
Bruce 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 started 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, and whether or not Hush will be alive One Year Later, in the aftermath of the Infinite Crisis.