The Identity Thief was one of the secondary villains in Batman: Arkham City, and, although his side mission is introduced later in the game, he can be seen right at the beginning. The true identity of this villain isn't revealed until the end of the questline, but there are clues as to who the Identity Thief really is as early as the first time Batman enters the Church. If Batman speaks to one of the medics, he can find out information about a man whose face is wrapped in bandages.
In the Identity Thief side mission, Batman investigates several crime scenes where the victims' faces are missing. An upsetting twist reveals that fingerprints found at the crime scenes belong to Bruce Wayne in Batman: Arkham City. The Identity Thief's victims pop up periodically, and after the first crime scene appears, the bandaged man disappears from the Church. Unfortunately, if Batman speaks to the medics again later, they seem to completely forget about the Identity Thief being there. No further information is given about how the Identity Thief managed to slip away under the care of medic Adam Hamasaki.
When Batman arrives at the Church, he's urgently looking for the Joker after he traces a sniper shot to the bell tower. It's not surprising that he asks no further questions about the bandaged man, because he's also investigating Hugo Strange and Protocol 10, which is already responsible for Batman's worst character moment in Arkham City. However, if Batman had a few extra moments to look into this man further, he would have discovered that he was actually Thomas Elliot, and he may have been able to prevent the murders that follow.
Batman: Arkham's Thomas Elliot Has Twisted Reasons For Hating Bruce Wayne
The information provided by Batman: Arkham City regarding Thomas Elliot's grudge against Bruce Wayne is limited. Hush's bio page is the only section of the game that provides any context for Elliot's vengeful plan, but it's still just a brief explanation. A more in-depth portrayal of Elliot's childhood and his reasons for despising the Waynes is provided by comics such as Hush and Heart of Hush. As children, Bruce and Thomas were close friends that helped each other grow intellectually. Comics actually ruined the big twist in Batman: Arkham Knight, but they enhance Thomas Elliot's story. At a young age, Thomas was recognized as a genius for his exceptional talents and tactical thinking.
Although they were intellectually similar and both belonged to the upper class, Bruce and Thomas had very different childhoods. Thomas suffered abuse from his father and resented his mother for allowing it to happen. As a woman that came from poverty, Maria Elliot feared losing her place amongst Gotham's elite, so she never spoke out against Roger's cruel and violent behavior. Eventually, Thomas devised a plan to get rid of his parents and inherit their fortunes. One night, Thomas, who was played by voice actor Kevin Conroy in Batman: Arkham City, cut the brake line of his parents' vehicle, and the crash killed Roger instantly. However, Maria was rushed to the hospital and saved by renowned surgeon, Thomas Wayne.
Thomas blamed the Waynes for all of his problems. Over the years, Maria used her control over their fortune to manipulate Thomas into doing everything and anything she demanded. Thomas hated his mother, but he took care of her even when she developed cancer because he wanted his inheritance. Eventually, Thomas developed a relationship with Peyton Riley, the second Ventriloquist, and nearly lost his fortune. Maria disowned Thomas and wrote him out of her will for continuing to see Peyton. With the threat of losing everything looming over him, Thomas smothered his mother and had Peyton kill the lawyer and destroy the amended will. After finally inheriting his parents' money, Thomas cut Peyton out of his life and started planning his revenge on Bruce Wayne, whose brother may be in Gotham Knights.
Thomas' hatred for Bruce stems from his jealousy. Bruce's parents were murdered shortly after Thomas tried to kill his own, and he saw it as an injustice. His envy only grew when Bruce started traveling the world and Thomas was stuck caring for his verbally abusive mother. In Hush, Thomas' elaborate revenge plan is set in motion after he skillfully manipulates all of Gotham's major supervillains. Thomas even goes so far as to plant a tracker in Bruce's head during surgery by sending him subliminal messages containing his name and image before causing the Batmobile to crash. After faking his own death, Thomas surgically removes his face and creates a new one so that he looks exactly like Bruce Wayne. In Heart of Hush, Thomas takes it a step further by capturing Catwoman, again done dirty in Batman: Arkham. Hush removes her heart but keeps her barely alive to torture Bruce. After ultimately failing to exact his revenge, he ends up penniless and in hiding. However, once he starts to get recognized as Bruce Wayne, Thomas starts stealing his money and trying to ruin his life.
The Identity Thief's early appearance in Batman: Arkham City shows Thomas Elliot before his plan to ruin Bruce's life is fully set in motion. At the point where Thomas ends up sedated in the Church, he'd only just removed his face, but he hadn't yet transformed into Bruce Wayne. Although the story of Hush is only included in a short side mission, he remains a significant villain in the Batman universe, and he's one of Bruce's most intellectually challenging opponents. His involvement in the series was disappointing and anticlimatic, especially after his return in Arkham Knight is overshadowed by Scarecrow. However, being able to spot him early in the second title creates a bit more intrigue surrounding the potential storylines that could have developed if Batman was a bit more suspicious of the doctor that supposedly went insane and ended up wrapped in bandages.
The Identity Thief Could Have Been Stopped In Batman: Arkham City
The Identity Thief appears early on in Batman: Arkham City before his first victim is discovered by Tyger Security. In the back-left part of the Church, there's a sedated man with bandages wrapped around his face. According to one of the medics, Adam Hamasaki, he was a doctor who buckled under the pressure of working in Arkham City while crimes wre committed and supervillains ran rampant. Hamasaki says he found the doctor on the floor laughing after he used stolen supplies to surgically removed his own face. After sedating him, Hamasaki wrapped bandages around his head. The doctor was clutching an organ donor case when Hamasaki found him, but the medics couldn't pry it free, so he's still holding on to it when Batman finds him in the Church. After speaking to Hamasaki, the radio mentions Bruce Wayne's arrest and imprisonment in Arkham City, to which the bandaged doctor momentarily groans and writhes before settling back down.
Without knowing it, Batman had the opportunity to detain the Identity Thief before his first victim inside Arkham City was murdered. Since Hush was still holding on to the donor case and Hamasaki found him without a face, then stopping him early also could have prevented his transformation into a Bruce Wayne lookalike. Although Hush's Arkham storyline could've had a bigger payoff, the inclusion of his mid-surgical transformation, and the allusion to the extent of his insanity at least make him more interesting. The short, easily missed interaction with Adam Hamasaki adds some depth to Hush's story in Batman: Arkham City.