Warning: contains spoilers for Detective Comics #1032!
Hush, one of Batman’s most notorious villains, lived up to his name in the most horrifying fashion possible in his most recent engagement with the Bat-family. In Detective Comics #1032, Hush has abducted several members of the Bat-family, and Batman must scramble to find them. Readers learn that Hush has given them a serum that will freeze their vocal cords; literally “hushing” them! Written by Peter Tomasi with art by Brad Walker, inks by Andrew Hennessy and colors by Dave McCaig, the issue is in stores now.
Hush is actually Thomas Elliot, a once-promising doctor and a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne’s. Driven insane by his abusive parents, he would grow up to become a villain with an obsession for Bruce Wayne. What makes Hush so terrifying is he knows Bruce is Batman, and he can get inside Batman’s head as well. First appearing during Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s epic "Hush" storyline in Batman, Hush manipulated villains into helping him destroy Batman. Hush’s approach was to break Batman physically and mentally. Since then, he has been a dangerous member of Batman’s rogues’ gallery, and in this issue readers can see how demented he has become.
In the previous issue, Hush abducted six members of the Bat-family, including Batwoman and Nightwing. They wake up in Hush’s lair, and he informs them he has given them a special serum that will paralyze their vocal cords, rendering them unable to talk to each other and find a way to escape. What is truly horrifying is that he plans to harvest their organs and sell them on the black market - and at issue’s end, he has a potential buyer!
Despite being a fan-favorite character, Hush has struggled with his villain gimmick in previous stories, varyingly obsessed with Aristotle quotes, envy over the death of Bruce Wayne's parents, and using plastic surgery to change his appearance. At the end of the original "Hush" story, Riddler revealed that Hush took his name from the Scarecrow's creepy singing while the villains were helping Elliot, so it's a moniker that, while creepy, has never really made sense in the way of the Joker or Penguin. Happily (for readers at least), it seems that Tommy is actively embracing the title, adding the kind of chilling irony to his crimes that turns Gotham villains into icons.
Detective Comics #1032 brings Hush's obsessions together in an incredibly creepy way, treating him as the major threat that was promised in his debut and hopefully giving him the legs to keep returning as a serious problem for Batman and his allies for decades to come. That is, if they survive this latest experience at his hands.