Hush Beyond: A Theory
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scans_dailyHello, S_D. Been a while. Left down the day after my previous post (hence the lack of comment replies), but I'm back now. With a theory. See, I just finished reading Batman Beyond #3, and I've got a theory.
Fair warning: If I'm right, it'll be a major spoiler for the big reveal.
Fair warning #2: We're nearly at the limit for scans of the issue, so I'm only posting one panel. Expect a lot of text.
A hopefully quick side note: I hate Tommy Elliot. I hate retcons generally. I also think that the giant Gotham-wide crossover events which came to take over all the Bat-titles every summer were a major part of what was wrong with those comics for the last decade or so. Overhyped, generally more hole than plot, took over everything even vaguely related to Gotham, and yet few of them left any lasting effects (and the few that were generally got wiped out the following summer). Tommy Elliot is the product of both those things - Bruce's long-lost best friend suddenly retconned into existence after more than 60 years, introduced as the central character in a majorly overhyped pan-Gotham crossover. What's worse is that the character is completely unnecessary - the latest attempt to create Batman's opposite when we already have Black Mask, Prometheus, and probably a few others I'm forgetting. What's even worse is that the character makes no sense. He's a surgeon, with no powers and no other real training, and yet he can manipulate not only Batman but every major villain in Gotham all at once. He's presented to us as the most dangerous villain in Gotham with absolutely nothing to back that up except that the writers have arbitrarily decided it's so. Whenever he appears in a story, everything is bent around him just to make him look supremely competent. He's pure amped up Riddler Factor. To the point that pretty much every story is dragged down, its plot made weaker, in direct proportion to the amount that Hush appears in it. (Oh, and also - his "costume" is a trench coat and some bandages? Really?)
So I hated the fact that Hush was chosen to be the villain in what was supposed to be Batman Beyond's triumphant and nostalgic return. He doesn't (or shouldn't) have a place in regular present-day Gotham. Why should he be the central villain of Terry's miniseries?
But now I have a new theory. I'm still not entirely happy with things, because I think Terry's return should have him fighting a Neo Gotham villain, but at least it makes things somewhat better...
It started when I saw this panel at the end of Batman Beyond #3:
The form, the eyes... it looked very familiar. And so I reexamined the evidence.
First off, Terry spends most of the issue thinking about how much Hush Beyond's MO resembles Tommy Elliot's. And they're very thin parallels. "Oh, look, he's involving other Gotham villains - just like Tommy Elliot!" "Oh, look, he's got a big, involved master plan - just like Tommy Elliot!" "He knows Bruce was Batman - just like Tommy Elliot!" And so on. It seems like a sure sign that the villain in question is not Tommy Elliot. We're in the middle of the story arc, and the hero is becoming ever more sure of his guess, and he's underlining every little possible connection just to make sure the readers don't miss it. If this doesn't scream "red herring" I don't know what does.
So let's go back to the beginning. He escapes Cadmus's Gotham villain storage facility. On his way out, he tries to savagely kill one particular inmate. Which means he has a grudge against what is almost certainly a major Batman villain from years gone by.
The "costume" he picked up by pure convenience. He was naked. He knocked a guy out. The guy had a trench coat. He took it. Later, he attacked a hospital and picked up some bandages to hide his face.
Looking up from the alley when he was getting his costume, he sights Batman for the first time. "No... Who does he think he is?" He's not just upset that there's a Batman, he seems to consider him a pretender, a usurper.
Then he decides to send a message to Batman. He targets an old villain and attacks him with a "two" motif, looking to send a signal.
His next attack is against one of Terry's villains, and he makes sure to include the family.
He attacks Calendar Man, seeming to know that he'd be planning an attack on Barbara Gordon.
Terry fights him hand to hand. He seems to know what to expect from Batman's moves, and, despite the advantages of Terry's suit, is able to more than hold his own.
His remarks during that fight: "You're not Bruce Wayne... too young, too slim. He was never going to let anyone else be Batman. That was obvious... which means you're a faker... a twip trying to cash in on a legacy you haven't earned, haven't bled for..."
Terry talks to Tim Drake and then Dick Grayson. (Who, BTW, looks oddly like Nick Fury.)
Putting it all together, I come up with one answer:
Hush Beyond is Jason Todd.
He's from Bruce's days as Batman. He knows Bruce was Batman. He knows Batman's fighting style and weapons. He was Robin #2 (hence the 2 as the first "signal"). He thinks Terry doesn't belong in the "family," isn't part of the legacy. And thinks you need to bleed (as he did) to earn your place. And maybe he still feels some need to look out for other members of the family, like Barbara. And that panel of Hush, seen just after Terry talks to Tim and Dick, looks an awful lot like Jason's Red Hood.
Fair warning: If I'm right, it'll be a major spoiler for the big reveal.
Fair warning #2: We're nearly at the limit for scans of the issue, so I'm only posting one panel. Expect a lot of text.
A hopefully quick side note: I hate Tommy Elliot. I hate retcons generally. I also think that the giant Gotham-wide crossover events which came to take over all the Bat-titles every summer were a major part of what was wrong with those comics for the last decade or so. Overhyped, generally more hole than plot, took over everything even vaguely related to Gotham, and yet few of them left any lasting effects (and the few that were generally got wiped out the following summer). Tommy Elliot is the product of both those things - Bruce's long-lost best friend suddenly retconned into existence after more than 60 years, introduced as the central character in a majorly overhyped pan-Gotham crossover. What's worse is that the character is completely unnecessary - the latest attempt to create Batman's opposite when we already have Black Mask, Prometheus, and probably a few others I'm forgetting. What's even worse is that the character makes no sense. He's a surgeon, with no powers and no other real training, and yet he can manipulate not only Batman but every major villain in Gotham all at once. He's presented to us as the most dangerous villain in Gotham with absolutely nothing to back that up except that the writers have arbitrarily decided it's so. Whenever he appears in a story, everything is bent around him just to make him look supremely competent. He's pure amped up Riddler Factor. To the point that pretty much every story is dragged down, its plot made weaker, in direct proportion to the amount that Hush appears in it. (Oh, and also - his "costume" is a trench coat and some bandages? Really?)
So I hated the fact that Hush was chosen to be the villain in what was supposed to be Batman Beyond's triumphant and nostalgic return. He doesn't (or shouldn't) have a place in regular present-day Gotham. Why should he be the central villain of Terry's miniseries?
But now I have a new theory. I'm still not entirely happy with things, because I think Terry's return should have him fighting a Neo Gotham villain, but at least it makes things somewhat better...
It started when I saw this panel at the end of Batman Beyond #3:
The form, the eyes... it looked very familiar. And so I reexamined the evidence.
First off, Terry spends most of the issue thinking about how much Hush Beyond's MO resembles Tommy Elliot's. And they're very thin parallels. "Oh, look, he's involving other Gotham villains - just like Tommy Elliot!" "Oh, look, he's got a big, involved master plan - just like Tommy Elliot!" "He knows Bruce was Batman - just like Tommy Elliot!" And so on. It seems like a sure sign that the villain in question is not Tommy Elliot. We're in the middle of the story arc, and the hero is becoming ever more sure of his guess, and he's underlining every little possible connection just to make sure the readers don't miss it. If this doesn't scream "red herring" I don't know what does.
So let's go back to the beginning. He escapes Cadmus's Gotham villain storage facility. On his way out, he tries to savagely kill one particular inmate. Which means he has a grudge against what is almost certainly a major Batman villain from years gone by.
The "costume" he picked up by pure convenience. He was naked. He knocked a guy out. The guy had a trench coat. He took it. Later, he attacked a hospital and picked up some bandages to hide his face.
Looking up from the alley when he was getting his costume, he sights Batman for the first time. "No... Who does he think he is?" He's not just upset that there's a Batman, he seems to consider him a pretender, a usurper.
Then he decides to send a message to Batman. He targets an old villain and attacks him with a "two" motif, looking to send a signal.
His next attack is against one of Terry's villains, and he makes sure to include the family.
He attacks Calendar Man, seeming to know that he'd be planning an attack on Barbara Gordon.
Terry fights him hand to hand. He seems to know what to expect from Batman's moves, and, despite the advantages of Terry's suit, is able to more than hold his own.
His remarks during that fight: "You're not Bruce Wayne... too young, too slim. He was never going to let anyone else be Batman. That was obvious... which means you're a faker... a twip trying to cash in on a legacy you haven't earned, haven't bled for..."
Terry talks to Tim Drake and then Dick Grayson. (Who, BTW, looks oddly like Nick Fury.)
Putting it all together, I come up with one answer:
Hush Beyond is Jason Todd.
He's from Bruce's days as Batman. He knows Bruce was Batman. He knows Batman's fighting style and weapons. He was Robin #2 (hence the 2 as the first "signal"). He thinks Terry doesn't belong in the "family," isn't part of the legacy. And thinks you need to bleed (as he did) to earn your place. And maybe he still feels some need to look out for other members of the family, like Barbara. And that panel of Hush, seen just after Terry talks to Tim and Dick, looks an awful lot like Jason's Red Hood.
Re: No, don't think we need to worry about Hush spoilers at this point
Date: 2010-09-02 02:54 am (UTC)"Heart of Hush" is one more point of disagreement between us, it seems. But I'll leave it at that.
Good Riddler stories... yeah, that does seem to be a problem. He's not my favorite villain, but he could be a good character if the writers would take him seriously (and thus give us reason to do so, as well). It was done well in TAS (what didn't they do well, other than Clock King?), but he was only featured in a couple of episodes.