Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Animation Bang time! There’s no doubt in my mind, Batman is the greatest superhero of all time and one of the things that makes him so great is that he has an excellent Rogue Gallery to work with. Batman’s Rogue Gallery features some of the greatest villains in all of comic book history. The only other gallery that comes close to matching Batman’s gallery is Spider-Man. With so many great and deep characters such as The Joker, Penguin, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, and The Riddler, it’s easy to lose track of some underrated villains in the gallery who don’t get nearly as much attention as they deserve. One of those villains is Hush. Hush is hands down one of my favorite villains. He was Bruce’s childhood friend turned villain who tried to kill his own parents in order to get their inheritance money only to fail thanks to the Waynes who saved them. Instead of their fights focusing on who was stronger, it was instead focused on who was smarter and could outthink the other. Think Homles vs Moriarty from the Sherlock Homles novels or L vs Light from Death Note. An elaborate game of chess where the rules were changing every minute. The original Hush story which was written in 2002-2003 by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Jim Lee and is still considered one of the best stories out there with some unforgettable moments and amazing artwork that is still liked by fans to this day. So when it was announced that DC was making an animated movie based off the Hush story fans were excited. Let’s see if they did this series justice, this Batman: Hush.
We open up at a party where Bruce runs into Selina (damn Selina, that dress is. . .pretty provocative for a party don’t you think?) where he makes small chitchat with her and even runs into his good friend Thomas Elliot before receiving a call from Alfred about Bane abducting a child and holding him ransom (Bane’s venom addiction is starting to affect his crimes. Scene here: https://youtu.be/N8i8RLGNmaQ. I should also point out that it was Killer Croc who kidnapped the child and not Bane in the comics. One of the many changes this movie makes but I’ll get to that later). Batman beats him but notices a small leaf on him. He then gets approached by Lady Shiva the second daughter of Ra’s (and if you can believe it, is more reasonable than her father and sister) who informs him that the League of Assassins is in the middle of a dispute with one another and in that dispute someone used the Lazarus Pit behind their back. Batman says he’ll look into it, she thanks him, and takes her leave (scene here: https://youtu.be/480_nQ8-X-k). As Gordon and his men arrest Bane, they see the ransom money get taken by Catwoman and Batman chases her but a sniper shoots the line on his grappling hook and he falls severely injuring himself (scene here: https://youtu.be/EiknaN19Vik. Oh~, he dead). A bunch of street punks try to finish him off but he gets saved by Catwoman and Batgirl (scene here: https://youtu.be/1AoTWR0a6Pc). While Batgirl tends to Batman (not in sexual manner mind you), we see Catwoman take the money to Poison Ivy and find out she’s under Ivy’s control (scene here: https://youtu.be/IaanEoYwAJ4. *Baron and Corbin bust into the room* (Corbin): Were there two hot women kissing each other in this room? (Nitsuj): No. (Baron): You are lying. Who was it? (Nitsuj): *Sigh* Catwoman and Poison Ivy. (Baron): Hot damn).
Batgirl gets Batman to the Batcave where Alfred says his injuries are too severe for him to work on, so they fake a car crash to get Bruce into the hospital (Seras: Kind of a screwed up they have a plan for this. (Nitsuj): If you know Batman, you would know he has a plan for everything). Thomas patches Bruce up (scene here: https://youtu.be/BhgyE_YWkCo) and after leaving the hospital he goes to Blackgate where Waller is taking Bane for another Suicide Squad mission (which she wouldn’t need to if she stopped killing all her big men). Bane escapes and goes after Catwoman who managed to free herself of Ivy’s control and wants revenge. She goes to Ivy’s greenhouse which is abandoned, gets attacked by Bane, and gets rescued by Batman who hands Bane over to Waller (scene here: https://youtu.be/P6SXyoGIfXk, well this will make for an interesting Suicide Squad movie. I’m sure it’ll be better story than the live action one they’re working on). Batman and Catwoman team up and find out that Ivy is in Metropolis (scene here: https://youtu.be/KFMzkaynaFo. Oh~ stepping up your game. Imagine Superman and Luthor under her control). After a brief talk with Luthor (scene here: https://youtu.be/bMb-1iIlSk0), he manages to find where Ivy is hiding but Catwoman beats him to the punch and we get a short cat fight before Batman comes in to save her (*Baron and Corbin come busting into the room again* (Baron): Were there two hot women fighting in here? (Corbin): Don’t bother lying to us. It was Ivy and Catwoman wasn’t it? (Nitsuj): *Sigh* Yes. (Corbin): Cold damn). Ivy brings out her secret weapon, a mind-controlled Superman (really? First Darkseid and now Ivy. How are you the poster child of comic books?). Superman attacks them but doesn’t kill them as a part of him is able to resist Ivy’s control (this still begs the question of how you let her kiss you in the first place?). Batman lures Superman to the Daily Planet where Catwoman has Lois held captive hoping that will snap him out of it. It doesn’t work so Catwoman goes to plan B, throwing Lois off the building which manages to snap Superman out of Ivy’s control (scene here: https://youtu.be/mvS-Urgg_4o). They then go to catch Ivy where she says this whole thing was the idea of a guy calling himself Hush. That’s all she knows so Superman takes her away to prison (no! After what just happened, you are the LAST person who should be handling Ivy. Scene here: https://youtu.be/JP5qGvsTCcI).
Some time goes by and everyone is back in Gotham where Bruce is going on a date with Selina to the opera (this is the right time to bust out that provocative dress). We do get a funny scene between Bruce and Damian where Damian actually plays the protective son and tells him to use protection (scene here: https://youtu.be/rwmOuI2wszk). They go to the opera with Thomas and his date where it gets interrupted by Harley Quinn. It turns out Hush has kidnapped The Joker (impossible) and in order to get him back, Harley has to kill Bruce (scene here: https://youtu.be/DihDuhtbo9o). Both Bruce and Selina suit up where Batman steps outside to see Thomas’s lifeless body and The Joker. Batman goes into rage mode and beats the living hell of Joker. Joker says he didn’t do it but Batman is so blinded by rage that he doesn’t listen and we actually see Joker beg him to stop (that’s scary). Just when Batman is about to kill him, Jim is there to bring him back and arrest Joker (scene here: https://youtu.be/Dx-YPLMDflI. Now this scene was alright, but it was done better in the comics. In the comics we actually see Catwoman try to talk him out of it first before Jim. This not only shows how much she loves him but how she also values his code not to kill as he’ll stop being the man she loves and respects). Batman figures out that Hush knows he’s really Bruce and then The Riddler robs a bank so Batman and Nightwing chase after him. Batman easily captures Riddler knowing Hush put him up to this and wants to know where he’s at. Batman spots Hush in a building and goes after him but Hush plays with him and escapes promising to make everyone he cares for suffer before killing him (scene here: https://youtu.be/gLYjnDAYX5A). Batman goes to Catwoman’s apartment and reveals his identity to her and that just turns her on (scene here: https://youtu.be/5cqRHuXq_gg. *Baron and Corbin come busting into the room again* (Corbin): Were there two very attractive people having sex in- (Nitsuj): Security! *Shizuku and Seras appear and dropkick both Baron and Corbin out the window* (Baron and Corbin): Ahhhhh! (???): My cabbages).
After sex and pillow talk, he takes her back to the Batcave where she’s welcomed with open arms. We get a short montage of the Bat and Cat fighting side by side with no leads on Hush as he seems to have disappeared on them. Batman gets a call from Jim about someone breaking into Thomas’s office (scene here: https://youtu.be/4AUVxHAEIi4) while Nightwing and Catwoman go to investigate a graveyard break-in where they get attacked by Scarecrow (nice design). They beat him but Nightwing gets hit with the fear gas and has to be treated immediately (scene here: https://youtu.be/ALIcVKYg1sE, must they nerf the original Boy Wonder? Seriously, Nightwing was Batman’s best student, why do they make him come across as a weakling?). Catwoman gets attacked from behind by Hush and taken to a factory where she’ll die via grinder. Meanwhile, after investigating Thomas’s office, Batman and Jim go to Arkham to face the Riddler who all this time has been Hush (https://youtu.be/YblgICdjwdI, wait, wait! Calm down, calm down. Now, we all know that Thomas is really Hush, but at the time of the original introduction of the character it was still kind of a mystery. While Batman was sure Hush was really Thomas he couldn’t confirm as he was shot, thrown in the river, and couldn’t find the body. Plus, in the comic, this Hush plan was thought up by Riddler and Thomas so having Riddler as Hush isn’t too bad as it makes way for a possible sequel). Okay, so it turns out The Riddler has a brain tumor and went to Thomas for help where not even he could save him. So, Riddler sought the next best treatment, the Lazarus Pit (honestly, that’s probably the best treatment in the world). After bribing his way in, he managed to submerge himself in the pit where he learned Batman’s identity. With this new knowledge and power-up, he got to work destroying Batman and created the Hush character to hide his identity from the other villains. Batman attacks The Riddler who isn’t Riddler but instead Clayface who The Riddler was controlling. Clayface attacks Batman only to get beaten and then Batman goes after Hush (or Riddler) to save Catwoman (scene here: https://youtu.be/rQI1GQKbim4). He finds where they’re hiding and a fight breaks out between Batman and Hush where this ending is good but once again done better in the comic. So now that The Riddler knows who Batman is, he plans to tell everyone, but Batman plays with his mind and tells him not to do it because it’ll ruin the riddle to who he is. A riddle that everyone knows the answer to would be useless to The Riddler and since he’s a narcissist/egomaniac, he won’t allow the greatest riddle of all time to be known by anyone but him. Batman also tells him that this would expose him to everyone and when they know how he made everyone his pawn they’ll come after him. While The Riddler is a notable character in Batman’s Rogue Gallery, he’s considered a bottom tier villain by both Batman and other villains. His crimes aren’t major threats like other criminals and if the other villains find out they were used by someone so low on the spectrum, they’re gonna be pissed. Anyway, Batman and Hush fight, Catwoman manages to save herself, and as the place begins to explode, Hush is about to fall into the fire where Batman tries to save him until Catwoman cuts the line and allows him to fall to his doom (scenes here: https://youtu.be/K3oofn5zi2o and https://youtu.be/YIVoqpiaikI on the plus side, secret safe). Batman and Catwoman escape the exploding factory safely where Batman says he didn’t have to die and this pisses Catwoman off as she can’t believe he would try to rescue someone who not only killed his best friend, but was prepared to kill him and the person he loved. They both decide to break up where even though they both acknowledge that they love each other and are a good couple their relationship just can’t work right now, but someday it will (scene here: https://youtu.be/HIMNkDu1RPM. Again, good scene, but once again done better in the comic. In the comic, Catwoman found herself as an unknowing pawn in the Hush plan where her feelings for Batman were used against him. This caused Batman to mistrust her until the end and the two go their separate ways where Catwoman says she doesn’t care if their relationship was based on a lie, it’s real, and someday he’ll learn to trust that).
Final Thoughts
And movie. Batman: Hush is a movie that’s kind of a mixed bag. Overall, the story is good, the use of the Rogue Gallery and side characters was great, and the VAs are good as well. One of the highlights of this movie is the relationship of Batman and Catwoman and finally seeing them cross that line with each other to be together. For long time fans this was a happy moment, so to see them go their separate ways at the end is just sad because of how happy they were together. It was a heartbreaking moment, but at same time it was a moment that showed us that these two can work and that Catwoman is the right woman for Batman.
The reveal of Riddler being Hush instead of Thomas will either piss you off or be a welcome change from the obvious. Personally, as someone who’s read the comics it didn’t bother me that much. Does it come out of left field? Yes, but at the time this change does help the story fit within the DC animated universe that they’re trying to create. One of the big downsides is that it does leave out a number of scenarios from the comics that would have been great for the movie. However, this different interpretation isn’t bad in my opinion and makes those who haven’t read the comics want to go out and read them to see the differences. The animation is good, the fight scenes are epic as every hit looks and feels like it hurts. I actually cringed at the fall Batman took at the beginning of the movie and actually felt bad for The Joker when he was getting the shit beat out of him for something he didn’t do for once.
Final Score
Batman Hush earns a 7.5/10. A good movie to add to DC’s animated universe. While I like the comic version more, I did enjoy watching this version as well and would recommend it to DC fans out there. Again, if you haven’t read the comic version I highly recommend checking it out as it’s one of the best Batman stories out there. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
*All videos, clips, and music are not owned by me and belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved*
Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave a comment in the comment section or send your comments, feedback, or request to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com
And follow me on twitter for updates and other stuff: https://twitter.com/ProjectNitsuj