Hush was the main villain in Batman: Hush, a very popular comic book storyline from 2002, and since the mystery of his identity was a main element of the story, many Hush spoilers will follow...
The Elliots were close family friends of the Waynes, and Tommy Elliot was young Bruce Wayne's best friend. But while Bruce adored his parents, Tommy wanted to be free of parental control and to have access to his family fortune. So Tommy attempted to murder his parents by cutting the brake line on their car. Though his father was killed, Dr. Thomas Wayne was able to save Tommy's mother. Not only would he not inherit their money, but Tommy was now forced to help care for his mother, a situation he blamed on Thomas Wayne. Later, when Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, Bruce had everything Tommy had ever wanted, so Tommy redirected his anger at Bruce.
Despite his many childhood issues, he somehow managed to become a relatively productive person, becoming an accomplished surgeon. He came to treat the Riddler, who had just deduced Batman's secret identity. Learning that they shared a common enemy, Elliot wrapped his head in bandages, started calling himself Hush, and he and Riddler hatched an elaborate plan to get at Batman. Obviously it didn't work, but Hush has returned a few times since, still armed with the knowledge of Bruce's double life, and is able to cause a lot of trouble in Gotham.
Pros: His origins are tied with Bruce Wayne's, so digging through Tommy Elliot's origins would allow for some good scenes with young Bruce. He has no supernatural powers, so he fits with the movies' realism.
Cons: It's a bit of a stretch to buy an angry surgeon as a real threat to Batman, even if he does know Batman's identity. Hush in the comics relies on manipulating a number of Batman's costumed enemies so that they can actually hurt him, but the movie Batman only has a few enemies still alive to do anything with.
How I'd do it: Tommy Elliot would have to hook up with Coleman Reese. Learning Batman's identity is hugely important for turning Elliot into Hush, and Reese is the only one who might possibly let it slip. Then I guess you'd have him attack Batman through Bruce's friends, who at this point seem to only be Jim Gordon, Alfred, and Lucius Fox.
Casting Guesses: Under the bandages, Tommy Elliot's a redhead, so Damian Lewis (the TV series Life) is the first name that came to mind. Not just because he'd be good for the role (which he would be), but because I'm blanking on other red haired actors of appropriate age.
Verdict: It could happen, and though technically he should probably be considered a good fit, I just don't like him that much as a villain. I got most of the way through the Hush storyline without realizing Hush was a person. And then they started running a campaign to have people guess who Hush's identity was, and I hadn't realized I was supposed to be guessing. That left me somewhat unhappy with the character. I'm warming to him a little through the current storyline in Detective Comics, so maybe as that progresses I might change my mind, but for now I'll just say he's a possibility.
11 comments:
It always struck me that Hush was a bit of a re-tread of Black Mask: Heir to a rich family, childhood friend of Bruce Wayne and has a grudge against him as an adult, despised his parents and plotted to murder them. I think Black Mask would work better - Hush as a character is inextricably bound with the epnoymous storyline, whereas Black Mask has been around for enough crises and through enough spin-offs to be at least somewhat iconic beyond any particular run in the comics.
I never made that connection before, but you're absolutely right. But the Hush series was so popular that he still might be better known than Black Mask. I've always liked him, but aside from War Games and that one part of No Man's Land, Black Mask is kind of a nobody.
A Hush storyline in a movie doesn't have to involve large number of other villains, there are other ways to manipulate and destroy Batman's life. If his origin and motivation is bad as some say, hell, they could even change them completely. The character's point seemed to originally be the question: Who he is and can you be sure about it?
Hush is my favourite choice for the third main villain. He is both physical and intellectual challenge and has a great theme: twisted sense of friedship. And he seems to be one of the few villains Batman is actually afraid of.
You know what would be cool. If the next movie's title was "The Silent Guardian". It would have a double meaning. It refers to Gordon's speech about Batman, and to Hush, who is kinda silent character and who stalks and follows Batman around.
I mean twisted sense of FRIENDSHIP. lol
Hush could be a stalker of some kind that follows Batman and kills cops that are chasing him > people blame Batman, he decides to quit. One night this figure in bandages appears at Wayne manor. He finds the cave and fights Batman. During the battle his bandages fall off: Hush has Bruce's appearance!(Heart of Hush -style) That would be creepy. (He want's to take over Batman's cowl or something. And we never get to know who he was.) And he constantly speaks about friendship. Like whisper "We should do to our friends as we wish our friends to do to us" and then he shoots at Batman. Twisted. And he should be very smart and the master of deception. And maybe Riddler should be involved in a way or another. Maybe Batman asks for Riddler's help in finding out Hush's identity, Dark Victory -style. In the end they could reveal the Riddler to be the real mastermind.
So my idea is kind of a mix of Batman: Hush, Heart of Hush and Dark Victory with Hush in Hangman's place.
Hush's identity would be the central mystery in the movie, but it wouldn't leak, because people wouldn't know Bale is playing both character's.
What do you think?
I like the idea, but it would still leak. The internet is just too good an information gathering engine that if anyone lets it slip, or if Bale is seen on the set with the bandages, the entire nerd community will soon know.
This wouldn't probably fix the problem completely, but as a distraction they could cast Tommy Elliot in the movie. In the movie he is then suprisingly killed. Maybe by none other than Hush... and fans are left wondering: Was Hush Elliot, who staged his death and used somebody to act as Hush when "killing" him? Could dying Elliot be maybe... some version of Clayface that is not properly seen? Or who is Hush? All the audience knows in the end is that he has altered his appearance to look like Bruce.
I agree. I always saw Hush as a kind of re-do of Black Mask.
I prefer Hush to Black Mask, because Hush is far more original and unique.
Why do people criticize Hush for his motivation, I wonder? People say it's lame and doesn't make sense. The guy's insane, haven't they figured that out. It's not supposed to make sense.
Tommy Elliot is a dark mirror image of Bruce, and Hush is more of Bruce's enemy than Batman's. I think now is just not the right time for him to appear.
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