Batman: Hush was a huge deal when it was being published. It was written by Jeph Loeb, who was riding high on the success of the Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory, and Superman/Batman. Joining him on art was superstar artist Jim Lee, doing his first interior work in years. It was a recipe for success that cooked up a perfect treat- a classic Batman story.
Built around a central mystery, the creative team told an action packed story that read like an encapsulation of everything great about Batman. It also introduced the villain Hush, who would go on to become a big deal in the Batman books for several years. Looking back, though, is Hush as good as it is remembered or are there deficiencies? Let's take a look. Be wary of spoilers ahead.
10 AGED WELL: Jim Lee's Art
Let's just get this out of the way: Jim Lee draws a perfect Batman. No other artist before or since has drawn a better Batman. This being Jim Lee, though, he also drew just about every character perfectly as well. The entire twelve issue story is basically Jim Lee showing future generations how Batman characters should look.
Everything looks amazing here: the characters, Gotham City, the Batcave. Hush is an artistic tour de force from start to finish and really has to be seen to be believed.
9 HASN'T AGED WELL: There's Very Little Robin
For a book that is basically Batman's Greatest Hits Album, there's one song that doesn't get played very much: Robin. Robin is technically in the book, but he doesn't play a very big role. In fact, his role as sidekick to Batman is pretty much completely taken by Catwoman.
This isn't a bad thing, though; the Batman/Catwoman dynamic is great, but the Robin of this era was Tim Drake, a heavy fan favorite for best Robin and it would have been really nice to see him play a bigger role in this book. Even the original Robin, Dick Grayson who has donned the Nightwing identity at this point, was reduced to a one-issue guest star. Meanwhile, Jason Todd -- the most tragic Robin -- was just a red herring at best. The Boy Wonder(s) got robbed.
8 AGED WELL: The Batman/Catwoman Dynamic
Speaking of Batman and Catwoman, Loeb played them off each other perfectly. At the time, Catwoman had been shedding her villainous ways for a while but Hush was one of the first stories that had her and Batman working together as closely as they did. It gave readers a glimpse of the chemistry the two characters, with things only getting more romantic with each passing issue.
Loeb showed readers that not only were they great allies in combat but also that they were great romantic partners. People had been playing will they, won't they with these two for years but this was one of the best depictions of it up to that time.
7 HASN'T AGED WELL: Not Pulling The Romantic Trigger
Of course, Loeb didn't actually pull the trigger on the Batman and Catwoman romance. It's insinuated that she was aware of Hush's plan all along and Batman just can't bring himself to trust her. It's kind of hamfisted and a way to return things to the status quo that also spits in the face of readers who enjoyed this more overt dynamic between the two.
Readers enjoyed Batman and Catwoman together (and still do, as one can see from the backlash to their failed marriage in 2018) and to give readers what they want for so many issues then abruptly take it away just to maintain the status quo is pretty terrible.
6 AGED WELL: The Batman V. Superman Issue
For years, fans have debated whether or not Batman really could beat Superman and Hush answers that question: Yes he can, but only under a lot of very specific conditions.
Batman and Catwoman chase Poison Ivy to Metropolis, where she's able to take control of Superman and set him against Batman. What follows is Batman pulling out all of his anti-Superman tricks and only winning because he gets Catwoman to threaten Lois Lane, which breaks Superman from Ivy's control. Batman himself even admits that if Superman were really trying, there would be no way that he could win regardless of his tricks. It's a great issue and well worth hunting down on its own.
5 HASN'T AGED WELL: The Final Twist Was Anti-Climactic
At the end of the book, Batman confronts the Riddler and learns that the Edward Nygma -- not Hush -- was the mastermind, having deduced Batman's identity and enlisted Hush's help against him. It was completely unexpected, but it was also kind of anti-climactic.
See, the story is named after the new villain, Hush, and the central mystery of the book was about him. Pulling off a bait-and-switch by saying that Hush was involved but was following the Riddler's orders knocked the wind out of this strange bandaged villain's sails.
4 AGED WELL: It's Friendly For Newcomers
The great thing about Hush was that one could hand it to a friend who doesn't diligently follow DC Comics and they could still enjoy it. Hush uses all of Batman's biggest villains, a Loeb trademark from stories like The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, and did a good job of acquainting readers with them.
Hush didn't tie into any current continuity at all, so new readers wouldn't have to go back and read a lot of stuff to understand what was going. Even all these years later, Hush is still the perfect story to give to a newcomer so they can get into Batman comics and maybe later on, the DC Universe.
3 HASN'T AGED WELL: The Classic Villains Don't Do Much
So, the greatest hits approach makes the book very new reader friendly but it also has one major side-effect; it doesn't really spend much time with the classic villains. Most of them get one issue, two tops, and it casts them all as pawns in Hush's scheme. To be honest, this is a bad look for some of the greatest villains in comics history.
So, while it's a good Batman story that hits most of the major Batman stuff, it doesn't do enough with the other stuff that not only completes Batman's world, but keep readers coming back.
2 AGED WELL: It Hit All Of The High Notes
Hush is so timeless because of the sheer care that went into the craft of it. Both Loeb and Lee poured their hearts into the book and it shows, bringing their A-game to what would become one of Batman's most important stories in the 2000's. All of the characters are written perfectly, becoming the archetypal versions that everyone thinks of when they think of Batman and his rogues gallery.
Combine that with Jim Lee's art clinic and readers get an extremely satisfying Batman experience that hits all of the right notes and gives readers a Batman story for the ages, warts and all.
1 HASN'T AGED WELL: Hush Himself
The central mystery of the book is the question of who Hush is and let's be honest; if a reader doesn't figure out that it's that one character who was introduced specifically for this story, Tommy Elliot, then maybe mysteries aren't their thing.
Loeb threw as much doubt into the proceedings as he could, with one giant possible red herring being Hush was a resurrected Jason Todd and even "killing" off Elliot at one point. But at the end of the day, Hush's identity was kind of obvious from the get go. Adding to that is the fact that Hush wasn't even acting on his own accord but following Riddler's plans, and Hush as a villain falls a bit flat. While Hush is definitely an entertaining story, the central mystery is too easy to figure out and that does hurt things a bit.