WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Batman, now in theaters.
Given how immensely successful it's been, it's no surprise that DC and Warner Bros. want more from the world of Matt Reeves' The Batman. Bringing the detective and noir world of Gotham City to life like never before, the movie does so by using the best versions of some of Batman's most iconic villains. While The Penguin and Catwoman are pretty similar to how they've been portrayed in the comics, The Riddler was radically reimagined into someone far more terrifying than ever.
There's already speculation on who will be the villain in The Batman's inevitable follow-up, with Hush being a name on many lips. Despite this desire to possibly adapt the newer Batman villain, he might be a bit too much like the ReevesVerse version of The Riddler.
Who Is the Batman Villain Hush?
Created by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, Hush first appeared in Batman #609, part of the eponymous Hush storyline. His real name is Thomas Elliot, a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's who grew up in similar opulence. What he lacked, however, was the loving parents that Bruce had, with his abusive and nonchalant parents caring more about the appearance of wealth than taking care of him. Thomas Elliot would try to have his parents killed, but when Thomas Wayne saved his mother's life, he lost his own grip on sanity. Later, when Bruce lost his parents and gained the family wealth, this only made Thomas Elliot's resentment stronger.
As an adult, Elliot had gone on to travel the world like Bruce, honing his body and his genius-level mind. He had come to learn through The Riddler that Bruce Wayne was Batman, so the two teamed up in order to torment their mutual foe. Hush had all manner of obstacles thrown in Batman's way, including other villains and some of Batman's closest friends. Even after his eventual defeat, Hush continued to harbor a grudge against Bruce and was determined to beat him someday.
Hush Is Too Much Like The Batman's Riddler
The problems with using Hush in a sequel to The Batman are many, and they mainly stem from how the first film handled The Riddler. Instead of a bowler hat and suit or a campy unitard, this universe's design for The Riddler gave the villain a long green jacket and a face covered with a BDSM-style mask. This heavily resembles the bandaged mask of Hush, and the jacket even evokes Hush's trench coat.
The similarities don't stop there, with The Riddler being an orphaned Gotham City youth who resented the city feeling sorry for the "downtrodden" rich orphan Bruce Wayne. To this end, he aimed to expose the corruption of Gotham's elite, bringing them down to the level of the common man before killing them systematically. This all sounds like Thomas Elliot's grudge against Bruce Wayne, with the only real change being that Riddler is poor and Hush wasn't.
Director Matt Reeves and others have commented on Hush possibly being in the sequel to The Batman, namely due to the name Elliot being mentioned in the film. Even if these seeds were intentionally planted, Hush would have to be radically reimagined in order to stand out from The Riddler. It doesn't help that the actual Hush storyline is one of the most overrated Batman stories, with the "mystery" behind Hush being blatant from the first issue and Hush himself having a somewhat laughable premise. With all of these factors holding the character back, it would be best if Reeves simply pass over him and go for another Batman villain instead.