#22 - Hush
First Appearance: Batman #609 (Jan 2003)
"What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies." ~Hush
Hush is another one of those extremely brilliant minds with a deep understanding of how to play the elusive chess game of villainy; from his very first storyline, it was clear that Tommy Elliot's deep hatred of the Bat has motivated him to learn the ropes of villainy, so much so that he knew how to truly manipulate even the most psychotic Arkham inmate. That right there makes him extremely, extremely dangerous.
But more interesting than that was how truly obsessed Hush is with Bruce Wayne; when Hush went to extravagant lengths to assume Bruce Wayne's identity after his "death", the claim was that Hush was planning on destroying the Wayne legacy. However, the extensive plastic surgeries, the elaborate lengths... I think ultimately Elliot's desire was to stand above Wayne in all aspects of Wayne's life, and he wanted therefore to LIVE as Bruce Wayne better than Bruce Wayne did. An great upshot of this was the extremely well-crafted concept of this sort-of Cold War between Batman's allies and Tommy Elliot; Elliot had to play the role of Wayne without causing damage to that role while Batman's allies were forced to watch on and wait for Hush to step out of line. Several great Hush stories came out of this, and in my opinion the Bruce Wayne doppelganger concept was honestly one of the best changes to a character in years.
Even after Jane Doe skinned Hush's new face to assume it as her own, I think Hush remained an intriguing character; I wish that the New 52 hadn't come in at this point. After all, where would Hush have gone without the face he so desperately needed? Elliot's identity was no longer Elliot; his sole reason for living was gone, essentially. Regardless, the man behind the wraps, Tommy Elliot remains easily the best recent addition to the Batman rogues gallery in the last ten years, and one I'm always thrilled to see.
Greatest Hush Story Ever Told: Batman: Hush is the obvious choice, so I'm gonna give you the next best - House of Hush. Honestly, this was such a psychological piece that really gave some great insight as to what the role of Bruce Wayne meant to Elliot. Great stuff.
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