Thomas Elliott, or Hush as he is more commonly known, has experienced a chequered history as a Batman villain. Initially appearing as the mastermind behind Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's excellent, mega-selling and aptly titled 'Hush' storyline in 2003, it seemed DC writers were unsure how to use the character in the years afterward. He appeared again in 2004 in the pages of the (now-defunct) Gotham Knights series, in the 'Payback' arc, written by A.J. Lieberman. This story went down like a lead balloon amongst fans, as it failed to really give much insight into the character at all, and instead the story is mostly remembered for the awesome Lee Bermejo painted covers. It took until 2008 for a writer to really grasp what made Hush so interesting, and Heart Of Hush was a breath of fresh air for readers who saw the untapped potential in the character. Written by Paul Dini, one of the brilliant minds behind many of Batman: The Animated Series' best episodes, the story delves deeply into Hush's backstory, bringing his motivations into clearer focus. We already knew that Hush was Bruce Wayne's childhood friend Tommy Elliott, from a fellow rich Gotham family, who hated Bruce because of his father Dr. Thomas Wayne, who saved the life of Tommy's mother after he had schemed to have his parent's killed. Dini then smartly expanded on the idea of Hush as a perverted mirror image of Bruce (he even performs plastic surgery on himself to look like Bruce, in order to steal his identity). More is revealed about his relationship with his enfeebled yet domineering mother and his resentment of how Bruce inherited his family's wealth and became free of the 'burden' of his parents. This psychological complexity is riveting, and coupled with Hush's cruel and calculating plans (he cuts out Catwoman's heart at one point in the story, keeping her on a life-support system supplied by Mr Freeze), contributes to a great, underrated Batman yarn. Well played, Mr Dini.
