Hush (character) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hush |
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Hush in Batman #619 (September 2003).
Art by Jim Lee. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Batman #609 (January 2003) |
| Created by | Jeph Loeb (writer) Jim Lee (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Thomas Elliot |
| Species | Human |
| Notable aliases | Bruce Wayne, "The Identity Thief" |
| Abilities |
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Hush (Thomas Elliot) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, the character first appeared in Batman #609 in January 2003 as part of the twelve-issue storyline Batman: Hush. Hush serves as a criminal foil to the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
The character has been adapted from the comics into numerous forms of media, having been portrayed in live-action by Cole Vallis in the FOX crime drama Gotham, and by Gabriel Mann and Warren Christie as Hush in the Arrowverse television series Batwoman. Kevin Conroy has voiced Hush in the Batman: Arkham video game series.
Publication history
Hush resurfaced in Batman: Gotham Knights, and later in Detective Comics and Batman: Streets of Gotham. He was also the architect behind several of the events of Batman Eternal.
Fictional character biography
Thomas "Tommy" Elliot was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne, and was also born into a wealthy family. The two boys often played a Stratego-esque minifigure game together, and Tommy taught Bruce to think like his opponents and to use their abilities against them to win, which proved useful years later when he became Batman. Thus, as a child, Tommy exhibits a genius level intellect due to his capability to think and plan strategically.
The sole recipient of his family's fortune after his parents' death, Tommy began traveling the world. He went on to Harvard University and became a successful surgeon.
At some point in his career, Edward Nygma, also known as the Riddler, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and eventually hijacked one of Ra's al Ghul's Lazarus Pits to regain his health. During this mystical treatment, which renders the participant temporarily insane, the Riddler experienced an unexpected epiphany: he realized that Bruce Wayne was Batman. Soon afterwards, the Riddler attempted to sell Tommy the secrets of his newfound revelation in exchange for a large cash sum. Tommy, by this time having discovered Nygma's criminal background, instead offered to pay him to kill Bruce. Realizing that they shared a common hatred for Wayne, Tommy and the Riddler decided to pool resources to bring him down.
To this end, Elliot created for himself the persona of "Hush". Riddler said that the name started out as a joking reference to the need to keep Tommy's identity secret, but became a more permanent alias when Scarecrow started to sing the lullaby "Hush, Little Baby".
Skills and abilities
Thomas "Tommy" Elliot has spent most of his life honing his skills enough to be a match for the Dark Knight. One of the world's finest surgeons, Thomas Elliot has an incredible, genius-level intellect and is also a master planner. Hush's greatest asset is his talent for thinking like his opponents and for using their abilities against them. Ironically, Bruce Wayne learned his strategic skills from Elliot in childhood before their respective parents' deaths.
Hush is an expert marksman, able to shoot two batarangs out of the air and set off C4 explosive using twin M1911 .45 caliber pistols, his weapons of choice. While not possessing the kind of martial arts training that Bruce Wayne acquired, Hush has proven his ability to fight hand-to-hand; he shows expertise and competence, being able to fight almost on par with Batman.
He has performed breakthrough medical operations, such as removing Harold Allnut's hunchback and giving him the ability to speak, repairing Harvey Dent's face and inventing a virus which accelerates Killer Croc's devolution.
Hush is also able to perform plastic surgery on himself, using minimal anesthetic and sheer force of will. He's implied to have removed the pacemaker installed on his own heart by himself, and has shown the ability to grant himself the appearance of someone else, such as Bruce Wayne, using only a long series of planned surgeries on his own face, with the aid of a simple mirror.
Thomas Elliot previously had access to the vast resources of his family fortune, putting him on par with Bruce Wayne in wealth, and so he is able to fund his more expensive plans. He is also able to buy the cooperation of the main villains in Gotham, like Mr. Freeze. However, since the "Heart of Hush" storyline, Catwoman has tapped his resources, reducing him to poverty. He then put in motion a plan to use his newfound resemblance to Bruce Wayne to leech off the Wayne fortune, cutting off the Batman Family from it as well. This plan was thwarted when he underestimated his foes, finding himself merely a puppet of the Batman Family and their allies as he serves to create the impression that Bruce Wayne is still alive.
See also
- List of Batman family enemies
- Batman: Hush
