Welcome back to DC Daily Comic Book Club. The place to read along with the DC Daily Crew and discuss the books with other DC Daily fans!
This week we are completing our journey through Batman: Hush with issues 617-619 of Batman (1940-). The mystery of Hush will be solved in this action-packed finale.
Spoiler discussion begins right now and lasts until Friday, April 12th. So jump right in!
Make sure you swing by after the DC Daily Comic Book Club episode airs so you can discuss the panelās reaction to the story.
The discussion questions below contain spoilers, so if you donāt want spoilers, STOP READING THIS POST NOW and come back after you finish reading the issues.
Seriously, scroll back up!
Last Chance
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Ok, here are the questions :
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Does Batman need a Robin if heās got a Catwoman?
Was the final reveal of Hush satisfying or do you wish it had been Two-Face, Jason Todd, or someone else?
What noninvasive procedure would you have Superman perform on you?
Absolutely Batman needs a Robin if he has Catwoman, especially if itās Tim Drake donning the āRā as it was here. Catwoman isnāt the bright symbol of hope that any Robin (Tim in this case obviously) can be.
She loves Bruce but her conscience and morality can be suspect, as she doesnāt hold to the same code Bruce does. If I recall, there have been times where Selina has chastised Bruce for it, as she feels it hinders what a force for justice she feels Bruce truly could be.
Robin on the other hand is typically on the straight and narrow and as has been said many times over the decades, the thing that keeps Bruce coming back to the light rather than enduring a bottomless spiral into darkness.
I felt it was satisfying. I was following online discussion of Hush as it was being published and was THE talk of the comic book world from 2002-3. The theories on who Hush could be were numerous and wild but I donāt remember seeing any talk about Bruceās former childhood besty as the culprit.
Most people thought it was Harvey Dent or as the story progressed, Jason Todd come back to life. Having a former best friend become a high impact adversary was an interesting idea. It especially gave credence to the rumors of Harvey being Hush since he too fits that mold, but as an adult BFF of Bruceās prior to his trauma.
Heh, wow, thereās a Question For The Ages. Help me workout more? I donāt know, Iāve never thought about this so I donāt have a worthwhile answer of substance.
Thatās a tough one. Batman has many highly intelligent rivals including but obviously not limited to Joker, Raās Al Ghul, Hugo Strange, Mad Hatter, Bane, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and of course Riddler. Iād say heās absolutely one of Batmanās smartest rivals, Top Five at minimum, but the smartest? Iām not confident enough to say yes to that one.
I have loved this discussion! When the Book Club mood for another Jim Lee pencilled epic strikes, how aboutā¦the For Tomorrow arc of Superman? Hey, a Superman Book Clubā¦now thatās an ideaā¦hmmm
On a related (because itās Hush oriented) but not related (because itās not pertaining to this particular duscussion) note, Hallmark is releasing a Hush Batman Christmas ornament this year.
Itās pretty schway and is mostly based on the second printing cover of Batman #608 (the pose varies a bit but itās still Batman atop a gargoyle).
Friendly FYI for those of us who are hoppinā for Hush =)
Was the final reveal of Hush satisfying or do you wish it had been Two-Face, Jason Todd, or someone else?
I wish it had been Jason Todd. I felt from the beginning it was Tommy because they took the time to explain his backstory. I only doubted it was Tommy when Tommy had a funeral. And even then, in the back of my mind, I thought he would return. I wouldāve been absolutely floored if it was Jason.
Glad I went back and re-read it. I had forgotten just how good this arc really was.
Needs Robin(s) and Catwoman. They serve different needs. The Robins are pseudo-children and he gets the pleasure/pain dichotomy that all parents experience raising their children. Catwoman, otoh, provides that sensual, adult need for love and physical closeness. 2 very different areas of fulfillment.
The reveal was fine. I canāt think of a better individual to be Hush (great name, btw). Anyone else would almost have been too much of a trope to end such a great story with.
He can just keep his laser vision to himself. I would give him a shot if I had cancer ( but that might not be unintrusive) but otherwise he can just āup, up, and awayā thank you very much.
I can think of several villains more intelligent than the Riddler. Lex Luthor is typically a Superman foil, but he was in Hush so he is one. Hugo Strange is another. Dr. Crane is nuts, but highly intelligent. Even Harley has a good set of ā¦ uh ā¦ brains on her. Seldom used, but they are there when needed. Vandal Savage had to have collected tons of knowledge just by being around forever. I kind of put the Riddler slightly above the pack, but below the heavy weights in those terms.
Really enjoyed this. Need to follow from the beginning on the next one.
I canāt get over the Hush story! It was really great at the end with a twist, I didnāt see it coming when it involved Clayface. The ending has a great setup story for Red Hood which would be coming up. I apologize for spoiling the ending. Canāt wait til next week book club. I still think Batman went way to far beating up the Joker without giving him a chance to talk, thankfully Gordon stop him.
Noone can ever go too far in smacking Joker around IMO.
Hush being Jason Todd is an interesting idea, but given what would happen a year and a half or so later in Under The Hood (the original title of that story) it wouldnāt have worked.
Iām so glad I revisited Hush thanks to this post. I enjoy watching DC Daily and would love to exchange ideas over batman stuff. Iām going to try and participate more!
I believe itās not a matter of either/or with Robin(s) and Catwoman. He needs them both in very different capacities. I feel that with Catwoman the trust has to be/has had to be earned (even if measured) but with a Robin there has always been blind trust. Thus, I say no substitute for a Robin
The Hush reveal was fine. I donāt believe any of the other rogues wouldāve fit in there. For some reason the rogues have enough pride to go up against batman as they are haha! I found it interesting that Hush was ādoubleā-crossed by Two-Face/Harvey Dent. Iād like to believe that dialogue was intentional lol
Man Iād like Superman to help me shave my beard with his heat vision xD
Thatās a very interesting question. Iād like to say that the Riddler might be Batmanās most intellectual and cerebral villain. For me Iād like to understand āsmartestā as someone who understands batmanās weaknesses and his own strengths and Iād give that title to the Joker. I feel that the Joker understands Batman existentially and that is always going to be formidable. There would be no other reason the Joker would try to push Batman to break his one rule(in several adaptations) if he didnāt fully get him. Heād challenge the spirit, the ideals, the morals, the principles and that makes him really scarily smart. That being said, I do think Riddler is very intelligent and a great villain. The show Gotham has done a great job bringing out the charm of the Penguin and the Riddler for me personally. Just my views
@Reaganfan78
Iām so happy to see you in Book Club!
Iām with you, Iām glad Gordon was there to stop Batman from killing the Joker. I also didnāt see Clayface coming. But when it was revealed I said to myself āof COURSE itās Clayface! How could I miss that?!ā lol! I never thought Tommy was really dead, but I couldnāt figure out how the death was faked. Clayface it is!
Very fun arc to reread! Hush is a milestone in the Batman history and is a staple now.
Need a Robin? Absolutely. Catwoman and Robin provide two completely different benefits for Bats. I think Batman also wants that person to mentor. He needs it. He also needs Catwoman. Sheās skillful and they can relate to each other as adults who disguise themselves to break the law.
As much as I wanted it to be Jason at the time I originally read it, Iām glad it turned out the way it dead. Hush/Elliot has been a great new villain to the rogues gallery. Also, and as mentioned earlier, we eventually get more Jason thanks to Mr. Judd Winick.
Hmmmmm. Could Superman burn some of the fat off my love handles?
I think Riddler is Batmanās smartest villain. Bats has many smart villains but they usually have additional abilities and strengths. For example, Raās is an expert fighter, Mr. Freeze has his cold gun, Strange has mastered Bats fighting styles, Bane with his strength, etc. Enigma truly uses his mind more than all the others (with the help of some henchmen from time to time ).
The discussion questions below contain spoilers, so if you donāt want spoilers, STOP READING THIS POST NOW and come back after you finish reading the issues.
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 
if this tombstone isnāt for famed writer Brian Azzarello.
