Hush

Bruce Wayne

**Hush**is an antagonist in *Batman: Shadow War.*He was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne however eventually developed a pathological hatred for the Waynes and became a serial killer and criminal with an elaborate revenge scheme on Batman.

## Biography

### Early Life

Born a child of wealth and privilege, young Thomas Elliot became close friends with Bruce Wayne. Bruce's father, Thomas, was happy to see the children bond, and felt that Bruce had finally found a friend that he could relate to. Thomas and Bruce enjoyed playing games of strategy, with Thomas seemingly outmanuevering the otherwise brilliant Bruce.

Thomas's father Roger Elliot was an alcoholic who would physically abuse young Thomas. His mother Marla, who came from more humble beginnings and married into the Elliot family's wealth, was unwilling to risk her acquired social status and wealth and instead stayed with Roger, continuing to expose her son to her husband's abuse. She forced Thomas to memorize war strategy and Aristotelean philosophy so that he could better defend himself against his father's abuse and learn to strategically manuever and avoid his wrath. At age ten, Thomas attempted to engineer the death of his parents and gain their wealth by cutting the brakes in their town car. The ensuing car accident was blamed on Roger's drinking problem. Roger died in the crash, but Marla was rushed into surgery, where she was saved by Dr. Wayne. Marla's recovery at the hands of Bruce's father became the beginning of Thomas's grudge against the Waynes, and particularly Thomas Wayne himself. After the accident, Marla became very possessive and controlling of Thomas, as he was the only family she had left and her only tie to the Elliot name.

Later that year, Bruce's mother, Martha, managed to convince Marla to send Thomas along with Bruce to a summer camp. A few days into the program, Thomas nearly confessed to Bruce about murdering Roger when Marla showed up unannounced at the campsite, demanding that Thomas return home with her, which caused the children to mock him, leading Thomas to violently lash out at them. After the camping incident, Thomas spent the rest of the summer at a clinic for anger issues, under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Crane. While hospitalized, Thomas began to have increasingly paranoid thoughts, and began to believe that his friend Bruce had conspired with Marla to ruin Thomas's summer. It was at this point Thomas's grudge against the Waynes also included his former best friend Bruce. Crane recognized that Thomas had sociopathic tendencies, but rather than keep him at for treatment, he found the boy interesting and expedited his release.

Soon after Thomas's hospitalization, Bruce's parents met an untimely demise and Thomas felt that justice had been served. Afterward, Marla continued to closely control Thomas, holding the promise of funding medical school over his head if he continued to acquiesence to her every demand. Thomas remained in Gotham and cared for her throughout her illness with cancer, despite her increasing mental instability and insanity. In the meantime, orphaned Bruce spent his time traveling the world. Thomas envied Bruce's freedom, and his mother constantly comparing him negatively to Bruce furthered his grudge against his former friend. Eventually, Thomas had an argument with Marla yelling at her for never protecting him from his father's abuse. That night, Marla wrote Thomas out of the family will, cutting him off and ending his medical school dreams. Thomas however murdered the lawyer who had overseen the will, destroying his documents and effectively reversing Marla's changes. Afterwards in a rage, Thomas smothered his mother to death with a pillow and he claimed the Elliot fortune for himself before leaving Gotham to travel the world and claiming that he refused to ever be tied down again.

### Becoming Hush

Thomas was working as a neurosurgeon when Edward Nygma came to him as a patient with brain cancer. Riddler then went off on his own and used one of Ra's al Ghul's Lazarus Pits to heal himself. Nygma later approached Thomas to try and sell him information about the Lazarus Pit, assuming the surgeon would be interested in its miraculous ability to cure cancer, but instead Thomas, who had figured out Nygma's identity by now and realized he had connections in Gotham, asked him for help to get revenge on his old friend, Bruce. Riddler agreed, and while researching Bruce, the madness caused by the pit allowed him to make the connection that Bruce is Batman. After sharing this information with Thomas, Thomas took the identity of Hush and began plotting his revenge on Bruce.
Hush convinced and manipulated several of Batman's enemies to help him attack Bruce, although he never shared his knowledge of Batman's true identity.

### Death

When Elliot finally revealed his plans to a physically and emotionally exhausted Batman, the Dark Knight was saved only by the intervention of Catwoman. Hush is nearly killed but is saved by Batman with his grapnel. Catwoman cuts the line and allows Hush to fall to his death to save Batman.

## Personality

Hush is a vengeful sociopath who developed an unbridled hatred towards the Wayne, becoming a cunning man with murderous, sociopathic desires proved deep-rooted enough to plan his parents' deaths and stage it as an accident. As he grew older, Hush became a gifted surgeon however his sanity and morality vanished as he became extremely sadisic and sadomasochist, willing to even cut off his own face while insanely laughing to further his revenge plan. He was also intensely proud of his work.

## Abilities

* **Peak Human Condition:**Hush keeps himself in top physical condition and possesses great strength.
* **Genius Level Intellect:**Hush is a neurologist possessing a genius level intellect.
	+ **Expert Deceiver:**Hush is an expert strategist and manipulator, responsible for setting in motion a grandiose series of events.
	+ **Master of Disguise:**Hush is extremely proficient in disguise.
	+ **Master Surgeon:**Although he specializes in brain surgery, Hush is also a proficient plastic surgeon, having repaired extensive scar tissue and performing cosmetic surgery on his own face to mimic Bruce Wayne.
* **Expert Marksman:**Hush is an expert marksman, being able to accurately shoot down projectiles.
* **Expert Combatant:**Hush is a proficient and trained hand-to-hand combatant.

## Quotes

* "Would you believe good, old-fashioned revenge? To be honest, I don't care if you do. Wayne will suffer and you will not stop me."
* "I couldn't have put it better myself. I take it you're here to stop me."
* "I think you're too late."
* "This is the journal of Dr. Thomas Elliot. My work is almost complete. The pain, though still present, has been worth it. He will suffer for what he did to me. He will suffer the way I have suffered. As I look in the mirror, I understand how Leonardo felt when he finished the Mona Lisa. How Michaelanglo felt when Davi was complete. My work has taken too long, but now it's time for my mastepiece to be unveiled. My new face is ready."
* "Bruce Wayne? It took time, of course. To find the perfect donors. To graft on the flesh and, finally, to lose myself in order to create this."
* "Unfortunate, but necessary to my plan."
* "Pray we do not meet again. Next time, I will not be in such a generous mood."
* "Bruce...that's impossible."
* "Don't worry. This will be over soon."
* "So, I finally have your attention. Come and join the party. If you try anything stupid, Wayne Enterprises will be looking for a new CEO."
* "That brat's family destroyed me, and now I will destroy him."
* "Bring me Bruce Wayne or I bring down this tower."
* "He denied me what was rightfully mine!"
* "I only want what I deserve! Bruce Wayne had his riches handed to him on a plate. He never had to fight for anything in his life! Now bring me Wayne, or I'll destroy this tower and everything he stands for!"
* "Stay back. I'll kill him. I'll do it!"
* "My face!"
* "Everything you are, everything you have. It's mine Bruce, all mine."
* "Too bad, Lucius, I could've used a man of your talents."
* "We both know our play isn't over, Bruce. And ultimately I will emerge as the hero of our bitter comedy."