Broken Frontier

“I made a promise on the grave of my parents to rid this city of the evil that took their lives. By day, I am Bruce Wayne, billionaire philanthropist. At night, criminals, a cowardly and superstitious lot, call me… BATMAN.”  (This quote is from the credits page of issue #608.)   

With those profound words, Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee have presented a compelling tale of the essence of Batman in their yearl-long storyarc Hush. It is truly a contradiction in the sense that the Dark Knight narrates the mini-series, thereby giving the reader a window into what makes him who he is.

Bruce Wayne has hardness in him like no other person. As a young boy, he watched his parents get murdered. Out of necessity, Wayne grew into a man uneasy with ties to others. Perhaps it's the sudden ending of the parental connection, but with few exceptions, he keeps others at arm’s length. As Edward Lamont discovered, Wayne is the dark, brooding, aloof creature of the night befitting his public image. Batman is no Boy Scout and he makes no apologies for that.

There is an exception to his lack of connection to others however. Thomas Elliot had been Wayne ’s good friend before the death of his family: here was a closeness unique in Wayne ’s group of friends. Bruce accepted Elliot’s advice when he told him to always think like your enemy. Even as Batman, he followed Elliot’s words when confronted with a Poison Ivy-controlled Superman and thinking ahead with supreme confidence, the Dark Knight pulled out a kryptonite ring. You have to admire a man like that.

Sadly, the strong friendship between these two men ended suddenly. Wayne mourned for the apparent death of Elliot but is betrayed by him as Elliot turns out to be one of the principals in the Hush plot who tried to defeat him. This shatters Batman and as a result, he withdraws from extending himself to others as he had done throughout this series. Because he can’t even be sure that Catwoman isn’t involved in the plot, he ends their budding romance that had developed early in this storyarc. Batman and Catwoman stopped pretending and gave in to mutual attraction.
This topic came up in a conversation between Nightwing and Batman. Bruce respects Grayson because of the years they worked together and how the former Robin has progressed as a hero and he even accepts Dick’s counsel to reveal to Catwoman his secret ID in order to enhance their romance.
My point here is that Grayson is like Elliot, they are both special friends to Wayne and his aloofness is not as evident with them. Contrast this with Robin’s clear disagreement in bringing Catwoman into the “Bat Family” with his horror at Batman's revealing his ID to her. Batman does not put up with this fighting between Catwoman and Robin and rejects the Boy Wonder’s counsel. Note the difference in attitude and judgment towards Nightwing on the one hand and Robin on the other.

As Batman is burdened with the image of his parents' tragic passing, so too he feels guilt over the killing of Jason Todd, who assumed the role of Robin after Dick Grayson ended it. Though Wayne believes Jason saw being the boy wonder as a game, he was responsible for his safety. In the storyline, Clayface impersonated Jason, but Bruce put aside his hopes that Jason was alive, to think like a detective and uncover the masquerade.   

Perhaps the most evil villain of Batman’s rogues gallery is the Joker. He constantly turns up to plague the Dark Knight, having escaped the law due to various formalities through the years. Even though he murdered Commissioner Gordon’s wife, robbed his daughter Barbara, the original Batgirl of her legs, locking her to a wheelchair for life and killed Jason Todd in cold blood, the Joker's still wreaks havoc in Gotham City.
All these events of the past never ceased to be a burden for Batman, and his confrontation with the Joker in BATMAN #613 leads to one of the more interesting questions posed in Hush: what's the breaking point after which vengeance takes hold and you reject your guiding principles to achieve it? You guessed it right: Batman snapped, needing Jim Gordon, his trusted friend, to remind him that killing the Joker would make him equal to the criminals he seeks to bring to justice. Killing the Joker would indeed violate the core beliefs Batman has set for himself. This scene showed his struggles over vengeance, but in the end, it showed why he is the hero we believe he is.            

A word needs to be said about the amazing art. Jim Lee’s remarkable art works in smooth tandem with Jeph Loeb’s writing. The detail in the characters and surrounding area of each panel looks like the artist spent an untold amount of time perfecting his craft. The cover of issue #618 for example, shows Batman on the prowl: every muscle is displayed and the pockets on his utility belt are crystal clear. These elements and the decaying image of Robin (along with a set of evil eyes in the background) make for a riveting scene and shows us that Lee can - still - reflect sheer emotion when the situation calls for it. Witness the exchange between Batman and Clayface in the middle of that same issue, or the amazing splash page in issue #612 displaying Batman knocking nearly Superman unconcious. Simply put, Jim Lee has no equal in making a profound tale like this Hush series the best possible.   

In conclusion, when focussing on the relevancy of Loeb and Lee's year-long storyarc, it's important to point out the core ideas of their tale.
Batman's still guided by his mission to avenge his parent’s murder and while doing that, he does not become the evil he seeks to vanquish. And even though he has a difficult time with friends due to his loss, he has shown he can make strong bonds. However, it's very unfortunate that the betrayal of Thomas Elliot has caused his natural aloofness and detachment to gain hold once again. As Batman has overcome all obstacles in his path, this retrenchment will prove no exception.

- Jim Wolbert