As a lifelong movie and comic book fan, I’ve seen Batman evolve over the decades – and wow, has he been around a long time! He’s become the face of DC, honestly, and one of the most popular characters ever created. Over those eighty years, he’s been in countless stories, some amazing and some… well, let’s just say forgettable. One story that really sticks out is the ‘Hush’ storyline from the early 2000s. It really nailed what made Batman, Batman – the plot was great, the artwork was fantastic, and it showed Bruce building some really key relationships. It’s become a definitive version of the character for a lot of us. But now, believe it or not, they’re actually following up ‘Hush’ with a sequel.
From the start, the “H2SH” comic has been problematic. Though the creators of the original “Hush” story, Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, teamed up again over twenty years later for this sequel, it hasn’t resonated with fans. Aside from significant delays that caused “H2SH” to launch at the same time as a new Batman comic, the storyline feels disjointed and disregards established history. Issue #162 of Batman (2016) is the fifth installment in this disappointing series, and the very first page perfectly illustrates everything that’s wrong with it.
The Worst First Page in History
The “Hush” storyline has escalated in Gotham, with the villain orchestrating a dangerous game. This has already forced Batman to rescue the Joker and caused another conflict between the Red Hood and the rest of the Bat-Family. Recently, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) surprisingly blamed Batman when her father was targeted by Hush, leading to a fight between them. The issue concluded with Nightwing, Robin, Huntress, Catwoman, and even a briefly cooperative Riddler arriving on the scene, attempting to stop the conflict.
The story continued directly from the previous issue, with Batman feeling completely isolated in his struggle. He referred to his allies, the Bat-Family, as burdens, hinting he regretted ever working with partners. Bruce admitted that Hush was masterminding a conflict between Batman and his family, but then fell right into the trap by unexpectedly tranquilizing Batgirl. He claimed the others were letting their emotions control them, and instead of trying to explain Hush’s manipulation, he insisted he was the only one thinking clearly – and then behaved irrationally.
Everything Wrong With Modern Batman, Condensed
Okay, as a huge Batman fan, I have to say, this new direction is just… frustrating. Instead of a compelling story, we get Bruce basically tearing into his family, exploiting their past hurts and vulnerabilities. It feels less like a natural character arc and more like something straight out of a really over-the-top Batman comic, like All-Star Batman and Robin. He’s needlessly aggressive, determined to do everything himself, and it actively hurts the team, including himself. The worst part? He knows what the villain is up to, but still chooses to fight his own family! Honestly, Batman fighting his family has become such a tired cliché that it feels insulting. Instead of building genuine drama, this story, and others like “Gotham War,” just manufacture conflict by inventing reasons for Bruce to physically attack his kids. It’s just… disappointing.
The flimsy reason for this fight clashes with Batman’s own thoughts about not wanting to engage, a conflict made worse by how quickly he changes his mind and does it anyway. Since the introduction of Robin in Detective Comics #38 back in 1937, Batman has always worked with someone – a partner, another hero, or at least someone in the role of Alfred. Even setting aside his long-standing relationship with Jim Gordon, stories like “H2SH” oddly glorify the idea of Batman as a loner, then demonstrate why it’s a bad idea, often showing him attacking people he himself trained to be his allies. It highlights a constant internal struggle within Batman.
The story’s depiction of the Bat-Family and its history feels off. It only features five members, even though the group is much larger, and the inclusion of Huntress over characters like Tim Drake or Cassandra Cain is odd, considering her more distant relationship with the team lately. Damian Wayne also seems to have lost all the progress he’s made as a character. In fact, the entire story feels like it’s ignoring everything that’s happened in the last twenty years, as if the events of the recent “Hush” storyline just occurred and no one has grown or learned from their experiences. This forces characters to act in ways that don’t align with their established personalities, and it frustratingly reverts Red Hood back to being a simply angry killer fixated on Bruce Wayne.
The characters in this story feel like exaggerated stereotypes. From the very beginning, Batman behaves erratically – he argues with his family, acts immaturely, and seems to resent those closest to him. This storyline is shaping up to be a significant misrepresentation of the characters and a poorly conceived idea, and unfortunately, the rest of the issue doesn’t improve things.
Batman #162 is on sale now.
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2025-11-15 01:13