By Phil Perich for Before the Bat: The Gotham Podcast

Remember the bully who gave Bruce a hard time on Gotham? He’s more important to the story than you realize. Dr. Thomas Elliot, later known as Hush, first appeared in Batman #609 (January 2003).

It was revealed through flashbacks that Tommy Elliot and Bruce Wayne had been childhood friends. Tommy had an abusive father and a mother that was willing to deal with anything if it meant staying wealthy and important. Wishing to be rid of his parents and to inherit their fortune, Tommy cuts the brake lines on his parents car. Tommy’s father dies but his mother is saved by Dr. Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s father. With his anger brewing, Tommy goes berserk at summer camp and attacks a boy which lands him in a psychiatric hospital until he is released by Dr. Jonathan Crane (who would later become Batman’s enemy the Scarecrow). Years later Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered while a jealous Tommy takes care of his mother, now stricken with cancer. After his mother recovers and informs Tommy that she does not approve of his relationship with his girlfriend Peyton Riley. Tommy smothers his mother with a pillow, abandons Peyton and with his newly inherited fortune, travels the world like Bruce Wayne does during his training. Tommy goes to Harvard and becomes a world famous surgeon, never letting go of his anger at Bruce. Years later, Tommy would team up with the Riddler (Edward Nygma) to take down Batman, whose identity Tommy and Nygma had figured out. Tommy hid his identity behind a bandaged face. The name “Hush” started as a joke by Nygma, commenting that they needed to keep Tommy’s identity a secret.

In their first encounter as Batman and Hush, Tommy plots and uses several of Batman’s enemies in a plot to try to destroy him including Joker, Clayface, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, and Scarecrow. He even manages to have Poison Ivy put Superman under her control for a limited time. A (temporarily) mentally and physically cured Harvey Dent shoots Hush as he falls off a bridge. Although he never manages to unmask him, Batman is sure Hush is his childhood friend, Tommy Elliot. Hush returns months later and attempts to take Gotham City for his own by defeating Batman’s enemies and framing Alfred Pennyworth for murder, distracting Bruce Wayne. Hush is almost killed when the Joker decides to pay him back. When Hush recovers from the Joker’s attack, he returns and literally steals Catwoman’s heart, forcing Batman to get it back so she doesn’t die on life support.

When Batman confronts Hush, he discovers that the Doctor has given himself plastic surgery to look exactly like Bruce Wayne.

During the Batman Reborn storyline when Bruce Wayne was presumed dead and Nightwing was acting as Batman, Dick Grayson (Nightwing) and Damian Wayne (Robin) captured Hush with Catwoman’s help and used him to fool the public into thinking that Bruce Wayne was still alive. Hush eventually escapes and attempts to take control of Wayne Enterprises and the Wayne fortune until Tim Drake (Red Robin) activates a plan set in place by Bruce Wayne that transferred control of the company to Drake.

Hush is then targeted by the serial killer Jane Doe, who cuts off her victims faces and wears them, attempting to become her victims. Jane attacks Hush, believing he is Bruce Wayne, and cuts off his Bruce Wayne face. Batman (Dick Grayson) captures both killers and takes them both to Arkham Asylum.

In DC comics New 52 reboot, Hush has recently been revealed to be the mastermind behind the chaos occurring in the Batman Eternal weekly series, including the arrest of Jim Gordon and Batman being hunted by the now once again corrupt GCPD.