- "Riddles are your compulsion. Your addiction. And a riddle that everyone knows the answer to is worthless."
- ―Batman
| "Hush (Part 12)" The End | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Batman | |
| Title: | "Hush (Part 12)" The End |
| Storyline: | "Hush" |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Number: | 619 |
| Cover price: | $2.25 |
| Cover date: | November, 2003 |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Credits | |
| Ex. Ed: | Dan DiDio |
| Writers: | Jeph Loeb |
| Pencilers: | Jim Lee |
| Inkers: | Scott Williams |
| Cover artists: | Jim Lee |
| Cover inker: | Scott Williams |
| Cover colorist: | Alex Sinclair |
| Colorists: | Alex Sinclair |
| Letterers: | Richard Starkings |
| Assistants: | Michael Wright |
| Editors: | Bob Schreck |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | Batman #618 |
| Next: | Batman #620 |
"The End" is the 619th issue of the first ongoing Batman comic book series. It is the twelfth and final chapter in the ""Hush" storyline that runs from issue #608-619. The issue was written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Jim Lee with Scott Williams on inks. Lee and Williams also provided the cover art illustration. It was colored by Alex Sinclair with Richard Starkings providing the lettering. The issue was edited by Bob Schreck. It shipped with a November, 2003 cover-date and a retail price of $2.25 (US) per copy.
Synopsis[]
Batman cradles the dead body of Harold, his former aide. Hush is standing over them, his guns still smoldering. Batman still has no idea who Hush truly is. He launches into him with a flurry of blows, but Hush keeps a safe distance from him. Hush finally reveals himself to be Tommy Elliot. Batman had believed that the Joker had previously killed Tommy, but that turned out to merely be Clayface in disguise. As Hush, Tommy wants revenge on the Wayne family. Doctor Thomas Wayne had saved the life of his mother after a staged car accident. Elliot wanted his parents to die so that he could collect the inheritance. Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent arrive to give Batman back-up. Harvey shoots Hush two times in the chest, and Hush falls backwards into the bay. Gordon is forced to arrest Dent.
Over the next two weeks, Batman systematically figures out Hush's plan from the beginning. As he explains to Superman, Hush had been planning the attacks for over a year, and had the chips Harold placed in the Batcomputer leave subliminal messages showing Thomas Elliot's image, which is why Batman thought of him after the Batline was cut. Superman has already done several sweeps of the river, but never found Hush's body. Knowing that Hush knew where he was, Batman deduces that Hush placed some sort of tracker on him during the surgery, and asks Superman to burn it out with his heat vision. Reluctantly, Superman complies.
Although Hush seems to be gone, Batman still has to figure out who the true mastermind of this entire affair is. Who told Hush that Batman was secretly Bruce Wayne? The trail leads Batman to Arkham Asylum. He finds that it has been the Riddler pulling the strings the whole time. The Riddler had been dying of terminal cancer and had used one of the Lazarus Pits to save his life. In his temporary insanity caused by the pit, Riddler realized that Bruce Wayne was Batman. Healed from the illness, he decided that he wanted to "make it big" in Gotham. He was tired of being just another crook with a gimmick. So he hooked up with Thomas Elliot (whom he met while researching his illness) and the two decided to play the ultimate riddle against Batman using all of Gotham's super-villains as pawns. Batman, however, pulls a trump card on the Riddler: his obsession with riddles will prevent him from revealing Batman's identity, and Batman warns him that if he tries something like this again, he'll turn him over to Ra's al Ghul.
After conferring with the Riddler, Batman buries Harold on a hill near Wayne Manor, having forgiven his betrayal. He meets up with Catwoman. Catwoman knows that it is impossible for her to continue a romance with Batman. He simply won't allow himself to fall in love. She walks away from him.
Appearances[]
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
Minor characters
Organizations
- None
Races
Locations
Items
Vehicles
- None
Powers
Notes & Trivia[]
Gatefold cover poster.
- This issue is reprinted in the Batman: Hush hardcover and trade paperback collections as well as the Batman: Hush, Volume 2 hardcover and trade paperback collections. It is also reprinted in the 2005 Batman: Hush: Absolute Edition hardcover slipcase edition.
- This issue shipped as a direct edition and a newstand edition.
- This issue shipped with two alternate covers in addition to the standard cover. The first alternate cover featured the protagonists of the storyline. The second alternate cover featured the antagonists. A poster was produced combining both images.
- This issue went to second printing. The second printing was also released with the Batman's Allies and Batman's Villains alternate covers.
- Alfred Pennyworth appears in flashback only in this issue.
- Harold Allnut appears as a corpse only in this issue. He was shot to death by Hush in Batman #618.
- Thomas Wayne appears in flashback only in this issue.
- Martha Wayne appears in flashback only in this issue.
- References are made to Clayface, Jason Todd, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy and Ra's al Ghul in this issue.
- Harold Allnut first appeared during a storyline called "The Penguin Affair", which ran through issues #448-450 of Batman. His surname is revealed for the first time in this issue.
- Despite his apparent death in this issue, Hush survives. He appears next in Batman: Gotham Knights #50.