Batman #163 is finally here! After more than a year in the making we finally are getting the sixth and final chapter of the first part for the Hush sequel. There are many reasons for the long delays that caused this six part story to take over a year to complete. No matter the reasons it has not erased the fact that H2SH has been a utter disappointment up to this point. Let’s see if Batman #163 will deliver a surprise with a satisfying conclusion to part one of H2SH.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Jim Lee
Inking: Richard Starkings
Coloring: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Tyler Smith
BATMAN #163 SOLICITATION
“The shocking conclusion to H2SH Part One with Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee! Will Batman survive Hush’s revenge when his only allies are his greatest enemies?” – DC Comics
REVIEW
From the moment you open Batman #163, it feels like we’re watching actors play in Batman’s world with only a surface-level understanding of who these characters are. That lack of depth carries throughout this conclusion for H2SH Part One, which just ends up making a sudden stop. There’s nothing here that leaves you on the edge of your seat or eager for the second half of H2SH. But honestly, that’s not much of a surprise given how uneven this story has been from the moment it started.
Out of Character, Out of Touch
Maybe the long delays plays a role, but there’s something about Batman #163 that reads more like fanfiction than a story from a veteran writer. Most of the cast comes across as the most surface-level version of themselves. Instead of feeling like this is written by a writer who really gets Batman’s world, this issue often feels like it’s working from a basic character outline and never digging any deeper.
That problem really stands out in the way the two Batman Family squads are written. Everyone is dialed up to the most aggressive version of themselves, and the dialogue rarely sounds natural. You can maybe get away with that a little more when it comes to the so-called “All-New Batman Family,” since Batman is teaming with members of his rogues gallery. Even they feel like paint-by-numbers versions of these villains rather than compelling takes on them.
The real Batman Family fares even worse because their anger keeps them from feeling like themselves at all. Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl is written as all rage with none of the thoughtfulness that usually defines her, while Huntress and Robin barely register as more than background players. Catwoman is reduced to a love-interest role before quickly exiting the story, never to be seen again. Nightwing is really the only one who comes out of this looking halfway competent, since he at least picks up on Batman using Clayface as a distraction and acts fast enough to take the villain down.
Batman Proto-Dark Knight Returns Mentality
One of the biggest problems in Batman #163 is just how ever-present Bruce Wayne’s inner monologue is. It follows the issue from start to finish. Even when Bruce isn’t actually in the scene, we’re still being told what he is thinking. There are only a small handful of panels where the narration lets up, and because of that, the story never really gives itself room to breathe.
It’s clear that Jeph Loeb used all of this narration to hammer home what he wants Bruce’s Batman voice to sound like. This approach just ends up overpowering everything else. There are even some panels Bruce’s inner monologue is right on top of other characters’ speech bubbles. When it gets that heavy-handed, it stops being additive and just starts feeling overwritten.
What makes that even more frustrating is that the story is clearly trying to position Hush as someone who has pushed Bruce back toward being a solo act. In theory, that could have been an interesting direction. But it clashes badly with the idea of Batman suddenly teaming up with his villains for help right after turning on his family. With the way Bruce’s inner monologue is written, that shift doesn’t feel dramatic or conflicted. Instead it is just out of character.
H2SH Part One Just Ends
The most disappointing thing about this conclusion for part one of H2SH is how abruptly it end. There’s no real revelation to build interest for the eventual second half, if that ever even releases. Hush doesn’t even come out of this being a villain who demands a follow-up to ultimately defeat. Instead, the story leaves Hush bleeding after being shot in the head while Batman gets revived by Talia al Ghul through the Lazarus Pit.
If that wasn’t underwhelming enough, the big final-page hook is Batman and Talia making out. That’s it. For a story that took this long to get to the end of its first act, closing on that image does nothing to build momentum or make you curious about reading more.
That’s what makes the ending so frustrating. After all the delays and all the damage done to these characters, you’d think there would at least be some payoff for readers who stuck with it. Even a tease about Hush’s real endgame after all his poetry up to this point would have gone a long way. Instead, the big reward is a last page that feels aimed at the Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul shippers.
Jim Lee’s Artwork Can’t Save This
Batman #163 is certainly the best-looking issue of H2SH that we got. Lee certainly put his all into making sure at least this story had the appearance of a big event. That does go a long way as we at least get the visual treat of Jim Lee’s artwork.
Unfortunately, even Lee’s artwork is not enough to save the story Loeb structured. Loeb doesn’t even bother to give Lee a cool action sequence to draw. Anything we get some form of action is over after one or two pages. It leaves things feeling like Loeb just leaned into Lee’s ability to create poster quality visuals rather than the storytelling abilities of Lee’s artwork.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Batman #163 may go down as one of the biggest dud endings we’ve gotten in a Batman comic. Even if it doesn’t top the list, it’s definitely a strong contender. The payoff to everything H2SH was building toward is a final page that feels as abrupt as possible. There’s nothing about where this battle with Hush ends that makes think this is a Batman story worth following up on. Given how long the delays for part one of H2SH were , there’s a real chance we may never even get that second part. Honestly, that might be for the best.
Story Rating: 1 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 4 Night Girls out of 10
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