This week Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee did a Q&A on DC Comics Discord channel as part of the promotion for their Batman: H2SH story. With Loeb and Lee answering fan questions for their Batman: Hush sequel there were plenty of tidbits to take away from this Q&A session. Unfortunately, because this was an event on Discord there is no recording of Loeb and Lee’s Q&A currently available.
Luckily there was some information to learn about while having the chance to listen to it. The one that specifically caught my ears was Loeb and Lee mentioning doing something about “this Robin problem.” What does that exactly mean? And how does it relate to what has gone on and is teased for future chapters of Batman: H2SH? Let’s break it down.
HOW BATMAN: H2SH COULD SOLD THE ROBIN PROBLEM
When asked about Damian Wayne’s role the upcoming Batman #160 Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee said, with Bleeding Cool capturing the quote, “”Whether he gets out is something else. We are going to do something about this Robin problem.” While the question was about Damian it was clear that Loeb and Lee have bigger plans for all the Robins.
Dealing with the “Robin Problem” is not all that surprising as Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Damian Wayne are all playing a role in Batman: H2SH. Tim Drake also took part in the original Batman: Hush storyline. So obviously, Loeb and Lee like having the Robins play big roles in their Batman stories.
And based on what’s already and teased to happen we have Red Hood working with Hush, Nightwing and Batgirl working with Riddler, and Damian’s Robin working with Bane. That’s on top of Batman risking a lot to save Joker. So while the story is definitely on how Hush is planning to get his revenge on everyone there is a deeper story going on with the Batman Family. Specifically, the impact that Batman will have with all his proteges moving forward.
Now based on Loeb and Lee’s word choice there is a vibe given that one result of Batman: H2SH is that one of the Robins will die. Loeb has shown a propensity to use death as a story device, just look at his work on Ultimatum. Loeb and Lee did mention that their work on the Hush sequel will tie in directly to how Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez will start their run in the relaunched Batman series. A death of one of the Robins would a major launching off point for the direction Fraction and Jimenez can take their Batman run.
HOW TWO-FACE COULD FACTOR INTO HUSH FOCUS ON ROBIN
One of the big questions that has been brought up during the first two issues of Batman: H2SH is who is behind the Hush mask. Going into this story it all looked as though Thomas Elliot was returning to get his revenge on everyone in Gotham City that crossed him. Though that may be playing with our expectations as we see with how Hush speaks in Batman #158. There is a particular line that Hush says while torturing Joker that raised some red flags for this Hush possibly not being Thomas Elliot. That line was:
“You told me once, this town isn’t big enough for two homicidal maniacs. I have news for you. I am not a maniac.”
This specific choice of words makes another iconic Loeb wrote with Tim Sale on artwork: Batman: The Long Halloween. Specifically, Batman: The Long Halloween #3 when Joker, with a wicked smile on his face, told Harvey Dent “This town isn’t big enough for two homicidal maniacs.” Given that Loeb is the writer of both stories it would not be surprising if he circles back to this previous confrontation between Joker and Two-Face. The Long Halloween is an iconic story that is often gone back to for what we know of the early days of Batman.
There is also the most recent Two-Face mini-series that ended on a note that fully positioned the character on the villain side. Given the timing of the ending for Two-Face’s mini-series and what it did for the character, that could even be used for his Hush transformation. The song that Hush sings in Batman #158 also seems to play into the dual personality of the character rather than something Thomas Elliot would do.
There is also the ties Two-Face has with the Robins. Knowing how important the connection between Batman and Robin is, it could be why he immediately went to Jason Todd to work together. Which adds another layer of distraction for Bruce thinking he is fighting Thomas Elliot but it’s really Two-Face, ultimately aiming to kill one of the Robins to completely break Batman.
H2SH LONG-TERM IMPACT TO BATMAN FAMILY DYNAMIC
Batman #159 planted the seeds of the real impact of H2SH will be on the relationships Bruce Wayne has with the Batman Family. Jason Todd is angry at Bruce for saving Joker’s life. Though when given the chance after knocking out Batman, Jason kidnaps Joker rather than killing him. That is more of criticism of the storytelling than what the impact will be by the end. Afterall, Loeb and Lee emphasize that H2SH will play a role in how we see Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez’s run with a fresh Batman #1 starts.
The breaking of the Batman Family is nothing new. Specifically, the Batman Family losing all trust in Bruce is something we saw as the status quo for the franchise in the fallout to 2023’s Gotham War. So going back to the well less than two years later for the Batman franchise status quo has a feeling of lack of creativity.
That is where editorial should step in to make sure that whatever the Batman Family direction isn’t recycling old stories. With the Batman series being relaunched it needs to be big and new, not more of the same old storytelling.
The same goes for whatever happens to the Robins. While all signs are pointing to something happening to Damian given that the character will be part of the live-action DCU that may not happen. There could be something that goes on with Jason or Tim since they, along with Duke and Stephanie, don’t have a direction or series they are appearing in. Maybe the ending H2SH will provide a much-needed direction for the Batman Family members not being used.
We will see what direction the franchise goes with the third chapter of H2SH, Batman #160, scheduled to release at the end of May.
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