Why The Arkhamverse’s Hush Failed To Impress While Harvey Dent Thrived

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In the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, titled Batman: Arkham City, the story begins by following up on the ending teaser from the previous game. After Bruce Wayne gets imprisoned in Arkham City, he encounters Two-Face and rescues Catwoman at the Solomon Wayne Courthouse. This courthouse is notable in Batman: Arkham City as it’s themed around Two-Face and his gang. However, the upcoming game, Batman: Arkham Shadow, adds a new layer of significance to this encounter by delving deeper into Two-Face’s lore, making the courthouse even more important within the Batman universe. Furthermore, Batman: Arkham Shadow successfully fleshes out all its characters, particularly District Attorney Harvey Dent, who is given a heartrending backstory in this prequel installment.

Regardless of whether Two-Face is not given a significant role in future Arkhamverse games, it’s clear that Harvey Dent has been well portrayed within the franchise. Unfortunately, this level of development hasn’t been achieved for many other minor or major villains who have appeared. Characters like Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, or Zsasz hold potential for deeper exploration in prequels or sequels. However, Thomas Elliot’s Hush, who was once hinted as a significant character, now seems confined and unable to receive the same depth of characterization as Harvey Dent.

The Arkhamverse’s Hush is Sadly a Flash in the Pan

In the thrilling action-adventure game like Batman: Arkham Knight, Hush’s potential impact could be open to debate since he lacks any special abilities, being only bandage-wrapped. However, given his intriguing cliffhanger unveiling in Batman: Arkham City, it’s a pity that his role didn’t develop or expand further.

Thomas’s presence in City seemed almost irrelevant, as he fully unveiled his grand scheme and reasons in Knight’s sudden encounter at Wayne International Plaza, rendering any impact negligible. Similarly, the swift takedown of Thomas by Lucius Fox and Bruce was so brutal and instantaneous that he never appeared threatening in the slightest—a stark contrast to City, where Hush trapped Batman in a chilling lair, disappeared into the night with self-assuredness.

Additionally, even though Bruce declared he would pursue Thomas the next day, it appears he overlooked Thomas during the nine months spanning between City and Knight. This oversight can be excused as Bruce was relentlessly capturing people with Joker’s poisoned blood running through their veins – a task in which he himself was involved.

Batman: Arkham Shadow’s Harvey Dent is What the Arkhamverse’s Thomas Elliot Can Never Be

In the game “Batman: Arkham Shadow“, Harvey Dent’s character, ‘Rat King’, serves as the primary adversary, but there’s no direct confrontation or physical combat between him and the player – a decision that game director Ryan Payton is justifiably pleased with. Similarly, the villain ‘Hush’ in other Batman narratives could have instigated an evil plot without requiring players to physically attack him, instead using other villains to cover his tracks.

Regrettably, after Harvey transforms into Two-Face in the concluding scenes of Batman: Arkham Shadow, and is later depicted robbing banks and tossing coins around Gotham City, there’s no similar creative liberty to delve deeper into the character of Thomas Elliot, as he was introduced and concluded in a definitive manner. Since his character trait has been exposed, it’s debatable if there’s much more that could be done with him, especially not in a way that would significantly expand his character as Harvey is expanded in Shadow.

Incorporating scenes reminiscent of Harvey and Bruce flashbacks from “Batman: Arkham Asylum” with Thomas and Bruce could have been fantastic for backstory alone. However, since we learn that Thomas only becomes Hush in “Batman: Arkham City,” and this plotline is resolved in “Batman: Arkham Knight,” it feels underwhelming and anticlimactic. This has always been disappointing, and “Batman: Arkham Shadow” highlights why. There’s little point in examining Thomas more closely given how clearly the games already convey his abbreviated story, and perhaps that was the intention – to make Thomas a relatively insignificant, easily forgettable secondary adversary, as Rocksteady seems to have intended.

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2025-02-28 21:35