When you think of iconic comic book creators, artist Jim Lee (X-Men and Justice League) and writer Jeph Loeb (Superman and Supergirl) come to mind. Not only have they both shaped comic books for decades, but they’re the reason the genre is popular. Another thing that they have in common is previously working on Batman stories for DC Comics and now they are currently working on the sequel to the popular Dark Knight story arc to Hush.
There has been a lot of promotion around Hush 2, which isn't surprising considering that its predecessor is one of the Caped Crusader's biggest stories of all time, and fans were ready for the sequel. Yes, there's been a lot of hype, and the first issue shows exactly why.
Batman No. 158 creative team
- Writer: Jeph Loeb
- Art by: Scott Williams and Jim Lee
- Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Batman No. 158 begins with the Dark Knight attempting to stop The Joker from poisoning Gotham City’s water with toxic fish that bear his likeness. Batman is confused because The Clown Prince of Crime doesn’t normally do the same trick twice. But The Joker hits his nemesis with a crowbar, kicks him into the water, and says, “If at first you don’t succeed, cry, cry again,” and laughs.
Normally, Bruce Wayne has a contingency plan for when anything touches his mask. The cowl was supposed to shock the fish attacking and leave him unharmed. Unfortunately, the hit from Joker’s crowbar damaged the tech and shocked him, too. Before the villain could get away, however, an unknown and giant metahuman beats and captures him, dragging him away (more on that later).
Meanwhile, in the Clock Tower, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) and Nightwing (Dick Grayson) have lost contact with Bruce. Luckily, before he drowns, Batman is saved by Talia al Ghul; a confusing moment because Bruce doesn’t know how she’s tracking him. When he gets back to the Batcave and talks to Dick and Barbara he learns that their systems been compromised.
After shutting down the Batcave, Bruce heads off to find The Joker. What he discovers is that his foe has been tortured and left for dead. The Dark Knight takes a quick look at his enemy's body and realizes that everything that happened to them was set up by someone. The only person that could have done this is his childhood friend and current criminal, Tommy Eliot a.k.a. Hush.
Now Bruce has to make a tough decision: Does he save one of the worst people in history or let him die? We can assume Batman saves him, and two Bat Family members won't be happy about it because of what Joker's personally done to them.
While Batman is walking through the circus, Hush is playing The Joker’s greatest hits. Among them are Jim Gordon being captured, Barbara Gordon getting shot (Killing Joke), and the death of Jason Todd (A Death in the Family). Both Jason and Barbara have accepted that Batman won’t kill Joker because of his code. But this will be different because all Bruce has to do is walk away; he wouldn't be directly responsible. However, his code won’t allow it.
There have been reports that a battle within the Bat-Family is coming, and this will be why. Characters like Tim Drake will understand why Bruce let The Joker live. Meanwhile, Jason and Barbara may be furious. The Joker is a monster that deserves to die, but he was saved by someone who’s supposed to be the city’s protector. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out, but this won’t be resolved quickly.
Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out what’s next for the Bat Family.
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