It has been six months since Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s last Hush 2 chapter, but Batman #163 is finally in comic shops this week. It’s the final issue in the first story arc with Batman in a very rare position: His Bat-Family wants to kick his butt. Now held at gunpoint by The Joker, Batman has very few options.
As far as climactic chapters, Batman #163 has plenty to offer, from gorgeous full-page splashes by Lee to a major death. The final few pages also give readers a sense of where part two is headed, and it will certainly shake things up nicely. It’s a shame we had to wait so long, but at least this issue delivers on these elements.
That said, the confounding nature of this story, from how Loeb writes Batman’s inner monologue to the way characters act, can pull you out of the story. This series has read as if Loeb crafted a story outside of continuity and maybe even forgot a bunch of it.
If you were to read the outline of the issue, it’s okay. Batman is in the sewers with Joker, who is dragging him along, only to find all his greatest villains waiting. They seem to want to help him with his Hush problem. Meanwhile, the Bat-Family is questioning whether they’ll go after Batman, with a lot of tense side-eyes between them. This leads to a series of fights and confrontations between major players, only for Talia al Ghul to pop up.
Cool group shots.
Credit: DC Comics
Not a lot of what occurs makes a ton of sense, though. Why would Batman even consider working with his villains? The ongoing anger of Batman’s closest allies doesn’t add up either. Then you have Hush and his goons, who conveniently show up for a bit of posturing. Then there’s a weird train rushing in, and Jason decides to shoot it instead of jumping out of the way. Batman’s fighting ability is inexplicably compromised in the following fight, apparently for plot reasons. Talia’s appearance is more of a deus ex machina than anything else, feeling forced, like much of the rest.
Lee’s art is good throughout, though you can see it’s rushed here or there. The full page splashes are highly detailed as ever, and it’s hard not to love big group shots of the villains and heroes. An electric Clayface certainly looks less detailed and stylized than Lee would have liked, which is a recurring thing.
Batman #163 delivers the spectacle fans expect from a Hush sequel, complete with oversized villain team-ups, dramatic reveals, and Jim Lee splash pages built for posters. The problem is that the connective tissue rarely holds together. Jeph Loeb leans heavily on shock moments and character tension, but the motivations behind many decisions feel thin or outright contradictory. Even so, the final pages successfully tease a more intriguing second act, leaving readers hopeful the next chapter tightens the narrative considerably.
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