DC is putting a lot of focus on Superman and the Justice League lately, but Batman is getting its own major story — “Hush 2.” A sequel to the iconic “Hush” storyline from its original creative team of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee is all about the villain taking revenge against not only Batman and his allies, but also others who worked against him like the Riddler and the Joker. If we’re being honest, “Hush 2” hasn’t been burning up the comic industry like its predecessor did, but it’s still a lot of fun, with Jim Lee’s fabulous art anchoring a perfectly serviceable Batman story.
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Batman #161 is the best chapter so far, with Batman, Robin, and Bane (of all people) working together against Hush’s new metahuman allies. Meanwhile, Barbara Gordon in her guise as Batgirl goes and visits her father in the hospital, where he’s been since an attack on him by yet another Batman villain. Batman’s villains attacking the Gordon family is a tried and true Batman trope, with Batman: The Killing Joke being just one example of a villain, in this case the Joker, trying to hurt the Gordons. Now, Batman is attacked while looking in on the Gordons and Batgirl saves him. However, she has some choice words (and fists and feet) for Batman about the whole situation and Batman’s refusal to do anything about protecting her father and, frankly, it’s a dressing down that is far past due.
Being an Ally to Batman Has Almost Destroyed the Gordons
The Joker and Jim Gordon are two of the most important people in Batman’s life. The Joker is Batman’s greatest foe and Jim Gordon is, arguably, the most important of Batman’s allies. Now some would point at Alfred, but Alfred wasn’t an ally of Batman — he was family, as are people like Dick Grayson. Gordon played an important role in helping Batman in his war on crime in Gotham, greasing the works between Batman and the police. This has made Gordon a target multiple times over the years, especially for the Joker. The Joker has gone after Jim and his daughter Barbara multiple times, but there are several of these attacks that stick out, one of which is among the most well-known Batman stories of all time, Batman: The Killing Joke. The Joker wanted to break Jim Gordon, so he went to the Gordon’s house, shot him Barbara in the stomach, and kidnapped Gordon, torturing him. Batman rescued him, and honestly thought about killing the Joker, but Gordon stopped him. During the classic story “No Man’s Land,” the Joker killed Gordon’s then-wife Sarah Essen. During the original “Hush,” Batman decided that it was time to kill the Joker, and he was again only stopped by Gordon himself. Since then, Batman has stopped himself from killing the Joker a handful of times, keeping to the morality that Jim Gordon himself believed. However, Batman #161 reveals one member of the Gordon family feels differently about the Joker and his connection to the world of the living.
Barbara Gordon was one of the victims of the Joker’s mission against her family. Like her father, and unknown to him, Barbara Gordon had personally fought the Joker as Batgirl, so she had been a target of the Joker numerous times. The Joker paralyzed Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke, changing her life forever. She lost her step-mother to the Joker. And now, her father has been targeted by one of Batman’s enemies… again. Jim Gordon may not want to kill the Joker, and want him to pay for his crimes in a court of law, but Batgirl has changed her mind. She is angry that the Joker just keeps hurting her family and friends and largely getting away with it. The morality of her father and Batman has worn thin for her and she decides to let Batman know about it. Hush targets Batman — who had been standing next to a bomb that Hush had planted, coincidentally — and Batgirl saved him. However, the two of them come to blows after that, because Batgirl is tried of playing kid games with the Joker and wants her father better protected. She wants something to be done about the current situation beyond Batman letting Hush drag everyone around the board. She blames Batman for everything that has happened to her father, and she’s right. Batman’s action have made the lives of the Gordons much worse.
Batgirl Is Right About Batman
Batgirl is tired of everything happening to her family because of Batman’s actions, and she decides to let him know that. Batman — and her father — both refuse to do anything about the Joker, and it has almost killed her. Batman’s inability to stop the Joker and Hush has almost cost her father his life again. She wants Batman to take some responsibility, to come up with a plan to stop this kind of thing, but he’s still just reacting. Barbara is angry. And she’s right.
Batman killing Joker or Hush may be a road too far for some, but the fact that Batman doesn’t do his best to protect someone like Jim Gordon is a huge mistake. Batman has no answer for Batgirl, no plan to keep her father safe, and she’s justifiably angry. Not just her, either, as the end of the issue reveals she has some allies who are equally unhappy with Batman’s choices as she is. Could we be seeing a turning point? Only time will tell.
Batman #161 is on sale now.
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