At first, it seems as though this new story arc promises to provide answers, specifically the answer to the question that's really been haunting not all that many DC Comics readers: who is Hush? But I'm not hopeful the answer is coming, because by the end of the issue, the focus shifts from that mystery to the introduction of a "new" villain to the Batman Rogues Gallery. The script isn't all that suspensful and hinges on a hard-to-swallow plot point that would be laughable even if it turned up in a daytime soap. The art is merely capable at best and not always as clear as it could be. And on top of all that, the title character makes no appearance in the book at all.
After his plan to use Alfred to get at Bruce Wayne goes awry (thanks to the butler's explosion-induced, short-term amnesia), Hush accidentally stumbles upon a new weapon at add to his arsenal in his war on Wayne/Batman. That weapon is a firefighter who survived a spectacular fire months ago that claimed the lives of his co-workers and exposed him to a pile of volatile toxic waste. Meanwhile, Alfred laments his inability to remember what happened during his kidnapping, but there's some light at the end of his memory-addled tunnel.
Barrionuevo's art has never really appealed to me, and the only reason I can think of that keeps him in the good books of DC's Bat-office is that he finishes assignments on time. His storytelling is fairly straightforward and conventional, and the action and events of the story flow pretty clear (save for one pivotal sequence in the middle of the book). But there's no trademark Barrionuevo style that I can see. There are no risks, no experimentation taking place here (though I would imagine such ideas might be frowned upon by DC when it comes to one of its core Batman books). There's no visual in this issue, from start to finish, that ever really grabs me and makes me take notice.
So the story hinges on Alfred's amnesia and recovery of memories. Oy. That's a hard one to swallow. The hero's best friend learns a pivotal secret only to forget it until a later time? It makes no sense in the context of the story. It does make sense, however, in the context of marketing and publication. It's a hook, a gimmick, a means to drag out what should have been a simple story. But it's so difficult to accept that it eliminates the reader's interest in that story.
Hmm, toxic ooze, shapeshifting and a disturbed man with a penchant for killing and cruelty. Yep, it seems pretty lcear the writer is introducing a new Clayface. That means DC's got five of them now... or maybe six. Who cares? Did we need another one? Why wouldn't one of the others have sufficed? 4/10
