Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Batman
The Batman tie-in website reveals Hush as a potential future villain for the franchise. Directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman is the latest incarnation of The Dark Knight, starring Robert Pattinson as the titular hero. Additional cast include Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as The Riddler, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon. The film is the first Batman solo series since Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, which ended in 2012.
The new film serves predominantly as a detective story, as Batman seeks to unravel the mystery of The Riddler, spending much of the movie tracking him down through a series of clues and riddles. One such clue involves The Riddler's connection to the Wayne family, which is hinted at in a clue left behind in the film that includes a Mayoral campaign video for Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne's father. In the video, The Riddler has spliced in his own additions, including nods to a very familiar Batman villain from the comics.
A new tie-in website for The Batman has gone online, which prompts visitors to solve three riddles before being able to the video in question, which is the original ad for Thomas Wayne's campaign that has the words "Hush!" and "The Truth About Gotham" spliced in, along with the Riddler's trademark logo at the end. The website is www.rataalada.com, a distinct reference to the film (and possibly in the post-credits). Once logged on, the site will prompt three riddles, with the answers being "Mask," "Renewal," and "Confusion." Once solved, it will prompt a for a .zip file, which is "promise." The file contains The Riddler's video, which has the Hush reference. Check out the screenshot from the video below:
In the Batman comics, Hush is Thomas Elliot, a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's who blames Thomas Wayne for saving the lives of his parents when he was actively trying to murder them to inherit their fortune. He aligns himself with The Riddler, who concocts the "Hush" plot, which eventually becomes the name adopted by Elliot. In The Batman, it's revealed that a reporter with the last name of Elliot was about to reveal a dark Wayne family secret before Thomas Wayne asked Carmine Falcone to silence him, once again strengthening the ties to Hush potentially becoming a future villain in the series.
The Batman has several comic influences, including Hush, but also to The Long Halloween, Batman: Year One, Ego, etc., all of which coalesce into a single film that plucks various aspects and assimilates them into Reeves' vision. It could very well be that The Riddler and Hush are one and the same in this version. Still, there's also the possibility that there could be more mystery to unravel in a sequel that could see the reporter or some other unknown character emerge as the scarred mastermind villain known as Hush. So long as The Batman performs well and fans are hungry for more, there's sure to be additional revelations as Reeves' new Bat-Verse grows, from sequels to spinoffs.
Source: rataalada.com
