A mysterious villain puppeteering Gotham’s most dangerous forces leads the Dark Knight into uncharted waters in Batman: Hush, the latest entry in the popular series of DC Universe Movies. An adaptation of the seminal DC classic tale, Batman: Hush centers on a shadowy new villain known only as Hush, who uses Gotham’s Rogues Gallery to destroy Batman’s crime-fighting career, as well as Bruce Wayne’s personal life – which has already been complicated by a relationship with Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. And it's now available on a variety of home video formats, from Digital and On Demand to 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD.
We reviewed the feature for our inaugural episode of the Saturday Mourning Cartoons podcast on Collider Weekly, so you can get a listen to our full review here. But it suffices to say that this ambitious animated feature attempted to take about a year's worth of DC Comics issues and adapt the classic storyline while also delivering original twists and turns that would keep viewers guessing. The upside is that fans now get to see Hush come to life as he torments Batman and Bruce Wayne throughout the feature, but the downside is that there's so much story in the Batman: Hush comics that it's nearly impossible to cram it all into an 80-minute movie. The impressive cast and kinetic animated action deliver plenty of punch, but some may miss the more cerebral aspects of the slow-burn mystery in the comics. Still, it's a worthy installment in the DC canon, and it comes with some fan-friendly bonus features which we'll explore below:
Batman: Hush Enhanced Content
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital
DC Showcase: Sgt. Rock (Animated Short) – "From executive producer and director Bruce Timm comes the first new DC Showcase animated short since 2011’s Catwoman, bringing DC Comics’ gritty World War II hero to animated life in an all-new adventure. This mash-up of "Sgt. Rock" and the "Creature Commandos" stars Karl Urban as Sgt. Rock with Keith Ferguson as Lt. Shrieve, William Salyers as The Iron Major, and Audrey Wasilewski as The Nurse." This was a blast to watch, especially since it feels like the darker side of DC that usually only gets explored in stories centering on Constantine. I love that DC continues to deliver these one-offs, well before Marvel gets around to animating their "What If?" stories. This also makes a nice bonus feature to the Hush movie *and* gives us Karl Urban as a lesser-known DC hero; hopefully there's more from this team in the future.
Batman: Love in Time of War (Featurette) – "Dangerous. Seductive. Villain. Hero. This is the story of Selina Kyle and the relationship she has forged with the world’s greatest detective." This featurette explores the long history of Batman and Selina Kyle but mostly focuses on that relationship in the Hush storyline. I could have used a little bit more from this one since it's more of a primer for folks who are less familiar with the romance and less of a deep dive into the decades of on again/off again history between them.
Audio Commentary – "Executive Producer James Tucker, Director Justin Copeland and screenwriter Ernie Altbacker share their thoughts and insights on Batman: Hush." You get a good sense of the camaraderie behind the scenes here, less so insightful commentary about the movie itself. There are the occasional reveals of earlier versions of the script, particularly difficult sequences to animate, and explanations for certain beats throughout the film; it's a worthy listen and rewatch for the diehard fans out there, but nothing too revelatory here.
A Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines – "An advanced look at the next animated film in the popular DC Universe Movies collection." You can check out the trailer here, but this extended featurette actually got me really excited for the new movie. The team goes into detail as to why they want to explore this particular story and they explain some of the many, many villains that Wonder Woman will face throughout. Keep an eye out for this one.
From the DC Vault –The Batman/Superman Hour: “The Underworld Underground Caper””
From the DC Vault – The Batman/Superman Hour: “Partners in Peril”
Batman: Hush boasts a stellar voice cast led by primetime television stars Jason O’Mara (The Man In The High Castle) and Jennifer Morrison (Once Upon A Time) as the voices of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Catwoman/Selina Kyle, respectively. The cast also includes Jerry O’Connell (Carter, Billions, Stand By Me) as Superman, Rebecca Romijn (The Librarians, X-Men) as Lois Lane, Rainn Wilson (The Office) as Lex Luthor, Vanessa Williams (Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty) as Amanda Waller, Jason Spisak (Young Justice) as Joker, Peyton List (Bunk’d, Jessie) as Batgirl, Peyton List (Gotham, Mad Men, The Flash) as Poison Ivy, Geoffrey Arend (Madam Secretary) as the Riddler, Sean Maher (Firefly) as Nightwing, Maury Sterling (Homeland) as Thomas Elliot, Bruce Thomas (Legally Blonde, Kyle XY) as Jim Gordon, Adam Gifford (Longmire) as Bane, Sachie Alessio (Justice League Dark) as Lady Shiva, Stuart Allan (Teen Titans: The Judas Contract) as Damian Wayne, James Garrett (Batman: Bad Blood) as Alfred, Hynden Walch (Teen Titans Go!) as Harley Quinn, Chris Cox (Family Guy) as Scarecrow, and Tara Strong (Batman: The Killing Joke, Teen Titans, Teen Titans Go!) as Reporter.
Director Justin Copeland (Reign of the Supermen) helms Batman: Hush from a script by Ernie Altbacker (Teen Titans: The Judas Contract). Jim Krieg (Batman: Gotham by Gaslight) & Alan Burnett (Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay) are co-producers. Amy McKenna (The Death of Superman) is producer. Michael Uslan is executive producer. Executive Producers are Sam Register and James Tucker (Reign of the Supermen).
