After 23 Years, DC Admits This Iconic Batman Art is A Huge Mistake

In the long history of Batman comics, there are few storylines that changed the modern DC Universe like Hush. But believe it or not, this acclaimed comic book arc features one of the biggest slip-ups ever sent to print from DC legend (and chief executive) Jim Lee. Proving the legacy of Hush continues to live on, more than two decades later.

Batman’s Iconic Debut in “Hush” Was A Mistake By Artist Jim Lee

Batman #608 by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair

For anyone who has read Batman: Hush by this point, the opening of the arc is as hard to forget as Bruce and Selina’s kiss, the Jason Todd reveal, or any of the other multiple ‘greatest of all time comic pages’ contained within it. But even to this day, the first full reveal of Jim Lee’s Batman emerging from boots to Bat-ears, hunched and hulking, is one of the most iconic Bat-splash pages ever released.

But reflecting on the original storyline as part of a DC Q&A for the new “H2SH” storyline, writer Jeph Loeb offered a surprising insight. While the massive form of Batman in the first issue of the arc is unforgettable, it also doesn’t actually make sense:

“Jim drew the first issue of Hush, the very first issue. And Batman is coming up from the bowels of a ship. And when we got to about Issue #7—maybe even later, it was around #8—he had sort of found his place of how he wanted Batman to look. And he was much slimmer, and much more muscular. He looks fairly bulky in the first issue. And Jim actually said to me at this point, “I want to go back and redraw the first issue.“

Batman First Appearance Art in HUSH Comic Story

“And I completely panicked, because I didn’t think we were ever going to make that happen. He goes, “No, I have to. It looks completely different!” And I was like, “No, he’s just worn down over the course [of the story].” So that’s why he looks so lean. He still was adamant about redrawing the first issue. So I pulled out my secret weapon, and that was Scott Williams who said, “If I have to do that issue again, I’ll quit.” And that was the end of the conversation. So, thank you, Scott. I will always be grateful.”

There’s no denying the accuracy of Lee’s concerns, as the first depiction of Batman in this story places him almost as large as Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns version, with an even more top-heavy, body builder physique.

Batman and Nightwing in HUSH Comic Art Crime Scene

By the time the story reaches Batman #614 and #615, Batman has returned to the version better known in Lee’s regular artwork with inker Scott Williams. And it’s a good thing, considering how strange it would seem for the superhuman-sized and proportioned Batman to stand alongside Nightwing, or embrace Catwoman for their famous full-page lip lock.

Batman’s ‘Thick’ Hush Design Becomes A Jim Lee Easter Egg

The Changing Size of Bruce Wayne is Immortalized in The ‘HUSH’ Storyline

Batman Fights Killer Croc in Hush Comic Art

Some might think Jim Lee drawing Batman “completely different” in one scene of a soon-to-be-legendary comic arc is a minor issue, in the grand scheme of DC history, or the story of the issue itself. But then, this is Batman’s body we’re talking about. And as the greatest of all time artist to draw Batman for millions of DC fans around the globe, the idea that Jim Lee made a mistake, and was forced to leave it alone, is a significant piece of comic book history. Or at least some fantastic behind-the-scenes DC lore.

To think: if it weren’t for Scott Williams threatening the extreme to leave the comic art intact, the world might never have gotten to see Lee’s original, and now unforgettable Hush entrance scene. Consistent, or continuity breaking to the extreme, the rise of Absolute Batman means even Lee’s musclebound Batman is now outmatched. Although, that is one fight we would still love to see.

Follow the ongoing H2SH storyline in Batman comics now.