Writer/director Kevin Smith‘s love of comics led him to Marvel and DC in the late ’90s/early ’00s. Smith was able to do something no one thought possible, even for someone as popular he was: making Green Arrow into a chart-topping comic. Smith’s Green Arrow is awesome and it introduced one of DC’s most unique villains: Onomatopoeia. The villain was completely silent, except for his tendency to pronounce the onomatopoeia – the sound effects in the comics – out loud. Since then, Onomatopoeia has appeared in several pieces of DC media, and stars in the short story “Keep It Down” from Batman: The Brave and the Bold #20, by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Travis Mercer, and Tom Derenick.
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This story takes readers into a day of the life of Onomatopoeia, as he does his best to deal with his echolalia while hunting down a mysterious hero and his allies. This story has a great twist to it and shows off the best way to bring Onomatopoeia into the DCU. DC Studios is packing its new film universe with heroes and villains, and this new story could give the studio the best way to bring Onomatopoeia to new audiences via the big screen.
Onomatopoeia’s Echolalia Becomes a Driving Factor in His Life
Onomatopoeia has battled Green Arrow and Batman multiple times over the years, but these appearances rarely give readers a look into his end. “Keep It Down”, on the other hand, puts readers right into his shoes, after he kills an enemy he identifies as the Grand Slammer. The story follows him to his safe house, which he believes was found by the heroes he’s hunting, a group led by the Maintenance Man. This causes him to race home, in order to lose his pursuers. However, home is no refuge from the noises driving him crazy, so he returns to the hunt, finally getting the Maintenance Man. However, the final page puts a twist on the whole story.
After depositing his “trophy” from killing Maintenance Man at home, he is jarred by loud noises from outside his house. He walks outside to see a group of construction workers start their work for the day, their loud power tools tormenting and making him realize that he didn’t kill the Maintenance Man.
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This twist changes the context of the story entirely. Onomatopoeia’s echolalia has driven him completely crazy, the noises that surround him driving him to commit terrible acts. His murders in “Keep It Down” aren’t him hunting lower level heroes, like his thought bubbles say or as previous stories have established, but him going after normal people who make too much noise around him. This is a subtle change, one that can take Onomatopoeia in completely new directions. Onomatopoeia’s echolalia is a much bigger part of the character than anyone thought, and that change takes him closer to classic villains like the Joker, Two-Face, and other more psychological villains.
Onomatopoeia Is Made Much More Interesting by This Change
Onomatopoeia has appeared in Superman & Lois, that time as the wife of Intergang boss Bruno Mannheim, and in a more comic accurate version in Batman: Caped Crusader, so him coming into the DCU is certainly on the table. Onomatopoeia is a tough character to pull off in live action, as his entire gimmick hinges on repeating sound effects that only exist in comics. The villain needs a change that still plays into this gimmick and “Keep It Down” gives Onomatopoeia the tweak that he needs.
Onomatopoeia’s echolalia could become the core of the character. The disorder could become his entire reason behind killing “lower level” heroes, and lead him up the pecking order until he hits Batman and Green Arrow. This could be the perfect way to use Onomatopoeia in the DCU, grounding the villain, and finding a way to keep some of his comic foibles in a medium where integral parts of the characters don’t really make sense.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #20 is on sale now.
