Critics are raving about The Batman, the latest interpretation of the legendary cowled crusader to flap its wings to the big screen. Written and directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman features Robert Pattinson as perhaps the darkest and grittiest Batman yet, adjusting to his new life of fighting crime and taking out Gotham City’s most dangerous and corrupt foes. His inexperienced bat-eyes are narrowed in on Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell), a burgeoning and somewhat theatrical mobster known as Penguin, the morally dubious waitress and burglar Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), and the puzzling, reclusive serial killer Edward Nashton (Paul Dano) who spends his days hunting down Gotham’s wealthiest and most elite citizens, broadcasting his crimes and torturing authorities with his complicated riddles.
The Riddler joins the Joker and Catwoman as one of the most iconic villains in comic book history. Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, Edward Nigma (also known as Edward Nashton and Edward Nygma) first appeared in Detective Comics #140 all the way back in 1948. In this issue, he tries to stump Batman and Robin with crossword puzzles and traps them both in a glass maze that they must escape from before the bomb inside is detonated. (Spoiler alert: the dynamic duo manages to escape, but so does the Riddler.) All that Batman and Robin are left with is a big ‘ol question mark, which the Riddler routinely leaves behind wherever he goes.
We learn that he first started showing signs of his genius intellect as a young child in school, achieving excellent scores on tests and continuously trying to best his peers. His teacher’s innocent challenge to the class to see who could solve a puzzle the quickest ignited his life-long obsession with solving and creating mind-melting puzzles of his own and winning no matter the cost. After breaking into school after hours to practice the puzzle, Edward won the contest. The prize? None other than a book of riddles.
As an adult, Edward grows deeply dissatisfied and ashamed of his working class status and lack of recognition for his brilliance. In an effort to earn more money, but mostly to become famous, he uses his unique brain to pursue a career as a criminal, outsmarting anyone who tested his intellect. In one of his early business ventures, Edward, typically accompanied by his hench women Query and Echo, ran a crooked carnival where he would rig puzzles for naive customers to solve, only for them to inevitably lose and pay him for his time. These cheap thrills weren’t enough to satiate his thirst for glory, and he eventually devoted his life to embodying his new persona as the Riddler and terrorizing Gotham City as the Prince of Puzzles, spandex and all. While most criminals try to leave the scene of their crimes unscathed and unnoticed, the Riddler intentionally leaves behind deliberate (albeit complex) clues that, if solved, would help them solve his crime. He’s often frustrated at how easy it is for him to outsmart the highest levels of authority, and was strangely delighted when he discovered Batman to be a consistently worthy opponent.
His isolated childhood and abusive father are two explanations as to why he insists on playing mind games and creating seemingly inescapable traps for people to figure out. His father never believed he was as smart as he claimed he was and accused him of cheating (which Edward essentially did when he broke into school that first time to practice), even going as far as beating his son at his own game. It can be argued that those exact reasons are why he feels the need to both tell the truth and prove his worth, with him even admitting that he’s crippled by these compulsions. The Riddler’s proven to be much more sophisticated than his original domino mask and green suit suggest. (Bruce Wayne even requested his expertise in order to solve a particularly baffling case in Detective Comics #822.) Ed also had life-threatening face-offs with Green Arrow and Poison Ivy, and over the years, suffers from cancer, a coma, memory loss, and a psychotic breakdown, all of which contribute to his character’s evolution.
The Batman isn’t the first time he’s getting the on-screen treatment, either. Frank Gorshin was nominated for an Emmy for his performance playing the mysterious madman in the 1960s series Batman, which is known for its campy, over-the-top characters and silly and simple storylines. Jim Carrey adhered to a similarly flashy formula decades later when he played the Riddler in the 1995 movie Batman Forever alongside Val Kilmer’s Batman. Early adaptations like these pulled inspiration from the pages of the Golden and Silver age Batman comics, where he was a literal vibrant antagonist. A more advanced and dynamic take of the Riddler is featured in the FOX series Gotham. Actor Cory Michael Smith gives the greenie-meanie a bit of a reality check, yet still plays around with his snarky, performative persona. And we of course cannot forget about his plentiful animated appearances where he’s been voiced by Conan O’Brien, John Michael Higgins, and Matthew Gray Gubler, among others.
Paul Dano’s performance in The Batman is by far the smartest, most sinister and calculating version of the Riddler to date. Vowing to “unmask the truth” about the people behind Gotham’s corruption, the disturbed and emotionally unavailable Edward targets high-up political figures as his victims. The Zodiac-killer-esque spin on the criminal is a refreshing alternative to a character that deserves more than some neon green spandex covered in cartoonish question marks. A large part of what makes this version so terrifying is the fact that his costume is bland and designed to make him go unnoticed, reminding the audience that the Riddler could be anywhere and anyone. Dano believes that the more made-from-scratch costume helps ground such a twisted character, telling Empire that the homemade look, “was actually scarier to me than the more sophisticated or composed designs we might have played with. I found working with the costume to be very powerful. When you put on something like that, there’s a way to let it speak to you, and tell your body something. There’s a way to let it have a life of its own.”
The Batman is available to stream on HBO Max.