At long last, fans of DC Comics once again have a reason to buy a ticket at their local
movie theater. To kick off their packed DC slate for 2022, Warner Bros. released "The
Batman" on March 4th, courtesy of director Matt Reeves. In this non-DC Extended Universe flick,
we see the titular Dark Knight — played by Robert Pattinson — in the midst of his second year as an
armored vigilante. However, he's not up against petty thieves and robbers this time around.
Rather, he has to contend with an intelligent and dangerous entity known as the Riddler.
Batfans beware: Spoilers ahead!
Throughout "The Batman," Edward "Riddler" Nashton turns the entire city of Gotham on its head.
Instead of going on a mindless murder spree, he meticulously goes after several individuals in
positions of power, killing them and publicly dragging their names through the mud. All the
while, he leaves a series of codes, ciphers, and riddles to keep the Gotham City Police Department
and Batman on their toes. Thankfully, they eventually end Riddler's sadistic revenge game and
stick him in Arkham State Hospital, but not before the final stage of his master plan could begin.
Riddler acted alone for most of "The Batman" until the tail end of the film. His numerous
followers from dark corners of the internet stepped out of the shadows to help him out.
Although, something about these underlings didn't sit right with several moviegoers.
During his reign as one of Gotham's most wanted, the Riddler conjured up quite a following online.
As the GCPD investigated his apartment, they searched his laptop and noted that he
had roughly 500 online followers — folks that have listened to his every word and taken his
messages of violence to heart. These are the ones who showed up in full Riddler garb with
every intention of firing upon scared and helpless people at Gotham Square Garden,
who huddled there due to Riddler's flood-inducing destruction of the city's sea wall.
The thing is, all 500 of those followers didn't actually show up. In fact, the final tally was
likely less than 100, and those that have already gone to see the movie took notice. One user on
Reddit's "The Batman" spoiler discussion thread, poking fun at Riddler's fickle fans, commented,
"Only like 10 people actually showed up for the big event lol."
This prompted a discussion about the serial killer's failed attempt
at gathering forces to carry out his plan. Another Redditor added,
"I liked that, thought it was very realistic. In fact I'm surprised he got that many to show up."
And a fellow user posits that,
"Probably only 10 were trained and willing [to] go through with the plan."
Nevertheless, they were no match for Batman, Catwoman,
Jim Gordon, and the rest of the GCPD. Together, they took down these keyboard
warriors-turned-gunmen before they could really start wreaking havoc.
At the end of the day, it should come as no surprise that good ultimately triumphed over
evil in "The Batman." The Riddler wound up behind bars, the bulk of his "devoted" followers failed
to deliver on their online promises, and Batman earned his place as a true hero in the eyes of
Gotham's residents. Still, as evidenced by the aforementioned Reddit thread, it appears as
though Paul Dano's chilling twist on the Riddler left a lasting impact on fans. In spite of the
character's murderous tendencies and obvious inability to find honest cronies, of course.
A Redditor commented,
"Best part for me was Riddler. Every scene with him was amazing."
And numerous other folks who checked out "The Batman" recently echoed similar sentiments.
One user called Dano's performance, quote, "creepy and unsettling as a realistic Riddler should be"
and defended his over-the-top mannerisms as perfectly fitting for this version of the
famed Batman rogue. In expressing their love for the overall movie, another user compared Riddler
to the real-life Zodiac Killer. Suffice to say, the unsettling similarities are hard to ignore.
There's no denying that Paul Dano's Riddler was an excellent foil for Robert Pattinson's Batman,
and could easily remain a thorn in his side if "The Batman" lands a sequel or
two. Should he manage to escape Arkham and continue terrorizing Gotham City, however,
he might want to look into enlisting some better henchmen.
Perhaps then he could actually succeed at his evil schemes, but then again, it stands
to reason that the Caped Crusader and his allies would more than give them a run for their money.
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