I’ve touched on the subject many times before, but I believe it’s time for me to fully elaborate on my take on The Batman (2022). I really still can’t believe this movie came out three-ish years ago — I watched this movie when it first came to streaming, and that feels like yesterday. I have no clue where the time has gone and how I haven’t done this sooner, but here we go.
Firstly, I want to preface this by saying that overall it wasn’t a bad movie. Not by any means. The set was amazing — they did a great job at capturing the gothic feel of Gotham City without looking like it’s stuck in a 1900’s London time capsule like Gotham (TV) did. I also believe that the actors also did an amazing job at playing the roles they were given. Which is what makes it all the more disappointing that the roles they were given didn’t always make sense for the character. I believe this for both Batman and Riddler, but I will focus primarily on Riddler for this.
I’m going to start with what I’ve been thinking for a while now, and there really is no nice way to say this, but the people who are claiming Riddler is ‘just like in the comics’ have either never read a comic with Riddler in it in their entire lives or have only read the one where Barbatos forced him to kill babies and ignored the ending where he was possessed. Pick your poison because my god.
They wanted a gritty villain for their movie, and instead of choosing to give an underrepresented Batman villain their spotlight, they decided to completely change a more notable villain to fit the story’s tone. I mean, how cool would’ve Zsasz been? Or Pyg! Or even Hugo Strange — one of Batman’s first ever villains! How fitting! All of them could’ve been perfect but no, I struggle to chalk this up to anything other than capitalism and wanting to use the names of familiar characters to gain traction and make more money. I believe this because there is no other reason they would be so careless in their characterization.
Edward is not a serial killer. He has absolutely no reason to be. In the comics he is a sporadic and probably undiagnosed kleptomaniac at best, and at worst he’s Jigsaw and creating puzzle themed death traps. Both of which ARE NOT SERIAL KILLING. The only people who EVER enter these death traps are BATMAN AND ROBIN. Forgive my use of capital letters, but I feel the need to be very clear on this point.
Sure; there’s the occasional hostage, but never is he going out murdering on a whim. It’s planned, it’s wrapped up in a bow, he believes himself to be an artist. He would never, under any circumstances, let the taped-up bomb monstrosity that we see in The Batman (2022) leave the confines of his workshop. It’s too sloppy for him, too barbaric. Nor would he ever let himself leave the house in that outfit. People forget that he is a showman. He used to work at a carnival. He’s used to being flashy, used to using bright colors and eye-catching displays to ensnare people.
They focused way too hard on one aspect of his character — the sadism and cruelty — that they forgot that he is also manipulative, charming, silver-tongued, sarcastic, and actually funny. There were so many times in the movie where I think they completely forgot they were writing Riddler and just slapped a riddle on a crime scene and expected us to believe it was Edward.
And the actor obviously tried to get across these traits, but it didn’t fit into the plot which led his behavior to just seem odd, out of place, and obsessive in all the wrong ways. Riddler isn’t obsessed with Batman, he’s obsessed with beating Batman. He’s obsessed with being better than Batman.
Where is the guilt complex? The charm? The narcissism? We see violent insecurity — but because we never see the rest of the character it just comes across as a pointless temper tantrum. When a character has no calm, it’s hard to actually build tension. Especially in the way a story with Riddler should’ve been able to.
Arkham Riddler is the best example of how to show Edward’s insecurity. It’s a slow descent into madness — Batman chipping away at his self esteem until he cracks. Edward desperately clawing for any sense of control until he can’t handle it anymore and lashes out in embarrassment. His insecurity should come with cruel taunts and shame. Riddler isn’t actually philanthropic or caring towards the general health of Gotham City and its people, it’s a facade and weak justification he uses to convince himself he’s right. Riddler’s anger doesn’t stem from systemic/societal issues and classicism. It stems from neglectful, envious parents and a lack of proper acknowledgment.
They lacked the violent mood swings Batman (1966) portrayed, or the decline that Arkham Riddler showed, there was absolutely none of the humanity or introspection from BTAA Riddler, or the helplessness and desperate self aggrandizing from comic Eddie.
The movie fundamentally misunderstood everything about his character.
Not to mention, I’m not usually one to judge shipping, but I can’t get behind any Riddlebat shipping that stems from this movie. They are not equals on any level, there is no mutual (grudging) respect, like in the comics. It’s just icky and seems forced and kinda dub-con on both sides. Which, no. Just no.
