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The Riddler in Batman 3: Everybody Calm the Heck Down

by Susana Polo | 11:22 am, July 21st, 2010

The Internet is fair bursting at the seams today with unsubstantiated rumors regarding plot details of the next Christopher Nolan Batman movie. Specifically, that the Riddler is the villain.

Yes, that was the opening paragraph of an article I wrote in February.  Go ahead and look.  I’ll wait.

Today, the Internet is fair exploding with news that a Warner Bros. studio casting grid, a document kept updated with all the jobs and prospective jobs available and taken in the industry for scheduling purposes, shows the Riddler as a character who needs casting for Batman 3, and shows Joseph Gordon-Levitt as “interested” in the role.

Let’s talk about what this means, and what it doesn’t mean, because one thing that it does not mean is that the Riddler will be the main villain in Batman 3.

What it Means

If FirstShowing‘s “reliable inside source” is correct, then it means that the Riddler is going to be in Batman 3.

What it Doesn’t Mean

The Riddler is going to be the main villain of Batman 3.

Allow me to remind you that there were not one, not two or even three, but four known (to Batman fans, anyway) antagonist character names on the cast list of Batman Begins?  Ra’s al Ghul, the Scarecrow, Carmine Falcone, and Victor Zsasz.  Five, if you count Henri Ducard.  Six, if you count Joe Chill.  The Scarecrow is probably the best known of those, but he was definitely not the main villain of the movie.  The Dark Knight had three major known villains in it, with an appearance of the Scarecrow and Two-Face/Harvey Dent taking a large role (although still a backseat to the Joker).

Which brings me to my next point: Nolan likes to fake us out with his casting.  Ken Watanabe is listed as Ra’s al Ghul in the credits of Batman Begins, as he was in all of the promotional materials and photos for the movie.  Yes, the Riddler is on the cast of Batman 3.  There is really nothing else that we can say about the subject with any certainty.

A Tangent of Pure Unadulterated Opinion

The Riddler functions much better as a supporting character anyway.  To quote myself:

My favorite interpretation of the Riddler isn’t the criminal mastermind at the top of his game, but rather the washed up genius who gets pushed around by every stronger member of Gotham’s criminal element and never killed because he’s just too damn useful.  If Gotham was a high school, he would be stuffed in a locker.

Here’s where I plug my first choice for other supporting villain in Batman 3, Scarface and the Ventriloquist.  Search your feelings.  You know it to be awesome.

Another Tangent of P.U.O.

Um.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt is really hot.  I’ve already given my opinion on this issue, but for him, I’d be willing to budge.

  • MisterC

    Scarface and the Ventriloquist WOULD BE AWESOME!

    or since the Joker stole all the Mobs money, Killed the Asian *I assume he was killed we never saw him after the Joker took him* Crime world is in a vacuum. Soo a villain emerges and and take power of all of them by buying them off. THIS is the Black Mask.

  • bush363

    Actually (as i push my nerd glasses back up the bridge of my nose) we do see the Asian banker later in the movie, he is atop the pile of money that The Joker sets on fire just before he kills the Russian mobster with his own dogs.

    On a separate note, i love the fact that Christopher Nolan does not feel the need to kill off all of the villains at the end of the Batman movies. The fact that he kept the Scarecrow alive in both, as well as The Joker in Dark Knight, gives him the option to bring them back, and build a rapport, as well as a nemesis factor. No need to tie everything up in a nice little bow. Batman is a story about the gray area in morality, let’s keep that the focus and bring in a villain that would challenge the ethics and moral values of Batman, like the Joker did, not just a a cool new face. Maybe Hush, the idea of a battle of two master minds is intriguing.


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