Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Riddler

  • Taking a Look Back at How ‘The Batman’ Reinvented The Riddler

    Taking a Look Back at How ‘The Batman’ Reinvented The Riddler

    Batman has possibly one of the best rogues galleries in comic book history, featuring characters like the Joker, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Bane, and, of course, the Riddler. Many of these villains have been adapted to live-action, and some even got the special treatment on multiple occasions; especially the Joker. There often has been a criticism that the redundancy is dragging down the potential of

    Matt Reeves may have taken that to heart when he began developing his take on the Batman mythos. Riddler is a character that has seen a few adaptions, which include the 1966 Batman series with Frank Gorshin, Batman Forever with Jim Carrey, and Gotham with Cory Michael Smith. The Batman, however, features a Riddler that is a vast departure from those who came before with Paul Dano playing a sadistic and ominous version that at times felt like he was an actor on a horror movie who showed up on the wrong set.

    One of the very first things you learn to understand about this Riddler is the horror film angle of the reinvention. We first see the character when the light from the television illuminates the figure in the shadows, reminiscent of Michael Meyers from the Halloween franchise. After that Riddler devolves into a Saw-inspired agent of chaos, who uses intricate devices like a rat maze mask and a bomb collar to torture his victims.

    The most notable inspiration here is that this Riddler seems to be inspired by the Zodiac Killer, the notorious serial killer that terrorized the United States in the late 60s. He is sporting an extreme cold weather mask as well as a German military parka with simple question mark symbols painted onto it. At the scenes of his crimes leaving behind ciphers for the police and Batman to communicate with them. Along with the greeting cards left behind, the real-life Zodiac was known to have done something similar with ciphers that were sent to the press so they’d print his messages for the country to read.

    This Riddler believes in Batman’s crusade of vengeance and is, ironically, inspired by him. Riddler doesn’t see him and Batman as foes, he sees them as partners. They are two sides of the same coin that Batman doesn’t realize until it’s too late. He thinks he’s doing the hard part of the job, the line Batman won’t cross to truly cleanse the city of its corruption and bring vengeance onto those who’d taken part in the city’s criminal underworld. The little cards left behind at the scenes of the riddled murder were not meant to be hints, but progress updates that Edward Nashton leaves behind so that he can fill Batman in on how the plan is going. Riddler believes this Batman would be able to catch on quicker and be safe within Arkham as the city is cleansed of its sins.

  • Jim Carrey Has “Mixed Emotions” About ‘The Batman’s Riddler

    Jim Carrey Has “Mixed Emotions” About ‘The Batman’s Riddler

    Matt Reeves‘ The Batman finally hit theaters last month, and was welcomed with rave reviews. A large portion of the acclaim went to Paul Dano‘s performance as classic Batman baddie The Riddler, who was reimagined for the film as a sadistic serial killer hell bent on exposing the many crimes of Gotham’s elite.

    However, not everybody is over-the-moon about the antagonist’s new portrayal, and the list of those with mixed feelings apparently includes a rather famous former Riddler himself. In a recent interview with British outlet Unilad, promoting his upcoming film Sonic the Hedgehog 2, superstar Jim Carrey revealed that the darker tone of Dano‘s villain was not exactly his cup of tea:

    I’ve not seen it. It’s a very dark version. I have mixed emotions about it. To each his own and all that. I love [Paul Dano] as an actor, he’s a tremendous actor. I do worry. There’s a spot of worry in me over gaffer-taping people’s faces and encouraging people to do the same. Some sickos out there that might adopt that method…I do have a conscience about the things I choose…I know there’s a place for it, and I don’t want to criticize it, but it’s not my kind of thing…it’s very well done, those movies are very well done.

    Jim Carrey

    Carrey became the third person to bring Riddler to life on screen in 1995’s Batman Forever, which starred Val Kilmer in the title role with Tommy Lee Jones as fellow rogue Two-Face. That film was infamously campy, as director Joel Schumacher took over the franchise and reintroduced some of the lighthearted goofiness of the 1960s television series.

    Riddler’s plot in Forever was not to violently murder anyone, but instead to steal their intelligence with an improbable, convoluted doohickey. Though he doesn’t agree with the disturbing nature of the latest Batman film, it is nice to hear the Canadian comedian still give praise to Dano‘s acting ability and give lenience towards other’s enjoyment of the movie.

    Sonic the Hedgehog 2 releases in theaters on April 8th.

    Source: Unilad

  • Paul Dano Writing a New ‘The Batman’ Prequel Comic on Riddler

    Paul Dano Writing a New ‘The Batman’ Prequel Comic on Riddler

    The Batman finally released giving us a look at a superhero noir storyline, as Paul Dano‘s Riddler makes Bruce Wayne’s life a living hell. While we do learn quite a bit about the character, there’s a lot of history on how he created his elaborate traps and plans that we haven’t explored. Luckily, it seems that DC Comics had the same thought and revealed a new comic titled Riddler: Year One. Besides the cliché “YEar One” naming, what stands out is that the Riddler himself, Paul Dano, will be writing the storyline of the character he brought to life on the silver screen.

    The idea makes sense, and it seems very unlikely we’d get a spinoff series on HBO Max focused on the Riddler. So, it’s a great way to further explore his character and maybe even drop a few hints about his future in the newly established Batverse from Matt Reeves. As of now, only Colin Farrell‘s Penguin is getting his spinoff, as HBO Max officially announced it shortly after The Batman‘s release. We also know that another series is in development that will focus on Arkham, which originally was going to be about the GCPD but changed throughout production. It was the first series in development but seemingly production has been dragged out quite a bit. We’ll see what the cinematic future has in store for Dano‘s Riddler.

    Source: Twitter

  • New ‘The Batman’ Clip Features Riddler Unmasked

    New ‘The Batman’ Clip Features Riddler Unmasked

    Since the first trailer dropped, The Batman has gone out of its way to make sure we never get a good look at Paul Dano‘s take on the classic villain, the Riddler. Director Matt Reeves has openly discussed that they are taking inspiration from the Zodiac killer with this character’s new take. As such, they made a big deal out of not revealing his face. Yet, an official clip has found its way online from Good Morning America that includes the rest of the scene we saw in the opening of the second trailer. Yet, instead of ending early, it briefly reveals the Riddler unmasked.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzn19gVouXk

    While it is Dano‘s face, as to be expected, it’s interesting how meek they made the Riddler look. Edward Nygma might be a murderer, but the film is diving into a version that could be an “anyone” on the street who you’d never expect could be behind the cases you see on the news. As he’s getting arrested in this scene it’ll be interesting to see if this is earlier or even much later in the film.

    The Batman has pushed its marketing into overdrive with only a week left to go. We’re still anticipating the reviews for the film to confirm if Reeves’ new franchise is one to keep a close eye on. The trailers have certainly been promising and we’Ll see if there is more to Dano‘s character in the film than they are letting on. Somehow, we still know very little about the film’s story and we’ll have to be patient just a little bit longer.

    Source: YouTube