On Monday 10 2010, fellow Shadowlocked author Gabriel Ruzin published a rather brilliant article on why the Riddler would be a bad idea for Christopher Nolan’s third entry in the Batman franchise. It’s fabulously well-written and the points are made very well. However, I am sorry to admit that I slightly disagree with his conclusions. Indeed, Batman 3 is set for release on July 20 2012 (mark it in your calendars now!) and with fan boys already salivating at what grand master Nolan can produce; here’s my case for the defendant, Mr. Riddler, and why Mr. Nolan should take a closer look at the fiendish maniac.
1) It’s already been done badly…so Nolan can only do good.
Firstly, without Jonathan Nolan’s brilliant script and Christopher Nolan’s clever re-imagination, there would be no Batman franchise today. Shoved in the rubble by Joel Schumacher and rained on from high above by any poor soul who went to see the film. Clunky, cliché-ridden and just damn awful. Should we dismiss the Riddler due to Joel Schumacher’s mistakes? No. However, the white knights appeared and here we are talking about a third film for this franchise; a feat thought impossible less than 6 years ago. So, my point, if anyone can shake off the shackles of a bad past, it’s the Nolan brothers. Imagine dialogue with bite and pure mania exploding from his mouth at his every word. Imagine being genuinely scared by something as simple as logic again. It seems just too enticing a thing to overlook. So, 2012 seems the perfect year for the re-emergence of the Riddler. In Batman Forever, the Riddler was simply a vehicle for Jim Carrey’s exuberance and was matched with the weird side partner of a demented Tommy Lee Jones. But, I ask you, film fan: do you really think Nolan would make a film to act as a vehicle for someone? You think Heath Ledger or Christian Bale or even Morgan Freeman had easy rides? Hell no. So step forward Mr. E. Nygma; there’s someone I’d like you to meet.
2) The Riddler is The Riddler
What? Bear with me a sec. The Riddler is not the Joker and this definition needs to be made clear. Indeed, I can see the point of view that he’s not a strong enough character and if based upon Batman Forever, I would wholeheartedly agree. However, The Riddler is a man burnt by the Wayne enterprise. He cracks under it all. He enters a level of mania not feasible to everyday folk. He hasn’t simply had one too many or just had one too many sugar-infested drinks. Mr. E. Nygma is bad. Dreams shattered and with nothing to live for, he wants revenge. Now the Joker, he wanted no revenge and had no motive; as Alfred said “some men simply want to watch the world burn”. So how about the prospect of a direct one-on-one? Yes, Batman Begins saw Henri Ducard/Ra’s Al Ghul representative take Wayne on as man and symbol. Therefore, in Batman 3, the Riddler acts an evolution of these two characters. I think audiences would be able to distinguish between the two as there would be a clear story line and with Nolan’s dark and moody take upon Gotham, you can bet your bottom dollar he’ll make the Riddler the best the Riddler could ever be. Furthermore, I mean how much “fun” could the Nolan’s have with that? At an extreme, they might even get to kill Batman…?
3) Stop War, Start Psychopathic Warfare…
Again this may need explanation; I believe this is one of the harder points to defend about the Riddler: that he lacks that physical presence of Bane. Bane would be a brilliant villain, but I don’t think he’d fit in with Nolan’s style. Indeed, Catwoman would be more suited, but more on that later. Nolan has created a realistic comic-book world; it’s dark, merciless and horrible – therefore, violence would seem logical? No. Why bring violence into this? I’m no peace loving eco-friendly anything (no offence), I’m just worried that the disease of Spiderman 3 may afflict this great franchise. A psychopathic lunatic or a big brute –the choice is logical (heh). Big is not better. Within this thumping atmosphere, maybe a reversal is needed. A small damaged nerd reeking revenge on the Wayne industry using his tricks of the trade and wreaking havoc. Yum. However, I’m not saying get rid of the action scenes. The action scenes within The Dark Knight were sensational; achieving the unachievable in stunt work. Therefore, do I think the Riddler would be too brains over brawn? I think not. I think in the Riddler’s desire to destroy everything around Mr. Wayne; mass chaos would ensue without intoxicating the audience with dull explosions etc. Here’s looking at you Michael Bay.
4) Back Story – easy peasy
The Riddler is there to destroy Batman AND Mr. Wayne; not just Batman. Indeed, I think that is the key element here that seals the deal. Wayne will indeed be a mess inside, facing identity-crisis and distraught after the loss of Rachel; however, he can escape occasionally. With the Riddler, there would be no escape. The Riddler would know who he is and what he truly was. He would get inside Wayne’s and Batman’s psyche and the audience be enthralled by the blurring of the lines of where Bruce Wayne ends and where Batman begins. So, imagine, Batman on the run – he lies low and tries to operate covertly as Batman, therefore pushing Wayne to the fore, and in steps Mr. E. Nygma. Take your minds back to The Dark Knight and remind yourself of Coleman Reese: a snotty-nose man wishing to sell out Bruce Wayne for a quick million and publicity boom; in return, he got burned by the public and shunned. Imagine now if that were the central story – Nolan’s had a test run with it, so why not give it a free run? I think that with Bruce Wayne/Batman finding troubles inside and out it would be amazing to see how dark Nolan would take it. Indeed, the prospect of one losing one’s identity and being nullified on all sides by the people he tried to protect would go that one step further from the Joker. Would Warner Bros allow it? Considering he got them $1 billion dollars worldwide with his last film, I highly doubt they’ll object too much.
5) He’s the only option.
Ok this is the most controversial of my opinions. Firstly, the Penguin is out. Why? Well, this is not my choice, but Christopher Nolan’s decision. He decided long ago, even before The Dark Knight, that he never wanted to do the Penguin. So whatever he wants, he gets, I suppose. Secondly, as aforementioned, I don’t think Bane would really fit in too well. Batman 4 for sure, but for Batman 3, I’d personally prefer the Riddler. Goons could be hired for muscle, but with the upcoming Inception looking like one hell of a head fuck, I think it would help continue Nolan’s current run of good form on these sorts of characters. The last rejection is difficult. Catwoman would bring much needed oestrogen to this vast sausage-fest. Indeed, a woman’s delicate touch would bring sex and spice to the show. Furthermore, with Hollywood actresses seemingly getting sexier and sexier, there’d be people queuing around the block to take this role. However, visit eBay or any bargain bucket of DVD’s and down at the bottom, you will find a copy of the Pitof’s 2004 atrociousCatwoman. This is not Nolan’s fault, but sadly there’s not much he can do about it. I have a feeling that if Catwoman appeared in this film, the audience would have a nasty feeling of déjà vu. The wounds are only just about healed, it’s not the right time to open them up again, no matter who’s directing.
“Why not lesser known villains?” you shout. Well, I would argue that the Batman franchise still needs that big name to draw in the crowds. Everyone loved The Dark Knight. It’s rated 10th on IMDB’s top 250 films of all time and I believe one of the main draws was the prospect of the Joker. Everybody knew the Joker and even before Heath Ledger was cast, fan boys were wetting themselves with excitement at the prospect of the Joker at the end of Batman Begins. With two big names out for the count for Batman 3, and rumours aplenty saying this may be the last Batman film by Nolan, why not go out with a bang? The Riddler vs Batman. Sounds good? I’m not trying to devalue lesser-known characters; I’m simply trying to suggest that maybe a big character is needed.
6) So many could play him.
The main point I disagreed with is the casting issue. When Heath Ledger was announced as the Joker, I personally balked at the suggestion. The guy from A Knight’s Tale? Really? I was wrong, and thank God I was. However, Heath’s performance was not due to luck – it was down to talent. The sadly departed Mr. Ledger was an extremely talented actor who grasped the role with two hands and gave it a big fat sloppy kiss. The suggestion that no one could fill the void left by Mr. Ledger, let alone fill the eponymous shoes of the Riddler is not fair. One name you forget to mention was Casey Affleck. Mr. Affleck has come to the fore of the acting world with a glowing CV of challenging and difficult roles; each one he nailed expertly. For example, re-watch The Assassination Of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and just marvel in his subtle jealousy, his desire to be the man he cannot be, his coldness to the world, his obsession; it’s brilliant. Furthermore, with the upcoming The Killer Inside Me, word on the street is Mr. Affleck has done it again. Affleck is not well known enough yet to pull off this role in terms of publicity. The mistake made by previous Batman films was to bring in the biggest and most popular names for the baddies. That’s not the right thing to do for our 21st century Batman. Send in a relative unknown and let the sparks fly.
7) Riddler is not too camp.
An excellent point made in the aforementioned article notes that the gangsters need more time and that another cliché villain would detract from the main feel of the film franchise so far. To an extent, I agree. However, in all fairness, the gangster did get a fair amount of screen time in their last outing. Indeed, if Nolan were to focus too much on the gangster, the element of comic book would be diminished, and we’d simply be left with Heat 2. I love Heat, but I don’t want Batman to become that. Therefore, my point is Batman is a comic book film and the Nolans have done a phenomenal job keeping it real, but still not too distant from its comic book routes. I acknowledge that this franchise does not take the Iron Manview of self-promoting itself at every turn; however, it must remember what it is. The audience deserve a villain with integrity, but the fan-boys deserve a villain that we know and want to see. In the 9/11 world we live in, the Riddler would be able to fit in that slot easily. We depend on technology so much so that without it the world could seemingly end for us all. Imagine a villain able to tap into that and manipulate that and torment the lives of Gotham City citizens. Avoiding the nasty computer geek storylines of the past, instead we’re talking about a villain with menace, knowing what he’s doing and not afraid to do it.
It is tempting to think back to Batman Forever and even further to the original Adam West series, but I urge you not to. An actor with good dialogue bouncing off the best cast for years with the most accomplished director is bound to be a success.
The females –agreed
My last point is that I agree that there needs to be woman involved in the next film. As I’ve already said, there’s too much testosterone in the air, and it could suffocate a large majority of the audience. Going back to Iron Man 2, this film used Scarlett Johansson as a walking vehicle for the Avengers movie. Personally she had no real role at all, but, if you asked any average Joe whether they cared or not – I’m guessing they’d say no. She’s ridiculously hot and makes for interesting eye candy for the male market. However, female readers out there, I’m not that misogynistic or simple. Men prefer a woman with brains over looks. One name springs to mind – Emily Blunt. Sophisticated, smart and downright sexy.
Where would she fit in? Well, she could possibly act as a walking advert for a possibleBatman 4 in preparation for her to take the role of Catwoman. However, I believe a possible love interest to Bruce Wayne spicing things up a bit more. A flirtatious new secretary perhaps? Someone who would challenge Wayne’s deep down feelings adding even more emotional turmoil to the whole affair. Furthermore, she’d put up a good fight up against the Riddler.
In conclusion, I do not mean to undermine Gabriel Ruzin’s brilliant article. It’s a damn fine one, and the reason I wrote this piece. However, I’m providing another side to the coin. The Riddler is part of the fabric of Batman’s comic book history. His character is well known throughout the world and would instantly attract audiences in droves. Bane or Catwoman could work, but, personally it’s Mr. E. Nygma all the way. You could choose another villain but how about letting the Riddler run riot once more? Go on, you know you want it…
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