Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Batman.
Paul Dano's perfect Riddler not only elevates Batman Forever. 27 years after Batman Forever's release the Dark Knight's smartest villain returns to theaters now reimagined as a zodiac killer type of character with a strong connection to Batman's and Gotham City's past. There Will Be Blood's Paul Dano was chosen by Matt Reeves to bring to life what could become the definitive version of the Riddler in the movies and even in other media.
Like all elements in The Batman, Paul Dano's Riddler fits into a realistic world while also feeling like something from a comic book. That difficult balance was the key to making Matt Reeves's film distinct from other Batman movies, which can lean too heavily into either the gritty or the cartoonish. Although the story of The Batman is complex and involves many plotlines and characters, Paul Dano's Riddler and his plan still managed to come out as one of the best parts of the movie.
Jim Carrey's version of the Riddler is a curious case of a character who became famous in his own right but didn't necessarily work as an adaptation. The Riddler is often ed as an important part of Jim Carrey's career, but the character himself is never placed on the same levels as villains like Heath Ledger's Joker or Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman. Paul Dano's Riddler in The Batman, on the other hand, has everything to be ed as one of the best Batman villains and the best live-action version of the character.
What Went Wrong With Jim Carrey's Riddler In Batman Forever
The first Tim Burton had done in his Batman movies.
That shifting in tone added to the astonishing success that Jim Carrey was achieving in the industry due to his unique approach to physical comedy resulted in an overly-campy Riddler that seemed to be in a completely different movie from the other characters. Any attempt by Batman Forever to tackle more serious topics or create any kind of stakes was instantly overshadowed by Jim Carrey's Riddler. The fact that Tommy Lee Jones's Two-Face was being more of a rehash of Jack Nicholson's Joker powered by Jim Carrey's playfulness didn't help either, and the villain duo ended up missing any menacing tone that a Batman villain should have.
There were good ideas in Batman Forever. Edward Nygma was a Wayne Industries employee who looked up to Bruce, something that could have created an interesting dynamic between the Riddler and Batman. Edward's envy and desire to be like Bruce was an interesting concept, but one that got lost amidst Jim Carrey's suffocating performance. While Batman Forever's version of Riddler will always be ed by the audiences thanks to Jim Carrey’s performance, it did not add much to the character's legacy. On the contrary, it ended up pushing back the Riddler's potential as a villain in adaptations and even in the comics.
Why Paul Dano's Riddler Is So Much Better Than Jim Carrey's
A good Batman villain should serve the movie in the same way that a good Batman movie should serve its villain. The Batman’s Riddler perfectly outdoes Batman Forever's on that matter. Paul Dano's version of the iconic villain already had a big advantage over Jim Carrey’s simply because the movie takes the Riddler seriously as a character. While every Batman villain has a certain playful side no matter how dark or realistic the adaptation is, The Batman manages to translate the Riddler from the comic book pages to the big screen in a way that fits perfectly into the world created by Matt Reeves resulting in a better version of the Riddler than Jim Carrey's.
Paul Dano's Riddler has a strong connection not only to Bruce Wayne and the history of the Wayne family but also to Gotham City as a whole. He's one of the orphans that The Batman's Gotham City has failed, something that creates a much more personal relationship between the character and the plot of the film. Paul Dano is also given a lot more to work with than Jim Carrey, being able to play a character that ranges from a creepy serial killer at the beginning of the movie to a more classic villain with an evil master plan by the end of the film.
Paul Dano's Riddler Is What Should Define The Character
Paul Dano's take on the Riddler in The Batman is the kind of adaptation strong enough to define the character going forward. Although Riddler is one of Batman's most famous villains, the character has always been on the campier side of Batman's rogue’s gallery. Even in the 1980s, when Batman villains like Harvey Dent and the Joker began to appear in more complex stories that delved into the character's psyche, the Riddler remained a very straightforward villain whose readers always knew what to expect from. The same can be said of Riddler’s adaptations for TV, cinema, games, and animations. Whether on the TV show of '66 or in more recent productions such as the show Gotham, Riddler had always played as a one-note villain.
That vacuum as to a definitive version of the Riddler has now been filled with Paul Dano's version. Matt Reeves managed to write a villain that combined the playful style of the character with an extremely realistic approach that leans to serial-killer motivated by hatred against the system. Ingeniously, In Reeves' The Batman, the famous “riddle me this” moments on live TV gave way to online live transmissions aimed at his followers on forums and social media. This modern take on a Batman villain works not only to make the film more realistic but also to answer the question of how that specific archetype would work in today's world. This new complexity and updating of the character is why Paul Dano's Riddler should define the character for future comics and adaptations.
Will Dano's Riddler Return In The Batman 2 Or 3?
Perhaps one of the main differences in how The Batman approached its world compared to other Batman movies is that it avoided killing off the main villains at the end of the film. From Jack Nicholson's Joker to Tom Hardy's Bane, Batman movies have had a tiresome tradition of killing the villain in a very Bond-like way that ends up wasting the potential of the character. By leaving him alive, director Matt Reeves ensures that The Riddler can return in The Batman 2 or 3, either as a co-villain or even as a cameo.
like “rogues gallery” and "Bat-verse" were mentioned by The Batman's director when discussing possible futures for the franchise. The Batman has everything to be the beginning of a great Batman universe that involves not only sequels but also spin-offs on HBO Max, and it having Paul Dano's Riddler as a recurring player would make it even better. Batman has enough villains not to have to repeat them, no doubt, but having a recurring rogues gallery is also a crucial part of the character's mythology.
Paul Dano’s Riddler is one of the reasons why The Batman works so well as a fresh take on Batman’s mythos. Even if Paul Dano doesn’t return for future Batman movies or shows, his version of the Riddler can already be perceived as the best live-action take on the character. It could be even better, of course, if Paul Dano continues to play Riddler in a possible The Batman 2 or The Batman 3.
