The Dark Knight Rises Riddle Me This: The Riddler Characterization Thread

[Jolly C.]

But really i cant see any other ideas besides these working for the riddler because if nolan chose the riddler, as GauisBaltar said above, he would try as hard as he can to make him different from the joker...and pretty much the fed ideas are the only ones that stand out from the joker imo.

 

[Rodrigo90]

Take away his job as a Fed and have him as a vigilante P.I.

Believing his intellect will beat Batman. He doesnt simply want to catch him,but really wants to kill Batman,believing he is evil and corrupting the City. Ofcourse The police and FBI become involved and target both Batman and The Riddler. He doesnt appreciate being classed as a criminal by the city and the competition at catching Batman from the Law and has plans to pick them off as well. So his traps meant for Batman,soon becomes a deadly game for him and others,where he must rescue the lives of the Law Enforcers or succumb to Riddler's traps.

Why does he turn from a vigilante into a criminal?

"Fine. If your feeble minds cant show you the good Im trying to do,so be it. If you think Im a criminal,then I will be. You hate me Gotham...then I hate you. Weak minded fools...Ill show each and every one of you a mind such as mine...Heaven help you all".

 

[GaiusBaltar]

Really? I know the idea of him being a fed has been kicked around quite a lot but I don't recall the bit about the riddler being a trap for batman initially until he actually becomes a threat.

Oh, yeah, it seems it has been here for ages. In fact they were always together. Maybe the descent into madness that parallels Bruce "losing himself in the monster he created" is just the natural progression of the Fed idea. Maybe brilliant minds think alike

 

[Boom]

Make it happen, Nolan.

 

[nolan's roll'n]

Make it happen, Nolan.

I'm sure I have seen this guy, what actor is this?

 

[Rodrigo90]

Heres my idea. Edward Nashton was once an aspiring, egotistical police officer. The subject of jealousy by his fellow officers,as he was literary "The World's Greatest Detective". Edward was far from perfect,he was in Carmine Falcone's pocket. Jim Gordon discoverd this,but Nashton was a sneaky one,never left any traces to his crime. Nashton was also being secretly investigated by Internal Affairs,led by Harvey Dent. Gordon could not take anymore and planted evidence on Nashton and contacted IA. Harvey deliberately waited until the day of Edward's promotion to Lieutenant,and had him arrested in front of his colleagues,much to their amusement and Gordon's disgust in himself. Edward was sentenced to over 2 years in Prison.

Edward had been hiding a secret for many years,a mental illness. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,he suffered from it since childhood. He kept it under control through medication,but didnt recieve it while in Prison. Edward couldn't handle life on the inside and attempted suicide several times.

 

[nolan's roll'n]

I thought the game Batman Arkham Asylum really nailed the character of the Riddler. I just hated how he is always in the background and he is not part of the story like the Joker and other villains are. If Batman 3, shows a Riddler that is similar to BAA, then I'll be happy.

 

[Rodrigo90]

Edward had also suffered from a bad childhood,and he couldn't bare to remember it (Also a reason for becoming suicidal). So in order to cope,he focused his mind on complex puzzles and riddles. Making himself think of questions and answers in an attempt to blot out the thoughts of his life. But it was his delusional mind that was kicking in,he knew they were helping him,but in fact it was his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder taking over, Soon Edward could only think of riddles and puzzles. The 2 years went by and he was released. He now possessed a twisted and warped mind.

 

[Boom]

I'm sure I have seen this guy, what actor is this?

Christoph Waltz, aka Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds.

 

[Rodrigo90]

After claiming his dirty money and trying get his life back on track,Edward started up a small private investigation firm,called "Enigma Solved", Around this time,Batman appeared on the scene.

Edward relentlessly struggled with his illness. His mind had now deepened further into mystery,he couldn't understand what was wrong with him and belived the ilness started while he was in prison, forgetting the fact it was with him since childhood. Then Ra's Al Ghul's attack on the city happened,but Edward was away on an assignment.

5 weeks later,Edward was visited by Sal Maroni. Sal had took the young Edward under his wing,during Edward's time as an Officer and working for Falcone. Sal offered him some work,as he always believed his detective skills were top notch (and also having a P.I. was just as good as having a crooked Detective).

This ofcourse inflated Edward's ego back up and he liked the recognition he had received...but his twisted obsessions was still lurking in his mind,at bay...for now.

 

[Rodrigo90]

Edward was soon the mobs squeeler,investigating and tracking down people they wanted found. But he refused point black to kill anybody by his own hand...

"I may be a bad guy...but Im not a cold blooded murderer. Even when I was a cop,all I ever did was search for clues and solve mysteries. I never once shot a guy,nor will I now...".

Maroni respected this however. Soon the time came when Harvey became the new District Attorney and the mob wanted Batman dead. They assigned Edward to discover Batman's identity,but he revealed he was already working on it for "personal knowledge".

Then Joker arrived. Edward became a great fan of the Joker's work in the days,and though many people were jealous of Edward's intellect and detective skills, Edward himself was jealous of Joker,but he liked his style. When the discussion for the demise of Harvey come about,Edward calmly walked up to Joker and said

"I have a good idea" That idea which the Joker liked so much, resulted in the death or Rachel and the scarring of Dent.

 

[Rodrigo90]

Edward was displeased that Harvey did not die from the trap,as that wouldve been his revenge for him humiliating and ruining Edward those years ago. Edward then became obsessed with something else...the Coleman Reese,as Edward himself wanted to discover that mystery. He arrived at the news station,but Resse had already left,without revealing Batman's identity. After the hospital explosion and Harveys secret escape,Edward returned home and buried himself in his clues to try and discover Batman's identity as quickly as possible,but he soon received a call from a thug. Edward arrived at the hospital to see Maroni, after he was attacked by Harvey. Maroni reveals he has lost the use of legs through the car accident and he wants Edward to hunt and kill Dent. Maroni tells Edward that Harvey is going after detective Anna Ramirez. Edward eventually finds her alive and she tells him that Harvey is now going after Gordon's family and that he is getting revenge on those who killed Rachel Dawes.

 

[Rodrigo90]

Edward tracks Harvey and follows him to where Rachel died. He was ready to open fire and kill Dent,but he couldn't. He could NOT bring himself to kill the man who ruined his life,that caused hell for him,by his own hand,but he WANTED to kill him. Shortly Gordon and Batman arrived and Edward watched from a far. He then (unfortunately) saw Dents death (becoming instantly angry that Batman has robbed him off his chance at revenge),and also heard the coverup plan,between Batman and Gordon!!! Edward left with full knowledge of everything!!!

 

[Rodrigo90]

Ofcourse Edward does eventually find out who Batman is and his new motto in life is...

"Knowledge is power".

But what drives him to become a criminal? My idea is for him to deceive everybody for the sake of his plot. He tells Batman that its about who is the most intelligent between them (In truth its to see who is the better detective out the two). Riddler becomes a criminal as he thinks its the only way for Batman to take notice proper notice. Why? Between the time of TDK and 3,Edward was seriously cracking up and his obsession about riddles and puzzles came back. He wants Batman to capture him,but first wants to see if he is intellectually capable of understanding why. He puts Batman through complex puzzles,but also leaves subtle hints of his true motives. He wants Batman to get into his head,as Edward believes hes the only one who can help him. His suave and egotistical personality is just a clever rouse,that he hopes Batman will see through,including other things. He wants knowledge about himself.

 

[Rodrigo90]

His costume? A black suit. A fedora hat,not bowler. And an olive green overcoat. He has riddles written in words and question marks all over his coat. They symbolise the mystery he is to himself and too others. His final riddle to Batman?

"What Is Reason Behind The Enigma Of The Riddler?"

Whew,Now Im off to bed,lol.

 

[Crook]

You do know you could've typed that all up in one post, don't you?

 

[Rodrigo90]

You do know you could've typed that all up in one post, don't you?

Im on my PS3,it doesnt let you write loads down,lol.

 

[Arsh]

Im on my PS3,it doesnt let you write loads down,lol.

Couldn't you have waited until you'd gotten to a PC?

 

[Jolly C.]

Lol

 

[Rodrigo90]

Couldn't you have waited until you'd gotten to a PC?

If I did that my short term memory loss wouldve ****** things up for me.t:

Forgot to mention.

Riddler doesnt kill citizens. He blackmails the Mayor to bring in a team of experts to hunt both himself and Batman, personaly handpicked. Why? Its supposed to be about him testing them, to see if they are "smart enough to beat him". But in truth,they are just used as pawns,his real target is Gordon. Riddler wants revenge on him for setting him up those years ago,this rubs off onto his idea to frame Bruce Wayne for the (apparent) murder of Coleman Reese.

 

[ALittlePush]

Your idea in itself is good and the majority of it is plausible, however, it does feel like you're trying to force a backstory for Riddler behind the scenes of the other movies when there isn't one.

The bits I dislike the most is the waiting in the shadows and overhearing the coverup plot and giving the Joker the idea to blow up Rachel. Those bits just feel a bit too contrived. You're introducing what is essentially a new character into the franchise and rather than showing any character development into why he does the things he does, you seem to be going the "he was there all along, you just didn't see him" route. In doing so this actually weakens the Riddler character and those around him.

When the discussion for the demise of Harvey come about,Edward calmly walked up to Joker and said
"I have a good idea" That idea which the Joker liked so much, resulted in the death or Rachel and the scarring of Dent.

This actually takes something away from the Joker character. Firstly, I was under the assumption in TDK that once the mob hired the Joker, they just let him do his own thing so I doubt there would have been a “discussion”. Secondly, if anyone had walked up to the Joker and even suggested to tell him what to do, I imagine he would have put a bullet through their brain. So for the Joker to listen to the Riddler, agree with him and the carry out the plan seems a bit weak on the Joker’s part IMO.

Edward tracks Harvey and follows him to where Rachel died. He was ready to open fire and kill Dent,but he couldn't. He could NOT bring himself to kill the man who ruined his life,that caused hell for him,by his own hand,but he WANTED to kill him. Shortly Gordon and Batman arrived and Edward watched from a far. He then (unfortunately) saw Dents death (becoming instantly angry that Batman has robbed him off his chance at revenge),and also heard the coverup plan,between Batman and Gordon!!! Edward left with full knowledge of everything!!!

This could have actually worked had Riddler been a character in TDK. However, seeing as he wasn’t, it just feels that you put him there so that he can have the knowledge for when he actually appears. The "he was there all along, you just didn't see him" route didn’t work out well in Spiderman 3 and I doubt it would work out well in Batman 3.

His costume? A black suit. A fedora hat,not bowler. And an olive green overcoat. He has riddles written in words and question marks all over his coat. They symbolise the mystery he is to himself and too others. His final riddle to Batman?
"What Is Reason Behind The Enigma Of The Riddler?"

If he went out wearing that coat in reality, he would be spotted and arrested in no time. If no one noticed him, it would be like superman running out into a packed street and tearing open his shirt to reveal the big S with no one batting an eyelid. Suspension of disbelief only goes so far. Saying that, he might get away with it so long as he avoids people whilst wearing the coat. I just think the Riddler would be more subtle.

Overall, your idea has some good points just don't go the "he was there, you just didn't see him" route.

 

[Jolly C.]

Plus Nolans style consists on not lingering over the previous movie, as in he focuses on making the movie independent from the others. For example people could have went without seeing BB and come into the DK and know exactly whats going on. As ALittlePush said above the whole "he was there, you just didn't see him" route doesnt really work too well.

 

[Jolly C.]

Plus Nolans style consists on not lingering over the previous movie, as in he focuses on making the movie independent from the others. For example people could have went without seeing BB and come into the DK and know exactly whats going on. As ALittlePush said above the whole "he was there, you just didn't see him" route doesnt really work too well.

 

[Doc Holliday]

His costume? A black suit. A fedora hat,not bowler. And an olive green overcoat. He has riddles written in words and question marks all over his coat. They symbolise the mystery he is to himself and too others. His final riddle to Batman?

"What Is Reason Behind The Enigma Of The Riddler?"

Whew,Now Im off to bed,lol.

Ew. First, the bowler is quintessential Riddler. You don't change stuff like that. Especially not to something as similar as a fedora.

The green overcoat might work, but not with the riddles and question marks. That is highly unrealistic. As someone already said, he would be arrested in a heartbeat if he had something like that. The most you could do with question marks would be one on the hat or the tie. Something subtle.

As for this "final riddle," the only way that would matter would be if Batman somehow created the Riddler. Riddler's questions are never arbitrary. Though they may seem to be out of left field, they are extremely deliberate. And if Batman created Riddler, why don't we just go ahead and give him "The Box" and let him start doing that whole "brain drain" routine again?

 

[Two-Face]

A man puts make -up to look like a clown, a man burned by acid or a man dressed up as a bat. Sure those are realistic.