Riddler’s First Riddle Solved:
The DC FanDome event ended with an exclusive trailer of The Batman. Only about 25-30% of the movie was shot before the pandemic took over the world. So, we actually didn’t expect a full-blown trailer for The Batman. But, Matt Reeves delivered big time! Not only did we get a 2 minute+ trailer, but it turned out to be the best part of the entire event. People saw it even more than the Snyder Cut trailer. And it didn’t just give us the first look at certain elements, but it left us with an insane number of details hidden in all the hype.
We enjoyed Robert Pattinson’s reveal as Bruce Wayne, his Bat-suit, the Batmobile, and obviously his fighting style. Along with that, we got the first look at Zoe Kravtiz’s Cat burglar, Colin Farrell’s Penguin, and Paul Dano’s Riddler. But, there were several things that we were left scratching our heads about. The first was the transformation of Colin Farrell into Oswald Cobblepot (Os). He just wasn’t looking anything like Farrell. The second mystery detail was the riddle that the Riddler left for Batman.
Potential Spoilers for The Batman could follow.
After killing off Mayor Mitchell (presumably), the Riddler leaves his face all taped up. Upon it, he wrote, “No more lies.” And, he left several newspaper clippings on the wall hinting that all those articles about Mayor Mitchell were complete lies. He wasn’t the man people thought he was, and the Riddler wants to expose his corrupt side. He wants to expose all the corruption and the rot in Gotham. And that’s why he starts off by killing the Mayor. But along with the Newspaper clippings, he also left a riddle for Batman to solve.
The text that Riddler left in the Halloween card was – “What does a liar do when he’s dead? Haven’t a clue. Let’s play a game. Just me and you.” And in the end, there’s a code which Batman has to decipher. But apparently, the detectives on the internet have already come up with the correct answer for it. Eric Voss from New Rockstars was possibly the first one to solve the riddle. If you look at the symbols closely, you’d see that the third and the last two symbols are similar. That means those letters are similar. The fourth and the ninth letters are similar, and so are the 6th and 7th. Ultimately, the answer is this:
“What does a liar do when he’s dead?” “He Lies Still.” The Riddler sees through the act of Mayor Mitchell. He has proof of the shady deeds that the Mayor has committed. And that’s why he doesn’t even let the Mayor have a peaceful funeral. He cannot have the Mayor go down as hero, “still lying” even after he is dead. What does he do? He tapes a bomb around the neck of another corrupt individual and makes him crash a car at the Mayor’s funeral service.
The Riddler really wants Batman to stop turning a blind eye towards the corrupt liars of Gotham. He is calling out Batman because there’s a chance that he knows about his secret identity. And, the theory involved here is that ultimately, the Riddler will show Bruce/Batman how his parents, the noble philanthropists of Gotham, were also responsible for expanding corruption in Gotham. They were responsible because they were involved with the Court of Owls, who have been running Gotham, pulling the strings behinds the scenes for decades. So, the Riddler possibly sees Batman as a hypocrite.
The reveal of the Court of Owls is teased in the very beginning, through that specific Halloween Card that the Riddler left for Batman after murdering Mayor Mitchell. This Batman story is going to be a great detective tale that will prove to be an ultimate thriller for us. Let’s see what else is in store for us. The Batman arrives on October 1, 2021.
What do you think of the aforementioned theory & analogy? Do tell us your opinions in the comments down below.
