The Batman – Part II may be the perfect place to repeat the original movie’s approach to adapting the Riddler for one other underrated DC villain. Batman’s villain roster is one of the best in superhero history, though this hasn’t always translated so smoothly to on-screen depictions. While some villains like the Joker have gotten extensive and ranged adaptations throughout Batman’s movie and show history, other antagonists have comparatively drawn the short straw in more ways than one.

Interestingly, this is also relevant in terms of how easy it can be for adaptations of villains to fall into one-note characterizations, or otherwise be depicted in ways that don’t reflect the full range of their character – something perhaps best evidenced with Bane, who is often depicted as merely an unintelligent muscle-bound brute rather than one of Batman’s more cunning opponents. This underselling of the true threat of one other Batman villain in on-screen adaptations looks like it could be best addressed by The Batman 2‘s story, given the way the original movie brought the Riddler to life.

The Batman Showed The General Public Just How Intimidating The DC Villain Could Really Be

While the Riddler has had some truly unhinged comic storylines that have demonstrated he’s one of the most challenging opponents in Batman’s main rogues gallery, his depictions outside of the comic world have often focused more on making him more whimsical and silly. The 1966 Batman show provided the first example of this, with Frank Gorshin and John Astin’s live-action depictions of the classic iteration of the villain naturally leaning into the playfulness seen in older comics, reflecting how the series generally tended to take a more light-hearted approach to its subject matter.

This seems to have played a role in inspiring the various versions of the character that would appear in later animated and live-action releases, which generally played up the character’s quirks and personality, often for comedic effect. Indeed, until 2022, the only two live-action movie versions of the Riddler were the 1966 Batman film take – played by Frank Gorshin – and Jim Carrey’s iteration of Edward Nygma in Batman Forever, whose bright green leotard and bombastic characterization certainly cemented a very specific depiction of the character for broader audiences.

As such, the fact The Batman is able to convincingly depict the Riddler as a harrowing grounded serial killer after years of these very different on-screen iterations of the character being the ones best known in pop culture is all the more impressive. While similar in terms of his catastrophic plans for Gotham, this Riddler’s more brutal traps for his enemies and real-world parallels with figures like the Zodiac Killer make him far more horrifying than the majority of his on-screen peers, allowing audiences to see a different side to the character without having to pick up a comic in order to do so.

The Batman 2 Could Be The Perfect Place To Repeat This Recipe For 1 Mᴀssively Underestimated Villain

Many of Batman’s main rogues gallery enemies are drastically underused and underestimated when it comes to adaptations – but this is arguably best exemplified by the Mad Hatter, since Jervis Tetch’s on-screen depictions tend to distance themselves from the more serious or unnerving comic stories involving the character. While this is fair in a lot of ways, it also means the character tends to veer into sillier and more playful territory on-screen, undermining how unsettling and threatening Tetch’s mind-control tech can be to viewers, and how legitimate of a threat he can be percieved as being to the Dark Knight.

With this in mind, The Batman 2 seems like the perfect place to repeat the original movie’s rehashing of the Riddler’s on-screen depictions with the Mad Hatter. This is particularly true since his skillset would be very much in line with The Batman‘s grounded and tech-focused universe, and since either Tetch’s original or newer backstories – that of a disgruntled neuroscientist gone rogue or a young man whose warped perspective is fueled by a negative reaction to an experimental drug he begins taking – would both seem to fit naturally into Matt Reeves’ take on the DC mythos thus far.

Why Mad Hatter Would Make A Lot Of Sense For The Batman 2 After The Ending To The Original Movie

In the wake of the flooding that takes place at the end of The Batman – which The Penguin shows Gotham is still very much dealing with the aftermath of – it’d make sense for new villains to rise from the chaos. Even if The Batman 2 only had the Mad Hatter as a side character, showing that people like Jervis Tetch chose to use the chaos to their own advantage would make sense – especially if the Mad Hatter were to believe he could kidnap an “Alice” without the police becoming aware due to the current circumstances of this point in time.

That said, the mystery focus of The Batman thus far would potentially mean having Mad Hatter as a focal villain could also be something that certainly works. Trying to work out why people have carried out seemingly uncharacteristic and otherwise unexplainable actions only to learn they were acting under the influence of someone else’s control over them would be fascinating, and could tie nicely into the franchise’s exploration of the ideas of power and control through the Riddler and Penguin’s respective rises.

Indeed, there are stories to draw from that would adapt Mad Hatter naturally into the premise of The Batman 2 and its world – like the story that kicks off in Batman: The Dark Knight #19. In this comic story, Tetch kidnaps a significant mind-controlled portion of Gotham for his own machinations, including his later decision to abduct the Caped Crusader’s then-love interest, Natalya Trusevich, who’d only recently learned of her partner’s secret idenтιтy, underlining just how catastrophic his plans and technology can be when fully unleashed.

Since Jervis Tetch’s history of teaming up with other Batman villains is nothing short of prolific, though, even a The Batman – Part II story that’s centered on other villains could have room for him – especially since the Mad Hatter’s history with the Riddler and Joker goes back decades at this point. This would follow along with the way in which The Batman‘s universe has now also featured villains like Magpie and the Trigger Twins in its periphery, and help flesh out Batman’s rogues gallery further, giving the hero more and more threats to face up against as his story continues.

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