The Riddler Scene In The Batman That Went Too Far
The following article contains spoilers for "The Batman."
A new Batman movie has strolled into town, and audiences have taken the new iteration of the iconic character with gusto. Robert Pattinson perfectly appears to fit the mold of both Bruce Wayne and the Caped Crusader, and of course, no Batman is complete without a sinister villain to fight. Batman goes up against the likes of Penguin (Colin Farrell) and Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) in the film, but the main villain that overshadows them all is Riddler (Paul Dano).
Batman is known just as much for his intellect as his brawn, making the Riddler a perfect match for him. He naturally leaves behind riddles at every crime scene, and while they may puzzle everyone else, Batman is able to get a good handle on the situation ... for the most part. This version of the Riddler is unlike anything that's come before, taking on the persona of a Zodiac-like serial killer. Riddler may have killed before in the comics, but he's never been this diabolical, killing powerful people and then wrapping them up in duct tape afterward.
There are many gruesome scenes in "The Batman" out of something you might expect out of something like "Se7en" or "Prisoners." But there's one scene involving Riddler that may be tough to watch even for the bravest souls in the audience.
Riddler's homemade video was reminiscent of another Batman scene
It's obvious right from the get-go that Riddler doesn't have any sympathy for his victims. In his mind, they are the corrupt elite, and they deserve what they have coming to them. He's not even above sending a video of one of his victims' demises to the local news so that everyone can see his grand plan in action.
During "The Batman," we see a video made by Riddler himself depicting his capture of Commissioner Pete Savage (Alex Ferns). The commissioner isn't as clean as everyone thought, and Riddler highlights this fact by strapping an apparatus to his body. This device contains various tubes linked to a rat cage, allowing the rodents to burrow into him. While we don't see anything too graphic (the film is rated PG-13, after all), just the thought of dying that way is a painful visual to imagine.
If you find yourself having a sense of nostalgia in addition to terror while watching the scene, you aren't alone. The moment bears striking similarities to a scene in 2008's "The Dark Knight" when Joker (Heath Ledger) sends a tape he made to the news depicting his torture of a Batman impersonator. That was also a horrifying scene to witness as it showed a darker side to Joker than what most people had seen up to that point. From Riddler's tape to the rest of his time in "The Batman," it will be hard to look at the character the same way again.
It's not the only similarity The Batman has to The Dark Knight
Villains sending ominous videos to the local news isn't the only thing "The Batman" and "The Dark Knight" have in common. They both offer more grounded takes on the character, introducing us to villains who could theoretically exist in the real world. They both depict Batman wanting to go after the mob and organized crime plaguing Gotham. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Both Batman movies also make excellent use of their funeral scenes. In "The Dark Knight," there's a massive outdoor funeral procession for Police Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb (Colin McFarlane). People are naturally on edge from the Joker's attacks, and as everyone should have suspected, Joker targets the funeral and makes an attempt on the mayor's life while he's at the podium. Similarly, "The Batman" has a funeral scene for the fallen mayor. The festivities are held inside this time around, but that doesn't stop Riddler from sending a runaway car into the building to scare the daylights out of everyone inside. And of course, there's a special surprise waiting for everyone inside the vehicle ...
There are plenty of differences between the two films, too, as they have entirely different plots with completely different characters at the forefront. They both stand alone as incredible pieces of superhero cinema, holding the bar for any future projects to leap over. Anything they have in common is purely surface level, but there's one final similarity we'd be remiss not to mention. Both movies are brutal and contain some genuinely terrifying scenes that bring the character of Batman into horror territory.