The Unintentionally Funny Riddler Scene That Had The Batman Fans Cracking Up
Contains spoilers for "The Batman."
Matt Reeves' "The Batman" offers up one of the most realistic and frightening takes on a DC Comics villain to date, with Paul Dano's masked Riddler giving off vibes that are deeply reminiscent of the Zodiac Killer. But not everything about the "brilliant and terrifying" character, as The Hollywood Reporter describes him, is scary on the surface. In fact, there's one unintentionally funny scene involving the Riddler that comes towards the end of "The Batman" that has many fans laughing the more they think about it.
While Dano's version of the iconic Batman villain (who was last seen on the big screen when Jim Carrey played him in 1995's "Batman Forever") is supposed to be a sociopath, he's also depicted as a regular, quiet, young man living in Gotham City. At one point, we learn he was a forensic accountant before he was radicalized into taking down Gotham's elite. It's what Reeves' Riddler does when he's posing as the masked murderer in all his army surplus garb that the true terror comes out. Still, no matter how unnerving he is throughout the film, it's hard not to crack up at Riddler when the aforementioned scene with him appears onscreen at the end of "The Batman."
'Hey guys, welcome back to my channel'
Those keen to know which Riddler scene from "The Batman" is unintentionally hilarious will find it in the third and final act of the Warner Bros. flick. The scene sees Dano's Riddler attempting to rally online supporters in an effort to bring chaos and violence to Gotham. But what he really comes off as is just some "dorky streamer guy," as fans put it on Reddit.
In a moment where fiction comes hilariously close to reality, the scene where a team of Gotham City police officers and Batman (Robert Pattinson) scour Riddler's apartment for clues leads to the discovery of a dark web social media profile where they learn he's been posting regular updates to his 500-plus followers. It would appear that the main antagonist of "The Batman" is interacting online with supporters as if he's an Instagram or YouTube influencer, based on the way he addresses them in one final video update. "Hey guys, welcome back to my channel," Riddler says softly, while in costume, at the start of the video, which has racked up tons of heart emojis, aka likes from followers who also contribute comments to show their allegiance. The video shows Riddler going so far as to thank his growing brood for "liking, commenting, and subscribing" to his channel, while also showing his appreciation for some advice that people gave him regarding bomb detonators.
Fans think Riddler's video is at odds with what we see earlier in the movie
Warning: The following portion of this story includes discussion of mass shooters, terrorists, and other controversial figures.
"The Batman" fans took to a Reddit post shared to the r/movies subreddit to discuss this particular scene, pointing out how the third-act reveal risks neutralizing any threatening energy Riddler gives off earlier in the movie. Redditor u/lanceturley remarked, "I love how he does the creepy Zodiac thing for the police and the media, but then that last video for his followers was one of those dorky 'Hey guys, thanks for the comments, like and subscribe' videos like every random YouTuber." Elsewhere in "The Batman" discussion thread, u/Destinyman50 replied, "That dichotomy was so f***ing funny without it feeling telegraphed or forced." Both of the Redditors' comments received more than 2,000 upvotes combined.
What ultimately makes the scene hilarious for moviegoers is the juxtaposition of Dano's wild and chaotic masked Riddler with his quiet side which conjures up comparisons to the incel community, as the Redditors put it. "He's the neckbeard next door," one person in the same "Batman" forum from earlier remarked. "Like the 4chan/incel version of Heath Ledger's Joker," another person said. Still, while a lot of filmgoers were laughing at the scene, many were also deeply disturbed by it and other clips that the Riddler released throughout the movie.
Some feel the Riddler videos are eerily reminiscent of real-world figures
As mentioned earlier, while many fans were laughing at the final Riddler video in "The Batman," some were actually really creeped out by it, saying it felt reminiscent of a mass shooter who puts out a manifesto or video online before an attack. "It felt so unnerving and chilling to watch how Riddler can be this devious yet calculated serial killer one moment to this dorky streamer guy," said Redditor u/Whovian45810. "Legit, Paul had the serial killer/incel/school shooter persona down so well it was both uncanny and supremely entertaining," replied u/ankhes. "It was even the same with his face to face with Batman," added u/Sirsalley23. "You see him just do an about-face from calculated sociopath to crazy manic on a dime multiple times. It was a little bit unsettling."
Matt Reeves' Riddler was ultimately inspired by the director's fascination with the Zodiac Killer, which grew after reading the 1995 non-fiction book, "Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit" (via Collider). The book later inspired Netflix's show of the same name. What a lot of moviegoers might not know is that Reeves also intended for his Riddler to be a mass killer-terrorist of sorts, as seen when he attacks the funeral of Gotham City mayor Don Mitchell, Jr. using a car and unwilling victim as the driver. "He's not just a serial killer. He definitely has a political agenda," Reeves told Total Film (via Games Radar). "There's a terrorist aspect to him."