The Batman Theory Explains How Bruce Wayne Created The Riddler

The trailer for Matt Reeves‘ The Batman has only been out for a few days, but fans have already begun forming theories about the eagerly anticipated film, especially when it comes to its villains. With the film being set very early in Batman’s crusade, the film is set to see the origins of some of the vigilante’s villains as well and one fan has come up with their explanation on how the Riddler may have been created by Batman himself.

On Reddit, u/Mikhail10 suggests that the Riddler began killing because of Batman’s unwillingness to kill. They specifically cite one of the Riddler’s lines in the trailer, “If you are justice, please do not lie, what is the price for your blind eye?”, and ties it to what we see in the first part of the trailer — the Riddler killing a high-profile victim. The theory suggests that someone close to the Riddler or even the Riddler himself gets hurt because of Batman’s unwillingness to kill, prompting the emergence of the vicious serial killer. You can check the theory out for yourself here.

It sounds like a pretty solid theory and it is one that works well with what Reeves explained during The Batman’s panel at DC FanDome when he explained that The Batman will see origin stories, in a sense, for Batman’s Rogues Gallery.

“I guess the one thing about the Rogues Gallery is that it actually, in a weird way, this is the origins of a lot of our Rogues Gallery characters… so that’s all incredibly exciting,” Reeves said. “So, Selina isn’t Catwoman yet, that’s actually part of the journey. Oz [Cobblepot] is not yet the kingpin that he’s going to become, he’s The Penguin — in fact he doesn’t like being called The Penguin — and The Riddler is just emerging for the first time, so that’s all incredibly exciting.”

Whatever the catalyst for Riddler in The Batman, Reeves’ already has praise for actor Paul Dano in the role, telling fans during DC FanDome that the film’s version is one that has never before been seen.

“You know we have a Paul Dano plays a version of the Riddler that no one has ever seen before and it’s really exciting,” Reeves said. “He’s such an incredibly creative actor and so what he is doing I think is going to blow people’s minds.”

As of now, The Batman is still on track to hit theaters on October 1, 2021.