SungWon Cho Talks Creating Gleeful Riddler in Batwheels, Throws Down with Batman in New Clip (Exclusive)

Cartoonito’s Batwheels is back in action with five new episodes starting Monday, May 1st, which is a reason to celebrate on its own. That’s not the only revelation to celebrate though, as one of the new episodes will shine a spotlight on one of Batman’s most popular villains. That would be The Riddler, and we’ve got your exclusive first look at the episode (titled Buff in a China Shop) in the video below. That’s not all though, as ComicBook.com had the chance to sit down with the voice of The Riddler and Bad Computer SungWon Cho to talk about the series, creating his version of such an iconic character, bringing Bad Computer to life, and more.

Not everyone will find themselves immortalized in animation, let alone in the world of DC and Batman. It’s a dream come true for Cho, who is a huge fan of Batman and the Bat Family. “Oh, yeah. I was very excited when I was cast. I’ve been a fan of Batman: The Animated Series since I was a kid, and so being involved in any iteration of Batman is very exciting for me.”

As for The Riddler, we’ve seen several different iterations of the character over the years, with some taking on a much lighter tone (like Batman ’66) while others (The Batman) delved into a darker version. For Batwheels, Cho wanted to capture the eccentric glee of a character who loves trying to outsmart a superhero with riddles.

“I think for me, it wasn’t necessarily about trying to avoid or even copy any version of Riddler, but just capturing how much glee he has with his riddles, how self-satisfied he is,” Cho said. “I think that was the key in my audition. It’s a preschool show, so you can’t go too scary with it, but I wasn’t interested in going scary. I want it to be mischievous almost in the way I portrayed the character.”

Now, while he didn’t draw much from other versions, he does have a few all-time favorites. “The one in the animated series is definitely up there. I think he’s also great in the Arkham Asylum series of video games as well. There’s a really funny version in the Harley Quinn animated series too. Yeah, there’s a lot of Riddlers that I enjoy,” Cho said.

Cho also voices the villainous Bad Computer, and the character lives up to his moniker. In fact, part of what got him the role was the intensity he brought to it, though Cho says some of the more comedic elements of the character were added to make things a bit more lighthearted.

They had an idea, I think, a description of what they wanted, but I think what got me the job was I get very intense with it,” Cho said. “I remember in our first sessions, they were almost like, ‘Whoa, this might be a little too much for preschoolers.’ So they added some funny bits like he gets interrupted by advertisements and little glitches because I go all out with Bad Computer. I try to make him as intimidating as possible. So I think they really responded to the sort of contrast between how kind of intense and self-important he is and then him constantly getting interrupted is a nice sort of comedic balance.”

Regarding Riddler’s episode spotlight, Cho teased what fans can expect to see from the character. “I think for Riddler, you’re going to see a Riddler who is just so in love with himself,” Cho said. “He just loves every smart quip he throws at Batman. He loves tormenting Batman. It’s just a very fun-loving, very broad Riddler, which was really fun to play in the booth.”

You can watch all of the new episodes of Cartoonito’s Batwheels starting on Monday, May 1st, and the episodes will debut on Cartoon Network and then release the next day on HBO Max.

Are you excited for more Batwheels? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things DC with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!