Why Batman: The Animated Series Rarely Featured The Riddler

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You won't get many arguments from comic book fans that Batman has the best villains. Being the ranking-obsessed folks they are, superhero fans always try to narrow this even further into the very best Batman villains — Arkham Asylum's Mount Rushmore, if you will. 

I'd argue that the Riddler deserves a spot on Mount Arkham. Yes, he's one of the most gimmicky Batman villains (even his name, Edward Nigma/Nygma, or E. Nigma) and can be one of the silliest. But the Riddler is also one of the most persistent Batman villains, with a genuine nastiness beneath the showmanship. Answer one of his riddles incorrectly and it's a death trap for you; the Riddler is practically the original Jigsaw. In the horror-flavored "Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City," Eddie even tries his hand at occult sacrifice.

Riddler is also one of the most frequently recurring Silver Screen Batman villains, played by actors from Frank Gorshin to Robert Englund (in the underrated 2004 "The Batman" cartoon) to Paul Dano. Yet while many would rank "Batman: The Animated Series" the best ever Batman iteration, it's got surprisingly little Riddler. John Glover's smooth mastermind voice performance is perfect, but the Riddler was the main villain of only three episodes out of 85: "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?", "What Is Reality?", and "Riddler's Reform." When the series returned as "The New Batman Adventures," the Riddler only received small cameos.

Riddle me this: Why so little Riddler? In the behind-the-scenes book "Batman Animated," writer/producer Paul Dini called the Riddler "a constant frustration to Batman as well as our writing staff," who had "dubious honor of being our series' most difficult villain." As it turned out, the Riddler's gimmick did not lend itself well to writing stories for a half-hour action cartoon.

"[The Riddler] is not much of a physical threat and his reliance on riddles, games, and puzzles brings him awfully close to self-parody," wrote Dini, explaining the first problem that the "Batman" writers had with the Riddler. "Another drawback is that the Riddler is a verbal, cerebral character who seems to work better in comics than he ever has in animation. In a comic book, mystery novel, or live-action drama the writer has the luxury of time to set up and solve a brain-wracking crime. In a twenty-two-minute cartoon, the action has to keep moving."

"Batman: The Animated Series" gets a lot of deserved praise for its mature writing, but it was a kids show that needed to keep those kids hooked with spectacle. Indeed, note how the Riddler first took off as a villain in the Adam West "Batman" TV series, which used a two-part, hour-long episode structure. That show had breathing room for Riddler stories, while "The Animated Series" didn't.

To write a Riddler story, you also have to write riddles, specifically ones that are convincing as a challenge for a master detective like Batman. Write poor or simple brain teasers, and both Batman and Riddler look incompetent. All of that added up to, as Dini admitted, "at least half a dozen full or partially completed Riddler stories in our dead script file that proved ultimately too complex or too silly to produce."

The Riddler episodes that were produced, Dini said, were ones that focused foremost on the Riddler's psychology. He's driven not just by a compulsive quirk to ask and solve riddles, but also by a persecution complex and a vengeful streak of envy. After all, fashion isn't the only reason that Riddler prefers green clothes.

In the Riddler's first appearance, he's introduced as a computer programmer who's created a hit video game, "Riddle of the Minotaur." As his reward, Nygma's boss Daniel Mockridge (Gary Frank) fires him to cut him out of the profits. Nygma suits up as the Riddler to get revenge on Mockridge. In this episode, Riddler actually wins ... sort of. By the time Batman & Robin save Mockridge from the Riddler's labyrinth, Eddie has fled Gotham.

The episode ends with Mockridge living in paranoia that the Riddler will return for another attempt at revenge. Batman asks the final riddle: "How much is a good night's sleep worth"? If this had been the Riddler's only appearance, it would've been a skin-crawling open ending, but the Riddler is just too important a bad guy to use only once.

"What Is Reality?" builds on the video game motif from the Riddler's first appearance; he traps Batman in a virtual reality simulation. This one is definitely the weakest of the series' three Riddler episodes, the kind of gimmicky story that makes you see why the writers struggled with the Riddler. "Riddler's Reform" was much fresher. As the title suggests, it featured Nygma trying to build a new life as an entertainment tycoon. Batman wasn't convinced, and by the end the Riddler's compulsiveness thrust him back to crime. 

Dini (who co-wrote "Riddler's Reform") must've been taken with the idea of a reformed Riddler. During Dini's run in the 2000s writing "Detective Comics," he reinvented the Riddler as a private investigator, one who helps out Batman and the Gotham Police on criminal cases. The Riddler's new leaf didn't stay turned over, but "E. Nigma, Consulting Detective" is definitely a creative solution to Dini's trouble with writing Riddler plots.