Here at Polygon we like to spend (almost) every Monday celebrating the best comic book moments of the past week, but today I want to start with something different. In honor of The Batmanthe Riddler’s first live-action appearance on the big screen since 1995, I have to share my favorite Riddler moment ever.
You see, for a long time of DC Comics before the 2011 reboot, the Riddler was fully aware that Batman was Bruce Wayne. He figured it out all by himself, because if characters like Ra’s al Ghul and Bane could easily deduce Batman’s true identity, then so could the hyper-intelligent Riddler. This was a great addition to the short list of supervillains who knew Batman’s big secret, most of whom could be trusted with the information for reasons of sympathy or honor.
The Riddler, on the other hand, hates Batman’s guts and loves channeling information about people. So you might be wondering: How did Batman stop Eddie Nygma from spilling the beans all over Gotham?
The answer makes perfect sense and is also terribly stupid.
What else is happening on the pages of our favorite comics? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s weekly list of books our comics editor has enjoyed over the past week. It’s part society pages about the lives of superheroes, part recommended reading, and part look at this cool art. There may be some spoilers. There may not be enough context. But there will be great comics. (And if you missed the last issue, read this.)
When the Riddler claims that his newfound knowledge gives him the ultimate knife to Batman’s throat, Batman counters with an apparent non-sequitur: What time is it when an elephant is sitting on a fence? And when Riddler scoffs, a riddle everyone knows the answer to, Batman leans in and tells him that’s exactly why he won’t tell anyone Bruce Wayne is Batman. Because a riddle to which everyone knows the answer is not a riddle at all.
It’s an absolute farce from scratch, made even funnier when it growls from Batman’s hood, somehow in the shadows, even in a brightly lit room. But that’s the Riddler! That’s the long and the short of him! A man whose thoughts irresistibly turn him against his own best interests, trapping him in a forced loop. Artist Jim Lee sells the horror of someone who knows it’s the dumbest reason not to be able to ruin his enemy’s life, and still can’t
Destiny’s role throughout the Krakoan era was to be menacing, powerful, and perfectly balanced, hence that quick swipe of her impotent rage at having gambit for a son-in-law (she and Mystique raised Rogue, Rogue married Gambit in 2018) is frighteningly adorable.
I’m a She Hulk fan and a fan of Rainbow Rowell comics, but two issues in and… I’m head over heels in love with Rainbow Rowell’s She Hulk. I have no idea what’s up with the main plot of the superheroes because I’ve never heard of the Knave of Hearts before, but any book that spends two full pages just on the superhero’s drive to his day job – a drive on which they take a Ambulances see bumper to bumper and decide to help – this is a great book.
Look! I am a fool! I’m a sucker for just such things! In a chance early encounter with Spider-Man, Emma Frost quickly merges with Peter Parker because she needs to get him out of the way and erase his memories of ever seeing her, downloading all of his trauma in the process in half a second. (This download is communicated via a beautiful welcome page by Phil Noto, which tells the entire Spider-Man story from Uncle Ben to Gwen Stacy.)
And the Ice Queen’s reaction? The only one she would ever have: seeing Peter Parker for the wounded and struggling little boy that he is. Like I said, I’m a sucker!