The Joker, Two-Face, Killer Croc, all of these bad guys are great but what’s a villain that really stretches your mental muscles and make you glad that the Dark Knight is a detective of the highest skill? The Riddler of course, and writer Scott Snyder has brought him back in the new origin tale for Batman in the currently ongoing “Zero Year” event being played out in the pages of Batman. With next month being Villain’s Month, Newsarama sat down the man who’ll be writing Batman #23.2, which stars the Riddler in all his green hatted glory. Ray Fawkes, one of the writers of the issue along with Scott Snyder, talks about how whether or not we’d get a look at the Riddler in the DCnU after the events of Zero Year. This issue will apparently tie into the limited series Forever Evil. Fawkes took time to address the subtle changes to the character after the reboot, now, what had changed and what had stayed the same about Edward Nygma.
The Riddler is a genius with one terrible flaw: he thinks that his brand of genius is the only kind there is – and the only kind that could ever be worthwhile. So when he encounters people who can’t compete in his area of expertise, he thinks of them as contemptible obstacles and wastes of oxygen. The version of him that Scott and I are putting forward seems colder, yeah, and that has a lot to do with how he dehumanizes people who don’t operate on his wavelength…he believes he’s the smartest man in the world. Right or wrong, it does put a little pep in his strut.
Fawkes confirmed that this issue will be taking place in the present, in a world where the DC Heroes have “died” after the events of Trinity War.
It’s in the present. Years have passed since The Riddler earned his terrible reputation in the events of Zero Year, and he did a bit of a stint in Arkham Asylum between then and now. We get to see the Riddler getting a little nostalgic in his issue here, and doing some of the terrible things the world expects of him. But why? What’s he hoping to accomplish? You’ll see…Freshly escaped from Arkham Asylum, the Riddler decides to “play a game” with Wayne Industries and its employees. There Will Be Blood, as they say.
Stating that Zero Year will cover the origin story of the Riddler, Fawkes wants to write story where there is no Batman to stop him this time.
…we wanted an opportunity to tell a different story: what the Riddler would be like if Batman wasn’t around to stop him. What would he do with his time? How would he express himself? Would he be satisfied with the result?
Batman’s absence is key to this story working, so this does not involve the Batman that’s been seen in Forever Evil, whomever he may be. Yet without a detective to solve Riddles, what is the Riddler? On that note, it’s been constantly noted by writers, be it the people who worked on the comics or the various writers on the Cartoons or TV Shows, that the Riddler is a hard villain to write stories for, so he’s a character people have used sparingly, because of his gimmick. Riddles are not easy to come up with. Fawkes takes time out to answer this conundrum about the character
It’s always tough to write characters who are supposed to be very intelligent, because you have to sell their intelligence, if you get what I mean. They can’t make dumb mistakes, and they have to be complicated in their thinking. Readers need to feel like it’s a challenge to outthink him, to guess where he’s going with his plans.
That said, writing the riddles is time-consuming as hell. But fun! I’m a bit of a formalist, so I like the challenge.
The interview continues on why the Riddler works as a foil to Batman, and actually reveals that Fawkes’s favorite Riddler story is from Batman The Animated Series entitled “Riddler’s Reform”
On his artist for the title, Jeremy Haun, Fawkes had this to say
His Riddler is all class, concealing a tightly wound spring. Perfect. I love the work Jeremy did — the story looks fantastic, and has just the right balance of menace, whimsy, and melancholy. I can’t wait for fans to see it so they can lavish well-deserved praise on Jeremy.
Look forward to the current day reintroduction to a beloved Batman Rogue next month in Batman #23.2
Source: Newsarama