With the impending release of Matt Reeves' The Batman film, there has been a lot of renewed attention placed upon the classic Batman antagonist known as the Riddler. The Riddler is a beloved Batman villain who first appeared way back in Detective Comics #140 in 1948 and was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang. He was memorably played by Frank Gorshin in the 1960s Batman television series and by Jim Carrey in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever. He will be played by Paul Dano in the upcoming film, The Batman.
This increased attention on the Riddler leaves many understandably wondering what are the best Riddler stories in Batman comics. With such a long and storied history, it can be hard to know where to start. Luckily, fans can't go wrong with these entries.
6 Batman: Zero Year Gives The Riddler An Explosive Origin
First up is Batman: Zero Year, which is a particularly remarkable tale in the beloved Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo run of Batman. This run was a bright spot in the much-maligned New 52 era of DC Comics, and Snyder and Capullo put the Dark Knight through some truly unforgettable trials during this time.
Among these trials was Zero Year, a retelling of the Batman origin story. The final arc of Zero Year found Edward Nygma seizing control over Gotham by taking control over its power grid. Unsurprisingly, Nygma proved a tyrannical leader, and Batman makes his name by overthrowing the soon-to-be Riddler.
5 Batman: War Of Jokes And Riddles Pits Two Great Villains Against Each Other
This story comes from the DC Rebirth era, with writer Tom King helming Batman. He worked alongside a cavalcade of talented artists in this era such as Mikel Janin, David Finch, and Clay Mann. War of Jokes and Riddles has King working with the very talented Janin.
The story is framed as an earlier conflict in Batman's career. The Riddler proposes an alliance with the Joker, and the Clown Prince responds by shooting Riddler. This leads to most of the Gotham underworld either joining with Riddler or Joker and waging battles across the city.
4 Batman: Hush Has Riddler Pulling The Strings
This tale introduces the notorious Hush, aka Tommy Elliot, a villain with a close personal connection to Bruce Wayne. Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee helm this story, and most of the tale actually doesn't focus on the Riddler. Villains like Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and Clayface assail the Batman in manners that seem to allude to personal details in Batman's history.
Batman eventually links it all back to Hush, but it turns out that he's not the true mastermind of it all. The true architect of Batman's misery is the Riddler from inside Arkham Asylum. He's also deduced the secret identity of Batman.
3 Batman: Run, Riddler, Run Has Riddler Planning A Citywide Scheme
This is an early 90s story from Gerard Jones and Mark Badger that came out in three parts. Each part was a 50-page deluxe issue that was later put together in a collected graphic novel format.
This story largely features the Riddler, as the name would imply. He is working for a millionaire named Donna DiForza who is looking to demolish a poorer part of Gotham to replace it with a "crime-free" area with offices and tenements. However, DiForza's security turns on Riddler and Batman, and Batman has to work with Riddler to keep DiForza's "New Gotham" from becoming a reality.
2 Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City Displays A Bloodthirsty Riddler
With the end of the Marv Wolfman era of Batman, writer Peter Milligan and artist Kieron Dwyer had a Batman story to tell before writer Alan Grant began his run. This story was called "Dark Knight, Dark City." It involves the Riddler discovering a centuries-old ritual to summon a bat demon known as Barbathos, and he lures Batman down a dark rabbit trail while trying to summon the demon.
Barbathos (later spelled as Barbatos) is significant to more recent DC history, as he was a centerpiece in part of Grant Morrison's Batman saga. He was also one of the main villains in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Dark Nights: Metal story.
1 Batman: Detective Finds Riddler On The Path To Redemption
In the years before Flashpoint and the New 52, the Riddler actually started to turn over a new leaf. He began using his intellect and skills to help Batman try to establish peace and order in Gotham City. He primarily worked as a private detective. Unfortunately, Riddler's redemption was completely undone with the New 52.
Riddler's hero turn took place over years and across different comic book titles, but it was centralized in Detective Comics and began in Detective Comics #822 by Paul Dini and Don Kramer. This issue and the rest of Dini's run on Detective Comics are collected in the Batman: Detective graphic novel, which also includes art by J.H. Williams III and Wayne Faucher. Paul Dini is most well-known for his writing on Batman: The Animated Series.