Warning: Spoilers for Batman: The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween #3Batmanis often called the World’s Greatest Detective, but anytime he sees a situation that he can’t solve on his own, he asks for help. Batman has carefully curated his Bat-Family to be some of the greatest and most intelligent crime fighters in the DC Universe. But during one of his most difficult crimes, Batman needs the help of a villain instead of a Bat-Family member.
Batman encounters a truly difficult case in a preview forBatman: The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween#3by Jeph Loeb and Mark Chiarello. James Gordon’s son has been kidnapped, and Batman has absolutely no clue as to who did it or where the child is. Desperate to save the child of his greatest friend, Batman considers turning to an iconic villain.
While Batman is an amazing detective, Edward Nygma has always had the intelligence to rival him.As the Riddler, Edward loves solving puzzles, and that’s all that mysteries are. With Batman hitting dead end after dead end,he realizes that he needs the Riddler’s help, and it isn’t the first time.
Batman Has Requested the Riddler’s Help - And It’s Part of a Larger Pattern
Page fromBatman: Dark Victory#2 by Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale, Gregory Wright, and Richard Starkings
The Riddler has frightening intelligence. While he may not be a capable hand-to-hand fighter,he’s an incredible strategist and one of DC’s greatest geniuses. He has challenged Batman in games of wit for decades, so it makes sense that Batman would sometimes turn to him in times of need. Batman even explains that if the Riddler weren’t involved in the kidnapping, he would likely know who was, and failing that, he’d likely be willing to help figure it out just for the fun of it. It’s a personality trait that Batman has made use of several times over the years.
At Last, DC Reveals the First Enemy Batman and Robin Ever Faced Together
Thanks to Mark Waid, Batman & Robin’s first year as the Dynamic Duo is being reimagined like never before, including the reveal of their first enemy.
The Last Halloweenis the third story in Loeb’sLong Halloweentrilogy, this one honoring his late collaborator Tim Sale. In the original Loeb and SaleLong Halloweenseque,Dark Victory, Batman requests the Riddler’s help in solving a puzzle. In a different situation,the Riddler opens his own private investigation firm to help solve crimes simply for the fun of it,leading toBatman and the Riddler starting a rivalryover who was the better detective. Considering how unstable and dangerous the Riddler can be, it makes sense that Batman would rarely turn to him, but his skills as a detective are also undeniable.
Batman Has Relied on the Riddler a Surprising Number of Times in His History
The Riddler Is One of Gotam’s More Reliable Rogues
Almost all of Batman’s villains are geniuses in one way or another, but the Riddler has always stood above them. Eventhe Joker admits that the Riddler is smarterthan the rest of Batman’s villains, himself included. With the Riddler’s absolute love for puzzles and solving mysteries and the fact that he’s not nearly as evil or sadistic as some of Batman’s other villains, it makes sense that Batman would request his help in times of need. While the Riddler is always happy to prove his superiority by helping Batman on a case, it can’t be an easy thing forBatmanto ask for.
Batman: The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween#3is available November 27th, 2024 from DC Comics!
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
