By [ad_1]
The Dark Knight shows grounded takes on many characters. But could one of Batman’s smartest villains have been hiding under Bruce Wayne’s nose?
Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy takes the legacy of Batman and breathes new life into it by taking a more grounded approach with the universe. Batman Begins introduced this idea by showing Bruce’s training and how immortality is just a parlor trick implemented by Ra’s Al Ghul. However, this hasn’t stopped the series from bringing in classic characters and moments from the comics, even if they aren’t a 1:1 recreation. That being said, there may be one nod to a classic villain that feels much more like a subtle cameo.
In The Dark Knight, The Joker challenges every facet of what makes Batman a hero. Batman’s mental prowess is pushed to its limits from his morals to his motivations. However, Bruce Wayne’s public and personal persona is challenged considerably less. But even though there aren’t true to form villains giving Wayne a hard time, there is some opposition like Harvey Dent inadvertently challenging his heroic crusade. But one Wayne Enterprises employee named Coleman Reese actively challenges Wayne’s personal life using nothing but his problem-solving in a manner reminiscent of The Riddler, which was brought to light thanks to one theory.
Edward Nygma/The Riddler is known for committing crimes and challenging Batman’s intellect with various riddles in the comics. His intelligence has also helped him solve Batman’s identity, making him one of the few. Although Coleman Reese doesn’t act like The Riddler, his actions and backstory frame him in an outline similar to Nygma’s. In The Dark Knight, Reese makes a point to try and blackmail Lucius Fox after learning that Bruce Wayne is actually Batman. With Gotham City living in a time of fear, it’s easy for people to try to take advantage, and his actions callback to how sneaky and opportunistic Riddler is.
In the theory, Redditor XseCrystal notes that Mr. Reese sounds similar to “mysteries,” which is perfect for the Riddler as Edward Nygma can also be written as E. Nygma. Working for Wayne Enterprises is another tie Reese has to The Riddler, as in the Zero Year comic by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Greg Capullo and Rafael Albuquerque. Nygma was also an employee for Wayne in Batman Forever, although it took him more time to piece together that Wayne and Batman were the same.
In the end, Reese’s blackmail fails after he tries to out his identity on television, and Bruce Wayne saves him from an assassination attempt. In doing so, Reese agrees to keep Bruce’s secret, and he’s not seen in The Dark Knight series again. Although his part was brief, his actions created more chaos in Gotham City, which is something The Riddler would relish. Plus, it’s also important to note the level of deduction needed to decipher that Wayne is Batman, especially when they’re likely so hard to find.
The change doesn’t mean much in this universe when it comes to names. For example, this world’s next Batman, John Blake, embodies all of the Robins, but rather than be one, The Dark Knight Rises reveals Blake’s first name as Robin. Still, that appearance was more of a full-blown cameo and surprise than Reese’s portrayal. Since there’s no obvious nod to Reese being tied to The Riddler, it’s safer to assume that the tie is more of a sneaky nod than an actual cameo.
About The Author
[ad_2]
