The Dark Knight

[AncientSpirit]

You're exactly right.  Poor choice of words on my part.

[Figure Fan]

You're exactly right.  Poor choice of words on my part.

Because of your poor choice of words, someone won't be thrown out of a window, right?  ^_^

Great part.

To be honest, I just don't know who'd be good enough for a third movie. The Riddler seems like he'd be redundant and a bit of a letdown compared to the intensity of this Joker. Bane..ehh..sounds like Spider-Man 3 all over again.

I think they should stop here, though they won't.

[stumpy]

I think they could do a sequel and still use villains from the established Batman rogue's gallery. They do need to avoid is making the baddies too camp. I think they did a good job of that with the Joker and I think they could pull it off with others as well. Of course, there is a temptation to throw bones toward the 60s TV show, but the writers just need some discipline in keeping things serious, and maybe someone in the room who punches them in the gut when they go down the wrong road. The mistake is in thinking that, unless there is a big body count, a villain isn't interesting or serious. But, Batman is the world's greatest detective, not just the world's greatest undertaker.

There could be a Riddler who has the psychological compulsive disorder expressed in testing the Batman by giving him mysteries to solve, the solution of which is motivated by their connection to crimes. The crimes might be primarily monetary or kidnapping or whatever, and perhaps lives may be at risk because they aren't really such a consideration to the Riddler, though they obviously are to Batman. Meanwhile, the Riddler doesn't have to be a gaudy costumed presence who stands in front of a TV camera to taunt Batman. Maybe he is a shadowy, more noir figure, who works behind the scenes to manipulate and test Batman and his crimes are each a piece of a larger puzzle that Batman doesn't realize until the lead-in to the last act, where something larger is at stake. I would like a Batman movie where Batman has to solve some real mystery and we viewers come along for the ride. That doesn't mean there won't be baddies to punch, of course.

Meanwhile, since the writers are obsessed with the idea of a love story in every movie, why not Selina Kyle? She starts out as a society seductress who uses her charms to case Gotham's wealthy for crimes by Catwoman. They don't all have to be heists; she may also be interested in inside stock information, dirt to blackmail politicians, etc. Maybe the story of her sister works its way into the motivation (depending on how well that could be paced). This line of work brings her across Bruce's path as she works her angle with him. She realizes that there is something more to him than billionaire playboy and he realizes she has secrets of her own and maybe her own tragic past. That commonality leads them closer to one another, even as they dance around the risks of getting too involved and revealing secrets to someone who might be an enemy. I think she could be interesting and I very seriously want whatever love interest Bruce has to go a whole movie without playing the clichéd damsel-in-distress role.

Also, I think a theme to carry over from Dark Knight is that the police are after the Batman. Maybe even some feds are involved, perhaps a task force sent in to bring him to heal because he is subversive and the presence of an independent masked vigilante causes people to question authority. These may be people commissioner Gordon has to help, at least nominally, though he lends assistance to Batman by stymieing them at every step or tipping off the caped crusader.

Anyway, that's all top-of-the-head spitballing, but I think there is room for another movie in the series. They just need to avoid camp and avoid the need for a body count by having challenges that are interesting to solve in ways not all involving explosions.

[bredon7777]

As for those who think that there couldn't be a villian to top this, I offer up one possibility:  BANE.

And to that possibility, I offer up the following sentence: Not just NO, but HELL NO!

Bane was a lousy idea, poorly executed in the comics, and the moronic ("BOOOOOOOOMMMMBBB!") portrayal of him in the abomination that was Batman and Robin destroyed any chance of him being taken seriously as a cinematic villain, well, pretty much ever.  If you feel you have to go the anti-Batman route, in all honesty, Prometheus would be a FAR superior choice.

But I don't think we're anywhere near desperate enough to have to resort to a cliche like 'The anti-Batman' or to draft a joke like Bane for a cinematic redo (and I certainly don't think his last portrayal has lain in an undignified grave for anywhere near long enough to risk the inevitable comparisons).  As stumpy has pointed out, they could certainly do at least ONE sequel (ideas under the spoiler tag, just in case), and quite possibly more with the current rogues gallery before we have to draft a D-lister like Bane who would'nt even exist were it not for the event mentality that nearly destroyed comics during the speculative boom in the 80's.

[spoiler]
The proposed combination of Catwoman/Riddler that I'm hearing for the next movie I think could be done rather well.  Think Pierce Brosnan's character from The Thomas Crown Affair, only with a TON more ego- A rich man, shady, but too smart to have been caught -convinced he's smarter than everyone else, bored with everything- He sees the Joker throw Gotham into Chaos and outsmart the police department- but not the Batman and thinks..'Hey! If that loony almost took over Gotham, imagine what someone SMART could do. "..and we're off and running.  Play Catwoman straight out of Miller's Year one  a petty theif who thinks- "Hey, a costume works for someone catching criminals, why wouldn't it work for the criminals..."

Would it top Ledger's performance? No, most likely not. But, if done well, could it be, as a whole, as good as or better than TDK?  Absolutely.

At that's just one movie..the Joker is still alive(even though his portrayer sadly isnt), and a strong circumstantial case could be made for Two-Face being alive as well. They could return.  You could even make convincing Nolan-esque cases for some of the B and C listers like Mr. Freeze, and The Mad Hatter...
[/spoiler]

No, there's a long list of Batman villains that need cinematic do's and redo's before we get to the likes of Bane (though to be fair, he does rank above the Bookworm, Calculator Man, and Calendar Man)
  :D

[stumpy]

[spoiler]Hah! :thumbup: That's amazing because Thomas Crown was exactly who I had in mind when I wrote that. A clever guy with an obsession and a need to be challenged, but a little more villainous in that he's careless about putting lives at risk. He can't help but think that, since Batman is a genius at solving crimes, there has to be a sharp mystery criminal to keep him in his place.[/spoiler]

[Jakew]

Nolan's films seem to follow a "established baddie / baddie in disguise / cameo baddie" pattern. Like Ras Al Ghul / Scarecrow / Mr Zsasz, followed by Joker / Two-Face / Scarecrow.

So I'd probably go for Riddler / Black Mask / and maybe Cornelius Stirk or Firefly.

I think Catwoman, Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy may still be a little toxic from their respective flops, and Deadshot and Killer Croc were already used in Gotham Knights.

I agree with there being no need for an anti-Batman character like Bane or The Wrath ... evil-mirror versions  of the hero have been played out in spider-man 3, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk recently.

Story-wise ... all I can really think of is something involving Batman becoming more and more brutal with criminals due to having his closest friends stripped from him, being hunted by the police and hated by the public, until he regains his humanity by adopting Tim Grayson as his ward at the end. Tim doesn't become Robin in the film, however. And yeah, I know Nolan is against including Robin.

[TheMarvell]

I like that Riddler/Catwoman idea. I think Riddler is a strong enough villain and deserves to be redone. No offense to Jim Carrey, as I do like him as an actor usually, but, well, we all know Batman Forever sucked hard. Riddler should be an incredibly smart, in control villain, not the Joker-light that we saw in Forever. And Catwoman offers a good foil to Batman, and since the Halle Berry disaster, she deserves a makeover as well.

However, bringing back Two-Face, as much as I liked him, could easily seem like beating a dead horse. If the only reason to bring him back is to please fans and not the story or character progression, then he should be left alone.

but what about the Penguin? Do you think he could fit into Nolan's Gotham? I remember there being some internet rumors of a possible Penguin in future films, and the desired actor to play him was Philip Seymore Hoffman (Capote, Mission Impossible 3). I don't know though. Penguin could slip into campy territory easily.

but really, the next villain should be EGG HEAD.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I believe Nolan talked about the possibility of Penguin as the anti-Bruce--a wealthy heir who turns his intellect and fortune into controlling crime rather than stopping it.

I still think Bane could be done well.  I could imagine a movie where Venom is a street drug which gives the police trouble as it increases both aggression and strength and is highly addictive in its street form.  Bane turns out to be the person behind it, and he uses a purer form of it on himself.  Rather than an anti-Batman, play him as an intelligent thug.

[BWPS]

I'd love to see another great Batman movie, but I can't think of any new way to go with the characters from comics. Joker and two-face were the best villains to have non-campy. (Anytime I hear the word camp I think of the old Batman show and cartoon)

I really don't think The Riddler would be very interesting as he is now. Stealing stuff and then leaving clues for Batman to find is ok for a cartoon but would make a terrible movie, especially after the impressive villains we've seen so far. He'd need a huge revamp to be taken seriously, because he doesn't make a whole lot of sense as-is.

Clayface, Killer Croc, and others are cool villains, but how do you make a whole movie out of them? TDK was so DEEP (I think is a good word), and while a sequel doesn't necessarily need to be as in depth or complicated, it shouldn't turn into a big fight movie. Mr Freeze has a cool story and his motivations are interesting, but how does that relate to Batman?

The penguin in Batman Returns was different but not entirely a terrible idea. Of course the execution was bad and weird. Mad Hatter is another cool villain who I don't see working well in a sequel.

A return of Joker with Harley Quinn would be most interesting to me. Harley Quinn is probably my favorite comic character of all time. As much as it would be bad to try to replace Heath Ledger, Joker did wear a lot of makeup and someone else could play him without the series ending up hurting from so much cast-swapping like the older movies. Joker is the best villain, but I know how they like to go with other stuff.

The best idea would be to ignore the continuity of the first two movies and introduce a combination of lesser known villains like Crazy-Quilt, Simon the Pieman (who DID take out ALL of Batman's A-list enemies AND nearly kill the dynamic duo), The Fearsome Foot-Fighters, Kite Man, and Mr. Polka-Dot. There wouldn't need to be a main plot, he could just go through a 30 minute fight with each villain. Wow, I love reading about old Batman villains.

I'd like to see more of Batman using things like he did with the sonar and dealing with the issue of that. Like in Kingdom Come when he spied on all of Gotham, only he'd be developing the tech and deciding if he should use it.

[bredon7777]

BWPS, go rent The Thomas Crown Affair and Sleuth (The original, not the horrid remake); the combination of Pierce Brosnan's character and Laurence Oliver's character's ego I think would make a perfect fit for the Riddler. And The Riddler doesn't steal stuff and THEN leaves clues- he leaves clues as a direct challenge to The Batman; a "See? I'm smarter than you! I'm smart enough that you cant stop me!' sort of thing.

Harley Quinn runs into the same problem that Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and Clayface all have- they have powers. And in the "realistic" world that Nolan is going for, I see powers as a no-no.  You can get away with GADGETS, (which is why I think you can pull off a version of Mr. Freeze and The Mad Hatter) but not powers. 

Cat-
Penguin as the "anti-Batman"? Not sure I buy it, but Nolan has earned a LOT of my trust. I'd be curious, but I still think The RIddler is a far superior choice for the next movie, though that might just be personal bias.

In general though, I'd argue that there would HAVE to be another movie, (even without the box office record smashing).  It's just too bleak to leave it where it is now.  I don't remember who said it, but whoever compared it to 'Empire' was dead on.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Cat-
Penguin as the "anti-Batman"? Not sure I buy it, but Nolan has earned a LOT of my trust. I'd be curious, but I still think The RIddler is a far superior choice for the next movie, though that might just be personal bias.

Re-read my post.  I said nothing about anti-Batman, I said anti-Bruce.  That choice of words was very much on purpose.

[Figure Fan]

Maybe Holiday would be a good villain for the next movie? Seems like a pretty interesting premise, to have the main baddie killing people on holidays. The Long Halloween incorporates the two crime families introduced thus far, as well.

Maybe Hush?

*shrugs*

[The_Baroness]

Riddler/Catwoman sounds very good to me... The Thomas Crown affair was a great movie and i can see riddler with that kind of personality.

Catwoman deserves a reboot... after the hale berry disaster.

Penguin, would work perfectly as the new capo, playing it clever enough to maybe even avoid being captured in the end

Hugo Strange could make some interesting mindgames.

Poison Ivy, she could be a very good villain with nolan directing, the thing about her powers could be left just for interpretations (just inmunity to her own products), but someoone making poisons, mind controling drugs... not only sounds very good to me, but could go into very very dark directions.. with themes like the comple violation of someone's mind

Bane? no way... really... he could be done really good, but he is not that interesting and certainly not at the begining of batman careers, if you need someone to challenge him as an anti batman, why not Catman?... but better not go that way.

Killer Croc and some other villains could appear just as cameos, to show that Batman have to work on other things as well, like the scene with scarecrow.

Now, 2 face could be a cameo of a shadowing figure playing with a coin, just to let us know he is alive, maybe in some clinic recovering, or whatever.

[House Quake]

Watching how this production team has handled 'A' list villians like Joker and Two-Face as well as a 'B' listers like Ra's al Ghul and Scarecrow... I'm going to trust that whom ever they use as the villain(s) in the third movie will be nothing like what any of us expect.

Face it... they pretty much broke one of the principle rule about not re-inventing the core characters... and it worked.  The spirit of these villains is there... but their origins, portrayals and other key characteristics have been altered....... in a good way.

I believe that if they stay true to formula.... we will most certainly see the Riddler and Catwoman... with the possibility of seeing a cameo of the Joker and Harley Quinn (or Two-face).  I'ld even expect to see a early situation involving a crime boss like Tony Zucco.

Oh yeah... loved the movie.  It is one of the best comic inspired movies yet... as well as one of my fav movies period.

[BWPS]

BWPS, go rent The Thomas Crown Affair and Sleuth (The original, not the horrid remake); the combination of Pierce Brosnan's character and Laurence Oliver's character's ego I think would make a perfect fit for the Riddler. And The Riddler doesn't steal stuff and THEN leaves clues- he leaves clues as a direct challenge to The Batman; a "See? I'm smarter than you! I'm smart enough that you cant stop me!' sort of thing.

I've seen the TCA, and I understand his motives though I guess I didn't word them properly. It's a fine enemy for Rene Russo, but after Joker, I don't see that being too interesting for Batman to go up against, but that's just me.

Watching how this production team has handled 'A' list villians like Joker and Two-Face as well as a 'B' listers like Ra's al Ghul and Scarecrow... I'm going to trust that whom ever they use as the villain(s) in the third movie will be nothing like what any of us expect.

Face it... they pretty much broke one of the principle rule about not re-inventing the core characters... and it worked.  The spirit of these villains is there... but their origins, portrayals and other key characteristics have been altered....... in a good way.

This is true. I guess I shouldn't act like Nolan wouldn't be able to translate existing characters into a good third movie when he's proven that he can.

[JeyNyce]

I kinda like the idea of deadshot being in the next movie, maybe not as a major villian, but as a side villian like scarecrow was.  I like the way he was done in Gotham Knights, I think they can do him justice in the next movie.

[UnkoMan]

The Riddler is one of those villains that I totally love, but have to admit he's almost never been used right. Dark Knight Dark City from Batman 452-454 is a great Riddler story. It's got the Riddler leaving a ton of clues for, and doing these seemingly random things, to trick Batman into doing everything the Riddler needs. Riddler just isn't often used right, is all.

I think Black Mask would be an awesome villain for this world, the direction his character is now. Horrific, gruesome, actually enjoys torture and murder. He's just less fun and games than the Joker. Plus he looks sweet.

Anarky might even make a good villain. Okay, so I totally hate the character, but I think Nolan could pull something like that off.

Penguin works for a mob boss type. Deadshot for a hitman. Not good enough on their own, but if you use them in the background they're fine. It shows that things are getting weirder. Oh, actuallly... How about the Great White Shark? You know, from Arkham Asylum: Living Hell? Imagine, the third Batman story simply takes place in this world they've created, featuring Batman as not more than a cameo. Probably would be an unpopular idea, but would result in a better story that doesn't take anything away from this last movie by showing the same characters in lesser situations.

Hey, who else is super happy that they killed off the "love interest"? If they do a third, I say don't try to fill that role. Surely I reiterate. Anyhow, enough.

[GogglesPizanno]

I personally wold like to see them use the riddler if nothing else to help push up the "detective" angle of the Batman character. One of the big gripes of the first film was that Bruce Wayne wasn't much of a detective. Other characters figured stuff out around him, but he did very little himself.

In the Dark Knight, we saw him start getting more into this kind of thing. After two movies with big car chases and what not, I think it would a step back for the character to try and do a slugfest against some super villain. I would love to see the third film go more into the psychological battle of wills and intellect -- especially after getting basically outsmarted by the joker at almost every turn, I can see the character trying to remedy that. And story wise it makes sense as at the end of Dark knight, he obviously is gonna have to be keeping a slightly more low profile.

[Viking]

Like everyone else, I'm quite curious to see which direction they're likely to go in the next movie, and what characters they plan to use.  My musings are in spoilers, since they make a few references to things that happened in The Dark Knight:

[spoiler]
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Two Face make another appearance in the next film.  They've already established that Gotham's law enforcement is willing to keep tightly guarded secrets, and pretend that people are dead when they're not.  I could easily see Batman and Gordon coming to a private agreement of, "Yes - let's throw Harvey Dent a funeral, keep the truth under wraps, and for God's sake get this man some therapy."

Of course, it's a really dark shade of irony that while the Joker wasn't killed off, the actor playing him is actually dead.  I'd be much more surprised to see the Joker showing up at all in the next film, simply because of the ginormous shoes that Heath Ledger has left to fill.  (And I don't mean ginormous clown shoes, either.)

Ordinarily, I'd expect Catwoman to be a presence in the next film.  Precisely because Rachel Dawes was apparently killed off.  Yes, the apparent death of the love interest was a bold move that really worked well in this film.  But it also left a gaping hole with respect to female characters.  And I would be very, very surprised if they wrote a movie with no major female characters in it.

But... I also realize that Nolan did a great job in the first film with two Batman villains that had not previously been treated to serious film time.  So, drawing solely upon the Animated Series for reference, I could envision another scenario.  The return of Ra's Al Ghul, and the introduction of his daughter, Talia.

You see, I don't think we've seen the last of the League of Shadows.  There are a few clues that I'm using in building this hypothesis.  First, the established fact that the League of Shadows views Gotham as a city of corruption and wants to destroy it.  Second, the fact that the Joker was a whirlwind of anarchy and destructive force in the Dark Knight movie - trying to push the city of Gotham towards self-destruction.  And finally... viewers may recall the scene where the Joker is in prison, and the cops are noting that they have nothing on identifying who the Joker is.  Dental records, fingerprints, clothing... all of that stuff turned up an absolute blank.  Which makes me wonder if the League of Shadows had a hand in creating the Joker in the first place, and then turning him loose on Gotham City.

It makes for a fun hypothesis, at any rate.
[/spoiler]

[Figure Fan]

The last part of your post is pretty interesting, actually. I could see the League returning to take another stab at destroying the city.

[lugaru]

http://www.theconnoisseurs.com/thedarkknight.html

The Dark Knight

The sheer volume of comic book movies this year has been staggering, but overall the consensus was that this movie would be at the top of the heap. With a long running viral internet campaign, a bunch of advanced screenings, and dozens of clever promotions, I think the Dark Knight was crowned this summer's blockbuster hit months in advance of actually opening. Add to that the tabloid appeal of Heath Ledger's tragic death after an amazing performance in what is arguably this movies lead role and you've got the year's most talked about film. So yeah, I saw this behemoth of a movie coming from a mile away and it still managed to surprise me within the first 10 minutes with a bank robbery otherwise reserved as the climax of a heist film. Also I'm a huge fan of actor Aaron Eckhart and I was not expecting that his Harvey Dent character was going to get as much on screen time and dialog as he did, and every such scene was great.



The only bit that was easy to predict was that Christian Bale would reprise his dual roles as millionaire Bruce Wayne and as Batman, the city's celebrated vigilante. At the beginning of the movie that is not too bad a gig, crime is down and he finds himself mostly fighting copycats and low rent villains. Then the Joker makes an appearance, destabilizing the balance of power amongst crime families and making it a really bad town to be a cop in. This incarnation of the Joker is extremely menacing, more of a horror icon than a gimmicky bank robber. And once the Joker points his ill will in the Batman's direction things become violently unpredictable, with important characters turning up dead every few minutes. In fact the movie seems to sink into a deeper and more hopeless place with each scene, as we are shown time and time again that high tech gadgetry is ineffective against the unpredictability of low tech terrorism. At times this is a welcome analogy but sometimes the metaphor becomes too obvious, in particular when Batman decides to implement a plan that allows him to spy on the entire population of Gotham.



I mostly took all that in stride given the fact that almost every movie this year has some dubious political commentary on patriotism and the war against terror (see my Iron Man review).  More interesting is what this movie has to say about what it takes to be a hero and how such people are rewarded.



For example, the district attorney Harvey Dent becomes an extremely successful crime fighter only to have his spirit crushed and his face mutilated, creating the classic bat-villain Two Face in the process.



Other characters such as Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) find their own lives placed in peril due to their need for justice. As for Batman let's just say that he threatens to retire in just about every other scene.



But in the end summer films are not just about the characters, it's about the memorable set pieces. And in this movie there is no shortage of car chases, explosions, high tech gadgetry, and cathartic arse kicking. Batman is just a little bit darker than usual, although I would happily have him give up his new bone crunching ways and growly voice in exchange for some personality. Perhaps the next sequel will introduce a brightly colored sidekick to dampen his off-putting angst. I'm not asking for Batman's adventures in candy land but after saying so many times that it's darkest before the dawn, I would love to see what the dawn looks like.   

[laughing paradox]

I liked it. I didn't think it was the second coming of Christ, but it was definitely the best Batman movie to date.

As much as I loved the Joker in the movie, which was great, I was really impressed with the acting of the Harvey Dent role. I believed in Harvey. Heh.

I want Catwoman in the next movie. Nolan's take of Catwoman would be phenomenal.

[stumpy]

[spoiler]

Hey, who else is super happy that they killed off the "love interest"? If they do a third, I say don't try to fill that role. Surely I reiterate. Anyhow, enough.

I was glad to be done with Dawes and I hope any future female principal in the franchise doesn't end up cast in some sort of template damsel-in-distress plot with a knife to her throat or hanging from something about to fall to her death. It's just that the ruse is so uncreative and predictable.

I don't mind a love interest if it's compelling. There is potential for an interesting interaction between Bruce and Selina, so maybe that would be fine. The problem is that Rachel Dawes was a waste of screen time in the first movie and only a little better in this one as a backdrop for Dent's anguish. (And, as I've said, I like Maggie Gyllenhaal and think her performance was fine.)

Frankly, I think some people in Hollywood hew to the notion that they can't get women in the theater seats without a love story, so they tack one on. I don't mind it when it takes a necessary character and gives her depth (like Pepper Potts in Iron Man) without becoming a central part of the movie. But Rachel Dawes was an unnecessary and uninteresting character in Batman Begins and the romance added nothing to her. They took a boring character and crafted a boring romantic subplot around her. At least in DK they wrote her interaction with Dent as something that worked in the story, even if the Rachel-Bruce dynamic was still a snooze.

I guess my point is, if they are going to do it, do it right and make it serve some purpose in the film. Don't do it just as an afterthought to tighten the film's demographics or whatever the reason was here.[/spoiler]

[bredon7777]

Apparently, those who got cell phones in the marketing campaign got a message from the Joker over the weekend...!?!?

[Gremlin]

The Riddler would be a great villain for the next movie if only for the amazing viral marketing they could do with it.  You think the Joker's crap was trippy?  How phenomenal would the Riddler's be?

[Carravaggio]

Don't do it just as an afterthought to tighten the film's demographics or whatever the reason was here.[/spoiler]

Oh, if only Hollywood could do this for everything.
Screw the demograpic, make the film how it should be.

[Mr. Hamrick]

The most logical villains to put in the next film are:

The Riddler - as actually been set up in the viral marketing campaign via the Gotham Times

Penguin - The Iceberg Lounge was mentioned in the Gotham Times as well but I don't see him being a "major villain" in the third.  At best, he would be in a similar role to that of Falcone in The Dark Knight.

Catwoman - agreed that she deserves a reboot. 

Professor Hugo Strange - He is brought in as part of the "catch Batman task force" and has ulterior motives.

Mad Hatter - kidnapper with a thing for the old Lewis Carroll story.  I could attach a few other crimes on the list of things but this is a family forum.

The Black Mask - eh, maybe but to me is a long shot.

[Carravaggio]

That Hugo Strange angle could be a brilliant one, exploring the duality of bruce/batman, his motives etc. in even deeper ways than the first movie.

[bredon7777]

The most logical villains to put in the next film are:

The Riddler - as actually been set up in the viral marketing campaign via the Gotham Times

Can you elaborate? I thought I'd followed the marketing fairly closely, and didn't really see anything I'd view as setting up the Riddler. . .

[UnkoMan]

The most logical villains to put in the next film are:

The Riddler - as actually been set up in the viral marketing campaign via the Gotham Times

Can you elaborate? I thought I'd followed the marketing fairly closely, and didn't really see anything I'd view as setting up the Riddler. . .

E. Nashton wrote in a letter to the editor.  Edward Nashton is the Riddler's real name, before he changed it to Edward Nigma.