Characters / The Batman (2022)

aka: The Batman 2022 The Riddler

Character page for the 2022 film The Batman.

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Wayne Household

Bruce Wayne/The Batman

Bruce Wayne / The Batman

"I'm vengeance."

Portrayed by: Robert Pattinson, Oscar Novak (Young)

Appears In: The Batman (2022) | The Batman: Part II

Voiced by: Gerardo García (Latin-American Spanish dub), Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese dub)

"What I'm doing is my family's legacy. If I can't change things here, if I can't have an effect, then I don't care what happens to me."

After his parents were shot to death in front of him as a child, Bruce Wayne vowed to dedicate his life to waging war on Gotham City's criminals and rid his beloved home of the corruption that plagues it. To that end, he trained extensively for years, honing his body to its mental and physical peak, and became a masked vigilante who dresses as a bat to prey on his enemies' superstitions and fears, using an armored suit and gadgets.

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• '90s Hair: He boasts curtain bangs in his Bruce Wayne identity.
• Action Hero: Well, this is Batman after all. Though, in this iteration, there's just as much emphasis on his detective work as there is on his physical battles against crime.
• Adaptational Curves: Inverted. He's noticeably leaner than most takes on Batman. Can be partially explained by this being relatively early into his crime fighting career (2 years), and he simply hasn't had the time yet to put on the muscle.
• Adaptational Mundanity: Unlike in The Dark Knight Trilogy, where Batman's cape allowed him to glide through an Applied Phlebotinum "memory cloth" cape, or in most other media, where his ability to glide with his cape is unexplained, here, Batman is merely able to convert it into a wingsuit, something that already exists. This is also shown taking a few moments to do, and still requires a parachute to safely land, so he only uses it in an emergency.
• Adaptational Personality Change: Not his real personality, but how he chooses to appear in public. His Bruce Wayne persona is more of a reclusive loner akin to Michael Keaton in the Burton films than the Millionaire Playboy of the comics and the Nolan films or the Honest Corporate Executive of the DCEU. Bruce Wayne is barely different from Batman, him being immersed in his vigilante self, and feels that there's hardly any need for being Bruce Wayne. Reál is trying to get him out of his penthouse and become a proper activist supporting the city, and Alfred wants him to be more involved in Wayne Enterprises.
• Adaptational Ugliness: Downplayed; he's still quite good-looking (this IS Robert Pattinson we’re talking about). However, compared to previous live-action depictions of Bruce Wayne, this version is noticeably more gaunt and unkempt-looking when not in the Batsuit, emphasizing the dark frame of mind Bruce is still in this early in his career.
• Adaptational Wimp:
  • By virtue of this movie taking place in a setting that's even grittier and more grounded than the Nolan Trilogy, this incarnation of Batman is notably low-tech, with many of his showcased gadgets being tools for his detective work rather than assisting him in combat. His cape also doesn't serve any functional purpose beyond the intimidation factor, meaning that when Bruce needs to jump from the roof to escape the GCPD, he needs to frantically equip himself with an actual wingsuit, which does very little to deter Bats from suffering a disastrous crash landing immediately after making the jump.
  • Similarly, this Batman doesn't use Batarangs or shuriken, and instead relies on his own two fists and whatever he can get his hands on during fights.
• Age Lift: Of his live-action interpretations, he might be one of the youngest live-action Batmen to date, being only 28, as opposed to other incarnations that had him more firmly set in his adult years, if not middle-aged or older. This puts him closer in line with the Post-Crisis incarnation of Batman, who began his career at age 26, while this Batman has been operating for two years as of the start of The Batman.
• Amateur Sleuth: Bruce, as Batman, often does detective work in his fight against crime, despite being independent from the GCPD. Naturally, he does work with the GCPD, though there are moments in which Bruce conducts his own detective work, usually in his own base of operations.
• Ambiguously Christian: Or rather, Roman Catholic if the use of "Ave Maria" in the film is anything to go by. The Wayne family manor was converted by Thomas and Martha into what seems to be a Roman Catholic orphanage as part of the Renewal project, complete with choir boys singing "Ave Maria" upon his arrival to announce his Mayoral run. Considering it would be weird for non-Catholics to open a Catholic orphanage out of their own repurposed manor, this is a pretty big hint as to what faith the Wayne's in this movie belong to.
  • This has since been confirmed in the Apple exclusive commentary track, stating that the third act was Batman's "penance" for failing to catch on to Riddler's clues, and his descent into the waters of Gotham was his "baptism" and subsequent renewal.
• Ambiguously Jewish: In a promotional photo for the website, the Wayne's have a copy of the Zohar on their living room bookshelf. While simply owning a book, especially one that coaches spirituality, does not make you a member of any faith, it's the only book on the shelf with a specific name and purpose within the Jewish faith. While Batman has been considered some denomination of Christian since his conception (and Martha herself was canonically stated to be Irish-Catholic) the very recent New 52 continuity has Martha Wayne hinted at being Jewish thanks to the retcon of Kate Kane being Bruce's cousin, making her son Jewish under Rabbinic law if she is.
  • Considering how Martha in this movie is an Arkham and Kate Kane probably doesn't exist in this continuity, though, that's probably not the case here like all canonical iterations of the character pre-New 52. It's only really a thing when he's cousins with Batwoman.
• Anguished Outburst: The revelation that Thomas Wayne was willing to work with Carmine Falcone in scaring off an opposing journalist leaves Bruce aghast and disappointed. He angrily and somberly has a conversation with Alfred in the hospital about why Thomas had to work with a mafia crime lord like him. Thankfully, this is remedied by Alfred telling Bruce that Thomas, for all his faults, loved his wife and son and never intended to kill anyone.
• Animal Motif: Huh, I guess you're wondering what animal motif Batman represents?
• Anti-Hero: While committed to his "no-killing" rule deeply, Batman is a lot more brutal and unscrupulous in his war against crime than many others, and he shows shades of selfishness due to his single-minded desire for vengeance for his parents' murder. A major factor in his Character Development is to learn the consequences of inspiring fear so he transitions into a great figure of hope who can inspire the people of Gotham to endure and be resilient.
• Armor Is Useless: Nope. One of Bruce's tactics to help sell the idea that he's an otherworldly creature to the superstitious criminals of Gotham is to sometimes tank their gunfire head-on, demonstrating how he's Immune to Bullets, before retaliating by beating the tar out of them with unbridled ferocity, intimidating many Mooks who witness his apparent invulnerability and viciousness towards them. At one point he pulls an Unflinching Walk straight through a hall of gunfire, lit by the sparks of the bullets bouncing off him. At the same time, it does have its limits. He may manage to tank a point-blank range shotgun blast square to his center mass, but all that kinetic energy has to go somewhere, and he is still knocked back and can do nothing but lay prone in extreme pain.
• Badass Boast: After being asked "The hell are you supposed to be?" by a thug, his response is a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown followed by "I'm vengeance."
• Badass Cape: A standard garb for any iteration of Bruce Wayne. That said, this one doesn't really allow Batman to glide long distances; instead, he has to fashion the cape into a wingsuit of sorts, and it turns out rough and crude, given that while it helps Bruce escape the GCPD, he still needs to use a parachute to land, which gets tangled up in a bridge and sends him tumbling down the street in an accident that would have gotten anyone else heavily injured.
• Bat Deduction: Despite being the Trope Namer, the Batman here subverts it hard. Any clues he picks up on comes from the tedious and rigorous use of real detective work. It takes a good long while for him to decipher the true meaning of the "You are el rata alada" riddle and, when he asks the Riddler via the web chat whether Penguin is the "winged rat", Riddler seems almost irritated that Batman isn't pulling the exact solution Riddler wants from his incredibly obtuse riddles.
• Battle Boomerang: Averted. This portrayal of Batman notably does not use any "batarangs"; the detachable bat-shape tool on his chest is used like a convention utility knife.
• Battle Couple: Not exactly a "couple" per se, but he does have a crimefighting dynamic with Catwoman, particularly in the climax when she attacks a Riddler follower to protect him as he's injured, and he, in turn, pulls a Heroic Second Wind to save her afterwards.
• Big Good: After realizing his quest for vengeance was only making things worse for the people and inspiring criminals like Riddler to endanger them, Batman steps into the light at the end of the film and decides to guide Gotham back from the brink as a symbol of hope rather than fear.
• Blue Blood: Being descended from the Waynes and Arkhams on his father's and mother's sides of the family respectively, the two houses, according to the Riddler, that were been singularly important to the founding and development of Gotham. The fact that this film chooses to depict the tower housing Wayne Enterprises and the family's residence as an unique tower with prominent Gothic architectural elements both outside and inside, like an ivory tower, certainly reinforces the two families' status and influence.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: Rough and brutal as he may be, Bruce does have his moments of genuine kindness, respect, and remorse. He makes an attempt to reach out to Mayor Mitchell's son in his grief and saves him from an oncoming car, and tries to reach out to Selina when he realizes that they're both motivated by past tragedies that involved the death of their parents. By the end, he learns to be a Hope Bringer for Gotham's populace, not a Terror Hero.
• Byronic Hero: Bruce fits this to a tee. He is very asocial and aloof to his close ones and his surroundings, has trouble with reckoning with his past, and muses over his problems in dialogue and narration. On the other hand, he genuinely cares about the few people he's closest to, does not actually kill anybody in his crusade, and his efforts are for a noble cause. His convictions, while generally high-minded and heroic, end up creating problems, namely Riddler becoming inspired by the Dark Knight's actions.
• Character Catchphrase: "I'm vengeance" is implied to be one; he utters the line after beating down a thug at the start of the movie (in response to said thug's question of "the hell are you supposed to be?"). Penguin implies that Batman has used the same line with him, nicknaming Batman "Vengeance", which Selina adopts as an Affectionate Nickname. Hearing the line said by one of Riddler's followers is part of what makes Batman change his approach and move from being a Terror Hero to a Hope Bringer.
• Character Development: The Batman focuses on Bruce's journey from being an otherworldly embodiment of vengeance against criminals and the corrupt to being a compassionate knight to Gotham's people.
• Chase Fight: Bruce engages in one against the Penguin as the latter tries to escape. Penguin does get a few good hits and stays ahead of Bruce by causing a huge pileup. Unfortunately, Bruce is riding the Batmobile, whose durability is enough to withstand explosions, and subsequently, he defeats and apprehends Penguin.
• Chest Insignia: Bruce's iconic bat-shaped chest emblem is revealed to be detachable, functioning as a large knife he can use as a cutting tool when the need arises. Given its lethality, he never uses this as a weapon, only a tool to solve his problems, like severing a live power line threatening to electrocute civilians during the flooding of Gotham.
• Clark Kent Outfit: Done in an interesting way that may take inspiration from the trope namer. In civilian clothes, Bruce comes across as wimpy, disaffected and quiet, wearing clothes that are a bit too big for him and maintaining a slouching posture. When he becomes Batman, a combination of the bulky suit and more restrained mannerisms makes him seem significantly bigger and more imposing.
• Classical Anti-Hero: He's a hero, no doubt about that, but he also suffers from several issues and character flaws that he struggles to deal with throughout the film, such as his all-consuming rage towards crime and his desperation to carry on his parents' legacy to the point where he subconsciously becomes single-minded and selfish. His Character Development revolves around Bruce dealing with and eventually overcoming these flaws so he can be better for those he cares about and the rest of Gotham.
• Color Motifs:
  • The promotional material for The Batman heavily associates this Bruce with the color red. This fits really well with his violent and explosive nature, particularly in how he brutalizes the goons he fights (even Oswald tells him to calm down at one point). It's evident that Bruce is still very much at the "Anger" stage of his trauma.
  • However, in one comparative image of him and Selina, you see hints of blue amongst the large red hue, alluding to how he's still a heroic and caring person beneath all that rage.
• The Comically Serious: Bruce isn't exactly a hilarious kind of guy, but most of the humor around him stems from the fact that he's deathly serious in most situations as opposed to trying to be funny, which then loops around to being funny in and of itself. Simply explaining that he's found the Ridler's "thumb drive" is delivered as a completely straight statement, but it feels like a punchline because of the macabre absurdity of the situation.
• Covered with Scars: Bruce's bare back is covered with scars from a mere two years of being Batman.
• The Cowl: Bruce usually dons the Batman identity during the night, which helps him to inspire mystique and terror upon Gotham City's criminals. By the end, he's since grown into wanting to use his reputation as a means to inspire hope to the denizens of Gotham, and is seen in the light of dawn.
• Creepy Good: His silhouette, outlook, and the Bat Signal that he projects to the sky invoke this for criminals, the GCPD, and the citizens of Gotham. That said, this reputation doesn't stop Bruce from having a strenuous and difficult working relationship with the police.
• Crimefighting with Cash: Bruce has used his family's fortune to mold his vigilante persona of Batman as well as craft the gadgets that he uses in his crusade for crime.
• The Cynic: Bruce is very sullen and caustic about the state of things in Gotham City, and this is part of the reason why he appears to be so vengeful and brutal whenever he is active as Batman. Even so, he is adamant that things can be changed for the better, and actively works to prove that, Bruce moves past this at the end of the film, after seeing what his actions had inspired.
• Dark and Troubled Past: The murder of his parents, leaving him an orphan, is a major motivating factor for why Bruce is the Dark Knight and the reason his fight against Gotham City's criminal underbelly and its social, law, and political corruption had started.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Per usual for Bruce. He wears a black/dark-grey suit and prowls in the night, but uses his combat skills and gadgets to fight the greater good and uphold justice. Even more so by the end of the film when he decides to shift away from a terrifying creature of the night to become a great symbol of hope to the innocents of Gotham.
• Deadpan Snarker: Downplayed, but even this colder and more humorless version of Batman has a moment or two of dry wit. He introduces himself to Selina by quipping "you're pretty good at that" while she picks a safe (and had no idea that he was even there).
• Deconstructed Character Archetype:
  • He is one for the Terror Hero example, showing how this kind of heroism causes him more problems than it solves them, especially when it leads to him accidentally creating the Riddler, who is a Loony Fan of his.
  • Other Batman works paint Bruce as someone rising up to stop the city's descent into criminality, but here he's painted more as a symptom of it — yet another wounded boy lashing out at the people who wronged him. This makes Bruce a lot more pathetic and unlikable compared to other interpretations of the character, as his war on crime is called out several times as being selfish. His character arc has Bruce realizing that he needs to change his ways in order to make a difference in Gotham, and thus commits to becoming a Hope Bringer for everyone instead of someone who wants to hurt others as a part of his vengeance. The film ends with Riddler's plan partially succeeding and reducing Gotham City to a flooded wasteland, so beating down criminals instead of lifting up innocent people in their Darkest Hour would be a truly horrible and uncaring thing to do.
  • The film also takes the "Batman is Bruce Wayne's true self" interpretation to its logical conclusion. Being Batman has consumed Bruce's life to the point that there's no distinction between Bruce Wayne and Batman at all: Bruce is Batman both in and out of costume, so much so that he retains his Batman mannerisms when presenting as Bruce Wayne. We later see that Bruce is actively neglecting his civilian life and family legacy in favor of his vigilante activities, viewing the Batman as his family's true legacy. This neglect has extended to his family's finances too, as the lack of oversight is what allowed the Renewal fund to be looted by mobsters and corrupt officials after his father's death.
• Determinator: He wouldn't be Batman otherwise. He fights crime in Gotham despite lingering doubts about whether he's making a difference. In the climax, Batman fights through dozens of Riddler's followers and multiple painful gunshots to save innocent people. Even after taking a heavy shot to the chest and needing a dose of adrenaline to keep fighting, Batman keeps going, and is still helping to evacuate people the next morning.
• Dented Iron: He might just be in his second year but despite his bulletproof armor he is shown to already have multiple scars on his back.
• Does Not Like Guns: So much so that he tells Selina not to use firearms and only tolerates the police using them at best. He is, however, okay with using his wrist-mounted Grappling Hook Pistols in combat as replacements for his usual batarangs, in part because they're much more practical as a mid-range weapon, and he only uses them in emergencies when he can't get close enough to a target to handle the problem in time, going for non-lethal wounding shots to incapacitate them and drag them closer.
• The Dreaded: He's spent two years cultivating the image of a terrifying creature that stalks the night, such that an opening montage has several criminals fleeing from shadows when they see the Bat Signal shining in the sky, convinced the Batman is coming after them.
• Elemental Motifs: Fire. Batman's vengeance is comparable to an out of control, all-consuming blaze, there is a smouldering car in the background when he captures Penguin, and the Riddler tries to kill Bruce Wayne with a bomb. His first true act as Gotham's savior is setting off a flare, showing he will take on fire's positive attributes of light and warmth as well.
• Emerging from the Shadows: His first on-screen appearance is showing up in a dark train station just when a gang is about to assault someone for looking at him funny. It further emphasizes Batman's nature as The Cowl and as a Terror Hero.
• Establishing Character Moment: The Bat-Signal's light suddenly illuminates in the night sky. Two criminals who are about to commit a crime are immediately terrified upon witnessing the symbol and flee. Then, he shows up out of nowhere from the shadows to confront a pack of gangbangers in a dark subway station who were assaulting a train passenger for looking at them. Bruce swiftly and viciously beats and intimidates them into running away before looking at the train passenger with an assuring glance. It's enough to present Batman as the terrifying vigilante, while reaffirming that in spite of his brutal approach to fighting crime, he's still a good man who wants to contribute to changing Gotham for the better.
• Everyone Has Standards: Batman may be particularly brutal, but he's steadfast in his commitment to his no-killing rule, and he's utterly disgusted to learn that his crusade inspired the Riddler's reign of terror. He's also absolutely horrified by Riddler's plan to flood Gotham and claim countless innocent lives.
  • While Batman definitely plays up the more aloof side of him, it's clear from the look in his eyes as he listens to Annika's murder on Selina's voicemail that he's disgusted by what Falcone and his men did to her, and his Death Glare at the Dirty Cop who helped him do it speaks volumes.
  • He's also disturbed by Riddler's assertion that the orphans were made to live in inhumane conditions and that it was all but expected for one of the babies to die each year from the cold. He's also similarly distraught at the idea his father had something to do with it.
• The Fettered: Regardless of what he is and how others see him as, one consistent trait of Batman is that he can never bring himself to kill somebody, and will stop the moment he realizes that he's going too far. This even extends to others as he tries to make sure that Selina doesn't become corrupted by killing Falcone.
• Friend to All Children: In The Batman, he sees the son of the late mayor as a kindred spirit, and the kid does not fear him. He also goes out of his way to get the kid out of harm's way when a car rams through his father's funeral service. Notably, when the city floods at the end of the film, the same boy is the first one to place his trust in the Caped Crusader — and a girl later holds his hand before being airlifted.
• Gadgeteer Genius: While it is unknown where or how he got his grappling hooks and wingsuit, it is heavily implied through the copious amounts of car parts scattered through the Batcave that he modified the Batmobile from scratch himself.
• Genius Bruiser: Heavily downplayed, as the Bruiser part is perfectly fine, but he's working on the Genius part, especially when it comes to detective work. He's able to make very good deductions and is quick to notice when he's missed something, but he still relies on Gordon and Alfred for a lot of help, and he makes mistakes. That being said, it's clear he's got a sharp mind, has an innate talent for lateral thinking, and he's usually the first to solve Riddler's puzzles. He's still got quite a ways to go with his gadgetry, though.
• Good Is Not Nice: He has the best intentions, but his social skills are non-existent and he consistently sees the worst in everyone. Despite the fact that Selina is surprisingly helpful and owes him nothing, he remains brusque with her, which actively loses him her aid at one point, and he's repeatedly rude to Alfred. His first resort tends to be violence and intimidation, even when it's not necessarily the best option available to him.
• Good Is Not Soft: A hero and a vigilante with noble aspirations he may be, but Batman is not afraid of becoming just as vicious as the criminals he fights against, to the point where he inspires terror in nearly anyone who gets to know him. However, this becomes a detriment on a long-term basis in his crusade, prompting Bruce to try a more hopeful and optimistic alternative.
• Great Detective: On the way there. This younger Batman picks up clues fairly well and has a good working knowledge of forensic science seen when he examines the Mayor's corpse. He also goes on stakeouts and can solve the Riddler's puzzles repeatedly. Nevertheless, he misses out on some key details that stop him figuring the true scope of Riddler's plot.
• Guile Hero: He employs fear as a form of psychological manipulation and intimidation, best shown when he shines the light of the Bat-Signal into the sky, which alerts and scares off two gangsters into running away and abandoning whatever criminal act they were about to do.
• Guns Akimbo: Well, grapple guns akimbo, anyway. He specifically dual-wields his forearm-mounted grapplers during the final battle at the stadium against Riddler's followers.
• Hardboiled Detective: This cinematic iteration of Batman places more emphasis on his skills as a detective. Coincidentally, this take of the character is also quite cynical, brooding, and melancholic, which alludes to this trope. This excludes being alcoholic and being willing to use guns, but the spirit of a hardboiled detective is still apparent in Bruce.
• Heartbroken Badass: It's clear that he's never gotten over the murder of his parents, and that he uses his Batman persona to turn his grief against what got them killed: Gotham's corruption and rampant crime.
• The Hermit: As of The Batman, Bruce Wayne is this to the public despite his family's history of philanthropy. In reality, he's mostly removed from public life because his focus is solely on being Batman, and he has no real interest in engaging in the kind of lifestyle that his parents enjoyed.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Batman has yet to be on good terms with the GCPD, which makes sense since it's only been two years since he started his crusade. The only member of the police that trusts him is Jim Gordon. He's also somewhat feared and distrusted by the general public. Even the sincere and honest Bella Reál is wary of him, framing the fact that a vigilante is loose in Gotham as a failure on Mayor Mitchell's part. He finally gets past this at the end when he thwarts Riddler's plans for a massacre at Reál's post-election rally, and then aids in rescuing the victims of the attack, after which the news reports positively on his actions.
• Heroic Sacrifice: One that ends up being non-lethal, but is presented as Bruce taking a clear risk with his life regardless. Seeing a damaged power line is threatening to land in the rising flood waters sweeping into the mayoral rally, and nobody can reach the power box to turn it off in time, Batman grapples over to the power line and severs it with his chest-mounted Emergency Weapon, getting shocked in the process and falling into the deluge to nearly drown, but preventing the civilians caught in the flood from dying.
• Heroic Second Wind: Pulls one off to save Selina from one of Riddler's goons in the climax by injecting himself with adrenaline to overcome the shock and pain from a shotgun hit straight to the chest.
• Heroic Spirit: He does his very best to make sure that the Riddler doesn't succeed in his plan to flood Gotham. Even after being shot point-blank and incapacitated, and then being willing to risk being electrocuted, he doesn't stop trying to save as many people as he can, truly putting the wellbeing of others before himself for the first time, all after taking on an obscene amount of abuse. It's a culmination to Bruce's Character Development towards becoming a better hero than he was.
• Homemade Inventions: He wouldn't be a true Batman without his tools, except this time, all his gadgets, ranging from his own suit to the Batmobile, are much more practical and not entirely reliant on Bruce's vast fortune. Robert Pattinson himself says that this is a much more "Do-It-Yourself" Batman. This makes sense, since this Dark Knight has not been a vigilante for too long. However, he does have a pair of cutting-edge contact lenses that can act as high-definition cameras, even being able to record sound of a surprisingly high quality for contact lenses.
• Hope Bringer: After realising the destructive nature of his campaign as a brutal vigilante, Batman makes a decision to change his approach; starting by rescuing trapped civilians at the community center, Batman opts to become a symbol of hope to the innocents of Gotham to make sure that the change he enacts in the city is positive.
• Horrifying Hero: The fact that his signal being illuminated in the sky is able to scare gangsters into abandoning their intended crimes is more than enough to show that Batman is this trope. Most criminals tend to dart away when they realize they're no match for him, but it's deconstructed when it's revealed that this reputation was what ended up inspiring the Riddler into using fighting crime and corruption as a rationale for his own actions.
• Humanoid Abomination: Bruce tries to sell his alter-ego as an unstoppable, otherworldly monster that serves as vengeance incarnate rather than project himself as a conventional crime-fighter — and this treatment even extends to some of his allies, being taciturn and carrying with him an alien, inhuman presence wherever he goes. He gradually drops this over time, although he still remains to be feared — he just places greater emphasis on the "hero" part.
• I Am the Noun: He tells a mook "I'm vengeance." Earlier he says, "I am the shadows."
• Idiot Ball: Firmly grasps it when dealing with the second-to-last of Riddler's followers. Having knocked him down, Bruce simply walks slowly towards his target while he clearly is getting a high caliber weapon out of the bag, and then promptly gets shot and would have died if not for Selina's intervention.
• Immune to Bullets: A gunshot from near point-blank range, and shots from multiple cops as he ascends a building with his grappling hook, are shown to just bounce off his body armor. Later in the film, he outright walks through machine gun fire without so much as flinching. He even tanks a blast from a double-barreled shotgun in the climax, though it does knock him down, is clearly very painful, and leaves him fading in and out of consciousness from the pain and shock. It's implied his head might not be quite as well-armoured as the rest of his body, as the same shotgun being placed against his face for a point-blank attack is presented as a clear threat to Bruce's life.
• Implacable Man: Zigzagged. On the one hand, it's made clear that, when in costume, Bruce sometimes goes out of his way to cultivate this image, tanking bullets and attacks he might otherwise have avoided in order to make a non-verbal statement about how absolute he is as an avatar of justice, and nothing the criminals he faces can do will save them. On the other hand, when out of costume and in his downtime in the Batcave, it's shown that Bruce is suffering the consequences of such a reckless fighting style, having a back Covered in Scars from just two years of being a vigilante, and the implication is that he will suffer long-term repercussions from pushing himself like this. Not that he cares.
• Incompletely Trained: He's skilled enough in physical combat, but the film goes out of his way to show that because this is set in his second year of crimefighting, Bruce is still rather rough and unrefined in certain areas, especially in his skills as a detective. While he is adequate in figuring out clues and evidence, he still misses vital clues and riddles, and sometimes he needs aid from Gordon and the other GCPD members in further figuring out the motives and whereabouts of the Riddler.
• It's All About Me: Bruce is questioned by Alfred if he's going on his crusade for the sake of Gotham or for the sake of revenge on the criminals for murdering his parents, especially when the crime rate has only gone up since Batman made his debut. Once Batman learns that the Riddler and his followers had followed Batman's example to enact their form of "vengeance" upon Gotham, he realizes that he was too self-involved at the beginning, and thus begins to remake himself as a savior of the innocents to set an example for those who truly want to improve the city.
• Jerkass Realization: After discovering the Riddler is a Loony Fan of his, he realizes his image as vengeance incarnate is inspiring a level of brutality that is only making things worse, and he vows to become a symbol of hope instead.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: This is easily one of the coldest versions of Batman we've ever seen, his trauma and dedication to his work leaving his people skills with something to be desired. He's also motivated mostly by rage and vengeance, which doesn't make for the happiest outlook. However, he's ultimately a good man who cares about others, sticks firmly to his principles, and by the end, has embraced a new role as a protector of the helpless and symbol of hope.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice: It comes with the territory when a character is portrayed by Robert Pattinson. The cowl emphasizes Batman's jawline more than any other live action version before it.
• Leitmotif: Something in the Way by Nirvana. The song plays twice in the film, the first time to showcase the bleak, tragic nature of Bruce's character, and the second time to emphasize Bruce's growth as a person and as a hero.
• Licked by the Dog: Selina's cats seem to take a liking to Batman, but not the bat in a cage owned by the Riddler. Bruce Wayne never liked bats either.
• Lightning Bruiser: Despite being decked out in bulletproof armor, he's still able to beat a thug in seconds and dodge an acrobatic kick from Selina Kyle.
• Like Father, Like Son: Both Thomas and Bruce Wayne believe in Gotham and chose to bypass the government in order to provide direct aid - Thomas with the Renewal project and Bruce with the Batman. Both generations also had their attempts backfire. Renewal was used to fund crime, while the Batman inadvertently radicalized the disenfranchised, creating the Riddler.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Bruce is a sullen, melancholic, and mentally withdrawn man who struggles to keep up with his position as one of Gotham's most influential people and is haunted by the death of his parents when he was a child. Even so, it doesn't stop him from trying to honor his family's legacy, as well as being Batman for the sake of upholding the more noble and admirable qualities of Gotham, as extreme as his methods may be.
• Looks Like Cesare: When he takes off his cowl his hair is realistically messy, and his black eyeshadow is revealed to actually exist in-universe, rather than just being a representation of a part of his mask. With his pale skin, the resemblance is striking.
• Made of Iron: He takes several hits over the course of the movie that clearly incapacitate him, however briefly, but this just makes it even more obvious just how tough he is. He gets blown several feet away by an explosion with his face just inches away from the bomb and is still able to walk and talk hours later like it's nothing. The failed parachute landing in the street doesn't seem to leave any lasting damage. He even gets electrocuted and falls several feet down into shallow flood waters after a grueling fight with Riddler's followers in the climax, and still has the strength to start lifting aside collapsed debris and rescue civilians in danger. By the end he's taken enough damage to kill any normal man several times over, even with the best armor, and he's still perfectly capable of intense physical effort.
• Manchild: A downplayed example Played for Drama. He's 28, but his closed-off and aggressive behavior brings more to mind a troubled teenager, owing to the fact that the traumatic death of his parents has emotionally stunted him. He grows out of it as part of his Character Development.
• Married to the Job: At the end of the movie, Selina asks him to leave Gotham with her, go Walking the Earth or something, "The Bat and the Cat". He doesn't say anything, just looks at the Bat spotlight painting the sky behind her. She smiles sadly, and they go their separate ways.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: He's noticeably slimmer than previous portrayals, particularly Ben Affleck's, but is still extremely strong and capable in combat, though he relies a lot more on the suit (especially the heavy armor) than other incarnations.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Realizing that he created the Riddler shakes him to his core and forces him to reevaluate his actions as Batman.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Bruce's methods of using fear and being an absolute monster in battle turn out to have their own fair share of problems in the long-run, which comes to a head when it's revealed that the Riddler admits to having been inspired by Batman in his tenure as a vigilante. Bruce doesn't take this revelation well, and furthers his change into pursuing a more optimistic and hopeful approach to protecting Gotham in the future.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Given this version of Batman is more inexperienced and struggling with anger and a desire for vengeance for his parents' murder, his fighting style can get brutal at times. In his first appearance, he pummels a downed thug with visible ferocity, something he does again with a follower of Riddler that almost kills him and Selina. Played for Drama, as this makes him think he is succumbing to his wrath and undoing his purpose as Batman.
• "No More Holding Back" Speech: After seeing one of Riddler's men echo his "I'm Vengeance" mantra, Batman realises that his quest for vengeance is limiting and damaging to himself and the city. So, after lighting the way for those trapped from the flood, he realises he must represent something much more powerful for all of Gotham than their vengeance against Crime and Corruption.
  "I'm starting to see now. I have had an effect here. But not the one I intended. Vengeance, won't change the past. Mine… or anyone else's. I have to become more. People need hope. To know someone's out there for them. This city's angry, and scarred. Like me. Our scars can destroy us… even after the physical wounds have healed. But if we can survive them. They can give us the power. To Endure. And the strength to fight."
• Not Quite Flight: Unlike some previous versions of the character (in The Dark Knight Trilogy most prominently), he doesn't use his cape to glide, but rather a wingsuit concealed in his suit. He doesn't quite stick the landing when escaping the GCPD.
• Not So Above It All: He seems more than a little flustered when he lays eyes on Selina Kyle for the first time. Even Alfred realizes that his interest in her extends beyond her involvement with the Riddler case.
• Not So Stoic:
  • He is shown to be visibly intimidated and even gasps upon reaching the roof of the Gotham PD building and realizing just how high up he really is before preparing his wingsuit escape.
  • He's practically howling in panic and frustration as he races back to the manor in the Batmobile, having realized that the Riddler has sent him a mail bomb that Alfred will likely pick up.
  • When he interrogates the Riddler in Arkham, he slowly becomes more unnerved and scared of him, mainly because he thinks he could know that Batman is Bruce Wayne, and is positively terrified when he uncovers the Riddler's true final goal.
• No-Sell: His suit is completely bulletproof, capable of deflecting bullets from automatic rifles and shotgun pellets at point-blank range without Batman so much as flinching.
• No Social Skills: This version of Bruce is completely subsumed by his Batman alter-ego and doesn't even bother to put in the effort as Bruce Wayne, who In-Universe is known as a recluse. Even as Batman, he's often rude and curt with his allies, even unintentionally alienating Selina at one point, and later badmouthing her friend, until she sets him straight.
• Oh, Crap!: He freaks out when he discovers that the Riddler is intending to murder him next (by "him", he meant Bruce Wayne) and frantically drives away from the crime scene and to his residence, worried about Alfred to the point where he starts uncharacteristically shouting down the phone line about what the Riddler is planning. Unfortunately, by the time Bruce calls, Riddler had already detonated the bomb meant for him an hour earlier, though Alfred survives.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He never raises his voice above a threatening whisper. And even when he does, he still yells with a rasp. Hence why it's jarring when he's racing towards Wayne Tower and screaming to Dory in his normal voice when trying to warn Alfred about the Riddler's bomb. It's quite possibly the most normal Bruce sounds in the entire movie.
• Orphan's Ordeal: The deaths of his parents weigh heavily on Bruce's psyche, and they continue to do so decades past. Bruce being Batman stems from the fact that he was never really able to move on from seeing his parents get gunned down right in front of him, and this served as a catalyst for Bruce to realize just how corrupt and miserable Gotham City really is. Riddler doesn't see it the same way, however, as he feels that Bruce got it far better than most orphans in his situation.
• Perpetual Frowner: The number of times that he slightly smiles in The Batman can be counted on one hand.
• Private Eye Monologue: While Batman is not exactly a private eye, he does do this in the beginning and end of the film as an homage to the film noir movies that it takes inspiration from.
• Rage Breaking Point: Matt Reeves has said this is a Batman who hasn't exactly found his footing, who lets his anger get the best of him, and the lines between Batman and Bruce Wayne are blurred. When a mook threatens Selina's life, he beats him while she looks on, terrified at what she's seeing.
• Ramming Always Works: Batman defeats the Penguin by simply accelerating the Batmobile enough to hit Penguin's car hard, causing it to violently tumble to the streets, incapacitating Oz and allowing Bruce to apprehend him.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: He's noticeably paler than other depictions of Batman. Fitting, since he rarely, if ever, goes out in the sunlight.
• Reckless Pacifist: He'll beat his enemies into submission and/or unconsciousness, but despite his drive to never kill anyone, his actions end up causing a problem in the long term, particularly inspiring more criminals, something that Bruce is not happy about.
• Revenge Is Not Justice: Bruce's Character Arc in the movie is him learning this.
• Science Hero: Being a billionaire, Bruce is rich enough to afford various high-tech equipment that he uses as Batman. Much of his detective work is done by using an advanced computer to further analyze crime scenes and webcam-based contact lenses that he gives to Selina when the latter is sent to infiltrate the Iceberg Lounge. He also demonstrates some knowledge of pathology, correctly deducing that the Mayor's finger was cut off after he was killed.
• Secret Identity: A variation; rather than a feckless playboy, this Bruce Wayne presents himself as a somber recluse who's still dealing with his childhood trauma, because that's exactly what he is at this point.
• Secret-Identity Identity: This portrayal takes the old idea of Bruce Wrayne merely being "a mask", while the Batman is "the true identity" and runs with it. Bruce is so consumed with being Batman that he neglects his civilian life almost entirely, leaving Alfred to handle his accountants and Wayne Enterprises. He can't even stand sunlight anymore, and believes that being Batman is all the legacy that the Wayne family needs. This is deconstructed, as the absence of Bruce Wayne in public life allowed his family funds to be looted by greedy, corrupt officials and the mob, fueling the very criminal activities that Batman is fighting, as well as making him a target for the Riddler's war against corruption despite the latter's idolization of Batman.
• Secretly Selfish: Though his crusade against crime and corruption is noble, Bruce wants to be Batman full-time, and thus neglects his public persona. Alfred and Reál criticize Bruce's reclusive behavior, since billionaire Bruce Wayne has a responsibility for the city's well-being in ways that Batman cannot provide.
• Skeleton Motif: His cowl is sculpted to resemble a human skull.
• Something Person: His alter-ego, Batman, is this.
• Static Stun Gun: During his brawl against a group of gangsters in the train station, Bruce uses a taser built into the Batsuit to agonizingly stun and immobilize an attacking member while pinning him to a wall.
• The Stoic: Bruce isn't exactly the sort of guy to emote much. He stays quiet and only speaks directly and bluntly when he has to explain details and context. Tellingly, when he's emoting a lot more than usual, it's either because something bad is going down or he's becoming desperate.
• Suppressed Rage: This iteration of Bruce Wayne is noticeably more physically angrier and brutal than his previous cinematic iterations. While he is open to letting this rage out when in battle, he also does the best he can to suppress it, feeling that not doing so would cause him to kill, an outcome that he does his best to prevent. He also at least masks his anger over the fact that Thomas Wayne made a deal with Carmine Falcone, only showing it to Alfred when they meet.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Being played by Robert Pattinson has its perks after all. That said, the "dark" aspect is further emphasized here than in other film versions, and it ends up Downplaying this trope, as Bruce, while still handsome, is noticeably more gaunt and unkempt when in his civilian guise.
• Technical Pacifist: Oh, he'll let criminals live... once he's done beating the ever-living shit out of them and they are incapacitated, or he's scaring them enough to run away demoralized.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Most of Batman's partnerships are tense and difficult, which is best shown with Selina Kyle and the GCPD, barring James Gordon. Selina has her own vendetta to settle with Falcone and clashes against Bruce's approach in dealing with the situation, and his vigilantism makes most of the GCPD feel uneasy whenever he is in their presence, with only Gordon being able to hold a decent conversation with him most of the time.
• Terror Hero: Batman delivers a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to a mook while his fellow gang members watch on in stunned silence. This aspiring reputation becomes Deconstructed, as not only does it result in unease with the GCPD and Gotham's populace, but also criminals such as the Riddler being inspired by Bruce's vigilantism, prompting Bruce to use his Batman persona and his nature as The Cowl in a more positively inspirational direction.
• This Means Warpaint: Bruce wears black makeup over his eyes while fighting his war on crime as the Batman. This is in contrast to the non-diegetic eye makeup of previous live-action Batman films, where the eye-shadow was treated as a part of Batman's mask, rather than something Bruce Wayne the character had put on.
• Thou Shall Not Kill: Unlike other live-action cinematic depictions of Batman, this iteration of the character unambiguously sticks to the principle his mainline comic book counterpart abides by, discouraging Selina from killing someone. He is in fact the only live-action cinematic incarnation of Batman who cannot be extrapolated as having killed anyone either directly or indirectly^note Yes, even Adam West's Batman has a higher body count in the form of a few of Penguin's goons getting punched into antimatter. George Clooney's Batman didn't kill anyone, but he's canonically the same Batman from previous Burton/Schumacher films, who very much did. He later comes close to crossing the line while high on an adrenaline shot, but he stops himself.
• Tragic Hero: Tragedy is a major theme for Batman, and this depiction is no exception. His reasons for fighting against injustice and the eventual consequences and personal achievements that Bruce undergoes throughout his story all have undertones of tragedy, a sense that Bruce is constantly mired in and eventually decides to see as a motivator in an effort to become a better hero.
• Two First Names: Wayne is also usable as a given name.
• Unorthodox Holstering: His grappling-hook guns are kept in spring-loaded holsters on his wrists. Other iterations of the character usually keep it on their belt.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Twice over, in both of his identities.
  • As Bruce Wayne, his utter apathy towards the management of his fortune and the Wayne family assets (going as far as refusing to meet with the Wayne accountants to review the books) means he allows the misuse of the Gotham Renewal Fund by the city's corrupt officials and the mob to continue undetected and unimpeded.
  • As Batman, his crusade against crime in Gotham City directly inspires the Riddler to embark on his own rampage to punish the city.
• Unwitting Pawn: Most of what he does while investigating the Riddler's murders advances the Riddler's own plans, such as when he brings Carmine Falcone in close range and sight of Riddler's sniper rifle.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Like all other versions of Batman, this one is heavily committed to fighting against and stropping the crime and corruption that plague Gotham City. However, his methods involve using fear and being as vicious and unforgiving as he can towards criminals, both of which don't really sit well with the GCPD, as Batman is violating several laws to accomplish a mutual goal. It also doesn't help that Bruce's more hardline approach to fighting crime ends up inspiring more criminals like the Riddler, which serves as a wake-up call for Bruce to be more unambiguously good.

Alfred Pennyworth

Alfred Pennyworth

"You have to keep up appearances. You're still a Wayne."

Portrayed by: Andy Serkis

Dubbed by: Jérémie Covillault (European French)

Appears In: The Batman (2022) | The Batman: Part II

"It was my job to protect them, do you understand? I know you always blamed yourself... You were only a boy, Bruce."

The Wayne family's loyal butler.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: Alfred in the comics is bald and has a somewhat elongated face, while this version has a full head of hair and is more conventionally handsome. Especially noticeable is that he achieves this trope despite noticeable scarring around his eye, which arguably adds to his rugged handsomeness.
• Age Lift: Andy Serkis is younger than most film depictions of Alfred, largely in relation to Bruce's own youth in this movie.
• Composite Character: He has the backstory and injuries of his Batman: Earth One counterpart while being the caring, fatherly butler to Bruce Wayne.
• Classy Cane: Alfred uses one to move around, possibly due to injuries that he got during his time in the armed forces.
• Disabled in the Adaptation: Alfred walks with a limp and uses a cane, due to implicitly sharing the backstory of his Earth One version.
• Disney Death: A letter bomb intended for Bruce Wayne detonates in close proximity to him. Thanks to his quick reflexes in tossing it as far away from him as he can, he manages to survive, albeit laid up in a hospital bed for the remainder of his screen time.
• Family of Choice: As always, he shares a father-son-like relationship with Bruce, but it's also implied that Thomas Wayne viewed him as a honorary member of the family as well.
• The Heart: He urges Bruce to reel in his worst self-destructive impulses and fulfill his family obligations. While their relationship is strained at the time, Alfred is the closest thing Bruce has left to a father and the guiding influence in his life. Accordingly, Alfred getting injured by Riddler's letter bomb marks the film's Darkest Hour. It's not until he wakes up and reveals the truth about Bruce's parents that Bruce regains the will to continue as the Dark Knight.
• I Am Very British: Averted. This version of Alfred uses Serkis' natural London accent rather than the more refined one previous versions have used.
• Idiot Ball: He's a smart guy who takes it upon himself to solve the Riddler's cyphered message by extrapolating from the key they got from the greeting card. However, he apparently didn't start by sticking in the known letters first, and instead jumped immediately to making guesses about the values of the other symbols to try and complete the key. This is so Bruce can seem smarter by telling him to remove his guesses and only look at the known letters, thus discovering the hidden message.^note Though Bruce himself doesn't think of this until the two of them return to the Batcave after the breakfast meeting
• Like a Son to Me: Alfred's talk of how Bruce needed a father makes it clear that he's viewed Bruce like a son, but doesn't believe he deserves to be thought of like a father to the younger man. Nevertheless, his reaction when Bruce tells him so speaks volumes; and his expression when looking at Mitchell's son in the previous night's footage shows that he's clearly thinking of the night when he himself had to comfort Bruce.
  Bruce: Alfred, stop. You're not my father.
  Alfred: [Quietly; pained] ...I'm well aware.
• Made of Iron: Despite the fact that he took a C4 charge from no further than ten feet away, he's still alive, if laid out on a hospital bed for the rest of the film.
• My Greatest Failure: He feels responsible for Thomas and Martha's deaths, as he believes if he had been there with them, they would have lived. He admits that he tried to find the killer himself, but the trail went cold, and he couldn't assure Bruce if the killer was a hired hitman from Falcone or just a random mugger.
• No Hero to His Valet: In typical Alfred fashion. While the city sees only a monster in the shadows, he sees the sleep-deprived young man that's been his surrogate son outright refusing to balance his life and devoting his every waking moment to his crusade, to the detriment of both Bruce Wayne the public persona and Bruce Wayne the man.
• Retired Badass: Before entering the Wayne family's service, he was in the British intelligence service and has retained those skills; he taught Bruce how to fight, and helps him decode two of the Riddler's ciphers. His reflexes are still good enough to chuck the bomb away right before it detonates, saving his life.
• Servile Snarker: Certainly far less so than every other previous incarnation of the character (save Joker (2019)). He does have his moments though, remarking to Bruce "you're becoming quite a celebrity" upon seeing the Riddler's deranged letter addressed to Batman.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Like previous versions, he's quite dapper and wears very impressive suits.
• Shipper on Deck: Quickly realizes Selina has caught Bruce's eye, and not just professionally. He can barely start to voice his approval (and hope that this leads to his retirement) before Bruce cuts him off.
• Silver Fox: He's got a head of grey hair, signifying his advanced age, and is quite dapper and handsome.
• Tragic Keepsake: He wears a pair of Wayne cufflinks that Thomas gave to him.

Thomas and Martha Wayne

Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne (née Arkham)

Portrayed by: Luke Roberts and Olivia Grant

Appear In: The Batman (2022)

"I believe in Gotham. I believe in its promise. But too many have been left behind for too long, and that's why I'm here today, to announce, not only my candidacy for mayor, but also the creation of the Gotham Renewal Fund. Win or lose, the Wayne Foundation pledges a one billion dollar donation to start a charitable endowment for public works. I want to bypass political gridlock and get money to people and projects who need it now, like these children behind me. Renewal is about growth, it is about planting seeds, and renewing Gotham's promise."

Bruce Wayne's beloved parents, who were shot dead in Crime Alley during a mugging gone wrong. Thomas and Martha were famous socialites and philanthropists who used their influence in an effort to help Gotham City. Their son continues their tradition, but in his own way — specifically targeting criminals while keeping out of the public eye.

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• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Martha Wayne. Her mother murdered Martha's father, as it was in Batman: Earth One, and Martha spent several years in an institution.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Thomas Wayne ends up getting this treatment, but it's more complicated than it initially appears. It's revealed that he isn't entirely the paragon of morality that his son thought he was, as he went to Carmine Falcone — an associate of his — to silence a journalist who was about to reveal his wife's checkered past ahead of his run for mayor. However, Alfred Pennyworth reveals during an emotional conversation with Bruce that Thomas was still a good man, and that he only did what he did out of desperation to protect his family rather than wanting to save face or defend his political ambitions, that he didn't want the journalist killed, and that he regretted what happened to the man so much that he was prepared to tell the police everything to rat out Falcone before his untimely death.
• Adaptation Name Change: Martha's maiden name is revealed to be "Arkham" rather than her traditional surname "Kane", much like in Batman: Earth One — and it's explicitly noted that the Arkhams and Waynes were two of the founding families of Gotham, so this is not a coincidence.
• Ambiguous Situation: As Alfred notes, there's no way to tell if their killer was working for Falcone, Maroni, or if he was just a random mugger who wanted money.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Thomas wanted the journalist threatening to expose Martha's mental health issues silenced. He got far more than he bargained for when Carmine Falcone had the journalist killed rather than simply intimidating him.
• Big Good: The Waynes attempted to be this, with Thomas' campaign for mayor being based around his Renewal project that would help restore Gotham to its former glory. Unfortunately, those plans were cut short.
• Broken Pedestal: Subverted, after Bruce discovers Thomas' link to Carmine Falcone. As it turns out, Thomas Wayne did know Falcone, and paid him to intimidate a journalist to hide Martha's history of mental illness, but didn't expect him to take the next step and murder him when intimidation didn't work, and was planning on turning both himself and Falcone in when he figured it out. Alfred notes that it's entirely possible Falcone had the Waynes murdered when it became clear Thomas was genuinely incorruptible and became a threat to the mafia. It's also suggested that Salvatore Maroni had the Waynes killed so Thomas wouldn't end up in Falcone's pocket.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Martha Arkham saw her mother kill her father before committing suicide. She suffered mental issues afterwards and was committed to a psychiatric hospital for it.
• Deal with the Devil: Thomas was so desperate to protect his wife's privacy that he hired a mob boss for help. Unfortunately, while Thomas had only wanted to scare the journalist into silence, Falcone took it a step further and murdered the man.
• Everyone Has Standards: In line with Thomas' depiction in the film, Thomas was willing to go to a crime lord to ask him to intimidate Edward Elliot into silence. He didn't want Elliot killed and was horrified when he found out what Falcone had done, and was preparing to go to the police prior to his death.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Even while defending his memory, Alfred has to admit that Thomas really should've known better than to go to Falcone for any favors, knowing it was not going to end well.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Zigzagged, as he was clearly aware that Falcone wasn't a good guy by any stretch, but he underestimated just how vile Falcone really was and didn't see that, as Falcone put it, Falcone wanted to have something to hold over Thomas.
• Happily Married. Thomas clearly loved Martha dearly. Alfred reveals that his desperation in trying to silence Edward Elliot was not to protect his political aspirations, but to protect his wife's reputation and sanity.
• He Knows Too Much: Maybe. Thomas was horrified when Falcone killed the reporter he just wanted to have intimidated, and told Falcone that he was going to the police to confess everything. He and Martha were shot to death that night, but no one knows for sure if Falcone really did it or it was just a coincidental mugging gone wrong.
• Horrible Judge of Character:
  • Thomas, who apparently thought that Carmine Falcone was trustworthy enough to hide Martha's mental illness from Malicious Slander. He realized his mistake, but Alfred points out that by that point, Thomas knew too much and was a target for assassination.
  • There's also the fact that he genuinely seemed to believe that someone like Falcone would just give the journalist a scare.
• Inconvenient Hippocratic Oath: Falcone reveals that he showed up at the Waynes one night with a gunshot wound because he couldn't trust hospitals, and Thomas Wayne patched him up right there at the dinner table. Bruce suggests it's just because, as a doctor and a surgeon, Thomas felt honor-bound to help a patient no matter what. It turns out that he and Falcone were at least acquainted.
• Like Father, Like Son: The major reveal of Thomas Wayne's story is that he did something with the best of intentions, but it ultimately created a tragedy because he failed to understand the potential consequences. His son, Bruce, did much the same thing with his actions as Batman; though his actions were meant to help, his Terror Hero crusade inspired the Riddler, and therefore indirectly caused the events of the film.
• Love Makes You Stupid: Thomas didn't want Elliot silenced to prevent a scandal or protect his rising mayoral campaign. He genuinely wanted to protect his wife Martha's privacy and went to Falcone in a Moment of Weakness. Even Alfred, who defends Thomas as a good man who made a horrible mistake, admits that Thomas should have known better.
• My God, What Have I Done?: According to Alfred, Thomas was horrified that Elliot was murdered by Falcone to keep him from publishing the Wayne family's dirty secrets, so much so that Thomas was planning to turn himself in to the police for his role in the affair.
• Moment of Weakness: Alfred describes Thomas turning to Carmine Falcone to protect his wife's privacy as this. His desperation to protect Martha led him to overlook what Falcone was capable of and the fact that Falcone having blackmail material on a rising mayor would be incredibly useful to a crime lord who controls the city from the shadows.
• Posthumous Character: Bruce's parents died after being gunned down in front of him in an alley, leading him to become Batman. However, their influence on the city itself extends well beyond their own demises.
• Related in the Adaptation: Taking cues from Earth One, Martha comes from the Arkham family.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Thomas set up the Renewal fund with the honest belief that having the money freely available without government restrictions would be the best way to get it to the needy. After Thomas was murdered, corrupt officials quickly stole control of the fund precisely because there was no oversight to ensure it wasn't misused.

Criminals

Independent Criminals

Edward Nashton / The Riddler

Edward Nashton / The Riddler

"I've been trying to reach you..."

^{Click here to see him unmasked.}
"Do you know what being an orphan is? It's 30 kids to a room. Twelve years old and already a drophead, numbing the pain."

Portrayed by: Paul Dano, Joseph Walker (young)

Appears In: The Riddler: Year One | The Batman (2022)

"Me? I'm nobody. I'm just an instrument, here to unmask the truth about this cesspool we call a city."

A terrorist who claims he wants to purge Gotham City of its deep-seated corruption. He kills Gotham's elite, leaving behind enigmatic riddles and clues for the Batman to interpret.

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• Adaptational Backstory Change: While Riddler's backstory varies from adaptation to adaptation, he's usually depicted as growing up with a dad that doesn't like riddles, which contributed to the Riddler's obsession with being the smartest person on Earth. Here, the Riddler grew up as an orphan, and in the Wayne orphanage program no less. His fondness for puzzles were due to them being "a retreat from the horrors of our world"; given how abysmal the orphanage he lived in was, it was probably one of the few good things he had.
• Adaptational Jerkass: While the original version is defined by his obsession with riddles and proving his superiority to Batman, this Riddler takes cues from the Zodiac Killer and is re-envisioned as a Mad Bomber and a feral lunatic who leaves clues by brutally killing others.
• Adaptational Job Change: While other continuities had him working for the GCPD, here, he's a forensics accountant for an unrelated company.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Slightly. He's far from a saint, but this iteration of the Riddler isn't simply an Attention Whore criminal as he's usually portrayed, so much as someone who sees himself as using vigilantism to doing the right thing by any means necessary. It also doesn't hurt that most of his targets appear to be Asshole Victims. Riddler's interactions with Batman are typically dripping with contempt as Riddler obsessively attempts to assert his superior intellect but here, it's revealed he has a twisted belief of Batman as a friend and kindred spirit. Ultimately averted by the end, where it turns out that despite his initial motivations to expose corruption, he takes a hard turn toward being a terrorist out of wanting revenge for being abandoned. He even goes so far as to hope aloud that he becomes famous for his crimes.
• Adaptational Sympathy: In the comics, his path to becoming the Riddler is a petty one, being a compulsive desire to prove himself as the smartest being on the planet stemming from a father that doesn't understand his son's love for riddles and knowledge, and he always tries to come up with riddles that Batman can't solve. In this film, he's an orphan who grew up miserable and alone in an uncaring society, and his riddles are meant to expose the corruption within Gotham. Nashton's riddles are also not meant to be Unwinnable by Design, but rather to complement Batman's detective skills, and because he sees the Dark Knight as an ally to his crusade.
• Adaptational Ugliness: Downplayed. Riddler doesn't look ugly per se, but he does appear to be a lot more rugged and unkempt than he usually is, wearing a baggy trench coat instead of a flashy, dapper suit and looking like an average guy on the street rather than a conventionally attractive man.
• Adaptation Name Change: Subverted. His given name in this continuity is Edward Nashton. While The Riddler is commonly known as Edward Nygma — or E. Nygma — there are several iterations of the character where Nashton is his family name before he turns to supervillainy and legally changes it.
• Advance Notice Crime: Riddler posts a secure video for his followers, instructing them to massacre refugees from the seawall falling but also giving a way for Batman and the Gotham police to figure out in advance what's going to happen by hiding the password to unlock the video underneath his carpet.
• Animal Motifs: Downplayed — while his costume and alias are not specifically tied to rats, he associates himself with them because of the condition of the orphanage he grew up in. His second victim had his head trapped in a makeshift torture device with rats gnawing his face. Finally, his second riddle includes rats as part of the passage, "You Are El Rata Alada". The final stage of his plan involves flooding Gotham—effectively, drowning its population like rats.
• Attention Whore: While this isn't his sole motivation, Riddler clearly enjoys the fame that accompanies his actions, even gloating to Batman that everyone will know who he is, even though he's been captured. In a darker sense, he has no problems flooding the city and ordering his followers to gun down civilians because he considers Gotham's apathy towards his suffering to be an actual crime.
• Ax-Crazy: He's not exactly right in the head. To boot, he likes to be theatrical in a maniacal fashion, especially when broadcasting his riddles and who he is about to kill, and his method of killing people himself is to viciously lunge at someone and bash their skull in with animalistic ferocity. His psychotic outlook doesn't falter one bit when he meets with Batman face-to-face, and, if anything, it highlights just how immature and childish he really is.
• Badass Boast: Delivers a good one mixed with his usual love for riddles.
  "What's black and blue and dead all over? You... if you think you can stop what's coming."
• Badass Bureaucrat: His civilian occupation is a forensic accountant, and going through the books is what got him on the trail of the criminal conspiracy he spends the movie exposing to the public.
• The Bad Guy Wins: In a manner of speaking. While he was definitely captured and put into Arkham Asylum, not to mention his delusional "partnership" with Batman dissolving into nothing before it ever started, he actually managed to complete his Final Solution and destroyed Gotham Bay, flooding most of the city and changing Gotham possibly forever. However, in the end Riddler is still left distraught that Batman was able foil his masterstroke: which would've been the mass murder of all the people - including and especially Gotham's optimistic new mayor - fleeing his terrorist attack, and he's convinced by the guy in the next cell over that he needs a "comeback story" to truly feel like a success.
• Bad Influencer: A deeply disturbed variation. Not only do his livestreams attract a small but fiercely loyal coterie of followers, but his behavior during the final, private one is eerily calm and friendly; he thanks everyone first for showing up like they're here to watch him play video games, not incite a disaster that will kill hundreds if not thousands, and expresses his gratitude for the tips his fans gave him about remote detonators. It really drives home that this is a thirty-something manchild with little in the way of resources or practical knowledge whose crimes still brought the city to its knees.
• Bait-and-Switch: Seems to call Batman by his real name, but is actually just building up to a Motive Rant about his resentment of Bruce Wayne for still having money to fall back on after his parents were murdered.
• Batman Gambit: Impressively pulled off on Batman himself. Many of the steps in Riddler's plan involve Batman simply doing his job and figuring out all his clues. It's eventually revealed that this is because Riddler was under the impression that he and Batman were on the same side.
• Berserk Button: Fitting with his hatred of deception, he gets really pissed when his victims try to claim innocence or beg for mercy, screaming at Gil Colson when he tries to avoid Riddler's judgement.
• Big Bad: The Riddler's murders of those involved in the Maroni bust are what drive the plot, and he becomes the sole villain after assassinating Carmine Falcone. While Falcone's conspiracy has led to a serious rise in corruption in Gotham, the mundane threat he poses utterly pales in comparison to the Riddler's plan to flood the city.
• Big Dam Plot: The climax of Riddler's plan is to blow up the seawalls around downtown Gotham, causing large-scale flooding that will force the survivors to shelter in a stadium above sea level... where his followers will be waiting to pick them off in the rafters.
• Broken Pedestal: He's crestfallen when he realizes that Batman, who he thought was on his side and was working toward advancing his goals, sees him as nothing more than a delusional psychopath. Edward's disappointment then grows when he realizes Batman wasn't smart enough to figure out his plan by the time they met.
• Casting Gag: Paul Dano had previously portrayed a bespectacled young adult exhibiting troublesome antisocial behavior and childish tendencies due to a stunted mental growth in addition to a Dark and Troubled Past as an orphan, being subject of a lengthy police investigation. Additionally, Dano's infamous falsettos provide an unsettling effect when the Riddler tauntingly sings "Ave Maria" whilst Batman is angrily demanding to know what the Riddler's endgame is.
• Character Blog: In-Universe, he has his mysterious livestreams. Out-Of-Universe, he has something of a Character Alternate Reality Game in the form of https://www.rataalada.com.
• The Chessmaster: He orchestrates everything in the film and plays multiple people, including Bruce, for pawns as a way to enact his real plan of flooding the city.
• Civvie Spandex: His costume is an off-the-shelf coat with his logo drawn on it, gloves, a cold-weather military surplus mask, cling film wrapped around the head (to avoid leaving forensic evidence) and glasses. Presumably, he picked it out of easy-to-access materials precisely to make it impossible to trace his prior movements and identify him whilst his plan is underway. His followers wear the same, possibly to evoke the Black Bloc riot tactic, where people wear generic black clothes to prevent identification and look organized and numerous.
• Collective Identity: He fully expects to be arrested by the GCPD in the end, and thus encourages his followers to continue his work by flooding Gotham City and killing everyone at an election rally. His followers all don his masked costume as they begin their assault, making it appear that the Riddler is everywhere.
• Complexity Addiction: Not as prominent as previous incarnations, but still present. His plan involves getting Batman to figure out Falcone engineered the Maroni drug bust to take control of the local government via cryptic clues and obtuse bread crumbs, as opposed to just telling Batman and Gotham in general what happened like he does with Mitchell's infidelities and Thomas Wayne using Falcone to intimidate a reporter. In particular, Riddler seems to think just leaving the "rat with wings" clue is enough to finger Falcone as the informant on the Maroni drug bust, despite the clue more obviously pointing to Penguin or even Batman himself, meaning it takes Selina stumbling onto the truth for Batman and Gordon to even figure it out. That said, it's also precisely because he was so roundabout in his communications to Batman that he fails to realise Riddler's final plan is still underway until he accidentally blurts it out to him, meaning that being so complex actually worked as much in his favour as against it.
• Composite Character: He's the Riddler, no doubt; but his characterization draws inspiration from several different comics characters.
  • His mask, trench coat, and personal obsession with Bruce Wayne are reminiscent of Hush, especially with how he wraps his first victim's head in tape that invokes Hush's bandaged attire and one of his videos talking about "hush money" having "HUSH?" written onscreen.
  • His masked appearance and unassuming scrawny physique out-of-costume can bring Scarecrow to mind.
  • His characterization as a Well-Intentioned Extremist activist who goes to extremes to fight against what he believes to be corruption is a trademark of Anarky. He even has a cult of followers like Anarky does in Batman: Arkham Origins. It may also bring back memories of the version of Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, who is also a masked terrorist who plans to destroy Gotham.
  • He invokes various versions of the Joker, most notably his twisted sense of humor and love of decorating his victims as part of a sadistic display. Him uploading creepy videos showcasing his threats and promises of terror he plans to sow upon Gotham are reminiscent of the Heath Ledger Joker from The Dark Knight. His extreme hatred of a corrupt Gotham and having a gang of like-minded followers brings to mind the Arthur Fleck incarnation of the Joker. When he meets the Clown Prince himself in Arkham, they even share a laugh and seem to strike up common ground!
  • Him being a masked terrorist who has a bone to pick with the Waynes because he blames them for the deplorable living conditions he grew up in, specifically targeting Bruce, and who ironically praises Batman for working to bring down a corrupt system brings to mind Vicki Vale/Lady Arkham from Batman: The Telltale Series. The difference is that Thomas Wayne really was responsible for Vicki's pain, but Edward's pain was an unfortunate consequence of a corrupt system taking advantage of Thomas's murder.
  • He takes the role of the murderer of Carmine Falcone from Two-Face and the Holiday Killer.
  • As for what other incarnations of the Riddler he takes inspiration from, his Giggling Villain tendencies come from the Frank Gorshin portrayal from the 60s show, his terrorist acts come from his Earth One counterpart, his Saw-like traps are straight from the Arkham games, and finally his being a Loony Fan seems to take inspiration from Jim Carrey's version.
• Cool Mask: Unintentional pun aside, he wears a cold-weather military surplus mask to hide his identity, but not only that it's quite uncanny and quite malevolent-looking furthering his image as an enigmatic figure.
• Cop Hater: The GCPD are among those he views as irredeemably corrupt. During his final video where he lays out his plan to flood Gotham, he refers to them as pigs.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Edward Nashton was an orphan in Gotham City who was promised by Thomas Wayne that he and his fellow orphans would be looked after via the "Renewal" foundation. However, after Thomas' murder, the criminals (Falcone in particular) and selfish elite stole, extorted, or hoarded the money for themselves and left Edward and the others in inhumane living conditions with "carers" who either neglected or outright abused them. Edward became fascinated with riddles and puzzles because they were the only form of escapism he had in his miserable childhood, and his mental health clearly went downhill as he grew up, leading to the psychopathic Serial Killer and terrorist we see today.
• Dark Is Evil: In what can be considered a parallel to Batman, Riddler's costume is a very mottled shade of green, and he's about as psychotic, vindictive, and immature as you could get for a villain.
• Darker and Edgier: While other iterations of The Riddler have killed people, he eschews the character's usual camp nature and comes across as being closer to John Doe or the Zodiac Killer than a clownish archnemesis.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: This version of the Riddler is given a more realistic and darker take on the character's warped narcissism, which is more exaggerated than prior versions. In particular, the Riddler's traditional narcissism is ramped up by transforming him into a vigilante. Instead of lording over others with his intelligence and making comical schemes, Nashton becomes completely obsessed with his war on crime, to the point of being unable to understand or care about the damage he's causing. The Riddler only ends up losing because his ego causes him to be unable to see the obvious connections between Bruce and the Batman, too convinced of Bruce's supposed arrogance.
• Double Meaning: His riddles tend to play out via this trope as a way to make them ironic and karmic from his perspective, make his challenges more intense for Batman and the GCPD, and to portray the two as visceral and violent as a way to inspire others to his cause and instill fear to Gotham's populace.
  • The Riddler's first cipher is determined to be a coded message that spells out DRIVE. Batman figures out this means two things: that the next clue is in the car of the Riddler's victim, and that the clue is stored in a disk drive... specifically a "thumb drive", with the victim's thumb included.
  • The Riddler's second victim is killed by being injected with arsenic (rat poison) and then having rats eat his face. It's a message symbolizing how corruption is eating Gotham alive, that there's a "rat" in the centre of the conspiracy, and that he wants the rat dead.
  • The Riddler's second cipher has a clue about "rata alada", meaning "rat with wings". Gordon and Batman determine it could also mean a pigeon, specifically a stool pigeon, and focusing on the "wings" aspect, initially suspect Penguin, because a penguin has wings. Penguin angrily suggests Batman himself to be the "rat with wings" when they accuse him, because a bat also has wings, and bats are often called flying rats. It turns out the stool pigeon is Falcone — a falcon also has wings.
• Dramatic Irony: The Riddler is a Loony Fan for Batman (albeit for deeply misguided reasons), while murderously resenting Bruce Wayne, and is convinced that he doesn't need to know whoever's underneath the mask because he sees Batman as his true self.
• The Dreaded: His murder spree has turned him into one of Gotham's most feared and dangerous criminals.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • As much of his motivation is tied to lies and conspiracies that keep the disadvantaged downtrodden, it's safe to say he really doesn't condone government conspiracies, especially the types that keep the defenseless down, because he was one himself.
  • Riddler despises the likes of Carmine Falcone and the people who were on his payroll for the terrible things he did to the city, and his main motivation is to expose him and kill him personally.
  • When Batman interrogates Riddler in Arkham Asylum, he states how hellish the living conditions of the orphanage were, and emphasizes that winter was the worst season, as it was guaranteed the baby orphans would die from the cold. The way he says the latter suggests that it repulsed even him on a personal level.
  • Edward was the one responsible for burning the Wayne Manor/Orphanage but he made sure to pull the fire alarm and evacuate the building before doing so.
• Evidence Dungeon: His apartment, when Batman and the cops discover it after he's shot Carmine Falcone, is covered with newspaper clippings of his various targets, his scrawled rantings about Gotham's corruption on the walls, his journal filled with his gibberish thoughts, and some of the leftover gear and supplies he used to construct his Saw-style devices used against his prior victims. All of this is a smokescreen for the real valuable clue hidden in the apartment - a detailed map of Riddler's final plan, and the password needed to unlock his final video located underneath the ordinary carpet in the room.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
  • He genuinely believes that he and Batman are on the same side and that Batman is willingly helping him to expose corruption in Gotham, and is shocked to hear that Batman considers him a murdering psychopath. That Batman doesn't kill, and definitely wouldn't support Riddler's endgame of flooding Gotham and opening fire on civilians seeking shelter is a complete surprise to Riddler.
  • The Riddler has everything he needs to figure out Batman's identity, to the point where Bruce is briefly but genuinely scared that he knows.. until it becomes clear that Riddler cannot connect the rich man who he resents and envies to the vigilante crusader he's decided to emulate, and seems convinced that Batman wanted to kill Wayne with him. Even if he was the figure on the balcony at the funeral, not one of his followers, seeing Bruce tackle Mitchell's son out of the path of a speeding car meant absolutely nothing to him or his twisted perception of the man.
• Evil Counterpart: Like Bruce, he sees himself as a costumed crimefighter, both of them keep a journal of their exploits, both have an Animal Motif (even if Edward's is much more downplayed), and most importantly, both were orphans shaped by childhood trauma.
• Evil Genius: He's Batman's intellectual match, staying one step ahead of him and the GCPD and orchestrating multiple kidnappings and murders of high-profile figures and that's before his real plan of destroying the city as a whole.
• Evil Gloating: He leaves multiple clues and riddles that carry this tone throughout the scene of his murders specifically for Batman. However, this is actually Subverted; Riddler is genuinely trying to communicate with Batman in his twisted way and lead him to the truth about the Rat so they can take down Gotham's biggest criminal element "together". This misperception is furthered by the fact that one of the targets Riddler wants eliminated to erase Gotham's corrupt elite is Bruce Wayne himself, causing him to unintentionally send mixed messages to Batman through his different reactions to both halves of his secret identity. It's only played straight right at the end, when Batman rejects Riddler to his face as a deluded psychopath, sending him into a Villainous Breakdown wherein he blurts out that his final grandest plan is still underway, something he was under the impression Batman already knew about. Upon realising that he's clueless, he tauntingly keeps his mouth shut, only responding to Batman's angry demand for answers by childishly singing Ave Maria as Bruce becomes increasingly frenzied in trying to force the answers out of him.
• Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: He has a fondness for dark puns, such as giving Batman digital photos on a thumbdrive (that is, a fingerprint-encrypted flash drive with Mitchell's severed thumb attached), and telling D.A. Colson (whom he's fitted with an explosive collar) not to "lose [his] head."
• Evil Is Hammy: Is actually quite verbose in a few scenes when he's caught in the thrill of his Riddler persona, typically when he's on camera.
• Evil Is Petty: In true Riddler fashion:
  • While most of his targets are Asshole Victims which lends him some justification in targeting them, the same can't be said for Bruce Wayne, who he targets primarily by proxy due to his father's actions. When his letter bomb fails to kill Bruce, his usual viral messaging exposing the target's "sins" online — in Bruce's case, those of his father — is addressed to Bruce directly with noticeable spite for his survival, and after he's incarcerated after killing most of his targets, he's still musing over Bruce's survival and making it clear he's still determined to kill him. When he finally gets the chance to speak with Batman directly, Edward reveals that this was also not his sole motivation, and that he targeted Bruce due to his resentment over how his privileged upbringing meant that Bruce never "truly" suffered as an orphan like Edward did.
  • Meanwhile, he has absolutely no justification for targeting the new mayor or the ordinary citizens of Gotham by bombing the seawall and flooding the city, beyond simply wanting revenge for his personal suffering and feeling that they're responsible for it because they weren't aware of his terrible living conditions.
• Evil Sounds Deep: When electronically modified, he has an uncannily deep voice to add to his frightening identity as a Serial Killer. Averted with his actual voice, which is eerily high-pitched to reflect his Psychopathic Manchild status.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: A dual one occurs for both him and Batman at the same time. When Edward suffers his Villainous Breakdown during his interrogation, he angrily rants that he'd planned far enough ahead to bring Batman to the interrogation room to keep him safe from what's coming, causing Batman to realise that he's put something in motion that will endanger lives on a grand scale, and Edward to realise that Batman was completely clueless about his final plan until he told him, despite having the clues he'd left him to spell it out.
• Explosive Leash: He has an explosive device installed into District Attorney Colson's neck and forces him to crash into Mayor Mitchell's funeral. He promises to Colson and Batman that he would release the bomb if Colson answers three questions/riddles right in under two minutes. Despite answering two of them with Batman's help, Colson refuses to answer the third riddle (who is the "rat"?), as that would put his family's lives in danger, ultimately getting his head blown up in the process.
• Expy: His full face mask with large Nerd Glasses, along with taunting messages left at the scenes of his murders, and using his own special alphabet, evoke the real-life Zodiac Killer. His penchant for putting his victims into elaborate deathtraps also evokes Jigsaw, which has also influenced other iterations of the Riddler.
• Eviler than Thou: After murdering the thoroughly despicable Carmine Falcone, he one-ups him in villainy by killing thousands in a petty terrorist act.
• The Faceless: His face was obscured in all the promotional materials, with him either wearing a mask or the camera cutting away before his face is revealed. This holds for most of the movie — the one time he shows up unmasked prior to his arrest, it's with his back to a window, leaving him a black silhouette and nothing else.
• Fame Through Infamy: The Riddler admits to Batman that he's okay being sentenced to Arkham forever because he's convinced that everyone will remember him now. Remember him as the nobody who destroyed the corrupt Gotham City.
• Faux Affably Evil: Acts chummy to his targets and cracks inappropriate jokes while he has them in his deathtraps.
• Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: His core rationale for his final act — it doesn't matter that the new mayor very well may have been honest, or that the average Gotham citizen has nothing to do with the corruption plaguing the city, the whole city is beyond salvation, and everyone who lives in it deserves to die just for being a part of it.
• Final Solution: He believes that Gotham is so corrupt that not even Bella Reál will change it with her agenda. So he plans to make real change by flooding Gotham with the sea, drowning countless people both innocent and guilty in its wake. Then he tells his followers to finish off the survivors.
• Foil: To Batman. Like the Batman, the Riddler was an orphan who grew up wanting to rid Gotham of crime and corruption through vigilante means, but their appearances, personalities, and methods are polar opposites of each other. Their upbringings are also markedly different - while both are orphans, Bruce inherited his parents' fortune and at least had something of a parental figure in Alfred (even though the latter admits he couldn't truly replace Bruce's father). Edward Nashton, meanwhile, grew up with nothing and no one, no doubt playing a role in fostering his vicious hatred towards society as a whole.
  • Batman is an athletic, rugged man who non-lethally beats up low-life criminals on the streets. The Riddler is a scrawny, nerdish man who cannot fight, but can efficiently murder corrupt people high up in the city's legal system.
  • Bruce Wayne was a rich orphan who lost his parents and with them, nearly all hope. Edward Nashton was a poor orphan who lost all hope because the Waynes' funding for the orphanage he lived in was siphoned away by greedy, corrupt individuals. Incidentally, one of the ARG photos belonging to the Riddler shows young Bruce with his parents, about a foot away from Nashton in the orphanage's choir, with a similar haircut.
  • Batman avoids the public limelight, both in his vigilante and civilian persona, and gets bad publicity as a result. The Riddler embraces the public limelight, using social media to spread his message and gain a cult following.
  • Both start off as vengeful loners but find a kindred spirit by the end of the film. For Batman, it's Selina Kyle, and for Riddler, it's the Joker.
  • Turns out both of them keep journals about their efforts. But Bruce starts the movie wondering if he's actually doing any real good, while Riddler is utterly, unshakably convinced his mass-murdering plot is the right thing to do, even as he loses touch with reality.
  • Both of them have engineering projects scattered around their lairs. Batman has his gadgets and the Batmobile, and Riddler has his murder mechanisms.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: This version wears large translucent Nerd Glasses and is not on the side of good.
• Freudian Excuse: His insanely awful childhood in Gotham's defunded orphanage shaped his eventual turn to violent extremism, as he feels that what he went through is an extension of everything that's wrong with the city, and he wants to make people pay for his own suffering.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: When he tells his tragic backstory to Batman, he expects Batman to sympathize with him, since in his delusional mind they're working together and are on the same side. Batman responds that the Riddler is just a pathetic psychopath, which causes the Riddler to lose his composure. And this is before Batman realizes that Riddler's ultimate plan is flooding the city and assassinating the new mayor and innocent civilians who fled to high ground.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Started as a random orphan who became a forensic accountant. When he realized how corrupt the city truly was, the Batman inspired him to become the Riddler, who nearly destroys the heart of Gotham. Notably, unlike Bruce, he didn't have any direct connection to the conspiracy that caused his horrible childhood, except indirectly as one of thousands of impoverished children who suffered from poor living conditions thanks to their monopolisation of the Wayne Renewal fund. And yet he was able to find out the truth of how corrupt the city's authority figures were, the identity of the 'Rat with Wings' when it's a death sentence to even speak of it, and isolate, trap, and kill them systematically despite lacking Bruce's physical abilities or funding. Similarly, Riddler's groupies are all, implicitly, random nobodies who likewise suffered from the rampant corruption and crime in Gotham.
• Giggling Villain: Riddler is especially giddy and snickering in his video execution of the police commissioner. He later shares a few nearly in-unison laughs with none other than the Joker himself.
• Grammar Correction Gag: Riddler's second cipher spells out "you are el rata alada", which Alfred and the Penguin independently point out is misspelled, as it should be "la rata". Batman eventually realizes the spelling mistake must be intentional after some mockery from the Penguin, and figures out it phonetically spells out "URL rataalada", which leads to a website Riddler uses to communicate with Batman for his next clue.
• Green and Mean: He dresses in a green jacket, though it is neither really part of a "costumed persona" nor garish unlike most previous incarnations of the Riddler, as per the grounded and gritty tone of the film.
• Green-Eyed Monster: He loathes Bruce Wayne for being an orphan born into money while he was an orphan left destitute and forgotten by Gotham's corruption.
• Hates My Secret Identity: He's a Loony Fan of Batman, but despises Bruce Wayne, who he envies and resents because of his own miserable childhood in an Orphanage of Fear. He also admits to having no interest in learning the truth because he views Batman as the real identity.
• Hates Rich People: He despises the wealthy elite for helping to screw orphans like himself out of the help they need to survive. Part of this stems from, Thomas Wayne setting up a public fund to help out the unfortunate of Gotham, only for Carmine Falcone and other corrupt officials to swipe the money for themselves. Even more ironically, he hates Bruce Wayne and tries to have him killed (seeing him as a Hypocrite who's an orphan who lives comfortably while regular orphans like him suffer), but he thinks Batman is his ally.
• He Was Right There All Along: Riddler's evil lair that he broadcasts several of his videos and recorded viral messages to the public from is revealed to be an apartment across the road from the Iceberg Lounge, home of the Gotham Mafia and Riddler's primary target Carmine Falcone, and a location that Bruce visits several times both as Batman and Bruce Wayne. This reveal is actually Foreshadowed by the photos and pictures Riddler sent of the Mayor and various other corrupt city leaders entering the Iceberg Lounge -— all of them are taken from the same angle and location, Riddler's apartment window, but because of his cryptic clues and mind-games, everybody ended up overlooking where he'd had them taken. Justified, as Riddler wanted to be in a prime location to strike Falcone down when Batman exposed him without drawing attention to himself by creating a sniper's nest on the roof of the building, and absolutely nobody thought he'd have the brass cojones to set up shop so close to the dangerous criminals he was antagonising.
• He Who Fights Monsters: At best, he thinks he's this, since he seems at least nominally aware of the gravity of his actions, but is completely convinced that they're ultimately necessary for the greater good of the city. Eventually subverted, as it becomes clear that it's all about his own selfish need to avenge his past suffering, and he is willing to turn innocents into collateral damage to achieve that end.
• Hell Is That Noise: During his first appearance and in a few others where he doesn't publicly announce his presence, the Riddler is accompanied by low, raspy sounds that render his surroundings all the more frightening. He also lets out pained wails that sound inhuman.
• Hidden in Plain Sight: His costume is made out of ordinary items you can buy at any army surplus store (the painted-on Riddler logo is his only addition). His followers even exploit this later in the film. Without his costume, he just looks like some nebbish, unsuspecting kid you wouldn't think twice about, except for the slightly unusual transparent frames for his glasses. When he murders the mayor in the cold open of the film, the mayor doesn't even notice Riddler standing right behind him until it's too late. After he assassinates Falcone, the police discover his sniper's nest was an apartment he was renting right across the street from the Iceberg Lounge, which is how he got all his recon on the public figures who did business there.
• Hidden Villain: The film goes through great efforts to obscure Riddler's unmasked face for the bulk of the film's runtime up until his arrest, which makes the reveal that there's nothing special about his appearance and he just looks like an average guy more unsettling. This is shortly followed by the reveal that his groupie copycats are also just random people.
• Horrible Judge of Character: He honestly thought Batman would actually approve of his murder and crime spree, while convincing himself that Bruce Wayne is just as corrupt as his other victims.
• Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday: The Riddler's first murder, in an obvious nod to The Long Halloween, takes place on Halloween night, which presumably helped him with approaching the mayor's residence unsuspiciously.
• Hypocrite:
  • While he presents himself as someone looking to rid Gotham of corruption and its wealth inequality, his endgame involves killing Bella Reál, someone who not only isn't a part of Gotham's corruption but is looking to solve the very problems Riddler is citing as his motivation for his plans. His only justification for it is brushing off the system as beyond hope of repair.
  • He tries to smear Martha Wayne by revealing her stay at an insane asylum. But as the rest of this page suggests, the Riddler is far from sane himself. It's also pretty rich of him to posit himself as a voice of the oppressed and impoverished given that mentally ill people who can't get treatment make up a good portion of said groups.
• I Reject Your Reality: Despite being clever enough to figure it out and having all the clues he needs, he hasn't figured out that Batman is really Bruce Wayne. Batman is even genuinely shocked he doesn't know. The reason is that Riddler grew up hating Bruce Wayne for his wealth and status while he grew up in squalor. He can't even comprehend that the person he hates the most and the hero he admires are one and the same.
• It Is Beyond Saving: One of the main reasons for Riddler's attacks and acts of terrorism is that he's surely convinced himself that Gotham City is corrupt to its core and really cannot be saved, and he wants to assert this point by targeting some of the city's most wealthy and powerful citizens, socially and politically.
• It's All About Me: He turns out to be fixated on his own misery to a very self-centered extent. Rather than try to fix Gotham through his actions, he intends to spread misery and destruction just because he can't stand the thought of anyone being happy when he's miserable.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: His first few murders target corrupt government officials that have betrayed their offices and supported criminals they are supposed to be stopping in order to line their own pockets. He then targets Bruce Wayne for extremely petty reasons. He jumped off the slope before the movie even began, as the murder weapon in the first murder is the clue to uncovering his final plan to flood the city and kill the new mayor and other survivors taking shelter in Gotham Square Garden.
• Jump Scare: After sneaking into Mayor Mitchell's room and watching him silently, the Riddler announces himself with a sudden, loud screech before bludgeoning Mitchell to death.
• Just Toying with Them: It's implied that giving Gil Colson a chance to escape his trap is just for show, and that he always planned to kill him. For starters, "DOA" is written all over the van used to break into the funeral service, which indicates that he wasn't going to walk out alive. Then he presents him with a riddle that would place a target on himself and his loved ones if he answered. With this in mind, it's likely that the Riddler just wanted a confession for his crimes before presenting him with a riddle he would refuse to answer.
• Lack of Empathy:
  • He believes that Bruce Wayne, who saw his parents gunned down, hasn't suffered for being an orphan, simply because Bruce has money. As far as he's concerned, Bruce deserves to die for his father's sins simply for existing.
  • Despite his goals of exposing the corruption of Gotham City, Riddler doesn't actually care about the people there, as shown by his endgame of flooding the city, then having his followers gun down the new mayor (who really does intend to help the city) and the innocent people who seek shelter from the flood.
• Large Ham: It might be a scarier take on the Riddler, but he's still a full of himself, over-the-top guy. In his videos, he often mugs the camera, with the impression that he is constantly gurning underneath his mask, and he frequently lets his excitement get the better of him, leading his speeches and motive rants to become increasingly high-pitched and increase in volume and pace the longer he goes on. It possibly gets even more pronounced after he's arrested — his interrogation has Edward over-enunciating everything ("Bruuuce Waaaayneee") and eventually singing "Ave Maria".
• Leitmotif: A variation of "Ave Maria", which has been transposed to a minor key, serves as the Riddler's theme. The original piece also comes up a few times in the film; it accompanies the opening scene, is sung by a children's choir during the funeral (signaling the Riddler's presence), a similar choir is heard singing it in Thomas Wayne's campaign announcement, and is later sung by Edward himself when he taunts Batman.
• Light Is Not Good: He's associated with the light, as he wishes to shine a light on the full extent of Gotham's corruption. But, due to his methods, this light often signals death.
• Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: Inverted. He genuinely admires Batman and sees him as a major inspiration for his acts of terrorism, to the point where he doesn't actually care at all about finding out his civilian identity; to him, Batman is the true identity, and however the civilian person behind the mask is simply doesn't matter. By contrast, in a twist of irony, he absolutely despises Bruce Wayne due to his family ties and his position as among Gotham's richest and most influential people.
• Loony Fan: Is essentially this for Batman, admitting that Batman was the inspiration for his crusade, and has deluded himself into thinking they're teaming up to take on the mob. He's in turn earned a similar following.
• Lost Food Grievance: His only complaint when the police arrest him is that they did so before he could get the piece of pie that he ordered.
• Mad Bomber: He has Colson hooked up to an Explosive Leash, and the final part of his plan involves him setting off vans filled with explosives to destroy Gotham's seawalls. When they go off, Riddler can't help but laugh in glee from his cell. However, he needed help setting up the detonators from some of his livestream subscribers.
• Malevolent Masked Men: He wears a dark-green military cold weather full-face mask and they look plenty malevolent and sinister. It serves a practical purpose of concealing his identity and to further his own enigmatic nature. His followers are eventually inspired to take up this costuming style for Riddler's own endgame plan.
• Misaimed Fandom: In-Universe. Late in the movie, it's revealed that the Riddler and his followers were inspired by the Batman's use of fear and violence. The Riddler even assumed the Batman would approve of his actions.
• Misery Poker: The Riddler is completely unsympathetic to Bruce Wayne being orphaned at a young age because he didn't have to grow up in a poorly funded orphanage like he and Gotham's other orphans did.
• Misplaced Retribution: The Riddler tries to kill Bruce Wayne because the media constantly covered his sad story of being orphaned at a young age, while ignoring the underprivileged orphans like Riddler who lived at the orphanage in squalor instead of the luxury of a wealthy household.
• Moral Sociopathy: He is a sick psychopath with an obsession with riddles, but he does have a sense of right and wrong. He sees Gotham as a cesspool full of criminals and corrupt elites that deserves to be cleansed, and he ensures that every one of his victim has their dirty laundry exposed to prove his point. He even considers himself to be an ally of Batman, leaving clues and riddles for him to uncover the drug conspiracy that the Riddler himself couldn't uproot. This moral code, however, is a very extreme black-and-white view of the world, as he considers Gotham to be so irredeemable that not even a genuine progressive candidate like Bella Reál is safe from his crusade.
• Movie Superheroes Wear Black: He never wears the bright green costumes he had in the comics and most prior adaptations (neither the Golden Age tights or the more recent green suit and bowler hat outfit), opting instead for a very dark-green trench coat that he's crudely painted a question mark on and a military surplus cold-weather mask. This is justified in-universe as him picking a disguise that leaves no evidence to who he actually is.
• Mythology Gag: The glasses he wears are the exact same kind that Jim Carrey wore in Batman Forever.
• Narcissist: He wouldn't be the Riddler if he didn't wholeheartedly believe he, and he alone, has all the answers. Nashton uses riddles to taunt the police with their own ignorance, he plots an elaborate revenge scheme on Gotham for what he suffered as a kid, and hearing his personal idol call him out is such a blow to his overblown ego that he has one hell of a hissy fit. It's even worse that it's clear he still hasn't deduced that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person.
• Near-Villain Victory: Most of his ultimate plan goes off without a hitch. He manages to kill all of the city officials he had a vendetta against (except Bruce Wayne), he's exposed the widespread corruption of Gotham's police and politicians, he's amassed a loyal following eager to follow his commands, and he flooded Gotham to cause citywide devastation, but Batman manages to thwart the final step: having his followers assassinate the new mayor-elect and then massacring the people at her swearing-in. At the end, the Riddler is seen having a meltdown in Arkham over the fact he wasn't able to completely succeed, but a fellow inmate comforts him by saying he still did very well.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Downplayed. During Edward's breakdown after Batman rejects him and calls him a psychopath, he ends up letting slip that his plans are still in motion and will cause massive chaos and destruction, leading Batman to unearth his final plan to flood Gotham and assassinate its next mayor Bella Reál to let the city tear itself apart in the chaos without a unifying figure to rally around. By the time he discovers this, it's too late to stop the flooding, but he is able to save Bella and many other citizens from Riddler's followers, meaning that Riddler's plans only fell apart at the end because of his own slip-up. This is very Justified though, as Edward honestly thought Batman and he were working towards a common goal, and that he'd already figured out his plan from all the clues he's left behind, being a little dumbstruck when he realises Batman's still ignorant of his final masterstroke.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Is very blatantly patterned after the Zodiac Killer, what with the glasses, the face-obscuring hood, the sigil on the clothing, and the enigmatic ciphers.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: His sudden attack on Mayor Mitchell can be summed up like this, with Riddler assaulting him without warning and constantly bashing him with a metal utensil despite having knocked him out.
• Non-Action Big Bad: As he himself admits, he isn't a fighter — although he's more than capable of stalking, kidnapping, and murdering people, or putting them into death traps, he doesn't have it in him to fight dozens of people to get to his targets, so he manipulates others when he can't deal with certain targets on his own. While he overpowers and personally kills many people throughout the movie, he relies heavily on stealth and surprise to do so.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Being a vigilante that seeks to expose corruption and take out those causing it? Understandable, even if he's going way too far to accomplish those ends. But trying to kill Bruce Wayne over a petty vendetta, flooding the city, and inspiring his followers to gun down hundreds of people? Not so much.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Riddler correctly assumes that Batman is motivated by vengeance against a city that wronged him, not so different from his own motive. But Riddler also sneers at the supposed pain of Bruce Wayne, because he thinks being a rich orphan barely "counts" as being one at all, especially compared to the neglected orphanage Riddler grew up in.
• Nothing Is Scarier: The film goes through great efforts to obscure Riddler's unmasked face for a bulk of the film's runtime up until his arrest... which makes the reveal that he looks completely unremarkable more unsettling. The reveal that his groupie copycats are also just random people has equally disturbing implications.
• Not Wearing Tights: Gone are the traditional question-mark-clad tights or suit with a matching bowler hat, instead wearing a simpler, more utilitarian getup that completely obscures him.
• Obliviously Evil: He sees what he's doing as no different than what Batman does, and is stunned when Batman disapproves of his methods and calls him a psychopath to his face. This is before it gets revealed that the last step of his plan involves killing thousands of innocent people by causing a flood and having his goons gun down the survivors.
  • His delusion about what he's doing makes him believe he is an ally to Batman, sending him cryptic clues to push Batman to the truth. Batman disabuses him of that idea towards the end by pointing out he's just a psychopathic murderer taunting Batman with obtuse messages.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: This is his motive. Every murder he's committed is done in a cruel yet ironic fashion that reflects the sins the victims have committed. Eventually, it gets subverted after killing Falcone, as the Riddler then turns his murderous sight on the whole city of Gotham, and declares it guilty of abandoning him for years.
• Pet the Dog:
  • He gives sincere thanks to his followers in his last message to them.
  • Edward's initially quite respectful and friendly to Batman, before their conversation starts failing to live up to his expectations.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Subtle, but he uses the Arkham family's history of mental illness to smear Bruce's mother Martha, who spent several years in a mental hospital from seeing her parents die in a murder-suicide.
  • Potentially a Justified Trope, in the sense that his own callous scorn of Martha's breakdowns helps demonstrate the general stigma/taboo around mental health in Gotham that would explain why Thomas wanted the story covered up so badly in the wake of his election campaign.
• Practically Joker: This version of the Riddler has a lot in common with previous portrayals of the Joker, particularly the Nolanverse's incarnation from The Dark Knight. This time he is characterized as a laughing, insane killer that livestreams his crimes, and is a serious and dangerous mastermind that targets corrupt authorities in Gotham and makes a lot of trouble for the heroes. Edward also believes himself to have a lot in common with Batman and that the two are similar in many ways. He also has himself arrested as a part of his plan and has a sniper's nest set up, as well as an attack carried out at a funeral. His backstory as an abused member of Gotham's lower class whose trauma was tied in some way to Thomas Wayne, as well as having a group of like-minded downtrodden followers who emulate his appearance also resembles Arthur Fleck. It's no surprise to see him connecting so quickly with the actual Joker, given how similar they are.
• Psychological Projection: Riddler assumes he and Batman share the same motives and end goals. Two of his riddles demand pedestrian knowledge to solve, showing he does not believe Batman could have a privileged background. This would explain why a textbook narcissist such as he looks up to another person: In Batman, Nashton sees a cooler version of himself.
• Psychopathic Manchild: The barely legible scribbling he writes his notes in project this image, coupled with his bizarre, raving speech patterns. His backstory as an abused orphan abandoned by the city of Gotham reveals he never got the chance to actually grow up. His tendency to throw infantile tantrums when things don't go his way furthers it.
• Pungeon Master: His riddles and clues are awash in punny double meanings, as is typical for the character across his many incarnations.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Most of his agenda is achieved successfully, with nearly all of Gotham's corrupt officials and mobsters that were part of the drug busting conspiracy killed, and Gotham being under water. However, it comes at the price of the Riddler being sent to Arkham State Hospital as an insane inmate, suffering a mental breakdown after Batman rejects him, and watching his final step of his grand plan fall apart as the Batman saves the people he tried to kill at the rally, with the news press lauding Batman as a hero of Gotham while Riddler is barely mentioned at all.
• Red Herring: The film sets up Riddler knowing Bruce Wayne is the Batman, with multiple personal attacks on Bruce Wayne and the implication that he knows more about his family and his own history than Bruce himself. This comes to a head in one of the last scenes, when Batman confronts Nashton at his Arkham cell, with Nashton chillingly enunciating "Bruce Wayne" through the glass... and then telling Batman that it was too bad they weren't able to kill him, making it clear he could have made the connection between Bruce and Batman had he wanted to, but couldn't reconcile the image of the crusader that inspired him (Batman) with his object of hatred (Bruce).
• The Resenter: Having grown up in an orphanage that was left to rot, Edward has zero sympathy for fellow orphan Bruce Wayne, even saying that Bruce's wealth means that he never suffered as a result of being an orphan, unlike him.
• Revenge Is Not Justice: Riddler has a legitimate grievance against Gotham for allowing him and the other orphans to suffer the horrible conditions of an abusive orphanage despite Thomas Wayne's promise to rebuild it. The corruption of the city stole the funding and caused untold misery to Riddler all of his life. However, Batman points out that none of these things give him the right to kill people, especially since the likes of Bruce Wayne had no knowledge of Edward's suffering. While Riddler refuses to learn this lesson, Bruce realizes that Batman should become a symbol of hope, and he needs to do more than just beat up thugs and criminals.
• Riddle for the Ages: How he did learn about how Thomas Wayne turned Carmine Falcone for help to stop a reporter from revealing Martha's past, or how Falcone set up the drug bust to get rid of Salvatore Maroni?
• Riddle Me This: Would he really be the Riddler without them? At each of his crime scenes, he leaves a greeting card specifically addressed "To the Batman" with a riddle inside. For example: the question "What does a liar do when he's dead?", and a custom alphabet cipher beside it that can be decoded to "He lies still."
  • Interestingly, the time the actual phrase is uttered in the film, its not coming from Eddie, but directed at him by the Joker.
• Secret Identity Apathy: Unlike his comic book counterpart, the Riddler has no desire to unmask the Batman or figure out his secret identity. To him, Batman is the true face, and this is why he never realizes that his vigilante idol is in fact the very same rich orphan that he despises.
• Secret-Identity Identity: Though his civilian identity is Edward Nashton, he sees the Riddler to be his true self. As he explains to Batman, he feels free to fully express himself when donning the mask, stating that it's his real face just like Batman's mask is.
• Secretly Selfish: His agenda on paper is selfless, if somewhat extreme, but his actions imply that he enjoys the fame that comes with it, and thinks his own suffering is more important than everyone else's.
• Selective Obliviousness: Typical of the Riddler, Nashton has all the clues pointing to Bruce Wayne and the Batman being one and the same, but fails to connect them because it doesn't fit with what he assumes of both men.
• Serial Killer: He's shown killing two separate men, while also including messages "To the Batman" duct-taped to their bodies. By the end of the film, he has killed four men, and that's not counting the civilian casualties caused by Gotham's flooding and his followers gunning down people.
• Shadow Archetype: Like Batman, he's a vigilante who seeks to save the city from crime and corruption. But his methods employ murder, mind games, and terror on every level of Gotham. When he tells Batman that the whole Riddler persona was inspired by Batman's vigilantism, Batman is visibly horrified, as he sees a lot of himself in the Riddler (including a selfish desire for vengeance). By the end of the film, he resolves to be Gotham's symbol of hope instead of fear, to avoid the dark path that the Riddler took.
• Sigil Spam: His signature question mark-crosshair is scrawled onto all his crime scenes and clues.
• Social Media Before Reason: Riddler's fond of sharing clues and messages via livestream, even though it's of no benefit to himself to do so.
• The Sociopath: The Riddler turns out to be a low-functioning example despite his exceptional intelligence. He has poor emotional maturity, and while his plans are calculated, he's personally very immature and impulsive in committing his acts of violence and destruction and feels no remorse and shame over his actions. He has a very black-and-white perspective on whose justified or not, and he's incredibly self-assured about his actions being beneficial and that only his perspective matters at the end of it all.
• Sore Loser: He actually cries when Batman manages to thwart the final step of Edward's grand plan, and save many people as he can at the rally. It takes the Joker telling him how "brilliant" his plan was to calm him down.
• Suddenly Shouting: He has a penchant to start raising his voice, yelling, and droning when he's upset, passionate, or angry.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Oddly enough, to Arthur Fleck from Joker, being a man who develops a bitter grudge against Gotham's elite — in this case, towards the city's "corrupt politics" and anyone who he perceives as associated with them, no matter how remote their association may be.
• Tautological Templar: Ultimately proves to be this: as far as he is concerned, the city is hopelessly and irreparably corrupt, and every action he takes is just because he is working to cleanse it, up to flooding the city and having his followers shoot up a political convention to kill hundreds, if not thousands. In his mind, this is justified for the same reason — the city is beyond salvation, everyone living in it is a beneficiary of the corruption that taints it, and so their deaths are necessary and justified to cleanse it.
• They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Without his mask, he looks like a quiet, unassuming man who wouldn't have it in him to kill anyone, much less go on a murder spree. This is Truth in Television for most serial killers in real life.
• Too Clever by Half: The Riddler designed all of his clues so that they could be solved, in order to ensure the Batman would follow along with him. However a lot of his clues are actually rather obtuse, and require either knowing a specific bit of trivia or think exactly like the Riddler. The Batman only keeps pace with the Riddler due to luck and following other avenues of inquiry, something the Riddler doesn't realize for a long while.
• Tragic Villain: The Riddler is a vile, deranged serial killer... but he only became that way because of his awful upbringing as an impoverished, mistreated orphan, neglected and abandoned by society thanks to Gotham's corrupt officials. He developed his obsession with riddles as a coping mechanism for his emotional trauma. He's clearly unstable, and his tragic past continues to haunt him and drive his actions. He even appears to be on the verge of crying when he tells his backstory to Batman.
• The Unfought: Batman never gets to confront the Riddler in person until after he's already been captured. In this case, it's justified, as Riddler freely admits that he's no fighter, he wouldn't stand a chance against Batman in a direct confrontation, and the crux of his plan was to ensure he came out of it alive and unharmed to witness himself become famous.
• Vader Breath: When donning the Riddler identity, Edward speaks in a low-pitched, gravelly tone.
• Villain Has a Point:
  • He isn't wrong about Gotham's corruption, and his murderous game of riddles did expose a city conspiracy where Mayor Mitchell, Commissioner Savage, and District Attorney Colson did a fake drug busting operation under the order of Falcone to monopolize the drug market and give the illusion of change in Gotham. Unfortunately, it's because he has a legit point about Gotham that the Riddler gains followers to do his bidding, including flooding Gotham's streets and massacring hundreds of innocents attending an election rally to "cleanse" the city of corruption.
  • His grievance against the public for only supporting Bruce through his childhood instead of the orphans is legitimate. Both Bruce and Edward were orphans but to Edward, Bruce didn't need help as badly as Edward did because Bruce still had a capable guardian and a safe place to call home. Whereas Edward's living conditions often resulted in the deaths of the other orphans (who either froze to death, lost their toes to rats, or were neglected by their carers). To Edward, the public only pitied Bruce because he was a billionaire, not because he lost his parents. This point was so salient to Bruce that when he came to save everyone in the stadium, he saves the son of the mayor Don Mitchell Jr. first and not Bella Reál. However, Riddler's argument falls flat for 2 reasons; Bruce was still an orphan and still suffered from the loss of his parents. Secondly, Bruce had no knowledge of Edward's suffering nor did he know about the plans to save the orphanage.
• Villain Killer: All of his victims are corrupt officials or criminals, and this is intentional on his part. He believes himself to be following in the footsteps of Batman, helping him ridding Gotham of crime and corruption, albeit in a more permanent fashion. He winds up Jumping Off the Slippery Slope when he decides that all of Gotham deserves to be categorized as villainous, just because of the government's apathy towards his suffering.
• Villainous Breakdown: He completely loses his shit after Batman calls him out on his insanity. This turns Batman into a Broken Pedestal for him, with it yet to be seen how it will affect their future interactions. He also has a second one at the end of the film, sobbing like a child, until his neighboring inmate comforts him and they share sinister laughs.
  Riddler: This is not how this was supposed to go! I had it all planned out!
• Villainous Underdog: As part of being a Foil to Batman. Riddler doesn't have peak physical shape, superb hand to hand combat skills, a massive underground lair, or millions of dollars to spend on gadgets. All he has to challenge Gotham City's elite and eventually the Caped Crusader himself is his brain, a small group of disgruntled followers, and a whole lot of hate. Turns out that's enough.
• We Are Everywhere: He employs his nobody status efficiently, making everyone paranoid of where and when the Riddler will strike. It also helps that there are many people in Gotham who sympathize with the Riddler's grievances, and the Riddler exploits their grievances by turning them into his followers. Thus, when Edward Nashton is finally arrested by the GCPD, his followers begin donning his costume, effectively creating an army of Riddlers to terrorize Gotham.
• We Can Rule Together: He really thinks that Batman was on his side the whole time, solving his riddles and using brawn to bring out Falcone into the light just so that the Riddler can permanently end him. He even invites Batman to Arkham so he can properly offer Batman his partnership and a safe place to hole up from the devastation of his bombing. His delusions are shattered when Batman coldly rejects him and calls him a psychopath.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He presents himself as one crusading against the corruption and lies that define Gotham. His presented motivations start holding less water when he starts committing blatant acts of terrorism against Gotham's general populace, and Batman eventually calls him out on his delusions of righteousness.
• What the Hell, Hero?: One of his messages admonishes those who claim to represent justice for lying and turning a blind eye.
• Western Terrorists: He's a violent, destructive, anarchic terrorist who plans to societally dismantle Gotham City and kill off the city's most influential citizens to further his goals. The ones who follow Riddler are a group of modern social media users radicalized online, who cause a disaster to get a better chance at shooting the newly elected young mayor Réal, refusing to believe she'd make any change to Gotham.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: He believes himself to be an ally and Mysterious Informant for Batman, when in actuality he's just an antagonist serial killer sending confusing messages to the Batman that only vaguely gesture towards what he wants Batman to know. He doesn't take Batman pointing this out well.
• You Are Too Late: He successfully floods the streets of Gotham by blowing up the city's seawalls. By the time that Batman uncovers what his true plans are, he's too late to stop the bombs from going off. He is not too late, however, to thwart the final stage of Riddler's plan, and he's able to save many of the people inside the shelter.
• You Can't Thwart Stage One: Batman is unable to stop any major step of the Riddler's grand plan (the murders of the corrupt officials, the radicalization of Gotham's impoverished, and the flooding of downtown) except for the crucial final step: the massacre of Gotham's elites and the new mayor-elect by his followers. Batman arrives just in time to subdue them before they can kill anyone.
• You Got Murder: He attempts to kill Bruce Wayne with a package bomb delivered to Wayne Tower. Bruce wasn't home, so Alfred opened the package instead. Thankfully, Alfred's quick reflexes mean that the blast only hospitalizes, not kills him.

Selina Kyle

Selina Kyle / Catwoman

"I can take care of myself."

Portrayed by: Zoë Kravitz

Appears In: The Batman (2022) | The Batman: Part II

"I have a thing about strays."

A cat burglar moonlighting as a cocktail waitress with a deeply personal connection to Gotham's criminal underworld. Selina ends up unwittingly crossing paths with the Batman on his mission to untangle the Riddler's conspiracy. From there, Selina becomes Batman's reluctant ally in his crusade while pursuing her own ends as the two grow ever closer to each other, despite their opposing ideologies.

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• Adaptational Nice Guy: This version of Selina is presented in a pretty heroic light, with her motives stemming from wanting to help the downtrodden, more akin to the Year One version of the character.
• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Selina uses Penguin's mocking nickname "Vengeance" for Batman, albeit with a good deal more fondness.
  • She refers to both Annika and Batman as "baby".
  • Inverted when she calls someone "honey", which means she's apathetic towards them or doesn't like them.
• Ambiguously Bi: She is very affectionate and tender with both Annika and Batman and calls them both "baby" (notably, she calls no one else in the film this), but she only kisses Batman.
• Animal-Themed Fighting Style: Selina's fighting style is based on a cat, fitting her Animal Motif. Zoe Kravitz even watched footage of cats and lions fighting, and integrated their movements into her character's fight scenes.
• Anti-Hero: In a different way than Batman is an Anti-Hero. Bruce is a brutal crimefighter who nurtures a terrifying reputation, but he wants to help Gotham City. Selina, on the other hand, is mainly interested in helping a friend, while being fine with stealing from Gotham's rich and having little faith in the city itself. She's also willing, at least at first, to kill, while Batman isn't; she tries to kill both Kenzie and Falcone for being responsible for Annika's death (among other, more personal crimes in Falcone's case), though Batman manages to save Kenzie and talk Selina out of murdering Falcone.
• Beta Outfit: Selina Kyle's not-yet-Catwoman burglar outfit has some slight folds at the top of her ski mask that resemble cat ears.
• Big Damn Kiss: She gives Batman two in the film. The first time is when the two of them work together, and the second time, though a lighter kiss, is during the climax after Selina saves him.
• Boyish Short Hair: Her hair is cut very short, though she wears a variety of wigs when out and about.
• Civvie Spandex: Selina is wearing a makeshift Catwoman costume made up of a ski mask and black jumpsuit.
• Clark Kenting: A lot of her disguises involves wearing various wigs and dresses, but her face remains the same. She gets away with it due to the fact she's a nobody to the mob.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: A variation — she's never called "Catwoman" in The Batman, but she is called "The Cat" a few times, which is the name she initially went by in her earliest appearances in the comics.
• The Cynic: Selina lacks Batman's faith that Gotham can be changed for the better. Her goals throughout the film are centered around helping a specific person, rather than Gotham as a whole. The movie ends with Selina abandoning Gotham in favor of Bludhaven, rather than helping Batman redeem the city.
• Deuteragonist: She's effectively the supporting lead of The Batman.
• Dramatic Irony: Lists Bruce Wayne as one of the "privileged, white assholes" keeping Gotham a hellhole... right in front of Batman.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • Selina might be a thief and a drug dealer, but she's disgusted by the corrupt infrastructure in Gotham, and favors stealing from the rich and decadent as karmic payback.
  • The beating Batman dishes out to the Riddler follower who nearly killed her horrifies Selina; she joins Gordon in calming Batman down before he can kill the man.
• Femme Fatalons: She has long, sharp nails which she uses to scratch her opponents in the face.
• Feet-First Introduction: Selina walks in interrupting Batman and The Penguin's Iceberg Lounge meeting with the camera panning upwards from her notable knee-high boots which her and Batman readily recognise in one of Mayor Mitchell's incriminating photos.
• Fragile Speedster: She's a competent fighter and uses her agility to good effect against regular goons, but can't hurt the armored Batman very much, and goes down hard after Falcone lands a good hit by surprise.
• Hates Rich People: She is not too fond of the wealthy either, having worked in a nightclub where she witnessed them abuse their wealth and power for whatever they wanted. She even says she's not fond of Bruce Wayne... in front of Batman!
  • Interestingly, she also has correctly pegged Batman as someone born rich, and even uses that against him in an argument, but still falls for him and admires him in spite of it.
• Hates Their Parent: Being Falcone's secret bastard has brought Selina nothing but misery, which inspires her plan to kill him and make off with his valuables.
• Head-Turning Beauty: When she glams herself up, Selina draws the eye of several patrons of the Iceberg Lounge.
• Heroic Bastard: Anti-Heroic, but she's far more noble than her father, Carmine Falcone.
• Hell-Bent for Leather: Selina's cat burglar attire is a form-fitting, black leather, motorcycle suit with leather gloves with torn fingertips for her claw-like nails to poke through. She later dons a patent leather corset and pants later in the film, during her attempt to assassinate Falcone for the murder of Annika and for abandoning Selina during her childhood.
• Hypocrite: When infiltrating the mob club for Batman, she sneers disdainfully at a group of drug users getting high in the corner. Batman immediately retorts that for all her distaste, she's quite willing to profit from selling the drug to them and thus help to fuel the addiction she's so disgusted by. Selina hastily changes the subject.
• Irony: Selina mentions how she blames "corrupt white privileged" people for the horrible state of Gotham, naming Bruce Wayne as part of the problem. She falls in love with Batman because he appears to be doing something for the underprivileged. Unbeknownst to her, Bruce Wayne is Batman.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's a cynical thief and drug dealer who's unafraid of getting her hands dirty, but she's ultimately a noble person with a strong sense of justice who sticks her neck out to help a friend. Her feelings toward Batman appear to be genuine, as she initiates both kisses they share.
• Karmic Thief: She only steals from the rich and the corrupt, specifically from Falcone since him being her biological father means that he owes a lot of money to her. When she leaves for Bludhaven, she mentions she intends to rob rich people there to give them a sense of poetic justice.
• Kick Chick: Her fighting style mostly uses kicks similar to those from Taekwondo and Capoeira.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: In true Catwoman fashion, she's adopted several stray cats, showcasing her compassion for those in need.
• Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: She's never met Bruce Wayne, but her comments make it clear she doesn't think much of him. However, she's obviously into Batman, finding him to be a kindred spirit who looks out for the downtrodden when the rich elite don't.
• Lovable Rogue: As with most depictions of Catwoman, though a bit less high-class; she's a thief and a drug dealer, but it's clear she only does so to eat, and the reason she is even in Batman's orbit is due to their shared interest in saving Gotham from powerful crime lords.
• Ms. Fanservice: Slightly more explicit than previous live-action takes. Apart from her catsuit that fits her figure, Selina is seen wearing different types of clothes that show off a bit more skin than usual. At one point, Batman watches Selina getting dressed.
• "Not So Different" Remark: She uses the exact term in a conversation with Batman, bonding over their shared desire for vengeance and helping those in need.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: She never steals from the poor, only from the rich, and especially the corrupt, since they have plenty of money to spare and are jackasses who deserve to be robbed. When she learns that Falcone murdered her mother, she decides to kill him head on rather than simply stealing his money.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Kravitz is 5'2" and by far the shortest and most petite actress to ever have played the character in live-action. She is still an Action Girl.
• Race Lift: Zoë Kravitz, who's half-black and half-Ashkenazi Jewish, plays Selina, who's usually Raven Hair, Ivory Skin-white in the comics. However, the character has been portrayed as black in a handful of adaptations, as far back as Eartha Kitt in 1967, and has sometimes been depicted as not simply Anglo-American white (as in the Golden and Silver Ages) but as Italian-American or even part-Cuban, so sometimes she's drawn to be Ambiguously Brown. The casting process for this film was also open ethnicity, and several white actresses got as far as the screen test.
• Related in the Adaptation: While the comics have variously hinted that Falcone is her father, in this film it's explicitly confirmed.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: She decides to bail on Gotham after the city is flooded and martial law is enacted, figuring she can go upstate to Blüdhaven and do her Pay Evil unto Evil thing there.
• Shadow Archetype: She reflects an even more cynical Batman, one that is poor and living under the threat of eviction or senseless death. When she tells her backstory to Batman, it's very similar to how Bruce lost his parents: her mother was senselessly murdered by an unknown thug when she was a seven-year-old child (a year younger than traditional Bruce when he lost his parents). Her desire to avenge her mother by killing Falcone, the man responsible for her death (and allegedly for the Waynes' deaths), shows a possible dark outcome for Bruce had he figured out who his parents' murderer was.
• Spanner in the Works: In a manner of speaking. Batman and Gordon's search for the 'Rat with Wings' hits a dead end after they discover their most obvious suspect, Cobblepot, had nothing to do with the drug bust, and Riddler's final letter addressed to Batman contains no riddles, only a message saying 'see you in hell'. However, Selina's investigation into Annika's murder ends up finding a recording of her strangulation at Falcone's hands, with the tape revealing that he's the Rat they're looking for, allowing both men to arrest him. However, this plays right into Riddler's plans, bringing the reclusive Falcone outside his heavily-defended Iceberg Lounge where he has a clear bead on him from his sniper's nest, so Selina's interference actually pushed the Riddler's plan back on track when neither Batman or Gordon were able to deduce the Rat's identity.
• Supermodel Strut: Noticeable with the tight red dress she wears as a waitress; she likely puts on the trope so men will be Distracted by the Sexy and not think about what else she's up to.
• Two First Names: "Kyle" is more common as a given name.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend:
  • Although they're not officially an item, she grows protective of Batman, beating the shit out of a Riddler follower who tries to kill him.
  • To Annika, maybe. She goes on the warpath to protect her, and nearly kills the men who are responsible for her death.
• You Killed My Mother: She seeks to steal Carmine Falcone's money because she believes that he had one of his goons kill her mother and leave her an orphan despite being his biological daughter. Then she indirectly discovers that Falcone personally killed her mother after hearing how Annika died. She vows to kill him for what he's done in spite of Batman's protests.

Arkham Prisoner (SPOILERS)

The Joker

"You think they deserved it..."

Portrayed by: Barry Keoghan

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

"What is it they say? One day, you're on top. The next, you're a clown. Well... Let me tell you, there are worse things to be."

A cellmate of the Riddler who shares his penchant for riddles and his sick sense of humor. Not yet the Arch-Enemy of Batman, yet still a recognizably disfigured maniac with discolored hair and skin, the Joker has a history with the Batman and has a knack for playing mind games with anyone he gets into conversation with.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: Downplayed in that only some of his hair is discolored green, with quite a bit of it being brown.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: According to Reeves, his grinning appearance isn't the result of chemical scars or a Glasgow Grin (as was the case in previous adaptations) but rather a facial deformity he's had since birth. Nonetheless, it's still implied that he had a chemical bath at some point, given the nature of his deformities and the discoloration of his skin and some of his hair.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: The Joker and the Riddler aren't exactly friends in most adaptations, as they both believe themselves to be the only true opponent of Batman, thus putting themselves at odds with one another. Here, Joker sympathizes with Nashton's defeat, and the two end up sharing a laugh over a joke he makes. In a deleted visitation scene, he is impressed by Riddler's own criminal acumen based off of the evidence that Batman presents him with.
• Adaptational Ugliness: Keeping up the trend seen in previous live-action iterations, though this Joker looks even unhealthier than the Ledger and Phoenix iterations, who looked like rough and unclean but still normal men. In contrast to his cleaner-looking comics counterpart, this Joker has his face and body covered in scars and most of his hair in patches, making him one of the most grotesque and horrific live-action Jokers to date.
• All There in the Manual: His true identity is never directly stated, although it's clear that it's the Joker. The actual confirmation that he is (or will be) the Joker comes from director interviews.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: In a deleted scene where Batman shows him Riddler's case file. The Joker manages to ascertain just from the file that Riddler has a deep grudge against the mayor and police commissioner for some personal slight going back to maybe his childhood, and also guesses that the Riddler is a fan of Batman, but notes that the Riddler might also deeply resent him as well. All of these claims turn out to be correct.
• Beauty Inversion: Barry Keoghan's boyish good looks are buried under layers of make-up that make his Joker a truly hideous sight.
• Body Horror: As shown in the deleted Arkham scene, he has severe scars on his hands and presumably the rest of his body in addition to a heavily disfigured face, and if his arms are any indication, he's heavily emaciated.
• The Cameo: Only appears for a single scene in The Batman as a Sequel Hook of sorts. A deleted scene showing an interaction with Batman was later released as a standalone short film.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: He's only credited as "Arkham Inmate", and Word of God claims that he doesn't yet have the Joker name In-Universe.
• Composite Character: He plays a similar role to Calendar Man in Batman: The Long Halloween when Batman consults him about a mysterious new criminal. His skill at analysing criminal behaviours also bring to mind Harley Quinn, who was a psychologist before turning to a life of crime.
• Consulting a Convicted Killer: In a deleted scene, Batman goes to an incarcerated Joker to get his perspective on the Riddler based on his own criminal experience.
• Evil Laugh: It's to be expected from the Joker, and Barry Keoghan delivers. Unlike previous Jokers, this one sounds less like a garden-variety psychopath and more like the Monster Clown he is, being very nasally and high-pitched.
• Face Framed in Shadow: A variation — we don't get a clear look at his face in The Batman due to the way his scene is shot (from behind and/or through frosted glass), but several of his facial features can still be glimpsed.
• The Faceless: We don't clearly see his face in The Batman itself, just his hair and the general outline of his head. We get a clearer look at him in the deleted scene, where he is visible, but heavily blurred by the thick glass between him and Batman; even when his face is shown in detail near the end, it's never in full frame (the image above being a composite).
• Facial Horror: It wouldn't be the Joker without this trope. From what we see of his face, it's permanently grinning, showing his pointed teeth. In the deleted Arkham scene, we can see that the entirety of his face is covered in scars, including but not limited to the lack of lips and scars that impede hair growth, as well as what look like numerous long-term ingrown hairs and a deeply unhealthy scalp ravaged by far too many badly-done DIY bleach-and-dye jobs.
• Faux Affably Evil:
  • In true Joker fashion, he's very polite to Riddler, but it's heavily implied that it's just an act and he's definitely in Arkham for very good reasons.
  • The deleted scene shows he's polite to Batman at first on a surface level, but is clearly trying to rile Batman up.
• Frozen Face: From the darkness of his cell, his mouth is wide open in the form of a grin, and it never changes when he speaks.
• Giggling Villain: His aforementioned Evil Laugh isn't a maniacal cackle so much as a hyena-like bout of laughter that nonetheless indicates malicious intent.
• Glasgow Grin: Like Joker and The Dark Knight, he's once more depicted with one, though much more gruesomely detailed; with more of his teeth exposed on one side and a large curved smile on the other. Word of God implies this isn't self-inflicted; instead portraying the smile as a physical disorder.
• Godzilla Threshold: It says something about the Riddler case when what's going on is so troubling to Batman that he's willing to go to the Joker to ask for help.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: His face, unnaturally balding scalp, and hands looks weathered in a scar-like manner, giving the impression that he's completely covered in some kind of skin condition or burn. Burns are most likely, given a chemical bath is a ubiquitous element in the origins of the character's various incarnations.
• Hannibal Lecture: In his deleted scene, he proposes that Batman is so compelled to stop the Riddler just because he makes Batman look soft by comparison. He also states Batman believes deep down that the Riddler's victims deserved what came to them.
• Hairpin Lockpick: Implied. In a Meaningful Background Event, when the Joker gives the Riddler's file back to Batman, the clip is missing.
• Metaphorically True: When suggesting a personal motive for the Riddler's killings, he jokes about "stolen lunch money", accurately referencing the Renewal Fund that should have supported the Riddler's orphanage but was stolen by the corrupt authorities, though it is unclear if this is accidental foreshadowing or the Joker being fully aware but choosing to toy with Batman instead.
• Monster Clown: As per usual. This time, a mixture of the character's disfigured lips, pale complexion, patchy and unkempt hair, and naturally round nose give the impression of clownish features.
• Mythology Gag: Design-wise, his look seems to be borrowed from Brian Azarrello's Joker graphic novel.
• Nightmare Face: He is really not a sight to behold. We probably won't be seeing Harley Quinn in this universe based on that fact.
• No Name Given: In the credits, he's just referred to as "Unseen Arkham Inmate," although it's clear who he's supposed to be.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Barry Keoghan's natural Dublin accent can be heard in Joker's first lines in The Batman.
• Pet the Dog: He's very polite to Riddler, expressing admiration for his scheme and how much he achieved and expressing sympathy for Batman foiling him and states he wants to be friends. How sincere it is, well, that's up for debate.
• Predecessor Villain: Although this film establishes a new continuity, it's clear that he and Batman have already clashed before.
• Psychotic Smirk: His facial deformities twist his mouth to be lopsided, reimagining the famous Joker rictus grin into a permanent smirk.
• Riddle Me This: Pops one on the Riddler himself by asking him what's more valuable when you have fewer of them. The answer: a friend.
• Serial Killer: According to Reeves, the Joker is already a serial killer, and a deleted scene features Batman visiting the Joker to get a psychological profile on the Riddler since they share a similar taste for murder.
• Sinister Schnoz: Averted. The Joker has a bulbous clown-nose, which does nothing to downplay his menace or his gruesome appearance.
• Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: Does not appear anywhere in the marketing. In fact, his actor was falsely identified as playing Stan Merkel (an ally in the force to Gordon in the comics) before the film released.
• Speech Impediment: Has an extremely heavy palatal lisp, due to the nature of his deformity pulling back his lips, that slurs and garbles his speech. It's far more pronounced in his deleted visitation scene.
• Toxic Friend Influence: He saves the Riddler from shutting down in despair after Batman foils his final step of his grand plan by promising him a comeback if he becomes the Joker's new best friend. Whether it is a genuine offer or an act, it's clear that the Joker has ensured the Riddler will remain a threat to Gotham and Batman in the coming years.
• Troll: While he does give Batman some genuine advice in regards to Riddler's psychological profile in a deleted scene, he ultimately aggravates Batman by noting the Riddler is very similar to Batman in motivation and that Batman is likely only taking this case so personally because the Riddler's more extreme methods make Batman look soft by comparison.
• Villain Cred: He comforts a distraught Riddler by telling him that he was doing very well with his master plan before the Batman thwarted the very last part of it. In the deleted scene, it's clear that he quickly comes to respect the Riddler just from the evidence that Batman presented him with.
• Villain Has a Point: A lot of the points he makes to Batman in the deleted scene end up being completely right, such as the fact that the Riddler and Batman have a lot more in common than the latter is comfortable admitting.
• Villain of Another Story: Incarcerated some time before the events of the first movie. As of the beginning of The Batman, what appear to be his clown-themed gang members, or at least gangsters who are inspired by him, are still picking on random people for fun.
• Villainous Friendship: Joker proposes that he and Riddler become friends after noticing how distraught he is following his discovery that Batman foiled the very last part of his plan. This can only end well!
• Walking Spoiler: The Joker's presence in the film is a surprise, with none of the press material even hinting that he'd be featured.
• Wild Hair: As usual for the Joker. It's far more grotesque than his typical standard, as his bad DIY undercut is pockmarked with ingrown hairs and massive keloids, and what remains of the top is badly thinned and has all the hallmarks of a scalp destroyed by many poorly done bleaching and dyeing jobs.

Mobsters

Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot / The Penguin

Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot / The Penguin

"Boy, you're everything they say, ain't ya? I guess we both are."

Portrayed by: Colin Farrell

Appears In: The Batman | The Penguin

Dubbed by: Boris Rehlinger (European French)

"The world ain't built for guys like us. That's why we gotta take whatever we decide is ours."

A major figure in Gotham's underworld serving as the right-hand man to the city's most powerful crime boss, Carmine Falcone. Penguin owns and operates the nightclub known as the Iceberg Lounge as well as the mob hangout located deeper inside, the 44 Below.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: He's still not much to look at, but his signature pointy, elongated nose is more subtle here, simply being realistically angular and hook-shaped rather than absurdly beak-like and he overall looks more like a heavyset, balding, but otherwise average middle-aged man than the borderline deformed appearance he's had in the comics and Danny DeVito's portrayal. He's also much taller than both the comics and previous versions, standing a little above average at 5'10" in contrast to previous versions which were closer to around five feet tall or under.
• Adaptational Nationality: Most adaptations of the Penguin usually depict him as originally coming from England, with an accent to match. Here, Cobblepot has a more New Yorker-inspired accent that compliments his Hair-Trigger Temper.
• Affably Evil: He's generally jovial and polite when he's not in danger, as demonstrated in many of his scenes in the Iceberg Lounge, and he has a sort of gentlemen's code of honor to his criminality.
• And Then What?: His final shot in the film. With Falcone dead, Penguin is seemingly the new ruler of the criminal underworld, yet instead of being happy, he looks very sad and uncertain. His final scene is very somber as he looks out toward the dawn of the new day and the chaos of Gotham, unsure of what the future and his newfound role will bring him.
• Badass Driver: Manages to outrun the Batmobile for a good length of time, and nearly manages to kill Batman by causing devastating car crashes.
• Beauty Inversion: Many fans were legitimately shocked at how the make-up makes the very handsome Colin Farrell look like the overweight, balding Penguin.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: He dreams of becoming the new crime lord of Gotham, and he did everything he could to be Falcone's right-hand man, so he'll be in a favorable position to succeed the aging crime lord. He got his wish, but only after learning that his boss was a scumbag rat who sold out Sal Maroni to the police and mocked Cobblepot that he doesn't have what it takes to run the mob. Thus, his accession is one of uncertainty and sadness rather than the joy he expected.
• Berserk Button: Calling him a "gimp" is a huge one as he nearly kills Carmine Falcone on the spot for it. He also doesn't like traitors, vowing in the same conversation to have Carmine killed upon finding out he's a rat.
• Breakout Character: His role wasn't exactly small in The Batman, but Oz nonetheless wasn't a big player in the grand scheme of the film. He ended up becoming popular enough to get his own spinoff series on HBO.
• Broken Pedestal: Falcone serves as this to Cobblepot. Throughout the film, Cobblepot appears extremely friendly and loyal to Falcone to the point of never even thinking of betraying his boss, even to Batman and Gordon. Once it's revealed Falcone is indeed the rat, Cobblepot is very appalled and disgusted at Falcone, insinuating that Falcone won't last one night in Blackgate prison after his treachery is revealed, and even attempts to shoot him in front of Batman and dozens of non-corrupt GCPD officers when Falcone insults him in response. Unfortunately for Falcone, the Riddler beats him to it.
• Brooklyn Rage: This version of the Penguin speaks in a strong New York accent.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Inverted. He's only ever referred to as Penguin or "Oz", while his real name, Oswald Cobblepot, is never mentioned in the film. That said, he does mention that he despises the name "Penguin", and prefers to be called Oz instead.
• Cool Car: A Maserati Quattroporte. He's good enough with it that he's briefly able to outpace the Batmobile.
• Dirty Old Man: Whilst his exact age is unknown, in the script, he’s trying to touch Selina’s dress and generally acts very perverted towards his attractive waitresses and female guests.
• Dragon Ascendant: With Falcone out of the way by the end of the first movie, he's in the perfect position to take over his criminal enterprise. Falcone taunts him before he dies, saying he doesn't have what it takes, but Falcone being Falcone, he likely just wanted to get some shots in.
• Embarrassing Nickname: He actually hates the nickname "The Penguin" and didn't choose it. He wants his nickname to be "Oz", which Falcone respects.
• Enemy Mine: Sort of. After Batman and Gordon kidnap him for an interrogation, he provides valuable insight into the method to solve the Spanish-themed second riddle, albeit delivered in a mocking manner because they don't know basic Spanish and went through all that trouble to kidnap him on a wrongful assumption. While antagonistic to both, he stands aside and lets them take Falcone into custody at the end out of disgust at the reveal that Falcone informed on the police to get Sal Maroni locked up, telling Falcone that he's made sure that the inmates inside the prisons will know what he did, and they love snitches. He does shortly try to shoot him afterwards once Falcone pushes his buttons too much, but that's incidental.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: In a deleted scene, he tries to warn Selina off working in 44 Below, out of what seems to be genuine concern that she could get harassed or assaulted by the patrons. He even offers her money out of his own pocket, saying that he would do anything for her and appearing hurt for what he perceives as her rejecting him.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • He's visibly and verbally disgusted by the pictures of Pete Savage's corpse.
  • Despite his sleaziness as a criminal, he is no snitch, and he is very disgusted at Falcone being one, even being ready to shoot him over it.
  • His disgust at being accused of murdering Annika suggests that he is repulsed by the idea of killing a defenseless woman. This, combined with the aforementioned deleted scene, shows that he may legitimately care about the girls under his employ (as long as they're not a liability).
  • At the very end of the film, Oz is nothing but horrified at the aftermath of Gotham being flooded by the Riddler, and can only gaze down on the city with an uncertain and melancholic look on his face as he ponders what to do.
• Evil Is Hammy: Oz spends a good chunk of his screen-time bellowing lines at the top of his lungs in a thick Brooklyn accent, particularly during his car chase with Batman.
• Fat Bastard: He's a heavyset man, in keeping with the character's traditional depiction.
• Freudian Excuse: Colin Farrell describes Penguin as someone who uses violence and street smarts to overcompensate for his deformities.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: A faded but deep one that slants down across his right cheek and under his nose.
• The Grotesque: Averted. Oswald is by no means a looker, but here he is portrayed as much more plain looking than the ugly-bordering-on-bizarre appearance he's usually given in the comics (save for his pointy nose).
• Hidden Depths: He has a solid knowledge of the Spanish language, which ends up helping Batman solve one of the Riddler's puzzles.
  • Furthermore, he clearly has an aversion to overthinking things, as once he "helps" Gordon and Batman solve the "el rata alada" riddle, he proceeds to chastise the two that their first assumption was that a "rat with wings" was a penguin, and not a bat.
  • He might look gross and sleazy, but it's pretty clear that Oz understands and values loyalty and honor (as much as a criminal figure can, anyway). Tellingly, he's highly offended at the assumption that he's the "rat" that sold out Salvatore Maroni, and is furious that his trusted friend Carmine Falcone, the one mob boss that treated him with respect, is actually said rat.
  • He's also an excellent driver, pushing Batman to the limits of what the Batmobile can do just to keep pace with him in their car chase.
• Honor Among Thieves: Even though he almost certainly benefited from it personally, he is outraged when he learns that Falcone, his boss, got Maroni's business by ratting him out to the authorities.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: He seems to be very insecure about himself, judging by his burst of anger when Falcone insults him and immediately thinking that Selina doesn’t see him as ‘good enough for her’ when she refuses a bribe. In both cases, he becomes a lot more sinister making a death threat to Selina and trying to shoot Falcone in front of dozens of cops.
• Irony: By the end of the film, the Penguin is the de facto head of the underworld in a city that is mostly underwater.
• Karma Houdini: He attempts to murder Selina in a shooting and causes multiple car crashes on the road that would have at least killed one person. Regardless, the police doesn't even bother arresting him. Admittedly, it really isn't until Gordon manages to rally up enough non-corrupt cops to arrest Falcone that the GCPD even does its job, and though they briefly restrain him thinking that he shot Falcone, the sudden realization that the Riddler is within reach causes the police to focus on the bigger fish.
• Large Ham: Colin Farrell is clearly having a blast in his role as an obese mob boss. Nowhere is this more apparent than during the chase scene, when he (seemingly) gets the Batmobile into a crash and channels his inner Robert De Niro.
  Oz: AHHH HA HAH! I GOT YOU! I! GOT! YOU! TAKE THAT, YA FRICKIN' PSYCHO!
• Laughably Evil: His hammy personality and snarky remarks provide much of the comic relief in the film.
• Mythology Gag:
  • This version of Penguin appears to take traits from the Gotham incarnation of the character, mainly with possessing a physical disfigurement that causes people to call him the Penguin as well as viewing this nickname as an Embarrassing Nickname.
  • Right before the car chase begins, he is briefly seen holding his signature umbrella to weather out the rain, though it doesn't contain a hidden gun inside.
  • His attempt to follow Gordon and Batman after being interrogated is heavily impeded by the restraints around his wrists and ankles— the resulting hobbled gait bears a strong resemblance to Burgess Meredith's original "waddle".
• Noble Demon: While an awful person by any standard, Penguin has a sense of honor and loyalty, being offended when Batman and Gordon think that he's the rat, and angrily railing at Falcone when he's exposed as the rat.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: With his receding hairline, Brooklyn accent, and facial scars, Penguin bears more than a passing resemblance to Al Capone.
• Not Me This Time:
  • Because Penguin is a big player in the Gotham mob scene, Gordon and Batman surmise that he's the "rat" that the Riddler is referring to. But once they interrogate Penguin, he swears he has no clue what they're talking about and asserts that he's no snitch. He's telling the truth.
  • When Falcone is shot, he immediately asserts that, despite holding a gun, he didn't pull the trigger. He's telling the truth.
• Oblivious to His Own Description: He calls Batman a "psycho" while taunting his rear-view mirror, while looking back at the flaming wreckage of a massive car accident he caused while trying to escape him.
• Oh, Crap!: His reaction when he sees the Batmobile emerging unscathed from an explosion is quite a sight.
• Pragmatic Villainy: When Batman is slugging his way through the mooks at the Iceberg, Oz suddenly appears and puts an end to the fight, chosing to talk things through with the masked vigilante instead.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Sure, Cobblepot might be the new crime lord of Gotham now, but the city is completely flooded and badly damaged, and it's clear that he's still greatly hurt over finding out Carmine Falcone was a snitch.
• Plot-Irrelevant Villain: Though Oz is a nasty and deeply corrupt piece of work who is responsible for a lot of bad things in Gotham, he has absolutely nothing to do with the Riddler's actions and schemes. He also didn't rat out the Maronis to the police, and is utterly disgusted when he finds out who the rat really is.
• Red Herring: At first, Batman and James Gordon believe that Oswald is the "Rat" in Riddler's second riddle, reasoning that the "el rata alada" (the winged rat) could also refer to a penguin (which also has wings) and that Penguin has enough underworld connections to both sell out to the GCPD and intimidate them into secrecy. But when they actually interrogate Oswald, he reveals that he has nothing to do with the drug bust and points out that "el rata alada" is an incorrect form of Spanish (it's supposed to be la rata alada), forcing Batman to reexamine the riddle.
• Sinister Schnoz: He has a beak-like nose, which is likely part of the reason why he has his Embarrassing Nickname.
• Slimeball: He plays up his Snake Oil Salesman persona when talking to Batman and later acts as an overly protective bodyguard to Falcone.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Although he's a high-ranking mobster in Carmine Falcone's ring, Oswald Cobblepot ultimately spends much of The Batman being his lackey, not really being the respected figure that he thinks he is. After Falcone's death, however, he potentially has a chance to prove that he's really got what it takes to run Gotham's mob due to the power vacuum caused by that and the city flooding.
• Tempting Fate: He cheers at having taken out Batman during a car chase. Cue the Batmobile immediately ramming into and knocking his car over.
• Villainous Friendship: He's implied to have one with Falcone, seeing as they're often shown together. Falcone in turn shows respect to him, referring to him by his preferred nickname, "Oz." Once it's revealed Falcone is the rat, though, any and all respect that Cobblepot once had for him is gone.
• Villain Protagonist: Of his self-titled spin-off show.
• Villain Respect: He consistently holds Batman in high regard, unless he's seriously being threatened by him, at which point he gets nervous and defensive.
• Villainous Valor:
  • While he can be intimidated into fleeing the Batmobile, Oz is otherwise a pretty ballsy criminal that reacts much more bravely to Batman than most of his compatriots, even though he's a portly middle-aged man with a limp.
  • His first scene shows him casually counting money unambiguously from drug sales right in front of Batman.
• Worthy Opponent: He shows some excitement over the lengths Batman will go to to take him out during their car chase, laughing about how nuts his opponent is in his insane determination to catch him.

Carmine Falcone

Carmine Falcone

"Think you're gonna scare me with that mask and that cape?"

Portrayed by: John Turturro

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

Dubbed by: Vincent Violette (European French)

A top dog in Gotham's criminal underworld.

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• Abusive Parents: It's implied he would have been a terrible father to Selina given that Maria Kyle hides her in the closet whenever he shows up to greet her. And then there's the fact he tries to strangle Selina to death after she attacks him.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Unlike his comic equivalent, who was at least a genuine family man, this version strangled a girlfriend to death in the past, and attempts to strangle Selina as well. In the comics, Falcone also had something resembling a code of honor even if he was a ruthless gangster, but in the movie, he snitches on his rivals, steals funds from public outreach programs, and might have even had a surgeon who saved his life murdered.
• Adaptational Name Change: Carmine's last name is typically pronounced "Fal-CO-knee" in most media. Here, it's pronounced "Fal-cone".
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In The Long Halloween, it's never made clear if Selina Kyle is his daughter. It's revealed in no uncertain terms that this is the case here, which he eventually finds out about.
• Adapted Out: His various children and extended family, aside from his illegitimate daughter Selina Kyle, don't appear at all in The Batman.
  • Though his daughter Sofia Falcone-Gigante will appear in the Penguin HBO Max series, portrayed by Cristin Milioti
• Affably Evil: He presents himself as a Noble Demon and acts like a gentleman to Bruce. Though, as it turns out, he's anything but a gentleman.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's heavily implied that Falcone was involved with the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, but the exact circumstances remain unknown. Falcone taunts Batman that whatever dirty secrets he may have, it's all going with him to his grave. And then the Riddler kills Falcone, ensuring Batman will never find out the truth behind his parents' deaths.
• Animal Motif: Aside from the more obvious "falcon" allegory — Carmine, like a raptor, is at the very top and looking out over his city with hungry eyes — John Turturro described Falcone as a subterranean predator in an interview. Specifically, a rat; Falcone's empire was built on secretly striking a deal with the corrupt GCPD against Maroni, and he knows that if the underworld ever found out he's allied with the cops, he's going down. Riddler's clues reference both ("rat with wings", or, as Batman and Gordon initially interpret it, a stool pigeon) to emphasize how duplicitous and false Carmine's image as an untouchable, self-made Don really is.
• Arc Villain: Outing Falcone as the rat who snitched on Maroni comprises the film's second act. He's revealed to have had dealings with Bruce's father, is the biological father of Selina Kyle, and the investigation to unravel him is arguably its own plot within the Riddler's machinations.
• Archnemesis Dad: The father of Selina Kyle, and a nasty piece of work who's hurt her directly and indirectly, and sometimes without knowing it. Selina's entire reason for working at the club is to be compensated for the pain he's caused her by robbing him, and later kill him. Batman stops her just in time.
• Asshole Victim: An abysmal human being gunned down by the Riddler after his arrest. The fact that he's just been exposed as a rat ensures not even his fellow gangsters will miss him.
• Badass on Paper: Carmine Falcone holds a reputation of being one of the most powerful and dangerous criminals in Gotham, who no one dares to cross lest they suffer a gruesome fate at his hands. In truth though, Falcone only got to where he was because of his backstabbing and many connections, and he spends much of his time hiding in a back corner of the Iceberg Lounge because it's the only place he feels safe from his many enemies. And once his snitch-related crimes are revealed to the public, Falcone's criminal empire dies both metaphorically and literally in less than an hour.
• Bait the Dog:
  • He shows some protectiveness towards Selina as he used to know her mother and is actually her father. However, he ends up murdering her mother and Annika, the two people closest to her, and then tries to kill her after she very understandably wants to kill him in retaliation.
  • He seems genuinely grateful that Thomas Wayne saved his life once and is very polite to Bruce because of this. Then it turns out Falcone had tried to blackmail Thomas and may have even had a hand in his death.
• Being Evil Sucks: While he runs the Gotham mob and — by extension — the local government, by the time of the movie, he's made so many enemies that he's been forced to imprison himself inside a cordoned-off section of the Iceberg Lounge to protect himself, and that doesn't save him.
• Berserk Button: Being interrupted. When one of Falcone's bodyguards tries to inform him about his crimes being publicly broadcast on the news, Falcone gets uncharacteristically enraged, since he asked his minion specifically not to barge in on him while talking to Selina. That said, his anger melts pretty quickly once he finds out what's going on.
• Better to Kill Than Frighten: When Bruce Wayne begins to investigate as to what role the Riddler accuses him of having in Gotham City's rampant corruption, he discovers that his father, Thomas Wayne, had covered up the history of mental illness that ran in the Arkham family, which included Bruce's mother Martha. When a reporter uncovers it, he threatened to expose the coverup, and in a moment of desperation to protect his wife and his son, Thomas turned to the Falcone crime family, in the hopes of scaring the reporter into silence. To Thomas' horror, Falcone instead had the reporter murdered, and when Bruce questions Falcone about it, Falcone simply asserts (and tries to assure Bruce) that the reporter was a lowlife that deserved it anyway.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Falcone is the key cause of Gotham's problems in the 20 years since the Wayne murders, and a good chunk of the film is spent uncovering his role as the rat who set up Sal Maroni. That being said despite his position as Gotham's crime kingpin he's not nearly as in control as it first appears. He has to hide in 44 Below because of the constant threat of assassination and his control of the city is mostly just leverage over Gotham's elite. The Riddler quickly eclipses him on every conceivable front, unraveling his conspiracy with little difficulty before enacting an infinitely more heinous act of terrorism that leaves the city in ruins.
• Blackmail Backfire: While his deal with the cops and city government means that those at the top can never act against him for fear of being exposed themseves, Carmine is far from untouchable, and is just in a state of detente with the current administration; he still has to hide in 44 Below to avoid the threat of assassination, and he keeps the fact of selling out Maroni a secret from his own mob, who would feel betrayed if they knew their boss snitched to the police. Sure enough, once Commissioner Savage has died and Falcone has been exposed, Gordon quickly pulls together a unit of trustworthy officers to arrest him, and Cobblepot is already threatening Carmine as he's being hauled off, saying they'll kill him in prison.
• Broken Pedestal: He becomes this to the rest of the criminal underworld, especially to Cobblepot. Throughout the film, Falcone is viewed as the top dog of the underworld and is treated with respect. Once it's revealed Falcone is "the rat" who sold out Maroni to further his goals, all that respect vanishes. Cobblepot is especially appalled and disgusted at this revelation, to the point he threatens to send word to Blackgate Prison since they "hate rats".
• Casting Gag:
  • John Turturro also played Sam Giancana in the HBO TV film Sugartime. While both characters were high-level gangsters who favored dark glasses, their characters are very different in terms of public image: Giancana, true to life, is flashier and delights in his untouchability, whereas Falcone is far more low-key and avoids the limelight. Both characters also broker deals with corrupt law enforcement over drug smuggling, though Giancana went to jail for refusing to testify and was most likely killed on suspicion that he'd later talk, whereas Carmine's last hours before his assassination are spent in complete disgrace after being revealed as the rat he is.
  • Additionally, Turturro played a pimp in Miami Vice that had a sex worker killed to avoid her becoming a possible witness against him, just like Falcone kills Annika — and possibly, for the same reason, Selina's mother.
• Composite Character: With Lew Moxton, taking his possible role in the murder of the Waynes.
• Dark Secret: He's taken the renewal fund for himself and set up Maroni for the cops in order to take control of the city government. The revelation of this to the public is what leads to his quick downfall.
• Death by Disfigurement: Selina scratches his cheek during their struggle. Shortly after, he's shot dead by the Riddler.
• Death by Secret Identity: Downplayed, as he's already dying, but it's implied that Falcone realizes that Batman is Bruce Wayne in his final moments, bleeding out on the floor and looking up at Bruce, just like he recalled doing when his father gave him emergency surgery in their family home.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: In The Long Halloween, Falcone is gunned down in his office by a vengeful Two-Face. In this continuity, he's sniped by the Riddler as he's being arrested.
• Dirty Coward: For all his posturing and sadism, he's very much this, spending most of his time in hiding due to his various enemies, only maintaining his empire through intimidation of those he has power over and it's later revealed that he ratted out Sal Maroni for his own benefit and stole money from the Wayne foundation, to say nothing of the implication that he had Thomas and Martha killed to save his own skin and is desperate to keep such information a secret, knowing he'd never survive it getting out.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Falcone is a major antagonist for most of the movie as "the rat" who holds power over Gotham's ruling body. He is exposed and killed before the climax, leaving Riddler as the sole villain.
• The Don: An old-fashioned mafioso in a town that's about to become overrun by costumed criminals.
• The Dragon: Subverted. Gordon assumes that Falcone is the Dragon for the corrupt leaders in Gotham, but it turns out that they are the ones who work for him.
• The Dreaded: He isn't just a crime boss in Gotham, he is THE crime boss of Gotham, and everyone below him is afraid to cross him. When the Riddler threatens D.A. Gil Colson to reveal Falcone as the rat who brought down Maroni, the D.A. refuses because he's afraid that Falcone will have his family killed in addition to himself, and thus would rather die with his bomb collar going off.
• Evil Old Folks: He's in his later years and is played by sixty-five year old John Turturro and is a despicable individual.
• Exact Words: While coaxing Annika to fess up what Mitchell told her, Falcone assuredly tells her "We'll get you out of [Gotham]"; he didn't specify whether she'd be dead or alive...
• Faux Affably Evil: Is cordial to Bruce, but brutally strangles Annika to death, and tries to kill his own daughter. Even so, he always acts calm and polite with those he wants to stay on good terms with, though he doesn't care about them in the slightest.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: A cruel, amoral crime boss who's always wearing darkened glasses, even indoors and at night, possibly indicating that they're prescription.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Selina scratches Falcone, leaving scars on his face. This is reminiscent of Falcone in the comics. These scars are also in contrast to the scars on Bruce's back.
• Greater-Scope Villain: He's responsible for the corruption in Gotham City, and ultimately the Riddler's motivations. Ironically, from the Riddler's perspective, Falcone is the Big Bad both he and Batman (who he believes he's on the same side as) are working to bring down.
• Hate Sink: At his core, he's a contemptible human being who prefers to lord over others by making them fear him, and is also an unrepentant murderer, killing Selina's mother and Annika without remorse as well as actually having very little respect for anyone he's worked with, be it Thomas Wayne or Oswald. As a result, it's easy to root against Falcone and to not care when he's shot dead by the Riddler.
• I Own This Town: Thanks to his role in the Maroni drug bust, Falcone has dirt on the mayor, the D.A., and the police commissioner, giving him near-absolute power in Gotham. Kenzie explicitly describes the conspiracy as answering to Falcone, not the other way around. As Batman and Gordon prove, however, Falcone's position isn't invulnerable.
• Karmic Death: The Riddler set up his death by manipulating Batman and Gordon into exposing Falcone as the mastermind behind the drug busting conspiracy to the news media, then assassinating him when he's being hauled out of the Iceberg Lounge and right into the public light where everyone, including the disgusted criminal underworld, could see him as the "rat" he is.
• Lack of Empathy: A total scumbag, standing out as one of Gotham's more amoral criminals, which is saying something. He killed Selina's mother and her best friend Annika personally, and was about to kill Selina too, his own daughter, proving he will stop at nothing to save his own skin. His eagerness to exploit Thomas Wayne and kill the reporter threatening to ruin Martha Wayne's reputation also counts.
• Mole in Charge: He's the "Rat" in the Riddler's riddles, tipping off the GCPD and the mayor about Sal Maroni's drug operation so they can bust it. But this "Rat" has actually been running the city the whole time, with the drug bust being a complete fabrication to get rid of the competition, enforce the illusion of progress with his puppets, and remind folks who actually has power over Gotham.
• Mutually Assured Destruction: What his leverage over Gotham's elite amounts to. Exposing Falcone as the rat would greatly damage his standing in the criminal underworld. But by doing so, it would reveal the massive corruption within the government, and Falcone would more then likely murder you and your loved ones before he went down.
• Never My Fault: While strangling Selina, he takes no responsibility for the suffering he's caused her, insisting that she and her mother are at fault for "forcing" him to kill them both.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Falcone with his dark glasses is reminiscent of Carmine De Sapio, the last boss of Tammany Hall. Both wore dark glasses and wielded tremendous power in the city where they resided. Gotham is based on New York.
• Offing the Offspring: He makes a good effort at killing his illegitimate daughter, Selina, after she tries to kill him.
• Oh, Crap!: Twice. First, when he learns that his identity as the rat has been leaked to the news, then again implied when a very large number of police officers come to arrest him, showing that his grip on the city and its officers is not as ironclad as he thought.
• Orcus on His Throne: Falcone mentions to Bruce Wayne that he is the only person in Gotham more reclusive than him. Riddler finds it impossible to kill Falcone because he's holed up in the Iceberg Lounge, besides the time when he went to the funeral of the Mayor — at which point he was already preparing the death of Gil Colson.
• Pet the Dog:
  • He treats Bruce with a degree of genuine respect and seems to sincerely like him and acts in a paternal manner around him, given that his father Thomas performed a life-saving surgery on him when he was younger, despite Bruce's clear contempt for him.
  • He actually calls Oswald by his preferred nickname "Oz" rather than the derogatory "Penguin" that everyone else uses.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: When Oz calls him out on being a rat, Falcone spitefully calls him a "gimp."
  • Textually a misogynist as well. He treats women as expendable sex objects, and is established through Maria, Annika, and Selina to specifically favour strangling as a method for killing female victims, who he textually refers to as interchangeable in how they've 'provoked' him.
• Properly Paranoid: Falcone rarely leaves the safety of 44 Below, a basement section of the Iceberg Lounge he controls, for fear of what his many enemies would do to him. Sure enough, when he leaves the club for his arrest, he's sniped on its doorstep by the Riddler.
• Riddle for the Ages: Did he really have Thomas and Martha Wayne killed to cover his ass? Was he telling the truth about Sal Maroni? Or was it really just a random mugger, and the Waynes were in the wrong place at the wrong time? We may never know.
• The Rival: To opposing mob boss Salvatore Maroni. He wins their conflict by working with Gotham's political leaders to seemingly bust Maroni's drug operations. In fact, Falcone and the Gotham leaders take over Maroni's operation for themselves. The leaders get the public credit for the "bust" and a cut of the drug profits, while Falcone becomes Gotham's top dog and has dirt on his co-conspirators to keep them from betraying him.
• Secret Secret-Keeper: As he's looking up toward Batman after being shot, it's implied that he figures out that the man behind the mask is the son of the man who performed a life-saving surgery on him years ago, who saw the surgery play out from the balcony above — and then taking that secret to the grave, as he mentioned moments earlier.
• Signature Move: An Implied Trope. Every kill we hear of or see him make is by strangling.
• Sinister Shades: He always wears a pair of vintage sunglasses.
• Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: Though not nonexistent, Carmine was not present throughout most of the advertising despite being a major character.
• Smug Snake: Even when he's being dragged off, exposed to all the world as a murderer and a mole, Falcone brags that he'll be out of prison in no time despite his most powerful pawns being dead (and in Mitchell's case, soon to be replaced with someone deeply opposed to everything Falcone represents) and Penguin being out for his blood. Even if Riddler hadn't killed him, Falcone's odds of getting off and staying alive were slim.
• The Sociopath: Behind that charming persona is a heartless murderer who seeks to maintain himself as the top dog of Gotham. He blackmailed Thomas Wayne with a reporter's death, looted the Renewal funds after Thomas' death, staged a phony drug sting operation so he could monopolize the drug business, and killed several innocents who unwittingly stumble on his dirty little secrets. He even treats his biological daughter, Selina, as trash, attempts to murder her with no hesitation, and proudly boasts of how he killed her mother while strangling her.
• Sunglasses at Night: He wears tinted glasses even in his dark nightclub. According to Word of God, this is his version of the masks that Batman and the Riddler wear. The one time we see his eyes is right before he's shot, when his true nature has been unmasked.
• Truer to the Text: In previous live-action incarnations of the character, Falcone was treated as little more than the mundane mob boss he is, typically lacking the connection to the Waynes that he was given in The Long Halloween, his status as the Roman, or his iconic cat-scratch scar that's been a prominent feature of his comics portrayals. The 2022 incarnation of Falcone marks the first time several of these traits are restored, in particular his scar and history with Thomas Wayne having saved his life.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Might have ordered the killing of Thomas Wayne, even after Wayne saved his life. Even if he didn't, he helped loot the Waynes' Renewal fund to turn it into dirty money.
• Unreliable Expositor:
  • His account of the Waynes' death implies that Sal Maroni had them killed, since the journalist who threatened to make Martha Wayne's mental hospital trips public was in his pocket. Alfred, however, reveals that Thomas was going to go to the police over Falcone killing the journalist, giving Falcone more than enough reason to kill Thomas himself.
  • The journalist himself is another case. We only have Falcone's word that Edward Elliot was working for Salvatore Maroni. Was Elliot really on Maroni's payroll, or was he just a crusading journalist?
• Would Hit a Girl: Falcone strangled Selina's mother when she was a child, murdered Annika the same way, and nearly kills Selina herself.
• Would Hurt a Child: Perhaps not directly, but he has no problems with stealing money from an orphanage. Gil Colson's panic and preference for facing the Riddler's wrath is borne from believing that his family would be dead if he said anything which, based on everything seen of Carmine in the film, is entirely justified.

Salvatore Maroni

Salvatore Maroni

Portrayed by: Clancy Brown

Appears In: The Penguin

The former kingpin and drug lord of Gotham.

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• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Usually, Maroni is an underboss to Falcone with eyes on his boss' position, or a rival that can't quite measure up enough for a power struggle. Here, it's suggested that their roles seem to have been reversed until Falcone sold Maroni out to steal his operations.
• The Ghost: Despite being mentioned several times in The Batman as part of a major drug bust and being swiftly seen in background news footage of his arrest, he never makes a clear physical appearance in the film. He'll appear in the flesh in the Penguin HBO Max series, portrayed by Clancy Brown.
• Predecessor Villain: He was the former head of the Gotham criminal underworld before the start of the movie, and his arrest was what allowed Falcone to take over the entire city.

The Twins

Portrayed by: Charlie and Max Carver

Appear In: The Batman (2022)

Twin mob enforcers working for Oz Cobblepot at the Iceberg Lounge.

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• Bouncer: Their job at the Iceberg Lounge. They're not too good at the "keeping Batman/Bruce Wayne out" part of the job, though.
• Bumbling Henchmen Duo: Downplayed. Though these guys might be a little scary if you're an average nightclub patron, and will readily resort to both force and firearms, they're still by no means as intimidating as Falcone or even Penguin, especially in the Batman's eyes. When Batman visits the Iceberg the first time, he quickly and efficiently breaks their noses as they move to attack him, and later fires his grapnel into one's leg to pull them both down. He doesn't even bother fighting them the second time; he simply knocks on the door and slips in while one of them looks around in confusion, then locks the guy out.
• Butt-Monkey: Nearly every time they're on screen, shortly afterwards they get their asses kicked by someone.
• Canon Foreigner: Created specifically for the movie.
• Good Hair, Evil Hair: Both have the typical Brogan thug beard.
• Those Two Guys: Batman and Bruce Wayne interact with these two bouncers at the Iceberg Lounge.

Vinnie

Vinnie

Portrayed by: Mark Killeen

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

One of Falcone's bodyguards at the Iceberg Lounge.

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• Bearer of Bad News: He alerts Falcone that Falcone's murder of Annika and role in the Maroni drug bust are being revealed on the news.
• Spear Carrier: He shows up to have a couple lines of dialogue and interfere with Selina's attempt to kill Falcone, but isn't a very developed character.
• Undying Loyalty: He continues to assist and protect Falcone even after learning that his boss is a police informant.

Gotham City Police Department (GCPD)

James Gordon

Lieutenant James Gordon

"Does this mean anything to you?"

Portrayed by: Jeffrey Wright

Appears In: The Batman (2022) | The Batman: Part II

An officer of the GCPD and Batman's main ally on the force.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Gordon usually refers to Batman exclusively as "man", expressing how much he trusts him.
• Badass Normal: He doesn't have Batman's extraordinary physique, but he doesn't shy away from the action that comes with the detective work.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's a genuinely good cop who lets Batman get away with a lot because of how corrupt the GCPD is, but his patience has its limits. He lets it be known that he's not happy that Batman still doesn't let him know who he really is despite their close working relationship.
• Character Catchphrase: When something strange or disturbing comes up, he has the tendency to remark, "Jesus..."
• The Commissioner Gordon: Being yet another incarnation of the trope-naming uncorrupted cop who trusts the vigilante Batman where most other cops and city officials wouldn't.
• Et Tu, Brute?: He's angered when he and Batman discover pictures of his former friend and partner accepting bribes from drug dealers.
• Friend on the Force: He's the only cop who really trusts Batman and doesn't mind working with him, even letting him handle evidence at active crime scenes. Batman in turn regards him as a good cop.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Gordon slams Batman against the cage of an interrogation room during a confrontation with GCPD officers after they try to remove his mask while he was rendered unconscious from a bomb blast and he wakes up swinging.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: Unlike previous live-action incarnations of Commissioner Gordon who typically just handed their Batman a case file then let the vigilante do all of the investigative leg work, this incarnation of Gordon is practically joined at the hip with the titular superhero for the majority of the movie as his unofficial partner. Even the GCPD in-universe refer to Gordon and Bats as Those Two Guys, with how frequently they're seen working together on active crime scenes.
• Nice Guy: Jim is a truly pure-hearted cop who's respectful and professional to everyone. He's nice enough that he's gotten a noticeably colder Batman to see him as a friend.
• Only Sane Man: One of the most upstanding men in Gotham, and despite his hectic surroundings, he manages to be quite stable.
• Race Lift: Jeffrey Wright portrays James Gordon, who had never been depicted as black before this film in live-action, but had a similar white-to-black Race Lift in The LEGO Batman Movie. Like Selina, the casting call for him was open ethnicity.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He's a clean cop on a corrupt police force, and at the start of The Batman, he's one of the few people who actually trusts Batman — to the point where he sees him as a friend. Despite the legal ambiguity of the actions the two men take, it's clear that Gordon is doing his best to uphold the spirit of the law even if his actions run counter to the letter of it, and the system is simply so corrupt that working with somebody like Batman outside the law is the only way he can make a difference.
• Token Good Teammate: Batman sees him as this to the Gotham police department, not because he's the only person willing to work with him, but because Gordon is the only cop there he fully trusts is not corrupt. Gordon himself admits he can't fully trust any of his coworkers. It turns out there are some other honest officers on the payroll, but most if not all of the people above him on the chain of command appear to be compromised in some way.
• The Watson: He acts as Batman's crime-solving partner throughout the film, investigating scenes and decoding the Riddler's clues together.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: A rare heroic version; at one point, after the two discuss police corruption while other cops are nearby, Batman slugs Gordon to make it seem as if they were arguing, so as to protect Gordon from suspicion from his potentially corrupt colleagues.

Mackenzie Bock

Chief Mackenzie Bock

Portrayed by: Con O'Neill

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

The GCPD's chief of police.

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• Adaptational Wimp: Bock is a Genius Bruiser homicide detective with the occasional A Day in the Limelight in the comics, but is more of a bureaucrat in the film.
• Da Chief: Of Gotham police and like his boss, he's not very pleased with Gordon cooperating with a vigilante.
• The Napoleon: He's visibly shorter than Batman (Con O'Neill is 5'8" compared to Robert Pattinson's 6'1"), but that doesn't stop him from getting up in Batman's face when he's in police custody.
• Race Lift: In contrast with Jeffrey Wright's take on Jim Gordon, Con O'Neill's Mackenzie Bock is a white actor portraying a character traditionally depicted as African-American.
• Tranquil Fury: When Batman accuses him of being corrupt, Bock lowers his voice to a whisper, each word oozing with seething rage:
  Bock: You son of a bitch. You have any idea what kind of trouble you're in?
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Disappears from the movie after the scene where Batman escapes from GCPD. We never learn if he was as corrupt as the rest of the police force, or if he was as blindsided by the reveal as Gordon and Batman were. Semi-Justified, as one of his two scenes with dialogue has him revealed to be very against the vigilante's presence (he gets in Batman's face and calls him a son of a bitch), so when Gordon brings in as many trusted officers as he can to arrest Falcone, he's obviously excluded, and it's clear that Gordon and his officers are doing their best to keep as much distance as they can between him and Batman until the Riddler crisis is over.

Pete Savage

Commissioner Pete Savage

"Happy fuckin' Halloween."

Portrayed by: Alex Ferns

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

The GCPD's commissioner.

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• Asshole Victim: Downplayed. Given that he's a corrupt commissioner who takes bribes from criminals and is on Falcone's payroll, you'd expect no one to really mourn him, but Gordon (his former partner) is still furious at the Riddler for Savage's death.
• Canon Foreigner: While he has elements of Harvey Bullock and Gillian Loeb, the Pete Savage identity was an original creation for the movie.
• Composite Character: Of Harvey Bullock (as a Dirty Cop who distrusts Batman, and an old partner of Gordon in some continuities), and Gillian Loeb (as a corrupt prior commissioner to Gordon). These parallels also make him similar to Lt. Eckhardt, being in the pocket of the ruling mob and its active agent in the police department, using his resources to eliminate criminals that threaten their empire — in this case, Maroni.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Riddler kills Savage by having rats gnaw on his face.
• Dirty Cop: He's really just one of Falcone's stooges who got his position in the GCPD through illegitimate means.
• Fake Ultimate Hero: One of many people who were in on the drug bust of Sal Maroni orchestrated by Carmine Falcone.
• Fat Bastard: He's overweight, kind of a jerk, and he's on the take, having worked with Carmine Falcone on the Maroni drug bust. Ironically, it's him trying to lose weight by going to the gym at night when no one is around that gets him easily captured by Riddler.
• Hypocrite: He calls out Gordon for letting a vigilante like Batman into a crime scene and accuses Batman of being involved with the crime given the Riddler's letter addressed to him. He himself turns out to be a Dirty Cop.
• Jerkass Has a Point: He has a point in chewing out Gordon for letting Batman (a vigilante) investigate a crime scene. Then we find out he's just a Hypocrite when he himself is revealed to be taking bribes.
• Karmic Death: The Riddler invokes this by having Savage's deathtrap involve rats finding their way to his face and feast on his flesh, symbolizing how he let Gotham be feasted on by criminals and drug dealers. Additionally, the Riddler also injected him with rat poison, so that the rats would die shortly after consuming his face, symbolizing what the Riddler plans to do with the titular "rat" of his riddles.
• Killed Offscreen: The only one of the Riddler's victims who's killed between scenes, likely because his fate is far more gruesome than any of the other murders, and would've been too graphic to show.
• Mythology Gag:
  • His name is actually a reference to the first Batman television series — it's identical to the name of one of Gotham's three wealthy founders.
  • He fills the role that Gillian B. Loeb does in the comics, as the corrupt Commissioner prior to Jim Gordon who gets murdered, allowing Gordon to fill the spot.
• Precision F-Strike: He tells Batman "Happy fuckin' Halloween."
• We Hardly Knew Ye: He gets one scene before being abducted and killed by Riddler.
• We Used to Be Friends: Savage and Gordon used to be detectives together, and seem to have been close, given Savage brings up their former partnership. Gordon working with Batman against Savage's wishes has soured their relationship. Gordon is similarly disgusted to learn Savage was a corrupt cop stealing money from the city.

Martinez

Martinez

"Oh hey! Mister Wayne!"

Portrayed by: Gil Perez Abraham

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

An officer working for the GCPD.

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• Canon Foreigner: Created specifically for the movie.
• Chekhov's Gunman: He initially appears to be just a regular face in the GCPD and the closest thing Jim Gordon has to a Number Two, but at the climax of the film, his presence at Nashton's apartment aids Batman with locating the final message detailing Riddler's plan to flood the city, as he identifies the murder tool he used to kill Don Mitchell Jr. as a carpet-tucker tool, inspiring Batman to look underneath the flooring carpet. However, by the time they find this out, the bombs start going off — but it isn't too late to stop Riddler's goons from gunning down hundreds of survivors.
• Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: Martinez is uneasy working with Batman but is very excited to meet famous billionaire Bruce Wayne.
• Nice Guy: One of the few honest cops in the GCPD. He's particularly friendly to Bruce Wayne when he sees him at the memorial service.
• Oh, Crap!: When he's watching Riddler's last video with Batman and realizes that Riddler plans to flood the city and massacre the people who seek refuge at Gotham Square Garden. And it gets worse when he finds himself unable to contact Gordon because the lines are down.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He's visibily furious and barely restraining his anger when arresting Edward Nygma for the first time.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Batman has no idea what the intended function of the Riddler's murder weapon is, and Martinez is the one who tells him it's a carpet tucker, leading directly to the climax as per the Chekov's Gunman entry above.

William Kenzie

Detective William Kenzie

Portrayed by: Peter Mc Donald

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

A detective working for the GCPD.

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• Adaptational Badass: Kenzie is an enforcer in the movie, but is merely a thief and facilitator in Gotham Central.
• Butt-Monkey: Suffers numerous injuries and nearly dies because Batman and Selina hone in on him as a major lead in the case.
• Chekhov's Gunman: He's introduced as Penguin's enforcer before being identified as an off-duty detective. He makes a few cameos afterwards as the man with the broken nose, a reminder to Batman and Gordon that no cop is to be trusted. He becomes important to the plot after Selina catches him and finds her stolen cellphone on him. On her cellphone is the last message of Annika revealing that the "rat" of the Maroni drug bust is none other than Carmine Falcone. Kenzie then spills the whole truth regarding Falcone, the Renewal funds, and the fake drug bust operation, tying all the clues and riddles together.
• Dirty Cop: He works as an enforcer for Penguin at the Iceberg Lounge. Batman even notes that Kenzie "moonlights as a cop," rather than moonlighting as a bouncer.
• Disney Villain Death: Subverted. Selina tries to knock Kenzie off of a ledge, but Batman and Gordon manage to catch the crooked detective before he plummets to his death.

Gotham City Government

Don Mitchell Jr.

Mayor Don Mitchell Jr.

Portrayed by: Rupert Penry-Jones

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

The mayor of Gotham City.

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• Canon Foreigner: Created specifically for the movie.
• Corrupt Politician: He uses Thomas Wayne's billion-dollar urban renewal fund to line his own pockets, and allows Falcone to run the city.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: While he's a Corrupt Politician who allows a crime lord to control the city, he clearly loves his son, as seen when he plays with and hugs him before the family goes trick-or-treating on Halloween night.
• Fingore: The Riddler severs his left thumb as part of one of his riddles. Batman notes that Mitchell was still alive when the thumb was severed.
• Good Parents: He's seen playing with his son on Halloween night moments before his murder. His kid very clearly misses him after he's killed.
• Hypocrite: Publicly presented himself as a staunch adherent of family values, but cheated on his wife with Annika.
• Karmic Death: The Riddler kills him, then wraps his head with duct tape written with the words "No More Lies" while leaving a "What does a liar do when he's dead?" riddle^AnswerHe lies still to Batman. Then, when Gordon and Batman discover the thumbdrive containing photos of Mitchell's affair with Annika, the Riddler leaks these photos to the press, destroying Mitchell's reputation as a respected mayor overnight... and right when everyone is giving their eulogies of what a good man he was.
• Loose Lips: He let slip to Annika the truth behind the renewal fund and Falcone.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Mitchell's last name is based on John Mitchell, who worked for the Nixon Administration.
• Not Quite Dead: Despite the scene ending with him prone on the floor with a gaping skull wound after Riddler violently smashed his head in, Batman later deduces that he was still alive based on the clotted blood and bruising from having his thumb cut off for Riddler's clue. Instead, whilst he was unable to defend himself, Riddler smothered him beneath a 'mask' of duct-tape he wrapped around his head, though it's implied the head wound would have been ultimately fatal in any case.
• Pet the Dog: While he cheats on his wife and secretly works with Falcone, the love he has for his son is truly genuine.
• Puppet King: While Mitchell may be mayor, it's made very clear that Carmine Falcone is the true ruler of Gotham. Particularly once it's revealed Mitchell and the rest of his administration are lackeys bought off by the mob.
• Shadow Archetype: He's one to Thomas Wayne, having political aspirations to be mayor and a son around Bruce's age when he lost his father. This even extends to their ties to the mob boss Carmine Falcone. The key difference between them is that Thomas realizes he made a big mistake asking Falcone's favor and tries to walk it back (only to end up killed), while Mitchell willingly remains under Falcone's thumb.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: His only scene in The Batman is the night he becomes the Riddler's first victim.

Bella Reál

Candidate Bella Reál

Portrayed by: Jayme Lawson

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

"We will rebuild, but not just our city. We must rebuild people's faith — in our institutions, in our elected officials, in each other. Together, we will learn to believe in Gotham again."

A candidate running for mayor who wants better days for her city.

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• Canon Foreigner: Created specifically for the movie.
• Foil: To her opponent, Don Mitchell. Mitchell, a middle-aged white man with a wife and son, is a hypocritical and corrupt politician, while Bella, a young and single black woman, is sincerely well-meaning and honest. Mitchell trades on the faked takedown of Sal Maroni to improve his standing in the polls, while Bella proves herself a genuine hero at the climax. Both become targets of the Riddler (Mitchell for his genuine corruption, Bella out of raw spite), but Mitchell dies quickly and brutally, while Bella survives to fight for a better Gotham.
• Honor Before Reason: Upon realizing there are assassins after her, Gordon urges her to find a place to hide. She refuses, opting to try and calm the panicking crowd and manage the crisis as best as she can, feeling it's her duty as mayor-elect. She's promptly shot, but fortunately the bullet misses anything vital and paramedics are close by, so she survives.
• Improbable Age: Is the leading mayoral candidate at only 28, and her actress is even a few years younger.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: As an idealistic African-American politician running on a platform of making major reforms to a deeply broken system, she brings to mind Barack Obama, or more generally, a progressive politician (who's a young woman of colour) challenging a more conservative incumbent, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
• Punny Name: Her name is a play on "Be Real," reflecting how she is an honest politician. Her campaign slogan plays on this, with promise of making "A Real Change".
• Reasonable Authority Figure: She seeks to become one in her campaign for mayor out of a genuine desire to do better for the city.
• Spanner in the Works: Subverted. The beginning of the movie implies that she's leading Mayor Mitchell in the polls. An idealistic, honest politician replacing Carmine Falcone's stooge would have likely massively upended the delicate power balance between Falcone and the corrupt Gotham city officials and potentially put the whole cover-up involving the Sal Maroni drug bust at risk. Except once the Riddler gets involved the stakes get much higher regardless even though she goes on to win the election.
• Stupid Sacrifice: Subverted. Despite Gordon urging her to go into hiding due to the armed assassins up on the stadium rafters, Reál insists on doing her part to calm down the populace from her end regardless, which prompts an exasperated eye roll from Gordon. Sure enough, Reál is indeed shot, but after Batman saves the day, she comes away with little more than a flesh wound, and appears before Gotham the day after bandaged and as determined as ever.

Gil Colson

District Attorney Gil Colson

Portrayed by: Peter Sarsgaard

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

Gotham's corrupt district attorney.

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• Affably Evil: Despite being a crooked District Attorney who takes bribes from the mob, he seems like an amiable guy and is genuinely polite to Selina and the rest of the Iceberg Lounge staff.
• Amoral Attorney: He's an attorney under the thumb of Falcone.
• Better to Die than Be Killed: He'd rather die by the Riddler's Explosive Leash than answer his final riddle (the name of the rat who sold out Salvatore Maroni). This is because said rat is Carmine Falcone, who will not only kill Colson for blabbing, but Colson's family as well.
• Canon Foreigner: Created specifically for the movie.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Selina finds him in the VIP section of Penguin's Iceberg Lounge, drunk and high, trying to deal with his fear that the Riddler will murder him for his role in the Maroni drug bust.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite trying at first to save his own skin Gil decides he'd rather die by having the Riddler's explosive collar around his neck being set off by refusing to say the Rat's name than endanger his family by revealing it.
• Explosive Leash: Riddler kidnaps and fits him with an explosive collar, forcing Colson and Batman to answer a timed series of riddles/questions to get the combination to unlock it.
• Hookers and Blow: He's hanging out at Penguin's club, high as a kite on "drops" with one of Falcone's "hostesses" on his arm.
• Karmic Death: Since he refuses to give up the name of the rat despite being Mr. Loose Lips, Colson loses his head (and the rest of him too) to the Explosive Leash.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Being the district attorney of Gotham, his job is to bring criminal charges against Gotham's corrupt individuals, like Maroni in the drug bust. But since he uses his position to protect other notorious criminals like Carmine Falcone, Colson is put through a public mock trial by the Riddler, forced to answer for his corruption.
• Loose Lips: Justified. He chooses to die rather than give away the identity of the rat, and otherwise lasted the last two decades without major incident. But when high and drunk on a bender, he gives away a good chunk of the conspiracy to a random girl he had just met.
• Nervous Wreck: He's introduced drunk off his ass and terrified that the Riddler is going to come after him. It gets worse after Riddler straps a bomb to his neck, and the only option to survive is to rat out a man who will kill him and his family if he snitches.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Colson's last name is based on Charles Colson, who worked for the Nixon Administration.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: From the part-annoyed, part-resigned reaction of the police chief on learning that Colson has disappeared, it's implied that the events we see in the film aren't the first time that he's gone on an inconvenient Hookers and Blow-fueled bender.
• Properly Paranoid: He's holed up in the Iceberg Lounge, terrified that the Riddler will be coming after him next. And he's absolutely right to be afraid, since Riddler kidnaps him just after he leaves the club.
• Sadistic Choice: Riddler forces him to answer questions on threat of explosive death that require that he publicly out himself as a Corrupt Cop. Riddler's last question asks him who is the informant for the Sal Maroni case, but Colson refuses to answer because he knows that whether or not he answers, he's dead either way (because the informant is Falcone, who will doubtlessly kill Colson for ratting him out), but if he does answer, his loved ones will be killed too.

Travis Cromwell

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

• Amoral Attorney: He works in the DA's office and has no problem consorting with hookers at a mob-owned club and talking about the hidden corruption behind the Maroni bust.
• Shout-Out: Cromwell is likely named after Thomas Cromwell, an advisor to King Henry VIII.

Richie Beckett

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

• Amoral Attorney: He works in the DA's office and has no problem consorting with hookers at a mob-owned club and talking about the hidden corruption behind the Maroni bust.
• Shout-Out: Beckett is likely named after Thomas Beckett, an advisor to King Henry II.

Gotham City Citizens

Annika Kosolov

Annika Kosolov

Portrayed by: Hana Hrzic

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

Another waitress at the Iceberg Lounge and a close friend of Selina Kyle's, who has history with Mayor Mitchell.

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• Ambiguously Bi: She was involved with the male Don Mitchell, but may or may not have be Selina's girlfriend as well. Plus, it's a little ambiguous what the true nature of her job at the Iceberg Lounge entailed; she may have only taken up with Mitchell for pay, leaving her sexuality even more in question.
• Canon Foreigner: Created specifically for the movie.
• Disposable Woman: Annika is a minor character who vanishes early on. This motivates her best friend Selina to team up with Bruce to find out what happened to her and go on a quest for revenge after Annika is revealed to be dead.
• Expy: Of Holly Robinson from the comics, being a blonde girl with a rather skeevy job (she's implied to be an escort) who has a close relationship with Selina Kyle, as well as a tendency to get into trouble, which provokes a very aggressive protection instinct in Selina. Difference is that Holly was Ambiguously Brown and American, as well as a teenage girl, whereas Annika is Eastern-European (her passport is Estonian, while her actress is Croatian) and at least in her 20s.
• Family-Unfriendly Death: Though presented through an audio recording, her screams as Falcone strangles her to death are bloodcurdling; so much so that, when released to the public, it's disturbing enough for Gotham news to advise viewership discretion.
• Morality Pet: Selina's affection for her and willingness to endanger herself to do right by her is the first major clue that she's really a good person.
• She Knows Too Much: She found out Falcone was the rat, so he killed her to ensure she could never tell anyone.
• Sound-Only Death: We hear her final moments on a recorded phone call, but we never see it happen, only seeing her body after the fact.

Dory

Portrayed by: Sandra Dickinson

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

An elderly housekeeper in Wayne Tower.

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• Bearer of Bad News: It falls to her to tell Bruce that Alfred was hospitalized after opening a rigged package meant for him.
• Expy: Fills the role of Aunt Harriet from the '60s TV series, being an elderly housekeeper at the Wayne home, and left in charge after Alfred is put in hospital.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Unlike Alfred, she isn't aware their boss is a vigilante.

Edward Elliot

An unscrupulous journalist whom Falcone claimed was on Salvatore Maroni's payroll.

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• Asshole Victim: Ignoring both ethical reasoning and possible bribes, Elliot was willing to destroy an innocent woman's life just so he could sabotage Thomas Wayne's political career. It's not too surprising when Thomas vengefully asks Falcone to "put the fear of God into him", though he is horrified when Falcone kills him.
• Alliterative Name: Edward Elliot.
• Immoral Journalist: Under Maroni's orders, Elliot had dug up Martha's history of being in mental facilities and intended to release them to the public, with no apparent regard as to how devastating such a scandal would be for Martha or her family. Or at least Falcone claims that Elliot dug up Martha’s history at Maroni’s orders.
• Mythology Gag: His name seems to be a reference to Batman villain Thomas Elliot, AKA Hush. During the Riddler's video exposing the scandal surrounding Thomas and Martha, the word "HUSH" is printed atop a photo of Edward.
• Posthumous Character: He's long dead before the events of the film.
• Two First Names: "Edward" and "Elliot" are both common first names.

Bitter Nobody

Bitter Nobody

Portrayed by: Douglas Russell

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

An ordinary citizen left embittered over the death of his daughter, caused by the city administration's refusal to help her.

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• No Name Given: His name is deliberately not mentioned to give of the impression that he could be anyone.
• Outliving One's Offspring: His daughter got sick from unknown causes before the events of the film, the city administration's (more specifically the mayor) refused to help her, and it's implied that she died.
• Red Herring: Subverted and exaggerated at the same time. His appearance, dialogue and attitude make him a pretty good candidate for "ideal suspect that will be proven innocent around the second act", but even that doesn't happen : he has no connection to the Riddler and doesn't reappear once in the whole film.
• Speak Ill of the Dead: Shows no sympathy whatsoever at the mayor's funeral, outright stating Mitchell deserved to die.

Riddler's Followers - (SPOILERS)

Riddler's Followers

Portrayed by:

Appears In: The Batman (2022)

A sizable gathering of disaffected Gothamites who support the Riddler in his crusade against the wealthy and elite through online media.

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• Eat the Rich: Their claim to target Gotham's Elite, whom they accuse of inaction in face of their suffering. However, they seem ready to target anyone who enters the room regardless of socio-economic background.
• Freudian Excuse: It's not exactly clear if they grew up in the same kind of orphanages as the Riddler or just had a rough life in general, but one can only assume it left them scarred, unstable and vulnerable to the Riddler's indoctrination.
• Omnicidal Maniac: They take position with sniper rifles and an absurd amount of ammunition, clearly intending to kill as many people as possible, despite their intended target being allegedly the wealthy elite; though it is possible they view anyone who is better off than they are as "wealthy elite"

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