The Penguin’s Success Is Another Reminder That The Riddler Was A Failure

The Penguin, widely acclaimed as one of the best TV shows of 2024, has reignited discourse on Paul Dano’s Riddler. Matt Reeves’ “Batmanverse”—as fans have dubbed it—introduced the audience to Colin Farell’s Oswald “Oz” Cobb (Penguin) and Paul Dano’s Edward Nashton (Riddler). Reeves’ grounded serial killer take on the Riddler and a mobster Penguin, while essentially a U-turn from the comics, didn’t bother fans much as evident in the positive reviews of the film. Yet, there was a consensus among fans that the Riddler could have been better. Described as uninspiring and bland by some, the true grudge of fans lies not in the characterization but in the incoherence.

Oz’s Gotham power grab in HBO’s The Penguin made good on the promise of true gangsterism that was first hinted at in the 2022 film, The Batman. However, viewers could not help but juxtapose Oz’s well-thought and ruthless antics—delivered with more compelling villainy than even in the comics—with the half-baked and somewhat contradictory schemes of Paul Dano’s Riddler, one that is unbecoming of the grim world he is set in. For fans, it’s clear that while the Riddler’s potential might have been a missed one, the Penguin’s time has come—and he should undoubtedly take center stage in The Batman 2.

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The Riddler Had A Severely Flawed Plan

The Execution of His Plans Contradicts His Implied Intelligence

Draped in a cold weather mask and green military parka jacket, Paul Dano’s Riddler looks nothing like his comic counterpart’s flashy, question-marked persona—and that’s by design. Matt Reeves Gotham, arguably darker and more dangerous than ever, is no place for the glamorous and egoistic Riddler that fans are familiar with.

The Riddler’s motive in The Batman aligns with Batman himself: vengeance on Gotham’s corrupt elites and politicians. But while the Dark Knight chooses to tackle this vigilante-style, the Riddler chooses capital punishment. Initially portrayed as one with the intelligence required of members of Batman’s famed rouge library, the last piece of the Riddler’s grand plan seems laughable. In a bid to cleanse Gotham’s corruption-laden filth, the Riddler goes biblical by destroying the city’s seawall to flood it. The problem? It floods infrastructure sheltering or servicing the very people he is trying to save. Worse, it is revealed in The Penguin that the affluent areas were untouched, raising the question of whom the Riddler thought would take control of the city after the flood. Couple this with an earlier plot to eliminate mayor-elect Bella Reál—a woman untouched by corruption—then the Riddler’s supposedly distorted sense of justice morphs into illogicality, one unfounded on any coherent philosophy.

Another flaw that viewers continue to point out is the assassination attempt on Bruce Wayne. The Riddler is shown to have the ability to infiltrate the homes of Gotham’s elites and high-ranking police officers, capture them, and create traps reminiscent of Jigsaw. It then seemed almost juvenile for him to think that a letter bomb, which could have failed in far more ways than it would have succeeded, was the best idea to kill the richest man in town. It is odd enough that Batman misses riddles he should have easily deciphered. It’s even odder for the mastermind of such riddles, potent enough to get the better of two detectives, to be incapable of foresight . Matt Reeves’ track record makes it hard to blame the inconsistencies in The Batman on bad writing, but on the surface, the Riddler’s plans are just that.

The Penguin’s Brain and Brawn Is What Batman Villains Are Made Of

It’s Not So Much What He Does but How

The Riddler’s mistakes might have been forgivable in 2022, but they aren’t anymore with the release of The Penguin. Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb, who had to watch the Riddler’s catastrophe from the sidelines, gets his chance to fully bring his brain and brawn in the HBO series. The Penguin details Oz Cobb’s rise to power in Gotham’s underbelly with cold-blooded violence and shocking betrayal. While the series will be remembered for its high stakes—even with the absence of Batman—Farell’s Emmy-deserving performance, and establishing Oz as a relentless and selfish man with mommy issues, what seems to slip under the discussion radar is just how smart and calculated he is compared to the Riddler. It’s not so much what he does but how he does it and the duplicity that lies beneath.

The list is endless. Double-crossing Sofia Falcone, the Maronis, and just about every other gang in Gotham, Godfather-style? Check. Leveraging people and political influence to serve his interests and get his pound of flesh, like getting Councilman Hady to put Sofia behind Arkham bars? Double Check. Emotional manipulation is also part of his arsenal, as seen when he plays on his protégé, Victor Aguilar’s past, into staying in the drug trade despite wanting to leave. But where fans likely drew the line was Oz’s act of tying up loose ends, which results in the murder of Victor in the final episode.

It’s not just through brute force or manipulation of others that Oz thrives—his verbal prowess is just as effective. He’s adept at lying or rambling smartly to talk his way out of complex situations. These acts and others such as burning Salvatore Maroni’s wife and son and drowning his brothers at a young age, only deepen the audience’s resentment. By the end of season 1 of The Penguin, Oz not only earns himself a rightful place in Batman’s rogues’ gallery, but also a legitimate claim to be the primary antagonist in The Batman 2.” Although he does make a move or two that leave a few question marks—like not checking Sofia’s car rigged with explosives—the consistency of the Penguin’s motives far outstrips the Riddler’s.

It’s perhaps a bit bold to say that Collin Farell’s iteration of the character raises the bar for Batman villains when Heath Ledger’s Joker and Tom Hardy’s Bane still breathe in The Dark Knight trilogy. But he undoubtedly sets it for future villains in the new Batmanverse and also for Robert Pattinson’s Batman himself, who had hitherto been tested by less-antagonizing villains such as the Riddler.

Created by Lauren LeFranc and starring Colin Farrell, The Penguin builds on 2022’s The Batman. The Max series chronicles the eponymous villain’s attempt to reach Gotham’s criminal peak, rising through the underworld in the middle of a power struggle.

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