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Warning ! curb spoilers forBatman : Urban Legends#17 !
While theJokerhas often serve the role ofBatman’sprimary antagonist , theRiddleris actually a much more compelling friction match for the Dark Knight and DC knows it . The Riddler has often been equate to the Clown Prince of Crime , as riddles and jokes are somewhat similar concepts . But despite their similarity , the Riddler can advertise Batman to his limits in a way that not even the Joker can carry through .
Batman is screw for ingest a strict moral code when it come up to fighting crime . He does n’t use guns despite being an adept sharpshooter because that ’s how his parents were shoot down . And he does n’t take the life of his enemies , no matter how heinous a crime they have practice . TheJoker often push him to the limiton this point , often striking at the Dark Knight in person for goad him into killing him . But Batman has resist , order that if he kills the Joker , that will set forth him down a slippery slope that will top to him murdering any criminal he comes across . But interestingly , despite the Joker ’s more utmost nature , the Riddler can in reality bring Batman closer to breaking his code than the clown ever could .
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In the story “ On His Worst Nights ” write by Dan Watters with graphics by Riley Rossmo feature inBatman : Urban Legends#17 , the Riddler break away from custody and Batman must track him down . TheRiddler used his staggering intellectto perform a seemingly unimaginable escapism , so Batman face up a variety of his other villains seeking an solvent for how he could have bring out out . As each baddie establish to be another dead end , Batman becomes more and more frustrated , letting his hatred for the Riddler overpower him . The Riddler explain that due to the nature of conundrum and their solutions , how they force people to appear beyond the boundaries and rules that normally define the humanity , Batman hates them most of all . After all , if normal ca n’t apply in every situation , then maybe Batman ’s hard-and-fast moral codification should n’t hold in every position .
This is a fascinating aspect of Batman and Riddler ’s family relationship . While the Joker pushes Batman to the brink of breaking his offense - fighting rules through heinous acts , the Riddler is different , able to do this using something as innocuous as a enigma . While no one would blame Batman for someday snapping and kill the Joker given all the multitude he ’s hurt and the life history he ’s ruined , bolt down the Riddler would be a much less heroic act . So the Riddler in reality threatens the very heroic nature of the Dark Knight whenever they clash , defecate their active much more interesting .
The popularity of the Riddler outside of comic books in The Batman movie will hopefully persuade DC to use the reference more often . The Joker has appeared so frequently that he risks becoming cold , whereas this story shows that there are still a lot of interesting facets ofthe Riddler to be explored in future plotlines . By pushingBatmanto his limitation in such an interesting way , theRiddlerhas shown that he should be the Caped Crusader ’s main bane instead of the overusedJoker .
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Batman : Urban Legends#17is now available from DC Comics .