The Batman Strikes! # 17

 By Mark Rodriguez

The Riddler is another classic foe that got a radical makeover in The Batman 2004 cartoon series. This time he has a look that reminds me of Marilyn Manson and is also voiced by none other than Robert Englund, so he now has an extra creepy vibe to go along with this puzzles and riddles. Let's see what he's up to in this issue.

 "A Question of Identity" opens with Chief Rojas asking Ellen Yin about the spotlight in the sky with the words saying 'Why was the baseball player arrested?'. Ellen says it's a challenge from The Riddler. Rojas says that's impossible since he's locked up in Arkham. He just then gets a call saying that there was an escape in Arkham. Rojas slams his fist on the desk and says he hates Mondays.

Rojas says if The Riddler is running around then Batman will be on his tail. Yin looks out the window and says that Batman is already on his tail as he is soaring through the sky in his Bat-Glider. Alfred radios Batman and tells him the puzzle seems pretty obvious. Why was the baseball player arrested? Because he stole second base. Batman says Alfred has been studying his classic riddles. Alfred says there's a clue with them and says maybe it's due to the occurrence at Wayne Stadium where the Gotham Guardians baseball team plays. Batman sees that would be too easy. He says that Riddler's riddles usually have curves that throw you off base.

The Riddler arrives at a vault and asks the security guards "How does the FBI know what people say in their sleep?" He answers with "They plant bedbugs" as he aims his staff at them, releasing a sleeping gas to knock them out. Riddler's crew show up as Riddler cracks the vault codes and inside lies all sorts of priceless technological and military data. One of his men asks about the money. 

Riddler finds a disc and says the information within will be worth a small fortune for interested parties. He inserts the disk and asks Batman if he agrees, noticing that he was already at the scene. Riddler asks if had a hard time with his riddle, which suggested he was going to steal from the second largest military base. Batman leaps in the air but a female member of the crew grabs him by the cape and slams him onto the floor. 

Riddler starts working on the computer and a camera zooms in on Batman's face. Batman kicks the woman off him and Riddler sends the rest of his crew to fight him. Batman fires off his grappling gun past the men which latches onto a large piece of computer equipment. Batman then yanks on the rope and the equipment lands on the thugs. Batman says there must be slim pickings when it comes to henchmen. Riddler says Batman will stop smiling soon as he's finished and pulls out the computer disc. 

Batman says he'll take the disc and Riddler spins his staff and asks what three types of keys won't open a door. Batman dodges his attacks and answers with a donkey, a monkey and a turkey. Batman asks why he said that and Riddler says that riddle always made him smile, as he continues to try to blast him with his staff. Batman pulls out a Batarang but Riddler blasts it out of his hand.

Riddler fires a blast at one of the rocket packs lying around and it shoots through the roof. Riddler says it will crash somewhere in downtown Gotham City. As Batman goes after it, Riddler asks him "Where do duck beak sellers advertise their goods?" Batman latches onto the rocket pack and manages to grab onto it. He tries to steer it away from the people on the street and directs it upwards. Batman lets go of it and lets it explode in the nightly sky. As Batman falls, he calls the Bat-Glider by report so he can grab onto it. Alfred radios him asking him what happened. Batman says he just went for a ride. 

Just then the power does out in the city and Batman asks Alfred on the Batcave. Alfred says the emergency generator has been activated. Batman answers the riddle 'where do duck beak sellers advertise their goods?' On billboards. Riddler appears on a billboard and says the next question will be one of identity, namely Batman's secret identity. He says he has control of all of Gotham's power grids. 

The billboard now shows Batman and Riddler says he now owns the latest in military technology. He can now show a live broadcast and will use the latest in thermal technology to expose who Batman really is. Both Alfred and Ellen watch this from their locations in shock. Riddler asks if Batman can find him and stop him in time. He asks "What goes around the world but stays in the corner?" 

Ellen Yin arrives at the Gotham Post Office. As she looks around, Batman tackles her out of the way as a trap always squashes her flat. Ellen says that's the reward she gets for knowing the Riddler meant 'a stamp'. Batman says the reward is they're both still alive. It starts to rain and the Riddler arrives, trying to blast Batman and Yin with his staff. He says spending too much time will result in his identity being revealed while the Riddler will be gone without a trace. Batman throws a Batarang that blows up a device that was displaying the Riddler as a hologram. Batman says he might have been fake but the explosives he left behind are real. Batman calls the Batmobile and he escapes with Yin before the building blows up.

As they drive off, Yin asks Batman if Riddler dropped some sort of hint. Batman says he always does, especially when he said 'trace'. He said he saw something on that billboard. Meanwhile the billboard is changing the image of Batman's face in a grid as the public watches on. Batman says he called an associate of his, as we see that the billboards are owned by Wayne Advertising. Alfred can trace the power source from the billboards to the old Gotham Power and Light building. 

Riddler is hooked up to a device and a helmet as Batman breaks the door down, having defeated his thugs. Yin pulls her gun on him and says they came to pull the plug. Riddler blasts her with his staff and tells Batman that it's time for the big reveal. Batman says that won't happen as he tosses a Batarang at him. 

The Batarang hits and zaps the Riddler and this also cuts the signal to the billboard. Yin asked what kind of blast would knock out both the Riddler and the power. Batman says it was electro-magnetic and it shorted out the flow of the Riddler's electric grid. Yin kicks the helmet and says the Riddler had all that intellect and riddles, but he still didn't have a clue. 

My Thoughts- 

The Riddler was always an interesting villain on this show, and he was used a lot more in this version than he ever was in Batman The Animated Series. I always felt that other than the real major villains like The Joker, Catwoman and Scarecrow, most of them hardly got their own solo episodes in The Animated Series the way characters like the Penguin and Riddler do in this one. It also helps that occasionally The Animated Series would have one-shot enemies or generic mafia thugs sometimes while you'd get a super villain in episode here. Riddler would follow the theme used by most of the bad guys on this show, being much more physical with his deadly staff, alongside his riddles and mindgames.

As for the issue itself, it was a cool little story. This time Riddler set out to expose Batman's identity to the world and our hero had to find him before it was too late. It's a pretty good story, though I do wonder how the writers keep coming up with new and different riddles every time they use this guy. It was also nice to see Yin again to lend a hand. Another thing I noticed, which I also remember from the cartoon, is that Batman loves to throw out quips and puns a lot, even though he still does it in a somewhat serious way. 

I have to add the last pages with The Riddler hooked up to the machines and the helmet and whatnot really reminded me of Batman Forever during the final act. That had to have been intentional.

This comic didn't seem to come with 6-8 pages of a long advertisement, but it did have a 2-page mini-comic/ad that introduced Ben 10 and the overall concept of the at-the-time new show. I haven't seen too much of it but I know it's been through several seasons with character re-designs and art shifts. It feels forever ago when the first season of that show was a new concept just around the corner.