Batman: The Animated Series
Episode 79
Riddler’s Reform
Riddler’s third episode in the series and the last where he’s the featured villain. Each episode with him lost some pizazz and this is his least exciting. He’s allegedly reformed and made a new series of toys which are selling well. Batman doesn’t believe he’s changed. Riddler keeps dropping clues about his crimes and eventually traps Batman in an inescapable situation. Batman survives though and the Riddler is taken off to Arkham unable to solve the riddle of how Batman beat his trap. Batman tells Robin at the end of the episode he escapes the explosion by using the safe as protection. There’s a great moment at the end when Riddler is in Arkham Asylum ranting over and over about Batman beating his trap.
This episode is par for the course at this point. The Riddler comes off as redundant and desperate. It’s a far cry from his first appearance where he’s calculating and clever. In the first episode Batman beats him but Riddler still escapes. In this episode he’s captured and broken. Certainly not a bad way to close out a character but the plot or how it was accomplished could have been better. Granted our standard for episodes is far too high since there have so many amazing BtAS episodes at this point. Even a bad BtAS episode far exceeds the best episodes of other series.
Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com