As the world inches closer to March 4th and the release of The Batman, the press tour is starting to swing into full motion. The trailer promises some great action as well as fantastic story details. Director Matt Reeves has even teased how scary the movie will be compared to other iterations of the Caped Crusader. Early looks of Robert Pattinson and his dark demeanor have revved up anticipation for the film in addition to a villain that has rarely been explored on the big screen: The Riddler. Last seen in Batman Forever portrayed by Jim Carrey, the character went hardly used in film or television until Gotham with a remarkable rendition played by Cory Michael Smith. The villain is being teased as a sinister serial killer, but is there something more evil to be explored here?

In 2019, DC Animated released a thrilling new Batman adventure having to do with a villain seemingly portrayed by Bruce Wayne's long time friend, Dr. Thomas Ellliot in the movie Batman: Hush. The movie, inspired from a comic of the same name and written by Jeph Loeb introduces a year long battle with a new villain, Hush. The rookie baddie turns out to be none other than Dr. Thomas Elliot, a childhood friend of Bruce's who grew jealous of Bruce for winning the genetic lottery when his parents were murdered. Elliot was able to learn of Batman's true identity from none other than The Riddler, who had figured it out. In the animated version however, we see Dr. Thomas Elliot clearly killed, and the origin of Hush changed to be later revealed as the Riddler himself.

Given what we know about the film so far, that Paul Dano's, Edward Nygma does know that Bruce is Batman, coupled with the comments of Matt Reeves, could The Batman be using The Riddler as a front for the true villain of the movie, Hush? Batman: Hush is widely regarded as one of the best comic arcs for The Dark Knight in the last three decades, yet Hush has yet to make an appearance in the live action movie universe. We know Matt Reeves is aiming to create new branches to the story, as well as actively making the film scary and frightening, categories that Hush himself portrays. In the animated film, Nygma grows tired of not having the respect he feels he deserves, so he creates the new persona to gain respect from other villains in Gotham City using information that he already has about them. The rouse works and creates a hellish nightmare of a time for Batman as he tries to solve the mystery of who Hush is.

The twists Hollywood tries to put out sometimes lack in perceived shock value thanks to leaks, or mistakes in posters or trailers. Is it possible that DC has learned from this and is hiding the true villain in plain sight? It wouldn't be the first time the studio has done so. In the Nolan trilogy, the main antagonist of the film was seen in disguise (or captive) in the opening minutes of the films which made the villains all the more terrifying. They were in the thick of it. We know the time frame of The Batman is two years into the crime fighting career of the masked vigilante. Is it possible that The Riddler has grown to this point in his career already? While he himself is a villain who likes to tease Batman, Hush, once discovered, is very much in the thick of the action, actively taunting and engaging the Dark Knight.

One thing is for sure, with 2022 being right around the corner, we are set for another slew of comic book films that we are all waiting for, perhaps none more so than the sequel to Dr. Strange as well as The Batman. DC has struggled to keep up with Marvel at the box office, but has crushed them in the animated division. Perhaps taking a page from their animated division and having Riddler turn out to be Hush in the upcoming film would certainly add the type of hype and momentum DC would need to get back into the thick of it. Will it happen? We will find out on March 4th when The Batman hits theaters.