WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman #91, by James Tynion IV, Rafael Albuquerque, Jorge Jimenez, Carlo Pagulayan, Danny Miki and Tomeu Morey, on sale now.
Ever since Batman #86, the mysterious villain known only as the Designer has worked in the shadows to unleash a dangerous plan upon Gotham. The villain has grand plans to reshape the city and they directly clash with Bruce Wayne’s ambitions to change his home for the better. That’s not all the Designer’s been doing — he’s also systematically gone after four criminals: Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler and Joker, the latter whom remains in hiding planning something dastardly of his own for the time being.
The reason for this is simple: a long time ago, the Designer came to Gotham offering these four supervillains a chance to make their biggest, darkest dreams a reality. However, a dispute with Joker ended with the Designer believed dead. Now, the villain has returned to take his vengeance on the four people who betrayed him.
Or so we thought. In truth, there are only three people on his list. The fourth has actually joined forces with the Designer: Edward Nygma, aka the Riddler.
The Designer first visited Gotham when Batman had just begun his war on the criminal element of Gotham. Inviting Joker, Riddler, Catwoman and Penguin to his home, he offered to make them more powerful than ever by funding and enacting their wildest plans: Catwoman figured out how to steal the Wayne family fortune, Penguin had dreams of becoming mayor, Riddler wanted to concoct the wildest, most elaborate death traps to cripple the police force and Joker realized what sort of monster he could become. It’s Joker's realization that prompted the Designer to turn on the four villains, a confrontation that ended with his apparent death.
When the Designer later returned to Gotham in Batman #86, all four villains realized what trouble was coming for them. Riddler even reached out to Catwoman before they all found themselves under attack. The first glimpse at the Designer came via Nygma, who had secretly recorded the villain’s arrival in his lair -- but there was only video, no audio.
Ever since Batman found the video, Riddler hasn't been seen anywhere. It was assumed the Designer took him prisoner for whatever he planned next, but it turns out the truth is far more troubling. At the end of Batman #91, as the Dark Knight is finally about to face Deathstroke in battle, the Designer interrupts the two rivals to cancel Slade Wilson’s contract.
When Batman orders the Designer to put an end to his elaborate game, the Riddler then steps out of the dark, saying he hasn’t had a chance to have his fun yet -- therefore revealing himself as an ally to the Designer and not a target. This explains why there was no sound in Nygma’s video. He didn’t want Batman to hear him strike a deal with the villain in exchange for his life -- that is, if the Riddler/Designer team-up hasn’t been secretly going on for years. With characters as smart as they are, it’s impossible to know how long they have been planning their games.
The Designer is an expert tactician and planner with powerful means and deep pockets and he is incredibly smart. The Riddler is also highly intelligent and just as dangerous. Put those two together and you have, possibly, the most lethally dangerous duo imaginable. Together, there’s nothing they won’t be able to plan or prepare.
With Riddler seeming more unstable than ever before, now is the worst time to have him be at the Designer’s side. Thankfully, Batman also found an unexpected ally in Slade Wilson, but even the combined might of the Caped Crusader and the deadly Deathstroke may not be enough to save Gotham.