The original Saw movie is one of the most influential horror movies ever made. James Wan's Jigsaw killer creates absolutely sadistic and elaborate machinations for his victims to try and get out of. In Matt Reeves' highly anticipated film The Batman, the primary antagonist, the Riddler, appears to take some influence from Jigsaw. So, let's find out what James Wan's classic horror movie villain can tell us about the latest big-screen interpretation of Riddler.
DC Fan Dome 2020 treated fans to a gritty and mysterious first look at Paul Dano's Riddler. What fans saw was a take on the classic Batman villain that was never seen before. Over the course of the last 12 months, more information and footage of Dano's Riddler has been released. Now confirmed multiple times by Reeves, Riddler is a serial killer who is brutally killing corrupt Gotham people in power in a very public way.
Now, enter Jigsaw, a serial killer who also kills people in various creative and sadistic ways. Jigsaw's interactive way of killing his victims primarily involves elaborate contraptions and traps. These contraptions, and what he has his victims do with them, provide potential answers about the Riddler.
Jigsaw's reverse bear trap in the first movie is arguably the most iconic in the Saw series. It is more or less a bomb strapped to Amanda, the victim who managed to survive the infamous device. In the flashback scene where Amanda talks about her experience with Jigsaw, there is a timer running once she begins her escape attempt to find the key to disarm the trap. All this happens as Jigsaw is watching carefully.
As to how this relates to The Batman, Riddler is also a creative and practical serial killer. In The Batman's teaser trailer, District Attorney Gil Colson has an explosive collar device secured to him, as well as a phone and an envelope addressed to Batman. This gives ample evidence to suggest that Riddler is not shy about giving his victims a public and messy death. It also reveals that Edward Nashton, like Jigsaw, seems to enjoy making his victims have some sort of hands-on participation in their demise. That is proven when Riddler has DA Colson drive a car into a crowded cathedral and crash in the trailer.
Another important characteristic to consider about Jigsaw is that he made all of his traps escapable. It was always extremely difficult, but as Amanda demonstrated, not impossible. As for Riddler in The Batman, it seems like the chances of that being the case are situational on each victim. The more corrupt the victim is, perhaps the fewer chances there are of Riddler giving them a chance to free themselves. At the same time, he is the Riddler, and there's always the chance he could reward the victim for solving his conundrums.
Another thing that Jigsaw can tell us about the Riddler has to do with communication and patience. In the Saw movies, Jigsaw communicates with his victims via Billy the Puppet and webcams. While he does this mainly to talk with his victims one on one, it raises an interesting question about Edward Nashton. In the main trailer, a brief news broadcast shows Riddler live streaming. This may indicate that Riddler not only wants to communicate with his victims but also with Gotham City.
Riddler wants to punish the corrupt officials of Gotham and does so in a way to send a message. Perhaps these live streams will be the avenue for which he announces his public plans, much as Jigsaw did in Saw. He could also have a library of pre-recorded videos to use, which also makes sense considering that he will be in prison at some point in the film. If he is going to execute his big plans from inside a cell, that definitely gives an indication that he is a very patient man.
Considering that Jigsaw was able to keep playing his game even after he died in the third Saw movie, it is genuinely feasible that Riddler could pull off his plans from prison. Knowing that he broadcasts to Gotham City, it is not a stretch to think that Nashton gained some sort of following of people who are loyal to his cause of punishing Gotham's corrupt officials. With that theoretical manpower, he could have his followers do his bidding by abducting people, broadcasting pre-recorded videos, planting riddles, bombs, traps and more.
Ultimately, there is still a lot about Dano's Riddler that is unknown. What Jigsaw reveals is that Edward Nashton is quite similar to him in a number of ways. He is extremely sadistic but creative. Lastly, he is patient and will push his pursuers to their absolute limit.
To see if Riddler follows in Jigsaw's footsteps, The Batman hits theaters March 4, 2022.