The Riddler: Year One reveals new details about the main villain of The Batman.
Written by Riddler actor Paul Dano with art by Stevan Subic, The Riddler: Year One is a prequel comic series set prior to Matt Reeves' hit film, focusing on Edward Nashton before he evolved into the puzzling antagonist. A preview for the title's debut issue delves into Edward's psyche, his inner thoughts about Gotham City and his job as a forensic accountant.
The Riddler: Year One Expands Upon The Batman's Prequel Novel
A month before The Batman released in theaters on March 4, 2022, fans were able to pick up a copy of author David Lewman and Random House's Before the Batman: An Original Movie Novel. The book first revealed Nashton's accounting background, along with his origin as an orphan that grew up in Wayne Manor after it had been turned into an orphanage by the Wayne Family. The upcoming issue provides a closer look into how Nashton felt about his job and place in the city.
The preview appears to open with Nashton having a panic attack at his desk, before calming himself down and diving into the spreadsheets in front of him. His case leader, Zach, then asks Nashton if he has finished up one particular account, and Edward's inner dialogue questions why he answers to a supervisor that has less experience in the office than himself, attributing the possible reasons to "a fancy degree" or "a daddy in high places," before saying to himself, "Maybe I should just let my flaccid corpse slip down into a sewer." The moment reveals that the nickname given to Nashton by his supervisor is "Rain Man," a reference to the 1988 film Rain Man starring actors Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.
The Batman's Riddler Is Scared and Disgusted by Gotham City
As for how Nashton views Gotham, he is seen listening to a self-help podcast hosted by Rene Rouge, telling the listener, "You are in charge of your life. Shift your focus. What you focus on is what you create." Nashton wonders how he can shift his focus in Gotham, saying that the city both "scares" and "disgusts" him as he sees different kinds of citizens, from people stuck on their phones to the homeless, drug dealers and beyond. The final question Nashton asks himself is why he finds it so hard to be happy when it is easier for others.
THE RIDDLER: YEAR ONE #1
- Written by PAUL DANO
- Art by STEVAN SUBIC
- Covers by BILL SIENKIEWICZ
- Variant covers by JIM LEE and STEVAN SUBIC
- 1:25 variant cover by GREG RUTH
- 1:50 variant cover by TULA LOTAY
- 1:100 variant cover by KOUTA SASAI
- 1:250 variant cover by JIM LEE
- $4.99 US | 32 pages | 1 of 6 | (All covers card stock)
- ON SALE 10/25/22
- As depicted in Matt Reeves’s hit movie The Batman, the Riddler wasn’t simply an amusing eccentric with an affinity for wordplay and baffling clues, but as terrifying a villain as any in the annals of the Dark Knight. Here you can see Edward Nashton evolve into the menace known as the Riddler. How did an unknown forensic accountant uncover the dark secrets of Gotham’s underworld and come so close to bringing down the entire city? This six-issue miniseries is an immediate prequel to The Batman—the detailed, disturbing, and at times shocking story of a man with nothing to lose.
- Artist Stevan Subic makes his American comics debut, including a variant cover that is the first of six interlocking covers. This collaboration with Dano delivers a shadowy and gritty tale of a society’s forgotten man who refuses to go unnoticed any longer. Subic’s recent Conan the Cimmerian for French publisher Glénat has brought him great acclaim in Europe, and he’s about to break out globally with a Batman series unlike any you’ve seen before.
The Riddler: Year One #1 is written by Dano with art by Subic, letters by Clayton Cowles and main cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz. Variant cover artwork for the issue is contributed to by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, Subic, Greg Ruth, Tula Lotay and Kouta Sasai. The issue goes on sale Oct. 25 from DC Comics.
Source: DC Comics