The Batman | Did Riddler know Bruce Wayne is Batman | Explained

Like ?

Join our movie club to get similar movie recommendations and stories delivered to your inbox every Friday.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

We hate bad email too, so we don’t send it or share your email with anyone.

Reader Interactions

Discussion

  1. He does know, he saw how Batman look at the security camera as exposing him and he changed how he was saying it as to keep this knowledge to himself. He is, after all, an egomaniac

  2. Woosh

  3. In The Dark Knight, The joker also never knew that Bruce Wayne was batman. Even without knowing that, he destroyed Bruce’s life indirectly by killing Rachel, Harvey Dent’s fiance. So, that makes 2 batman movies where the villain despite being smart, does not know batman’s true identity.

  4. “First, when Riddler sends that letter to Wayne Tower. It’s addressed to Bruce Wayne but inside is a letter to Batman. ”

    Nope. The bomb was for Wayne and the letter for the Batman afterwards (letter was fireproof!), since he always left a letter for Batman at the crime scene. This is just another indicator, that he doesn’t know that Wayne is Batman. You’re clearly reading this wrong.

    “I know who you really are.”

    Refers to Thomas Waynes sins and past with Falcone. Crime has become part of the Wayne family and also Bruces identity.

    • Yo. I’m afraid there’s been a misunderstanding.

      I was saying the movie did things to trick viewers into thinking Riddler knew Batman’s identity. Like the bomb/letter.

      Later in the article, I wrote: “Well, every murder Riddler committed involved a letter to Batman. So the package sent to Bruce Wayne also having a letter to Batman isn’t anything special, even if it seemed indicative at the time (especially due to Alfred’s reaction).”

      I wasn’t reading anything wrong.

  5. If the Riddler knows Bruce Wayne is Batman then why did he send the bomb to Bruce Wayne, with the protected letter to Batman, meaning he expected it to explode? Do you think Riddler was just trying to kill Alfred or something?

  6. You missed another clue that the makers of The Batman clearly wanted to convey the Riddler doesn’t know Bruce Wayne is The Batman. Specifically, when he refers to Bruce Wayne as “he” and Batman visibly relaxes, the *MUSIC* also relaxes changes. Go watch it again.

    • I wrote the article right after seeing the movie in theaters. I definitely caught the music relax. Just didn’t remember at the time to put it in the article. But you’re absolutely right that it’s a key part.

  7. Thanks for the write-up! Unfortunately, it seems that a few commenters misread your views entirely!
    Excellent observations though! The jail scene was way too subtle for most viewers to interpret correctly. But as you said, the letter to the Batman in the fireproof envelope alongside the bomb clearly shows that the Riddler did not know Batman’s true identity. (Unless for some reason he wanted to kill Bruce Wayne and Batman and keep the secret identity to himself.??) Regardless, thanks for the insights!

    • Hey Kate! Yeah, it’s unfortunate that the misreadings happen but they’re unavoidable. And to be fair to the viewers, I think the movie wanted people to think Riddler knew. So it purposefully builds up this idea. And then only subtly rejects it. So it’s ripe for confusion. Which is nice for us and what we do! But can lead to some sigh-inducing comments.

Write a response