The Batman: 10 Ways The Riddler Parallels Batman

10. They Are Both Voyeurs

In a loving homage to the opening of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, The Batman starts similarly with a bird’s-eye view camera observing people, implying that it is a POV of a man stalking people through a scope or binoculars.

There is a creepy vibe as we hear the breathing of the man observing, and his eyes wander through a window of a happy family. The stalker is revealed to be The Riddler, and he is stalking the family because he wanted a chance to be alone with the patriarch of the family to kill him.

Later in the movie, as Batman is curious about Selina Kyle’s involvement in a crime, he follows her to her home. He similarly uses binoculars to spy on her through her window to get some answers.

As the audience, all we see is Batman being Batman, but if we come to think about it, this is the behavior of a stalker, and not far off exactly what The Riddler was doing in the opening.