3. The Mastermind Behind Gotham's Destruction...The Riddler!
As well as being a defining new chapter in the storied history of Batman, 'Zero Year' will go down as one of the defining Riddler stories, as well. Edward Nygma is a character that is much beloved by fans and is very well known in the mainstream, but his history in the comic books is a tad...underwhelming. He's just never been up there with The Joker's or Two-Face's of this world, and has generally been seen as a B-List villain. In fact, he has often been used as a supporting character, rather than the main antagonist of a story, and these tended to be the times he was best utilised. For example, in Paul Dini's 2006 Detective Comics run, Riddler was repositioned as a private detective, using his incredibly high intellect to solve the murder of a rich socialite. When it was announced that Riddler would be the main villain of Zero Year, a lot of fans were sceptical, but after finishing the story it is obvious that Scott Snyder has done a world of good for the character. This new Riddler is the advisor of Bruce Wayne's Uncle Philip, so has a connection to Wayne Enterprises and the Wayne Family. Whenever it is revealed that he is the man behind the curtain and Dr Death has been doing his bidding, Riddler enacts his masterplan, plunging Gotham into darkness, flooding the city and using Pamela Isley's research to turn Gotham into an overgrown wasteland. He then becomes the ruler of the city, appearing on large screens to challenge the lowly citizens to try and beat him in a battle of wits - if they can tell a Riddle that he can't solve, he will release the city from his grip. This vision of Riddler has the same huge ego and intellect as before, but he is now much more dangerous and cut-throat, and clearly with grander ambition. Let's hope DC doesn't take a leaf out of their usual playbook and retcon this new Riddler any time soon, as they previously did after the 'Hush' storyline and the previously mentioned Paul Dini run.
