8 Worst Things The Riddler Has Ever Done

7. Forces Batman To Electrocute Himself

The Riddler Hush
DC Comics

With the year-long Zero Year tale, writers Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV did their best to tell Batman’s origin in a way that felt fresh yet respectful to what fans have come to know and love about the Caped Crusader.

Consisting of three key acts, Zero Year saw Bruce Wayne returning to Gotham City after an absence that was so long, he was officially declared dead. As Bruce begins to take his steps to becoming the Dark Knight, the final arc of this all-encompassing story was titled Savage City and saw the rookie Batman faced with The Riddler. And not the chuckle-heavy, cringe-inducing Riddler, but one who is vicious and sinister.

Here in Savage City, Edward Nygma concocts a scheme that means Batman has to allow himself to be electrocuted in order to save Gotham City. With a flooded Gotham’s power out and with the military prepared to level the city with an airstrike, the final strand of The Riddler’s masterplan finds Bats with no other choice but to attach himself to an electrode in the hope that his heart and pulse can reenergise Gotham’s power and stop the city from being wiped out.

Thankfully, Bruce’s ticker is up to the task, yet it was touch and go there for a minute.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.