8 Mysteries Even Batman Couldn't Solve

Amongst the world of comic book heroes and villains, few people have as much intelligence and smarts as Batman.

For as long as there has been a Batman, there has been the character's World's Greatest Detective nickname. Heck, Bats even made his debut in the Detective Comics book, and he's long called that title his home in addition to any other Bat-books of the day.

To be referred to by that World's Greatest Detective mantle, to have someone as rich in knowledge as Ra's al Ghul refer to you as simply 'The Detective', that's all the evidence you should need to realise how much wisdom, great intuition and an entirely different level of thinking Bruce is operating on.

Time and time again, we've seen Batman break down a case or a crime scene in minute detail, finding pivotal pieces of key information that everyone else has missed. In terms of mankind, there isn't a human walking the Earth who can outsmart Bruce Wayne. Well, most of the time, at least.

While he's usually unflappable and unstoppable in solving every problem that comes his way, that's not to say that the Caped Crusader has worked out every mystery that he's ever dealt with. And on that front, here are eight such examples of those conundrums that not even Batman could solve.

"What's got wings that do not fly, arms that have no hands, and eyes that cannot see?"

That right there? That's the riddle that not even Batman could solve.

Taking place in The Batman Adventures #10's aptly-titled The Last Ridder Story, here we find a Riddler who's questioning his life choices. When his goons come to break him out of prison, Nygma tells them that the game is up, the run is over, and that he's done with being the Riddler.

After this mob plead with their boss, Eddie relents and decides to take one last try at getting one over the Caped Crusader. If he succeeds, he's back to a life of crime. If he fails, he's hanging up the bowler hat and cane for good.

Surprisingly, the Riddler manages to actually get the better of Batman here.

Sure, the Dark Knight is a little preoccupied with debuting villains Mastermind, Mr. Nice and the Perfesser, but the fact of the matter is that Batman was unable to solve Nygma's riddle in this tale. For those wondering, said riddle relates to a jewelled eagle that Riddler successfully steals.

While Batman couldn't solve the mystery of this riddle, he did manage to give a swift beating to Riddler after being tipped off by the Perfesser. Still, being locked up didn't ruin the spirits of E. Nygma, for he was ecstatic at Batman admitting Riddler had outsmarted him.