Did ‘The Penguin’ just tease The Riddler’s plans for ‘The Batman 2’?
The Penguin might only have one episode out right now, but it’s already dropped a juicy hint about Riddler’s plans come The Batman 2.
The spinoff series picks up directly after Matt Reeves’ The Batman. With Gotham still recovering from the flood caused by Riddler (Paul Dano), Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb finds opportunity in the chaos. By pitting the Falcones against the Maronis, he hopes to seize power for himself and climb the ranks of Gotham’s dwindling mob circuit. As the title implies, The Penguin is very much about Oz, meaning we haven’t received much information about Riddler aside from a sneaky little Easter egg.
In Episode 1, Oz brings his hostage-turned-assistant Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) to visit his mother, Francis (Deirdre O’Connell). The trip entails a train ride where Oz encounters a kid handing out flyers with “Gotham’s True Face” printed across the front. Looking close reveals a QR code on the flyer, which brings you to rataalada.com. There, you can witness an interaction between three anonymous users: Cl0ckbreak3r, xxREIGNITINxx, and DETERMINATOR, which reads as follows:
Cl0ckbreak3r: What’s been put in motion can’t be stopped.
xxREIGNITINxx: Arkham’s releasing patients and Blackgate is a mess… no one’s really a prisoner in there. Not even our old pal Sal Maroni.
HOLDTHELINE81: People say they want the truth but they shield their eyes when we shine the light.
DETERMINATOR: Let’s make sure they’re not blinded again to the corruption, the killings, the Falcone power grab…
HOLDTHELINE81: We start in the streets. Tonight at 9pm. Meet at the metro outside Crown Point.
Cl0ckbreak3r: Done and done. The revolution is just getting started.
Used in marketing for The Batman, the Rataalada website has a pre-standing connection to Riddler, aka Edward Nashton, who also used it in-universe as a platform for broadcasting his plans and public executions. The Batman ended with Nashton thrown in Arkham. However, as the transcript says, “No one’s really a prisoner in there.”
This has led many fans to believe Riddler will make a return in The Batman 2. Whether his followers break him out or Riddler escapes himself is yet to be seen. However, there’s a good chance Riddler might bring a fellow Arkham resident with him. And Joker seems like the most likely option.
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