WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Catwoman #28 by Ram V, Fernando Blanco, Jordie Bellaire & Tom Napolitano, on sale now
There’s a certain number of classic Batman rogues who’ve lasted for decades as the most memorable enemies of the Dark Knight. But even that fame can’t keep them safe forever, with one of them suffering what could potentially be a fatal injury.
While being saved from assassination by Catwoman, the Riddler just took a sniper bullet to the back, leaving him seriously wounded and bleeding out during their escape in Catwoman #28. And now, the Riddler could very well be in the fight of his life.
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Post-“Joker War,” Gotham City is still picking itself up. Many new faces have been making waves in the city, such as the assassins Wight Witch and Father Valley. The Wight Witch has been sent to deal with Edward Nygma, with her newly gained superpowers making it easy for her to chase down and deal with Riddler. Luckily for Nygma, Catwoman was looking to speak with him about a potential connection he has to drugs coming into the city. Catwoman and the Wight Witch are able to hold each other at bay long enough for Riddler to get back on his feet and drop a bookcase on the Wight Witch, giving the two classic Batman rogues the chance to escape. But even as they make their way away and into the Gotham River, a bullet fired from the rooftops by the mysterious Father Valley strikes Riddler in the back.
Although the two villains are able to escape the police and the assassins, upon reaching the shore Riddler can only sputter out that Poison Ivy is being used to produce the drugs before revealing that he’s been shot — and is bleeding profusely out on the beach. It’s a brutal injury for the nominally human villain, and if not taken care of properly it could prove fatal. While that may initially appear to be an unlikely fate for the Riddler, it’s important to remember that the face of crime in Gotham is changing — especially as events seem to be moving closer and closer to the Gotham of Future State. Catching the Riddler by surprise and killing him could, like the destruction of Arkham Asylum, push Gotham City to become a far different place.
Even if the injury isn’t fatal, this could at the very least sideline the Riddler following his small role in “Joker War,” if not remove him from play in Gotham for a time. It might be the best time for Riddler to leave the game too, granted he survives this injury. The fates of villains like Mad Hatter and the Penguin in Future State suggest that the old guard of villains aren’t safe from the chaos that’s coming for Gotham, and the Riddler would likely also be at risk. Even Bane has seemingly been killed in the modern-day, suggesting no one is truly safe in Gotham City.
Or perhaps, like Jonathan Crane, Riddler could actually find a place within the Magistrate hierarchy — giving him the chance to thrive in the potential future of Gotham, even outside of his criminal experience. If he were to die from this injury, it would explain why Riddler wasn’t a prominent figure in the Future State era. It’ll be interesting to see what the brilliant bad guy does next — or if he even gets the chance, considering the grave injury he has suffered.