WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Batman, now playing in theaters.
The Batman’s big showdown with The Riddler is something you’ve seen before. While it’s well done, it’s also familiar to anyone who has seen a blockbuster in the last decade or so. The villain showing how dangerous he truly is even while he’s incarcerated is a trope that’s been used by villains from The Avengers‘ Loki to The Dark Knight’s Joker, to name two prime examples.
Beyond being straight out of the cinematic supervillain playbook, Batman and The Riddler’s face-off in Arkham will be familiar to members of a fandom that’s used to its favorite show being ahead of the curve. The way The Riddler takes Batman down a peg is reminiscent of an episode of The Simpsons.
When Batman finally meets The Riddler, his adversary lays all of his cards on the table. The unmasked Edward Nashton confirms that he knows Batman is Bruce Wayne. They weren’t childhood friends, or even acquaintances, but Nashton was aware of Gotham’s most famous son. Not only that, he was jealous that Bruce got to soothe the trauma of his parents’ murder with all of the money he inherited. He all but calls Batman a poor little rich boy. It’s a different take on the inciting trauma that created Batman, but it makes perfect sense from Nashton’s perspective. He had to navigate his childhood trauma without a fortune or a father figure like Alfred.
Nashton casually causes Bruce Wayne, and the audience, to reconsider how sees himself and the reason behind his mission. In this sense The Batman acknowledges Bruce Wayne’s privilege in a way that other incarnations haven’t. It will also find a sympathetic ear in viewers who don’t care for Bruce’s emo teenager energy.
That deconstruction of the main character is reminiscent of “Homer’s Enemy.” It’s an episode of The Simpsons that is either beloved or despised, depending on who you talk to. Some consider it a hilarious takedown of Homer’s more ridiculous adventures, like the time he became an astronaut, and “jerkass” tendencies that became more pronounced as the show went on. Others consider it the point where The Simpsons began a steep decline from its golden age.
Homer’s titular adversary is Frank Grimes, a man with a comically hard-luck life story, including a childhood job where he delivered toys to more fortunate children. Mr. Burns is so moved by a human interest story about Grimes on the news that he hires him immediately. Unfortunately for Grimes, the cartoonishly villainous billionaire quickly loses interest when a heroic dog catches his eye.
Hidden away in Sector 7-G, the straightlaced Grimes takes an instant dislike to his most boorish co-worker, Homer Simpson. Grimes is flummoxed by how nonchalant his co-workers are about Homer’s gross incompetence. After saving Homer from drinking a beaker of acid leads to a pay cut from Burns, Grimes ever-simmering anger boils over and he declares himself Homer’s enemy.
Not used to someone not finding his oafishness charming, Homer attempts to win Grimes over by having him over for dinner. That only makes things worse. Grimes is dumbfounded by Homer’s massive home, especially given that he lives in an apartment above one bowling alley and below another. Mementos of Homer’s adventures further enrage Grimes, with Homer’s Grammy Award causing him to reach his breaking point. Grimes shows a libertarian streak by saying that Homer leaches off hard-working people like him. His declaration that Homer would be dead if he lived anywhere but America is so convincing that Bart Simpson declares “He’s got you there, dad.”
As devastating as Grimes’ takedown of Homer is in the short term, it doesn’t amount to much. Grimes’ Homer Derangement Syndrome has fatal consequences. After his attempt to turn his co-workers against Homer only makes him more beloved, Grimes has a mental breakdown. After declaring himself the new Homer, his tirade leads him to grab some high voltage wires without safety gloves like the real Homer would, killing him instantly.
Grimes and The Riddler both make effective commentary about the protagonists of their universes. In the end, neither of them achieves their goals. In Nashton’s case, Batman rejects his offer of friendship and stops his ultimate plan. Grimes is driven insane by how Homer’s good fortune mocks the idea of meritocracy that got him through life. In a final indignity, Homer sleeps through Grimes’ funeral, getting a big laugh from the rest of the supposed mourners. It’s a fate far worse than Nashton’s, who lived through his defeat. He even made a friend in the process.
To see if there’s anything else in Gotham The Simpsons did first, catch The Batman, in theaters now.
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