The Batman: Fans Claim To Solve Riddler’s Riddle in the Trailer

JB Augustine |

Aug 26, 2020

The Batman’s first trailer debuted at DC FanDome and it came with a puzzle from Gotham’s most supercilious intellectual, The Riddler (Paul Dano).

The riddle, complete with code, was “What does a liar do when he’s dead?” Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) gave it to Batman during the investigation of a murder scene.

Written inside a Halloween card meant for Batman, Gordon asks if the message accompanying it – “Haven’t a clue. Let’s play a game. Just me and you” – means anything to the Dark Knight.

Neither of them solves it in the trailer but some clever fans did. One on Reddit figured out the answer: “He lies still.”

The Redditor discovered the symbols at the bottom are the code, a pattern that decodes into numerals deciphering into the hidden message. When symbols repeat it’s a consonant, 4 and 2 make vowels, and so on.

Below is the alleged cracked code.

If you get it, the answer has a double meaning: a deadman lies still but, in this case, he continues to tell lies after death. What he’s lying about is the mystery.

Riddler’s victim is thought to have some connection to The Mayor. An election is part of the story so the mystery may center around one or both.

Some think it might be connected to the secretive Court of Owls who controls everything in Gotham. Riddler’s card – that has an owl on it – could be dropping a hint.

Then later in the trailer, Riddler or someone says in a voice-over Batman’s “a part of this too,” leading him to respond, “How am I a part of this?”

“You’ll see,” answers the creepy voice.

It could be the Waynes are tied to the corruption in Gotham and possibly the Court itself. In the comics, that isn’t quite the case.

The Waynes are one of the city’s elite families but they never joined the Owls and were often at odds with them for generations. They killed Bruce’s great-grandfather, Alan, and took over buildings established by the Alan Wayne Trust.

Lincoln March, one of their members and raised as an orphan, believed he was Thomas Wayne, Jr., but this proved to be a trick by the shadowy organization.

In the end, the Court of Owls could be responsible for Gotham’s corruption in The Batman and the death of Bruce’s parents. Riddler might be trying to expose this in his idiosyncratic way or trying to uproot how Bruce views his family legacy.

Time will tell. The Batman releases in theaters next year on Oct. 1st.

What do you think of the riddle? Is it teasing the Court of Owls? Comment with your thoughts.