Planning is one of the premier villainous virtues. Villains plan a lot. Obsessively. Elaborately.
The patron villain of planning? Why, the Riddler, of course. One of the many reasons we adore him!
"With my usual foresightedness, I deposited a large amount of cash with a bondsman--who will put it up as security for my bail! It won't be long till I get out of your jail-cell -- free once again to go about my business!"
The Riddler, "The Riddler's Prison-Puzzle Problem"
Another reason to love the Riddler is that he can start a sentence with the phrase "with my usual foresightedness...."
Oh, sure; snicker at the Riddler all you want...but he's still the guy who deduced who Batman was. Because he is a master planner, the Riddler remains vital decades after hundreds of would-be world-despots, deformed psychos, and criminal kingpins started their permanent dirt-naps.
Other villains get caught because they're stupid and leave clues accidently; the Riddler gets caught because he's smart and leaves clues on purpose.
Plus, the Riddler--out of all villains, past and present--seems to be the only one with a passable grasp of the basics of our legal system and how to use it to his advantage, as any common mugger would do.
Plus, he wears a lime green suit emblazoned with black question marks and a matching derby, and looks incredibly cool while doing so. Well, until he strips down to his PJs, anyway.
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