How Batman: Revolution Will Finally Bring the Riddler to the Gotham of Batman ’89
For the novel Batman: Revolution, Batman: Resurrection author John Jackson Miller is putting his own spin on a movie villain who never fought Michael Keaton's Dark Knight.
This article contains spoilers for Batman: Resurrection.
When writer John Jackson Miller was tasked with writing a direct sequel to 1989’s Batman, he had some specific guidelines to follow. His book Batman: Resurrection could not go past 1992’s Batman Returns, nor could it conflict with the comic book series Batman ’89, written by the original film’s screenwriter Sam Hamm and penciled by Joe Quinones.
In an exclusive interview with Den of Geek magazine, Miller explained that those limitations made for some interesting story decisions. “You know, technology is only at a certain level and only certain people have it,” he says. “The more fantastical things that you would see in the [Joel] Schumacher movies are not here. So there’s no mind reading or any of that stuff.”
That last line is particularly interesting, given the way that Batman: Resurrection ends. Throughout the book, a mysterious letter writer sends puzzles to the Gotham Gazette and to Bruce Wayne. “I think we can say one thing for sure,” thinks Alfred in the book’s final line, “Whoever this is seems to like riddles.”
Yes, the Riddler is coming to Gotham in a Resurrection sequel titled Batman: Revolution, as revealed by Miller on Twitter. And when the Riddler’s involved, questions are sure to follow—not just for the citizens, but for readers as well.
My next novel, BATMAN: REVOLUTION releases from @DelReyBooks in the fall of 2025! The sequel to BATMAN: RESURRECTION, it's my second novel set between BATMAN and BATMAN RETURNS.
— John Jackson Miller 🔜 NYCC Writers Block Table 1 (@jjmfaraway) October 15, 2024
Return to Gotham City today with #Batman RESURRECTION — and continue the ride in '25 with REVOLUTION! pic.twitter.com/GQP4KdXloi
For most of Batman: Resurrection, Miller stays within the worlds established by director Tim Burton and the screenwriters Sam Hamm, Warren Skaaren, and Daniel Waters. Batman still has the weirdo energy that Michael Keaton brought to the character, Alexander Knox is still a pro reporter for the Gotham Gazette, and Max Shreck is still one for most powerful men in the city.
Even when Miller adds characters from Batman lore, he stays within the confines of the movies’ vision. In Miller’s telling, put-upon actor Basil Karlo gets shapeshifting Clayface powers after interacting with a strain of Smylex that the Joker unleashed in the first movie. Likewise, Dr. Hugo Strange enters the story by masquerading as a kind scientist, whose expertise helps him treat Smylex victims. While manipulating details to make Batman think the Joker still lives, Strange studies the victims to create his Monster Men.
Interestingly enough, after Burton’s time in Gotham came Batman Forever, which introduced viewers to Edward Nygma, a Wayne Industries employee who hopes that his mind-reading device will impress his hero Bruce Wayne. When Wayne turns him down, Nygma snaps and becomes the Riddler, a role that gave ’90s Jim Carrey the opportunity to chew all of the scenery of a more neon-lit and extravagant Gotham.
Batman Forever and its sequel Batman & Robin feature different men behind the mask, first Val Kilmer and then George Clooney, and a different man behind the camera, with Joel Schumacher stepping in for Burton. And yet, despite the changes in cast and tone, most people assume a continuity between all four films, in part because Alfred Gough and Pat Hingle stick around as Alfred and Commissioner Gordon, respectively.
But Miller tells Den of Geek that his books operate like “a Batman 1.5 movie,” which keeps him from going into Schumacher territory. That restriction allows Miller to craft his own version of Riddler, free from Carrey’s over the top take. However, because he’s staying in the late 1980s and early ’90s, Miller also doesn’t have to worry about stepping on The Batman‘s toes. In that movie, the Riddler had connections to a newspaper reporter, but operated more like a right-wing internet commenter than he does the paper-and-ink crusader that Miller describes.
So what will this version of the Riddler look like? Miller isn’t ready to tell, for a very good reason. “I’m still working on it!” he confessed to Den of Geek back in September. Sounds like one thing is clear: no matter which universe he’s in, the Riddler will always be a mystery.
Batman: Resurrection is available in bookstores now. Batman: Revolution releases in Fall 2025.
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Joe George’s writing has appeared at Slate, Polygon, Tor.com, and elsewhere!