If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?

I'm surprised it took this long, but we finally got to the first appearance of the Riddler. Better late than never, I guess. "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" was the 40th episode produced and 41st aired on Nov. 18, 1992.

This episode did a really good job of showing Robin act like a teenager. I love the fact that he would use the massive Batcomputer to play video games. Which teenager in the world wouldn't do that? I also liked the little detail of having him slouch in his seat in the Batmobile and prop his feet up on the dashboard. I love it when the animators take just a little extra time to draw something like that, which says so much about the character. I'll add a point for that.

But now that I've just praised the animators, I'm going to have to take a point off for their overall general sloppiness throughout the episode as a whole. One part that really bugged me was when the Riddler's ring puzzle somehow became handcuffs off screen. How was that even possible? The colorists also kept forgetting that the Riddler's mask and gloves were supposed to be purple, not gray.

But speaking of the Riddler, I am going to add a point for his design. As a man who uses his intellect to commit crimes, it makes much more sense for him to wear a simple suit and hat instead of dressing in bright green tights covered in question marks. Whenever I think of the Riddler, I think of this version. And it's not just his looks — his voice and his calm, collected manner also perfectly match his skills and abilities.

I'll bring the score up to a 7 for the riddles and maze in the episode. I thought they were all pretty interesting and solved in a logical manner. It was also great to see that Batman couldn't solve all them himself, but needed Robin's help. I almost think this could have been a good two-parter, but maybe the riddles and maze would have become redundant after a while.

However, I wasn't too happy with the ending. Batman did cheat to get to the center of the maze, which seemed too quick and convenient. And instead of having a nice fight with the Minotaur, Batman gave Riddler his own riddle: "How do you take out a minotaur with a single blow?" He then did just that with the giant Hand of Fate he took over. Not only did Batman prevent what could have been a cool fight, but he delivered a really stupid line that in no way could be considered a real riddle. What a pathetic climax. The score's now a 6.

But I was happy with the fact that the Riddler did escape long before Batman had a chance to look for him, and that we saw what happened to Mockridge afterward. Yes, Mockridge was a rather cliche corrupt businessman, but through his story, we finally got to see a little into the effects of being kidnapped by a super villain. I mean, if the Riddler or the Joker or one of those guys kidnapped you and almost killed you, you'd be pretty messed up for a while, I'd imagine. So for that redeeming ending, I'll add back one point.

Final score: 7