What Is Reality?

The Riddler makes his return in the 48th-produced episode of Batman: The Animated Series. "What Is Reality?" was the 45th-aired episode on Nov. 24, 1992.

I really liked the overall premise of this episode, especially the beginning with the Riddler hacking into computers all around the world and erasing his existence from history. What better way to protect your identity than to eliminate it? It's also fun to see a villain use technology to further his nefarious purposes. Plus one point.

Now, after praising the Riddler for being innovative, I have to criticize him for a poor judgment on his part. Ultimately, he wanted to lure Batman into his virtual reality where the two could battle wits with real hostages on the line. The hostage he chose was Commissioner Gordon, but he just as easily could have had Robin as well. Yes, he only had two VR helmets for that computer, but he could have given the police three or four. It was just a wasted opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. We're back to an average 5.

But I will add a point for the clever riddles through the episode, and having Alfred help solve some of them was pretty fun, too. One of my favorite riddles led to a train coming out of a fireplace, similar to a famous painting by Rene Magritte. (Yes, I had to look up his name, but I remembered seeing it in one of my art classes.)

Sadly that is where the praise for this episode ends. I understand why they made everything red in the virtual reality world, but I got sick and tired of being in it for so long. It then made me think that if Riddler was so smart, why couldn't he create a world with colors?

And I'll take another point off for the ending. It was quite unhappy and even unsettling to leave Riddler trapped in the virtual reality. Of course, we will see him again later, and naturally they won't explain or reference how he got out. Quite a shame how these Riddler episodes just couldn't live up to their potential.

Final score: 4