Summary
Matthew Gray Gubler, best known for portraying Dr. Spencer Reid inCriminal Minds, once played the most underrated version ofDC’s Riddler in the lesser-known movie,Batman: Assault on Arkham. The Riddler - real name Edward Nigma - is one of Batman’s most recognizable villains in an extensive rogues gallery. The character has appeared multiple times in live-action and animation, with Paul Dano recently delivering an edgier spin onthe Riddler inThe Batman. This portrayal kicked against the typical depiction of Riddler as a more playfully chaotic character as typified by the likes of Jim Carrey and Frank Gorshin.
Thanks to his infamy, Riddler has been one of the mostprolific Batman villains in cinema, alongside such cinematic stalwarts as Joker and Penguin. His live-action outings in both cinema and TV shows are significantly bolstered by his tenure inDC’s animated Batman moviesand beyond. Aside fromCriminal Minds, Gubler’s most prominent acting roles include Simon inAlvin and the Chipmunksand Paul in100 Days of Summer- but his tenure as Edward Nigma in an underrated Batman spinoff movie is criminally overlooked.
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Matthew Gray Gubler Played The Riddler In Assault On Arkham
Batman: Assault on Arkhamis an animated spinoff of the hugely successful Arkham video game series created by Rocksteady Games. It heavily features Task Force X, two years before they would debut in live-action in2016’s divisiveSuicide Squad,as well as The Riddler in a central role. Rather than being positioned as the movie’s main antagonist, however,Riddler is instead the target of Amanda Waller, who intends to kill the outlandish villain, ostensibly because he is too smart to be kept alive. To this end, Waller deploys the Suicide Squad to assassinate Riddler in Arkham Prison.
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Thanks to Riddler’s genius, he is able to convince the Suicide Squad to instead break him out of prison on the proviso that he disarms the bombs implanted in their necks. In the end, Riddler’s plan succeeds in one-upping Waller as he delivers on his promise and manages to escape Arkham ahead of the events of the Arkham video game series. Gubler’s portrayal of the chaotic genius is one of the best in his extensive animated history, cementing his proficiency in playing similar characters throughout his acting career.
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Why Assault On Arkham’s Riddler Is So Great
Matthew Gray Gubler’s portrayal ofDr. Spencer Reid draws many parallels with Riddler. Both boast brilliant minds and eccentric personalities while seemingly struggling with their own personality disorders. Their eccentricities also extend to a lack of empathy to various degrees, which is partly what makes Riddler such a sinister villain despite his otherwise playful persona. The parallels between the darkly criminal bases forBatman: Assault on ArkhamandCriminal Mindsare also hard to ignore.
Matthew Gray Gubler already had experience voicing DC characters after portraying Jimmy Olsen in 2011’s animated All-Star Superman.
The Riddler is a role that would unfortunately not be reprised in Gubler’s acting career. Short of reprisal in another animated series or Elseworlds movie, it also falls to theDCU’s version of Batmanto offer a live-action Riddler role to Gubler, though whether he will appear so soon after Dano took on the villain inThe Batmanlooks to be pretty unlikely. While largely overlooked,Batman: Assault on Arkham’stake on the Riddler is likely the last Gubler will be seen in the role, and should be enjoyed for its many merits.
Batman: Assault on Arkham
Cast
Based on DC Comics' universe, Batman: Assault on Arkham is an animated film directed by Jay Oliva and Ethan Spaulding. Set between the events of Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Asylum, the story follows the Suicide Squad, a team of criminals assembled by Amanda Waller, as they infiltrate Arkham Asylum to retrieve vital information. Batman becomes involved, posing a significant challenge to both the criminals and their government handlers.
