The Batman Ending Explained: What Happened With Riddler? Who Was The Prisoner of Arkham? Where is The Penguin

This week The Batman finally arrived, a new movie of the historic DC superhero and this time it is brought to the screen by director Matt Reeves and played by Robert Pattinson, who plays Bruce Waye/Batman. The most detective version is seen in these almost three hours of film in which we have a dark bat man facing an enigmatic The Riddler (Paul Dano).

Accompanied by Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) and policeman Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), Batman presents a new version on the big screen and those who have been able to see the tape have been amazed at a modern version of the dark knight. And along the same lines, this detective crime in which The Batman is involved, as it was revealed in the trailers, has a remarkable and interesting twist and that we explain here, where you can also read our spoiler-free review. in case you haven’t seen The Batman yet.

The Batman Ending Explained: What Happens in Ending?

Those who have already been able to see The Batman will have already noticed a large part of the plot, but here we give you a mini summary before explaining the ending. A two-year-old Batman taking to the streets is invited by his police friend Jim Gordon to an assassination, that of the current mayor of Gotham. With a series of puzzles, Batman and Gordon begin their search for the killer, who then introduces himself as The Riddler.

This villain comes to confront and end the lives of several politicians, justifying himself in the rottenness of the system and in a dark secret that is under the city. Little by little, Batman begins to solve the enigma, and with the help of Selina Kyle and Gordon, he discovers that even his parents are involved in a network of lies managed by the mobster Carmine Falcone, who thanks to his power in organized crime, is owner of practically all of Gotham.

What Was The Riddler’s Ulterior Motive?

The goal of The Riddler was to end the lies and give a lesson not only to the corrupt public figures of the city, but also to cause chaos in Gotham with his followers. But it was not only the hatred of The Riddler’s corruption, but also something personal.

It all starts with the foundation of Wayne Enterprises and the resources of millions of dollars for the orphanage and charity. With Wayne’s death, that foundation was taken over by the mob and used as a fund of money to do their business, which left this orphanage without resources, where The Riddler lived when he was little.

Let us remember that it is discovered that Bruce’s father tried to bribe a journalist to hide the tragic life of his wife Martha, who had mental problems and was an Arkham, known villain prison. Failing to do so and desperate for his wife to be harmed, as Alfred (Andy Serkis) explains; he asks Carmine Falcone for help to intimidate this journalist.

But everything gets out of hand, as Falcone takes advantage and kills the subject. Now knowing a dark secret about Thomas Wayne, he himself threatens to go to the police. Although not confirmed, Alfred believed that Falcone had the Waynes killed. In the end, all the corruption and that began with what Wayne did for his wife, ended in the misfortune of The Riddler, who grew up with traumas and psychological problems, which he calmed down in some way seeing that he had the power of revenge in the city.

The corruption left the villain without a worthy childhood, which triggered his anger and madness. This is why he kills the mayor, the police commissioner and the prosecutor, all part of this web of lies that worked for Falcone. Also, he discovers the identity of Batman.

Although The Riddler is captured, he leaves instructions for his followers to give Gotham City one last blow, but Batman, with the help of Selina and Gordon, manages to confront her and save many people, including the new mayor.

What Happens At The End Of The Batman?

In the end we have a flooded city, but Batman intends to continue helping despite the fact that after Falcone’s death by The Riddler, organized crime now has no leader and will be unleashed. Meanwhile, Selina and Batman say goodbye after she decides to leave town, where they part ways in an emotional final image. As for The Riddler, he is sorry for not achieving his goal of destroying the city, but a mysterious character appears in the cell next to him, whom you can learn more about.

What Happed With Cat Woman?

Selina Kyle leaves Gotham, but not before asking Batman to accompany her on her new start in Bludhaven. The relationship between Batsy and Catwoman has some romantic overtones, but it doesn’t go beyond a couple of kisses… although surely they have started a bond that won’t be broken so easily. We will surely see Zoë Kravitz in the sequel.

What Happed With The Penguin?

Following the death of Carmine Falcone, the Penguin became the most powerful person in all of Gotham City’s criminal underworld. From the Iceberg Lounge the criminal operations of the mafia will remain active, and we will surely see new and dangerous faces of crime in future projects. Let’s remember that The Penguin will have a series on HBO Max, so his new position in Gotham will surely be key to the development of this universe… yes, this version still lacks his monocle and umbrella.

What Happened With Riddler?

Arkham is the new home of the Riddler, who is totally frustrated that his plan to take down Batman completely failed, and the city seems to have been renewed. However, the Riddler has accomplished great things, such as his own entourage of followers who are obsessed with puzzles and his mission to expose the corrupt. But, more importantly, Edward managed to unravel the great mystery behind Batman…his secret identity.

The Riddler knows who’s under the mask, and he holds a grudge against him, so he’s not going to stop until he completely stops Bruce Wayne and his alter ego. Therefore, the new great mystery is to know what the Riddler will do with that information… because he has a very interesting ally in the future.

Prisoner of Arkham… Or The Joker

As we watch the Riddler lament his losing battle against Batman, in the next cell we hear a mysterious voice inviting the villain to reflect on his future. Between jokes about clowns, seduction through thoughts full of anarchy and a disturbing laugh, this mysterious character seems to catch the Riddler completely. To end their conversation, the Arkham intern assures the Riddler that the people of Gotham love a triumphant return… but everything seems to indicate that his intentions are more personal.

Barry Keoghan is the actor who gives life to the mysterious character and everything seems to indicate that it will be Joker. We know that there are many tormented villains who may have a similar profile to the Joker, but the clown joke and the laughter seem to make it clear that we have a new cinematic Joker.

At least four Dark Knight villains are in the works for a potential sequel to The Batman. However, it is difficult to know what path Matt Reeves and Warner Bros. Pictures will take for these DC Comics characters. Within the universe of The Batman we have two confirmed series, one of the Gotham City police with everything and Jim Gordon and that of The Penguin with Colin Farrell, so it should take a long time to know for sure what awaits us.

The Batman is a great opportunity to expand on this new saga, with classic villains and a narrative that takes the best of the latest versions of the character in an exciting and action-packed execution. What did you think of the ending of The Batman?

The Batman finale concludes the first story of Robert Pattinson ‘s new Dark Knight, but the journey that Matt Reeves has set has only just begun. The Batman follows Bruce Wayne in his second year of fighting crime as Gotham City’s hooded crusader. With Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis) as his confidant and ally, Batman attempts to solve the mystery behind the Riddler (Paul Dano) murders and understand how it all relates to his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Before continuing with the explanation, we remind you to pay attention as spoilers about the film follow. In case you don’t want to continue, click here to read our spoiler-free review of The Batman.

The Riddler’s Real Plan

One of The Batman ‘s biggest twists is the motive behind the Riddler murders. Matt Reeves ‘ cinecomic shows us how the Riddler is just like the Dark Knight, both try to do good, they represent the two sides of the same coin: orphans seeking revenge against Gotham.

The explanation of the Riddler’s plan is fundamentally tied to Thomas Wayne and his goal of rebuilding Gotham. Edward Nashton, thanks to his work as an accountant, found out what happened to the renovation put in place by the Wayne family. After Thomas’ death, the plan fell into oblivion, but instead of being completely dissolved, the money ended up in the hands of the underworld, in the hands of Carmine Falcone. The crime lord had Salvatore Maroni arrested and used the money to place the right people in key Gotham jobs.

Since the renovation was to benefit Edward (orphaned as a child and raised in poverty), he took revenge on the people who had wronged him by stealing the money for the reconstruction, so he becomes the Riddler to fight this injustice. His latest victim was to be Bruce Wayne, another orphan who he thought received undeserved attention after his parents died. People quickly forgot about the renovation plan and focused entirely on Bruce Wayne, a boy who tragically lost his parents. Meanwhile, all the other orphans in the city continued to suffer. In the eyes of the Riddler, Bruce was the catalyst for the fall of the project, while Falcone and all the others represented the domino effect.

I Am Revenge

The point where Batman has an effect on Gotham, good or bad, occurs in the film’s epilogue, particularly after Jim Gordon stops him from killing one of the Riddler’s followers. When the henchman is unmasked, he looks at Batman and says, “I’m revenge.” His face might not look too familiar, but he’s the same guy Bruce Wayne meets at the funeral at the beginning of the film, the kind who expresses his discontent with Gotham officials.

The words spoken by the follower of the Riddler shock Batman, he appropriated his words. This leads him to think that they really aren’t that different (he was going to kill him after all), that “his” revenge on him didn’t stop people from becoming criminals.

Joker

This new universe of Matt Reeve s means a new Joker, it is inevitable. The Batman introduces the clown just enough to keep the viewer’s interest in the sequel. In this version, Joker, who is already in Arkham, may have had his reign of terror off-screen. The Batman shows how in the future we will see Barry Keoghan ‘s Joker, perhaps paired with the Riddler. At the end of the film, when the two “meet”, they basically become friends. Combining all this information, audiences will likely see him again in The Batman 2 .

The Penguin

One of the upcoming Batman spin-off shows   will focus on the Penguin. Although his relationship with Carmine Falcone and Salvatore Maroni is not detailed in the film, it is not necessary for the plot. So instead of being a prequel, it looks like the spin-off series will be set in the aftermath of the Gotham flood. The Batman ending implies that there will be a fight for control of the city and Penguin is ready to become the new crime lord and fill the power vacuum.

Presumably, the Colin Farrell series could draw inspiration from the 1999 comic book Batman: No Man’s Land, in which Gotham is a city in ruins. To restore order and reconstruction, most of the citizens are evacuated and the city left empty, becoming a no man’s land. Of course, Batman’s fiercest villains seize the opportunity to conquer parts of Gotham and establish new territories, thus leading to an all-out war with the Dark Knight.

GCPD

HBO Max also began developing the Gotham PD show, which, from the first details, could be set during Batman’s first year of fighting crime. Not many details are known at the moment, but it would make sense that the GCPD show builds on the mayor’s promise at the end of The Batman: to rebuild Gotham and make it better.

The police will have their work cut out to stem the new wave of illegality that plagues the city. Taking this new path will allow both the Penguin series and GCPD to explore the two faces of Gotham, showing the reconstruction of the city without Batman being at the forefront.

Catwoman

As we see at the end of The Batman, Catwoman heads in the opposite direction of Batman, in Blüdhaven, after asking him to leave Gotham behind. In the comics, Blüdhaven is where Dick Grayson goes when he decides to be alone and become Nightwing, leaving his Robin identity behind.

Considering the film ends on a hopeful note, with Batman opening up to the people of Gotham and “becoming” justice, it’s possible that The Batman 2 might feature a young Dick Grayson. But, where Catwoman goes, it might as well just be a quote. The real question is: in The Batman universe, does Nightwing already exist? Reeves ‘ film, after all, includes several new, myth-changing information about Batman (Catwoman is Falcone’s daughter, for example), so it might not seem far-fetched that Nightwing also has a new origin.

The Batman Ending

Selina helped Bruce without knowing it (and vice versa, when she doesn’t kill the cop), she helped him see the mistake of his world. At this point in the story, it’s no longer “revenge”, it’s something more, something better, and she was one of the many people who pushed him in that direction. The final scene where she sees Catwoman disappear into the mist and then looks ahead is reminiscent of the ending of Nolan ‘s The Dark Knight, in which Batman disappears into the night. However, instead of disappearing for several years as Christian Bale ‘s Batman did, Robert Pattinson ‘s Batman prepares to continue his journey.

Thomas and Martha Wayne

The murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne have always been a focal point of Batman’s origin story, but in The Batman he takes a different approach. The film doesn’t dwell on the fact that their death inspired him to become a vigilante, but instead focuses on the mystery behind their killing (who did it?), It becomes a subplot. In the comics and most of the adaptations, Joe Chill is the person who kills Bruce Wayne’s parents, as shown in Batman Begins. But in The Batman, the viewer is left with the doubt: Carmine Falcone or Salvatore Maroni?

The Meaning

In The Batman, Bruce seeks revenge for his parents’ murders and the corruption of Gotham City, but history changes him. Batman has rules – he doesn’t use guns and he doesn’t kill – but overall, that’s all that really separates him from the Riddler. Edward Nashton was an orphan forced to live in an orphanage where children died every winter, Bruce Wayne, on the other hand, grew up rich, so he’s not a real orphan, he doesn’t know what he means.

Bruce tried to carry on his father’s legacy because Thomas couldn’t – while the Riddler wanted to make Gotham officials pay for letting him down after he was orphaned. That dark sense of futility that they both felt as orphans led them to become who they are in The Batman. Batman, at the end of the film, turns away from revenge and embraces hope. Therefore, he physically, and metaphorically, he holds out his hand to the mayor of Gotham, not only to save and protect her, but also to be a guide for the people, a beacon of hope. In the end, it all comes down to the makeover, for Gotham, for Bruce, and for Batman.