Riddler vs Penguin: Who's The Better Villain In The Batman?

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Warning! SPOILERS for The Batman.

Paul Dano's Riddler and Colin Farrell's Penguin left a lasting impression with their debut in The Batman, but which one is the best villain in the movie? Batman has an immense gallery of iconic foes. From the most grounded villains, such as Two-Face and Black Mask, to the most bizarre, like Man-Bat and Clayface, all of Gotham's famous villains have played a role in Batman's countless storylines throughout the years. But only a select few have been lucky enough to come to life on the big and the small screen multiple times. After multiple reinventions of the Batman mythos, new actors continue to put a new spin on villains like the Riddler and the Penguin.

While Riddler and Penguin are human characters with no superpowers or fanciful technological enhancements, it's rather easy for live-action adaptations to make them look unrealistic. Danny DeVito's Penguin crossed the line into the grotesque, and Jim Carrey's Riddler was so absurd that any iteration of the Joker would have seemed level-headed by his side. In their defense, both of these portrayals would feel extremely out of place in the gritty world of The Batman, but they do fit the tone of their respective movies. This has been the case with other adaptations of the same characters. For instance, Frank Gorshin's Riddler and Burgess Meredith's Penguin were standout villains in the '60s Batman TV show and the 1966 movie, while Cory Michael Smith's Riddler and Robin Lord Taylor's Penguin almost became the protagonists of Gotham due to their captivating personalities and mutual chemistry.

Related: The Batman's Biggest Unanswered Questions

Clearly, expectations were high for The Batman's Riddler and Penguin. Fortunately for viewers, Paul