Answering ‘The Batman’s ‘Rebirth Restoration Reformation’ riddle

Warning: The following post contains spoilers for The Batman, which is in theaters now.

Comic book movie fans have grown accustomed to mid or post-credit scenes that take place after the main action of the film is over, usually setting the table for a sequel, or containing a joke that wasn’t deemed worthy of making the final cut.

You can blame Marvel Studios for kicking off the trend, as fans who patiently waited through the closing credits of Iron Man were treated to an Easter Egg appearance by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who was aiming to recruit Tony Stark for his Avengers Initiative.  

Fans who flocked to theaters this weekend to catch the new three hour DCEU film The Batman were hoping for a similar reward, especially considering how incendiary the secret villain reveal was at the end of the film. Instead of a scene or a cameo from a sequel star, they were treated to a URL, www.rataalada.com, which flashed onscreen before the light came up.

The site’s address is a reference to a clue left at the scene of a crime, “El Rata Alada,” which Jim Gordon assumed was poorly translated Spanish, “the winged rodent,” but which he later realized was referring to a “stool pigeon.” Those who went to the website, www.rataalada.com, were taken to the Riddler’s homepage to play a game.

Once on the site, readers were given three puzzles to solve. The first of which is fairly straightforward: “Fear he who hides behind one.” The answer, as befits a movie about a masked superhero, is, ”Mask.”

The second riddle was a little trickier: “I am first a fraud or a trick. Or perhaps a blend of the two. That’s up to your misinterpretation.” The answer was, “Confusion.”

The third riddle that stumped readers was: “What was new is new again rebirth restoration reformation”. The answer was, “Renewal.” 

Those who guessed all three answers correctly were then taken to a password-protected page where they could download a video, Harking back to one of The Batman‘s major narrative revelations, those who cracked the code were greeted to Thomas Wayne’s campaign video, which ended by flashing the Riddler’s signature question mark insignia.

Readers of Batman comics will recognize this as a clue about the identity of a future player in the new franchise, as Hush is a villain who debuted in 2003’s Batman #609. Starting life as Thomas Elliot, the son of an affluent Gotham businessman attempts to kill his abusive alcoholic father, finding it impossible to forgive the Wayne family when Thomas saves his life.

In the comics, an adult Elliot aligns himself with the Riddler, and it’s revealed that Wayne Sr. has a dark secret tied in with mob boss Carmine Falcone. Considering that Falcone is a character in the film portrayed by John Turturro, odds are good that this storyline will be brought over from the comics, especially given the way Wayne family history factored into Edward Nashton’s masterplan.

Movie viewers who visit the RataAlada site are treated to a red-and-black cryptograph with a file name “Its_Not_Over_Yet.jpg”, so it’s safe to assume that filmmaker Matt Reeves is teasing that The Batman hasn’t quite wrapped up the Riddler’s story just yet.

The Batman is the latest installment in the Batman film series, and stars Robert Pattinson as the titular hero detective. Co-starring as his rogue’s gallery of friends and foes are Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and Paul Dano as The Riddler.

Critical reaction to the movie has been generally positive, with the film receiving an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Audience reaction has been even more enthusiastic, with the movie expected to make upwards of $120 million at the US box office in its opening weekend.