Batwoman season 1 mostly focused on giving Kate Kane her own rogues gallery to battle, but it did feature one notable Batman villain in a major role. Yes, Thomas Elliot AKA Hush appeared repeatedly across the season and will no doubt prove to be important in season 2 as well, following his Bruce Wayne face-swap. More of the Dark Knight’s old foes may be hot on his heels, too. Not least the Prince of Puzzles himself, Edward Nygma aka The Riddler.
We Got This Covered has heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Kevin Conroy was playing Kingdom Come Batman in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” and that WB was developing a Justice League Dark show for HBO Max – that producers of The CW show have plans to introduce Riddler in its sophomore run. That’s all we know for now, though, so it’s too early to say how he could fit into the storyline.
It’s worth pointing out, though, that Nygma has already been obliquely referenced on the series as an associate of Elliot’s. In his first appearance, the villain revealed that he’d worked out the Batman’s secret identity, thanks to hiring someone to “riddle it out” for him. So, now that Hush is on the loose and posing as Gotham’s favorite son, he may ally himself with Riddler again as part of some new scheme.
It’s important to note that we’ve been told that bringing the Riddler on board is just the current plan, and as we know, things in Hollywood can change very fast. After all, WB tends to be very possessive about Batman characters, so they could very well veto his inclusion. Especially as Paul Dano is also playing the villain in The Batman. Arrow was once ordered to kill off its Suicide Squad once David Ayer’s flick came out, remember.
From what we’re told, though, The CW doesn’t expect this to be an issue and with any luck, we’ll be seeing the Arrowverse’s Riddler in Batwoman season 2 when it eventually arrives in early 2021.