Frank Gorshin and Richard Widmark

[Riddlersgurl]

For those of us that have seen the movie 'Warlock', they played a pair of outlaw brothers, named Billy and Johnny Gannon. Richard Widmark (who BTW was twenty years older than Frank), played the brother that eventually became the sheriff, ousting Henry Fonda from the job.

Frank's character, ended up dead (unfortunately, but his character ended up dead in the book too; so them's the breaks).

The chemistry between them was excellent, and they even looked more than a smidgeon alike; even though Frank was wearing a mustache from the wig department (either that or it was his own.)

Now, you're probably wondering where I'm going with this.

While the movie was excellent, and the two actors in question were good in their roles (even if Frank wasn't credited for it! BOO HOLLYWOOD!), the age difference between them, while not all that noticeable at first, does become rather evident.

To tie this into Batman, I had an idea as to who Richard Widmark could be on the show.

He usually played villains (see Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death. That giggling makes the Riddler look like the Good Humor man!) so he could definitely play one with a tie to the Riddler.

According to the Riddler's bio over at Wikipedia (yes, I'm referencing Wiki!), the child that eventually became the Riddler was very badly abused physically by his father, not long after his mother either died or disappeared.

So, why not make him the Riddler's dad? Make him a supervillain from when the Commissioner was a young rookie cop, with his own schtick.

The question is: What kind of schtick to use? It has to be original, but something that the Riddler would recognize and scare him out of his wits. So much so, that he would ask Batman for his help.

Soooo, what do all of you Batfans suggest for this?

[Jim Akin]

Operating on the 1966 timeline, Riddler's dad was probably in his prime, but just a little past the age of service, during WWII. So rather than a super-villain, what if Riddler's papa was something even worse: a Nazi fifth columnist and saboteur? As such, he could have trafficked in explosives, knockout gas, and hidden writing. He might even have had his very own model of the notorious coder/decoder known as the Enigma machine!

A little boy who learned such a thing about his dear old Dad -- picking up tricks of his traitorous trade along the way -- might twist an obsession with secrets hidden in plain sight into a fascination with riddles...

Cheers,

QQ

[Riddlersgurl]

Hmmm...intriguing.

I usually have him be a member of the Irish Mob back in the 30's and 40's as a younger man. Drugs, etc. but that wouldn't fit into the 1966 Batman universe, which never touched that.

A bank robber, safe cracker and occasional knife man would be good for him. With a reputation for sheer viciousness and cruelty that even extended towards his only child.

Anyone else want to chime in?

[catwoman-henchman]

Funny...Gorshin playing Widmark's brother. I'll have to catch up with "Warlock."

One of Frank's very best impressions was Richard Widmark, using Widmark's maniac laugh from "Kiss of Death."

Nobody else did Widmark. Every mimic had some actors in the repertoire that were his property alone...with Frank, he owned Widmark, Burton, Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and a few others.

It was quite an irony that his last triumph was to be a perfect George Burns, great enough to star in that one-man Broadway show. And he'd never done Burns during his heyday in the 60's and 70's.

[Riddler Fan]

Hmmm...intriguing.

I usually have him be a member of the Irish Mob back in the 30's and 40's as a younger man. Drugs, etc. but that wouldn't fit into the 1966 Batman universe, which never touched that.

A bank robber, safe cracker and occasional knife man would be good for him. With a reputation for sheer viciousness and cruelty that even extended towards his only child.

Anyone else want to chime in?

I always thought of Riddler as being a lonely kid, which may have come from a dysfunctional family. Here's what we know of his background courtesy of Wikipedia............

The Riddler's criminal modus operandi is so deeply ingrained into his personality that he is virtually powerless to stop himself from acting it out (as shown in his fourth comic book appearance). He cannot simply kill his opponents when he has the upper hand; he has to put them in a deathtrap to see if he can devise a life and death intellectual challenge that the hero cannot solve and escape. However, unlike many of Batman's themed enemies, Riddler's compulsion is quite flexible, allowing him to commit any crime as long as he can describe it in a riddle or puzzle.

After a teacher announces that a contest will be held over who can solve a puzzle the fastest, a young Edward Nigma (or Nashton, according to some writers) sets his sights on winning this, craving the glory and satisfaction that will come with the victory. He sneaks into the school one night, takes the puzzle out of the teacher's desk, and practices it until he is able to solve it in under a minute. As predicted, he wins the contest and is given a book about riddles as a prize. His cheating rewarded, Edward embraced the mastery of puzzles of all kinds, eventually becoming a carnival employee who excelled at cheating his customers out of their money with his bizarre puzzles and mind games. He soon finds himself longing for greater challenges and thrills, and dons the guise of the Riddler to challenge Batman, who he believes could possibly be a worthy adversary for him.