The Riddler: Year One

During the production of the film The Batman (2022), Paul Dano—who played Edward Nashton / the Riddler in the film—conceived ideas for his character's backstory, which he shared with director Matt Reeves, who encouraged him to develop them into a comic book, though he was hesitant to go ahead with the project.[1] Reeves then contacted DC Comics and told Dano the next day that the publisher was interested in hearing his proposal for a Riddler-centric comic.[2] In March, Reeves and DC had officially announced that Dano would be writing a six-issue limited series titled The Riddler: Year One, with Stevan Subic serving as illustrator.[3][4][5][6] The comic is intended to be a tie-in prequel to The Batman, depicting Nashton's life and his descent into criminality before the events of the film.[7][8]

Dano said in July that he had not yet finished writing the series, whose experience he described as being "totally incredible".[2] He described his experience working with Subic as being "super collaborative". Dano had wrote treatments of the overall story and sent them to Subic, to which they collaborated in developing the story together. They had held Zoom meetings, in which Subic shared his screen and showed Dano his layouts. While they discussed the storytelling and eventually continued working, Subic pencilled and Dano continued to write.[9] They would then discuss the story that same month when Dano attended DC's panel at San Diego Comic-Con, where he promoted the series.[10][11]

The Riddler: Year One was published bimonthly under DC's adult-oriented Black Label imprint beginning October 25, 2022.[12][13]

Edward Nashton has been working as a forensic accountant at the KTMJ firm for over five years and believes he is more competent than his boss, Zach, as Zach had only been working for three months and gained his position because of his education and upbringing. Nashton spends time visiting various online websites and has grown to hate Gotham City, as he believes it is a corrupt city. He eventually begins to develop an admiration for the vigilante Batman, and learns more about his activities through online forums. He also suffers from various mental health issues, and experiences hallucinations, self-loathing, and suicidal thoughts.

Nashton is assigned to investigate a file for the New Beginnings Animal Rescue legal team. He discovers a recurring payment of $10,000, and decides to investigate after becoming suspicious. He traced its origins to the Waterfront Industries company, and realized that the money was split into smaller payments to avoid discovery. As he goes home, he witnesses Batman rescuing a young woman from being mugged by two thugs. He posts about his experience online, and believes that Batman is "hope incarnate" and rescuing Gotham City, to which other users also commented their admiration for Batman.

The following day, Nashton asks Zach about the payment. Zach reports Nashton's findings to his boss, Mr. Stone, to which he takes credit for. Nashton decides to inquire Mr. Stone about the payments, and follows him to the Corner Diner. Mr. Stone dismisses him, and threatens Nashton to stop investigating. One of the thugs Nashton encountered yesterday, Higgins, was standing trial, who claims that Batman mugged him and planted drugs on the scene. Nashton learns that Higgins was an employee of New Beginnings, and a former member of Salvatore Maroni's organization. He visits the company despite Stone's threats, though he leaves after he attracts attention for asking about Higgins. He then notices Mr. Stone and Zach meeting with the woman Batman rescued yesterday, and deduces that the events are connected.

The following day, Edward returns to work as normal. He discovers that Zach has been promoted to "Junior Division Director", further infuriated by his condescending attitude. Still suspicious that Mr. Stone dismissed his findings, Edward stays behind that night whilst everyone leaves and breaks into his office to doublecheck his discoveries. He soon discovers that KTMJ also legally represents Waterfront Industries and finds that pages have been shredded related to its finances. Finding Stone has shredded them, Edward investigates to find payments from a Mr. Joon and other sections of Gotham, including the Renewal Program.

With his sanity damaged, Edward returns home where he is apparently confronted by a stranger who knows his name. He soon begins investigating his Renewal Applications and begins to wonder whether their operations have impacted his life. Edward soon begins investigating New Beginnings and spying on Mr. Joon, discovering that he routinely makes payments to a young woman. He quickly becomes suspicious of these and his financial situation. Some time later, Stone asks to meet Edward, claiming to have discovered something with New Beginnings and its accounts. Claiming he is investigating, he asks him to help investigate Wayne Enterprises for a potential case. Though he accepts and is initially optimistic about his opportunities, Edward remains suspicious of Stone and his motives.

With further reports about Batman's operations, Edward becomes inspired by the vigilante and decides to take matters into his own hands. Learning to hack into CCTV systems, he begins spying on New Beginnings and their operations. He begins using his free time to investigate their feeds, learning that they are pushing drops in the area. Deciding to follow Batman's footsteps, Edward begins purchasing military weapons to help in his operations. One night, Edward places a bug on Joon and spies on him from a rooftop. From there, he witnesses and hears a confrontation with Stone, who has been looking at their books and discovered someone is skimming profits. When shown photos of the woman he's giving money to, Joon reveals her to be his daughter and that he'd been giving her his personal funds to leave Gotham. He also learns that they are working for Carmine Falcone. However, Stone isn't convinced and orders Higgins to execute him. From his feeds, Edward witnesses his execution, during which he learns it was actually Higgins who stole to pay off his bail. The following morning, Joon's daughter is confronted by Higgins before she can leave Gotham.