alt text: “hurry along to my remaining trial, detective, or i’ll push the big red button in front of me and catwoman will lose her head. i didn’t NEED to make the button large and red, of course. i’m perfectly capable of recalling where i placed a detonation switch but what can i say? explosions deserve a touch of CEREMONY!”
i feel like the issue with Arkham Knight Riddler is that the writers are actively trying to make him as irritating as possible at this point in the franchise, so the insufferability feels forced and inorganic. they also try way too hard to make him attack the player's, like, gamer ego?? which fails to account for players like me, who:
A) don't care if Edward insults Batman's dumb stupid car and
B) are horrible little delusional fujoshi solely completing these challenges because they want to hear Edward cutely berate Batman as much as humanly possible.
“For the last time, Commissioner. We are not here to discuss the prisoner’s state of mind!” Judge Wessel looked across at Gordon from the parole board panel, a look Jim had seen a dozen times this morning. Please, Wessel’s watery eyes were saying, don’t make this harder than it is.
Gordon shot a more succinct look back. To his left the prisoner started talking. Again.
Page Two
“Come now, your honor. As slanderous as the commissioner’s comments are, he’s only expressing his frustration at the farcical nature of this so-called legal proceeding. Perhaps he doesn’t understand that his presence is merely for appearance’s sake. You are decorative, detective,” Riddler concluded, flashing Jim a smug smile.
Gordon understood alright. Thousands of prisoners, all held illegally, and then nearly murdered by Hugo Strange. The inevitable class-action lawsuit had left this tedious, soul-sapping exercise in its wake: hundreds of “parole hearings” that only went one way. The prisoner got their freedom back and Gordon got a signed declaration that the offender promised to be on their best behavior from here on in.
Page Three
“Now,” Riddler continued. “Given that our poor commissioner must endure several hundred more of these hearings, why don’t you spare us the tedium of forcing him to reiterate the state’s legally soiled case against me, and simply grant me the freedom to which I’m entitled?”
The entire parole board spluttered indignantly.
“Man’s got a point,” Gordon conceded, as he walked out the door.