by Ryan Rigley

With over $300 million dollars in the bank, "The Dark Knight Rises" is already the third highest grossing movie of the year. And while we couldn't be happier about all the success that the film has seen as of late, it's still a damn shame that Christopher Nolan won't be making any more Batman movies. After all, just think of all the other great Batman villains that will never get to set foot in the Nolan-verse!

Not only has the "Dark Knight" trilogy redefined the way that audiences view the Caped Crusader, but it's also re-established some of the lesser known rogues in Batman's gallery as total badasses. Imagine what Nolan could have done with some of the Dark Knight's goofier, B-List enemies if he had made more movies. Take The Riddler for example, a puzzle-obsessed psychopath who's often mistaken for the poor man's Joker.

Who?

Edward Nigma's fascination with riddles and puzzles began with a simple school competition. After his teacher announces that there will be a contest to see who could solve a certain puzzle the fastest, a young Edward decides to sneak into the school after hours and practice solving the puzzle until he masters it. On the day of the contest, Edward solves the puzzle in under a minute and wins the grand prize: a book about riddles.

Embracing his new-found mastery of puzzles, Edward becomes a carnival worker who takes great pride in cheating his customers out of their money with his unusual enigmas and mind games. But soon, he grows tired of his simple carny life and longs for a greater challenge. Thus, The Riddler was born. Unlike most of Batman's enemies, The Riddler is not a murderer. Instead, he prefers crimes of a non-violent nature that accentuate his intellectual superiority.

Why?

The Riddler has already been portrayed a number of times in various Batman movies, video games, and TV shows; most recently as portrayed by Jim Carrey in "Batman Forever." Unfortunately, this incarnation of The Riddler was nowhere near as interesting as his comic book counterpart. If Christopher Nolan took a shot at him, however, we're sure that The Riddler's fascinating psyche would be utilized in order to create an enemy that would challenge Batman intellectually rather than physically. In the comics, The Riddler is also a complete narcissist with an extremely inflated ego so odds are that that would come into play as well.

How?

As far as realistic Batman villains go, The Riddler takes the cake. We could easily see Edward Nigma facing off in a game of wits against the Dark Knight up on the silver screen. It's just a matter of giving him the right back story. Plus, who's to say that he would be the main villain? In the comics, The Riddler has aided Batman on several occasions as either an informant or a private detective. Perhaps the same concept would have worked for Nolan's inclusion of the character, had he chosen to go with The Riddler instead of Bane or Catwoman.

Would It Work?

When it comes right down to it, The Riddler is just too similar to The Joker. Whether it's sending clues to the police about future crimes or creating puzzles for Batman and the citizens of Gotham to solve, audiences would have way too many comparisons to draw between the two villains. And let's face it, when it comes to a question of either The Joker or The Riddler, The Joker will win practically every time.

Do you think Riddler would have worked in the "Dark Knight" trilogy? Tell us why or why not in the comments section below or on Twitter!