The Batman clip: Riddler attacks a funeral in this tense scene as Bruce Wayne watches helplessly. Watch here

The scene in question is set during a funeral scene in a church that we glimpsed in the promos. It is perhaps that unfortunate who was killed by Paul Dano’s Riddler, who covered his face with duct tape, who we suspect is mayor Don Mitchell Jr, played by Rupert Penry-Jones.

There is tension in the air. Bruce Wayne, without his costume, looks at the deceased mayor’s young son and perhaps sees himself in him. He also overhears Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) talking to his chief about a missing officer. Another officer spots Bruce Wayne and waves.

Suddenly, there is a man, most likely Riddler, ominously silhouetted against the light above on a gallery above. There are shouts, and a car breaks the glass door and crashes into the pews. Bruce jumps in time to save the kid. The police surround the car, but it is only a helpless man with an explosive device bound around his throat and his mouth taped shut. A ring sounds, and the man raises his hand, showing a strapped phone.

The scene ends there, but we know the bomb explodes as well, though by then Bruce is in the Batman costume.

It is frankly impressive how much tension the scene wrings out from a setup that would have been ordinary in lesser hands. Although Bruce is helpless and does not do much, but that is the point. He is clearly a newbie superhero and struggling to defeat an enemy he is overwhelmed by.

Basically, Riddler in this film appears to be what Joker was to 2008’s The Dark Knight. He is likewise terrorising Gotham City and evading capture from not just the police but also The Batman.

Played by Paul Dano, the Riddler is not the colourful, flamboyant figure we know from comics and other media, but rather a sinister figure modelled over the real-world California’s Zodiac Killer that similarly bamboozled law enforcement.

Written by Reeves and Peter Craig, The Batman stars Zoe Kravitz, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, and John Turturro play Catwoman, Alfred, Penguin, and Carmine Falcone, respectively, in The Batman.

The Batman releases on March 4, 2022.