In the Season 3 finale of Gotham, the Riddler found himself on the wrong end of Mr. Freeze's ice gun and was frozen in a block of ice. He'll be the centerpiece of Penguin's new Iceberg Lounge, but he likely won't be there for long. The Riddler will eventually thaw out, but when he does, there's no guarantee he'll have all his marbles. Turns out getting frozen for a long period of time isn't good for your brain cells. CinemaBlend was present at the Gotham San Diego Comic Con Roundtable, where Riddler actor Cory Michael Smith revealed Riddler will have some personal challenges in Season 4.
You know, we play a lot with Edward having identity issues, and so this is another identity crisis for him. His mind isn't functioning at the level that it was. Whether that can be cured or fixed, he doesn't know, but his computation is not as it was. So what does that make him now? The thing that he had was his intelligence and his ability to trick people and outsmart people, and so he doesn't have that anymore. So what is there? So he goes on a new quest. I'm really happy, because it allows for a little comedy. Some of the old comedy we had with Ed, we get to find again. Some of his physical and mental ineptitude is back.
Sounds like the Riddler will have some trouble coming up with his riddles in Season 4. We don't know how Edward Nygma will escape from his icy prison, but when he does, he'll have an uphill battle to get back into top shape. While I would wager just about everything I own that the Riddler will be back in top form by the season's end, it doesn't mean it will be easy for him. Cory Michael Smith likened his characters current struggles to what they were back in the early days of the show when the Riddler was still figuring out his place in life and wasn't a total psychopath. It should make for an interesting challenge for the character, who values his own intelligence above basically everything.
Gotham's fourth season will be a big one for the show. Bruce Wayne finally starts to get physical and patrols the streets as a masked vigilante, just a skip away from finding some pointy ears. The show will be pairing off its huge cast of characters in new ways, with Riddler teaming up with newly resurrected Solomon Grundy, while Selina forms a group with Barbara and Tabitha and gets closer than ever to becoming Catwoman. Gotham may like to play it fast and loose with the Batman mythology, but it's no doubt an exciting time to be a fan.
Gotham will return on Thursday, September 21, at 8 p.m. EST on Fox.
