Batman: All 9 Riddler actors ranked from worst to best

5. John Glover

Acting veteran John Glover is no stranger to the superhero world. He may be best known for portraying the unforgettable Lionel Luthor on Smallville or the unfortunate power-hungry Dr. Jason Woodrue in Batman & Robin but he also provided the voice of The Riddler in both the legendary Batman: The Animated Series and its spin-off sequel The New Batman Adventures.

In the original series, The Riddler was intentionally different from any of the others we had seen, as the writers attempted to distance him from the previous versions. With a green suit jacket,  purple mask and gray pants, the-powers-that-be leaned into the more “evil genius” aspect of his character instead of the comically quizzical nature of his predecessors, and that more than anything made Glover perfect for the job.

With a theater-esque, powerful and seductive tone, Glover’s well-spoken voice lent itself nicely to the character as he ended up commanding the screen without ever appearing on it – and as a result, ended up ensuring that The Riddler sounded every bit as intellectual as he looked.

Though the character was drastically reinvented for the sequel series (he was bald and wore a green unitard incredibly similar to Frank Gorshin’s), Glover also provided the voice – making this revamped Riddler sound just as intelligent.