User blog comment:Battlefan237/The Riddler vs. Phantom of the Opera/@comment-17814994-20170120171748

Elgb's "Cunning Little Tricksters" EDGES!!!

Close: The can has a nifty use of electricuting and bludgeoning everyone, but a sword still has the longer range and actual lethality of a blade. Also, the Phantom was an excellen man of swordsplay while the Riddler wasn't really that talented in melee combat. EDGE: Phantom

Backup: I imagine that the noose can be used as a makeshift garrote, but you still need to either have to catch somebody off guard or apprehend him to be effective. A stilletto dagger is simpler to use (you can just pull it out and shank at someone) but is a hundred times more lethal. EDGE: Riddler

Explosive: The puzzle-based bombs won't be that useful since the Phantom maybe more interested in fighting than solving shitty puzzles. His explsoive barrels may pack the bigger boom but it needs to be setup though. The Riddler's question mark bombs are lighter and more compact, so he can set them up easy at any place if he wants to. EDGE: Riddler

Special: Riddler's night-vision goggles are useful in helping him navigate the tunnels. But it and the breathing mask aren't exactly useful weapons. The traps that the Phantom use are subtle, sneaky and deadly. And against someone as slow and fragile as Riddler, these will be devastating. EDGE: Phantom

Deadliest Warrior?

I gotta give this to the Phantom of the Opera. Even if the Riddler has a genius-level intellect and more modern weapons, he still needs large amounts of resources and preps to set up his traps - traps which are by the way, specifically tailored to Batman and the Police. They won't be as effective as someone not as interested in games as the Phantom. The latter also has the more practical weapons than the Riddler's dependence on gimmicks.

In terms of intelligence, Riddler is smart but he's got a unhealthy history of OCD. That won't help pretty well if you're up against a cold and calculating psycho like the Phantom. I see a scenario where the Phantom ends up manipulating and running Riddler's unstable head in circles during the fight. And if things go primal, the Phantom's better hand to hand combat will prevail against the weak Riddler. Wherever you look at it, the Phantom beats out Riddler in almost every category from mental health, cunning and hand to hand combat.