The Batman’s biggest riddle has been solved – and it might set up a sequel

Spoilers for The Batman ahead! Turn around now if you have not seen the latest incarnation of The Dark Knight.

UPDATE: The Batman website has been updated once more – and this time, it leads to a very exciting new scene starring Barry Keoghan’s Joker. Check it out here.

ORIGINAL: So you’ve seen The Batman. You might have even sat through The Batman post-credits scene to find a hidden message on www.rataalada.com. But amid the code and cryptic symbols, you may not have realized that there’s a secret message hidden within – and it’s already been solved by the world’s greatest detectives: the internet.

Previously, the website asked you to answer a few riddles – find the answers here if you're stuggling. Now, though, you will get a screen of text, quickly followed by the website pointing you to another page. On that page, a hyperlink to a cipher.

It reads: "You think I'm finished, but perhaps you don't know the full truth. Every ending is a new beginning. Something is coming."

That ‘something’ is open to interpretation, but the answers may be lying in the code you see when you first enter the website, and Reddit user (the aptly-named) vengeance22 may have cracked the code.

Those aren’t just random lines of Matrix-style code. Each points to a key moment in Bat-History. The first, 27.05.19.39, is the date May 27, 1939 – which happens to be the first appearance of Batman the real-life comic-book Detective Comics #27. 

The rest refer to, in order: the introduction of Catwoman and Joker; Penguin’s first appearance; Riddler’s first appearance; Falcone’s first appearance, and Alfred’s first appearance. They’re all key players in The Batman. But it’s the last code that's the most interesting.

October 1974 saw the release of Batman #258, which featured Two-Face breaking out of Arkham. Something is coming, indeed, and The Batman might have already given the game away. For more answers to the movie's biggest questions, check out our guides to DC's gritty reboot of the Caped Crusader.

• The Batman Easter eggs and references
• The Batman ending explained
• Was Joaquin Phoenix's Joker meant to be in The Batman?
• How to watch the DC movies in order

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