Criminal Mind Games: Difference between revisions

 

See also [[Linked List Clue Methodology]] for a number of non-(or at least ''less'') criminal scavenger hunts. Compare [[The Walrus Was Paul]].

 

== Anime and Manga ==

== Comic Books ==

* In all incarnations of ''[[Batman]]'', this is The Riddler's modus operandi; other Batman villains, notably The Joker, have also done it.

** Interestingly, an early Batman story showed that the Riddler's insanity is such that he is physically incapable of committing a crime unless he leaves a clue. (His father used to beat him when he lied... so once dear old Dad was out of the way and only the consequential neuroses were left, he learned to tell the truth in extremely sneaky ways to get around them.)

** One comic set in [[The DCAU]] had Batman ''fail'' to decypher the Riddler's clues; he stumbled upon the crime because he was following three other crooks who had the same target. When the Riddler realises this, he doesn't care that he's going to jail because as far as he's concerned, he ''won''.

*** In his first re-appearance, the Cluemaster had hired some goons who, knowing their boss's old M.O., left clues behind anyway. And being stupid goons, the clues were really obvious, too.

*** Unfortunately for him, his daughter, Stephanie Brown, was angry at him for trying this while claiming to be reformed, and became {{spoiler|The Spoiler}}, leaving clues to her father's crimes for Batman. She later became one of the Robins herself. And then [[Stuffed in The Fridge|she died]]. [[Disney Death|Kinda.]]

* In the movie ''[[I Robot (Film)|I Robot]]'', the {{spoiler|"murder" ''victim''}} does this, the initial clue being {{spoiler|[[Thanatos Gambit|his own "murder"]]}}, ostensibly to reveal his secret to the hero without tipping off a {{spoiler|[[Three Laws Compliant]] AI with [[Sinister Surveillance]]}} in time to prevent a {{spoiler|[[Zeroth Law Rebellion]]}}. (Yeah, the ''movie'' did something clever and subversive. )

* The movie ''In the Line of Fire''.

* V was this in ''[[V for Vendetta]]'' to the inspectors (Nose, not Finger). He actually used the term, but in a more insulting/literal reference to Creedy.

* ''[[The Abominable Dr. Phibes]]'' accidentally dropped a medallion with some Hebrew lettering at the scene of one of his crimes, which tipped the police off to the Old Testament [[Theme Serial Killer|theme of his serial killing]].

* Jigsaw does this in ''[[Saw]] 2'', having abducted a Detective Matthews' son and left him, and numerous other victims-including Amanda, a survivor of his games- in a house filled with death traps, and is recording the whole thing, which becomes useful when the detective and a SWAT team show up to arrest him. Jigsaw says the son will be returned alive and safe if Matthews just has a conversation with him, but the house is also filling with nerve gas that will kill everyone inside in two hours. {{spoiler|The son is locked in a safe in Jigsaw's room, the video is not live and everyone in it is already dead apart from Amanda, and when Matthews shows up thinking he'll save his son Amanda reveals that she was Jigsaw's apprentice, and the whole thing was a revenge scheme of hers because Matthew's once framed her for a crime, ruining her life, and it ends with Amanda leaving him to die locked in the room from the first film}}.

 

 

== Tabletop Games ==