When I was a kid I watched lots of cartoons, Tom and Jerry being one of them. As most people know, Tom is a cat, Jerry a mouse, and they hate each other just like cats and mice in real life do. And just like real life, they would light each other on fire, smash each other’s faces flat with irons, or chop each other to bits.
However there were a few episodes where Tom and Jerry would team up. For that one particular episode they would be friends practice their violent acts on some other hapless victim.

Detective Comics #828 reminds me of one of those Tom and Jerry “friend” episodes. The Riddler decided (several issues back) to take the straight and narrow path of fighting crime detective-style. He now goes by his real name, E Nigma, and runs a private detective business. In this particular issue an old friend of Bruce Wayne, Matthew Atkins, ends up dead and both Batman and E Nigma are on the case.

The clues leads the pair to a museum where they actually team up to do battle against Matthew’s killer.

I always liked the Tom and Jerry episodes when they teamed up. It just made sense… they were both quite skilled at murder so why not murder in a pair?
Just like T & J, Batman and Riddler are very skilled at deduction and solving riddles, so it just makes sense for them to team up… for a while.

This whole meek period for the Riddler will inevitably come crashing down and Batman will have to put him back in Arkham at the end of a three-part story arc.