Cipher methods Symbols
Rata Alada (The Batman 2022)
Rata Alada is the graphic alphabet used by the Riddler (Edward Nashton, played by Paul Dano) in Matt Reeves’s The Batman (Warner Bros., 2022). “Rata Alada” means “winged rat” in Spanish and refers in the film to the Riddler’s pseudonym on a darknet site where he posts his riddles. The clues he leaves at crime scenes are ciphered with a graphic substitution alphabet whose glyphs evoke handwritten cryptograms — strokes, crosses, dots, closed loops.
The film triggered a wave of community solving on Reddit (r/TheBatman) and 4chan: the full table was reconstructed within the first week of release in March 2022, and the www.ratalada.com website launched by Warner Bros. (later taken down) served as a cross-media promotional anchor. 26 Latin letters, no digits. Monoalphabetic 1↔1 substitution.
How does the alphabet work?
The cipher relies on a monoalphabetic substitution: each cleartext letter is replaced by a fixed Rata Alada glyph. The technique goes back to Antiquity (Caesar cipher, ~50 BC) — a graphic substitution alphabet is a modern variant of that idea.
The table holds 26 glyphs for the 26 Latin letters (no digits). The glyphs are deliberately handwritten and angular — consistent with the “hand-drawn cryptogram” style of the Riddler’s riddles in the film.
Cryptographic strength: low. As the Redditors who cracked the alphabet within hours confirmed, frequency analysis combined with likely-word stuffing (“batman”, “gotham”) is enough. It’s a narrative alphabet serving the plot, not a cryptographic tool.
Historical and modern usage
- Film The Batman (2022) — riddles left by the Riddler.
- Website www.ratalada.com — cross-media promotion anchor.
- DC / Batman community — fan art, Riddler cosplay, riddles.
- Modern escape rooms — contemporary “criminal-case” alphabet.
Related variants
- Dancing Men (Sherlock) — see our entry, another investigation cryptogram.
- Zodiac Killer — see our entry, real criminal cryptogram.
- Pigpen — see our entry, classic geometric substitution.
What are the weaknesses?
- Monoalphabetic substitution — solved by fans within hours.
- Public table — available on dCode and DC wikis.
- No digits — to encode a number, write it out in words.
The 26 glyphs
