Riddle me this: What does The Batman fear more than the Penguin or the Riddler? Why, the press.

Tuesday night’s premiere of “The Batman” at Lincoln Center was followed by a swanky party at Tavern on the Green. Warner Bros. took over the whole place, but no press was invited. Star Robert Pattinson, who previously battled vampires in the “Twilight” series, isn’t ready to field random handshakes from people who might ask him questions about his cowl. (Or did I saw scowl? This guy never smiles in pictures.)

“The Batman” premiere was marred by the absence of director Matt Reeves. He had to Zoom in from parts unknown because he has COVID. But the rest of the cast was present including Zoe Kravitz — who will host “Saturday Night Live” next week — and her stepfather, “Aquaman” star Jason Momoa. (He’s married to or estranged from her mother, Lisa Bonet, depending on which tabloid you read.)

There were scant few other celebrities, according to my spies, except for Ben Stiller, and Kravitz’s boyfriend, actor Channing Tatum. Also spotted was Julia Fox, whose 15 minutes of fame as Kanye West’s girlfriend last week are coming to an end.

“The Batman” starts previews Thursday night and should, from its mostly positive reviews, be a big hit.

If “CODA” were a racehorse it would be on its way to the Triple Crown.

Last night Sian Heder’s beautiful film won the Hollywood Critics Association award for Best Film. That’s just a day after winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble.

“CODA” is shaping up as a potential Oscar winner for Best Picture very quickly now in the last leg of the long race to the Academy Awards.

Ironically, “CODA” comes from Apple, a streaming company. It’s had no presence in theaters. As a streaming studio, Apple has leapt ahead of its competitors like Netflix and Amazon in the quest to become the first streamer to get a Best Picture statue.

This season, Amazon Studios offered Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” as an entry. The film didn’t get a nomination but three of the four lead actors advanced to the Oscar finals. One of them, Nicole Kidman, may yet be pronounced Best Actress.

For Netflix, the stakes are higher. They had a handful of films in the Oscar competition, primarily “The Power of the Dog.” That film’s director, Jane Campion, has long been tipped for Best Director. But last night Campion tied with Denis Villeneuve of “Dune” for Best Director, which means there may be some erosion of Campion’s following.

If Apple does manage to pull off this Best Picture coup with “CODA,” Netflix may have to re-evaluate how their quest is going. Valiant efforts have been made in the recent past with films like “Roma” and “The Irishman,” without achieving the goal of gold.

Netflix can take some solace in Andrew Garfield winning Best Actor for “Tick Tick Boom” last night.

Best Picture – “CODA”

Best Actor – Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick … Boom!”

Best Actress – Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”

Best Supporting Actor – Troy Kotsur, “CODA”

Best Supporting Actress – Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”

Best Cast Ensemble – “Belfast”

Best Director *Tie* – Denis Villeneuve, “Dune” and Jane Campion, “The Power of The Dog”

Best Original Screenplay – Fran Kranz, “Mass”

Best Adapted Screenplay – Siân Heder, “CODA”

Best Animated or VFX Performance – Stephanie Beatriz, “Encanto”

Best Action Film – “The Harder They Fall”

Best Animated Film – “The Mitchells vs. The Machines”

Best Comedy or Musical – “Tick, Tick … Boom!”

Best Documentary – “Summer of Soul”

Best Horror – “Last Night in Soho”

Best Indie Film – “Pig”

Best International Film – “Drive My Car”

Best First Feature – Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Tick, Tick … Boom!”

Best Short Film – “Us Again”

Best Score – Hans Zimmer, “Dune”

Best Original Song – “Be Alive,” “King Richard”

Best Cinematography – Greig Fraser, “Dune”

Best Production Design – Tamara Deverell, “Nightmare Alley”

Best Film Editing – Paul Machliss, “Last Night in Soho”

Best Stunts – “Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings”

Best Costume Design – Jenny Beavan, “Cruella”

Best Hair & Makeup – Justin Raleigh, Linda Dowds, and Stephanie Ingram, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”

Best Visual Effects – Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, and Tristan Myles, “Dune”

Honorary Awards

Acting Achievement Award – Nicolas Cage

Artisan Achievement Award – Greig Fraser

Artisan on the Rise – Alice Brooks

Excellence in Artistry – Kenneth Branagh

Filmmaker on the Rise – Natalie Morales

Filmmaking Achievement Award – Guillermo del Toro

Game Changer Award – Simu Liu

Inspire Award – Aunjanue Ellis

International Icon Award – Javier Bardem

Newcomer Award – Jude Hill

Spotlight Award – The Cast of “CODA”

Star on the Rise – Saniyya Sidney

Stately Wayne Manor is no more. Neither is stately Bruce Wayne.

In the latest iteration of the saga of the orphaned zillionaire turned caped crusader, Bruce Wayne, director Matt Reeves imagines a world in which David Fincher has taken over Gotham City.

“The Batman” is a darker knight than ever before. Reeves’ movie, wholly entertaining and full of surprises, features “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson as the youngest Bruce Wayne ever. He’s not that many years past his parents being killed, but the echoes of Thomas and Martha Wayne are everywhere. Wayne Manor looks more like The Limelight nightclub. All Bruce has left is loyal butler Alfred (Andy Serkis) who busier fixing complex electronics than dusting the china.

All of Batman’s enemies are introduced in this chapter: Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz), The Penguin (a totally unrecognizable Colin Farrell), the Riddler (Paul Dano) and yet a new Joker (Barry Keoghan). Of this quad, Catwoman and Penguin are given the most screen time. Riddler is depicted as unseen serial killer, very Hannibal Lecter, who doesn’t emerge until the last 45 minutes (of three hours). The whole Joker plot is more obtuse. There’s one more villain, too: John Turturro’s mobster, Carmine Falcone, for who the Jake Mottola-like Penguin — known here as Oswald Cobblepot — works.

Suffice to say, it’s Kravitz’s Catwoman who gets the most interaction with Batman as they flirt and even kiss as she tries to persuade him they are alike. But Batman has bigger issues. The Batman comics we all knew in the old days were billed not under his name but as “Detective Comics.” So here, based on recent comic books. Batman takes the lead as a detective and vigilante, someone who the public thinks of as a masked freak. (He is not yet Gotham’s beloved hero.) His Robin, so to speak, is police captain James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) who not only believes in him but is an able assistant when necessary.

Pattinson is 36 and trying to get away from his hit vampire movies of a decade ago. He actually makes for a lively, engaged Batman who seems, when he puts on the cape and cowl, more sophisticated than young Bruce, who looks like a deer in headlights a lot of the time. Putting on that Batman suit, in this movie, does more for Bruce than it has in the past. And he needs it: Reeves imagines Bruce as a disaffected Kurt Cobain with dark circles under his eyes and nary a comb in sight.

Reeves plays part of the film like it’s “Seven” and some of it like “Silence of the Lambs.” Peter Craig’s screenplay advances the idea that the Waynes’ murder was not a random robbery but a planned hit based on Thomas’s run for mayor on the platform of Renewal. That at least gives the story a new direction and something more for Bruce to chew on as he avenges their memory. Reeves also brings out the best in the villains: Kravitz, tiny in real life, slinks around and seems a lot taller as a modern vixen. (She also has a woke moment, describing Gotham society as “rich, privileged white people.” ) Dano absolutely glows as the completely insane, murderous Riddler.

The three hour run time is no problem, the movie zips by without a moment of lag. It could have stopped at two hours-fifteen — there’s a beat where you see it. But that last 45 minutes is worth the wait even if there’s a bit of a watery shark jump. Still, I’d be up for parts 2 and 3 of this trilogy, and I think audiences will go back and see this one at least one more time.

PS Kudos to the Michael Giacchino score. It’s melodic, very Beethoven-esque and runs counter to the somber mood of impending doom. Keep it in mind next awards season.