Riddler

The Riddler, (legal name: Edward E. Nigma), is a DC Comics supervillain and an enemy of Batman. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Dick Sprang, he first appeared in Detective Comics #140 (December 1948).

Known for his purple domino mask and green, question mark-covered costume, either as a skintight catsuit or a business suit and bowler hat, the Riddler is obsessed with riddles, puzzles, and word games. He delights in forewarning police and Batman of his capers by sending them complex clues.

Like most enemies of Batman, the Riddler has darkened in recent years. Whereas he was once portrayed as a playful trickster, he is now the victim of an intense obsessive compulsion. This was shown in a 1999 issue of Gotham Adventures, in which he tried to refrain from leaving a riddle, but failed: "You don't understand... I really didn't want to leave you any clues. I really planned never to go back to Arkham Asylum. But I left you a clue anyway. So I... I have to go back there. Because I might need help. I... I might actually be crazy."

The Riddler was popularized by Frank Gorshin’s over-the-top, Emmy-nominated portrayal in the 1960s Batman television series. Comedian Jim Carrey played the Riddler in the 1995 film Batman Forever with Gorshin as his inspiration, although the concurrent The Animated Series preferred to show the character as a calmer intellectual egotist, more obsessed with proving his own cleverness than in creating puzzles.

Full history and analysis

Edward Nigma discovered puzzles when he was a young boy, and he gradually turned to crime as he matured. Issue #2 of Justice by Alex Ross suggests that his father physically abused him, which left him with a compulsion to tell the truth (materializing through the telling of riddles), as well as a desire to prove his superiority by outwitting everyone around him. It should be noted, however, that Justice is not canon (officially part of the DC Universe continuity).

As his riddles are in fact a bizarre obsessive compulsion, his attempts to stop himself from sending them have met with failure. He cannot simply kill his opponents when he has the upper hand, but has to put them in a deathtrap to see if he can devise a life and death intellectual challenge that the hero cannot solve and escape. However, unlike many of Batman's themed enemies, Riddler's compulsion is quite flexible, allowing him to commit any crime as long as he can describe it in a riddle or puzzle. He often has two female assistants who help him, usually named a combination of Quiz, Query or Echo.

Sometimes he is shown to drive a "Riddlermobile," a green car with "???" on the license plate. In the animated series and in Batman Forever, he carries a trick cane.

Hush

In the graphic novel, Hush, it is revealed that Riddler had suffered cancer, the same thing that Hush's mother suffered from. Riddler discovered a Lazarus Pit to cure himself and offered Elliot the chance to cure his mother as well, provided he paid a large sum of money. However, Hush was eager for his mother to die in order to inherit a will. Hush explained that he would only give Riddler the money he wanted if Riddler played along with his "game", one which drove Batman's foes, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Joker, Clayface, Scarecrow, Ra's and Talia Al Ghul, Lady Shiva, and others to turn against Batman. Riddler deduced, possibly while playing the game, that Bruce Wayne was Batman, that Jason Todd was once Robin, and whose death antagonizes Bruce to this day. Riddler stole Jason's corpse and hid it outside of Gotham Cemetery, although he refuses to admit where he hid the body. Batman proved that he had nothing to fear from Riddler's knowledge of his identity because Riddler believed a riddle everyone knew the answer to was worthless, and if Riddler gave the answer to the greatest riddle of all ('Who is Batman?'), then the greatest riddle of all would lose all its attraction and the riddle itself would become "worthless." In addition, Batman warned the Riddler that if he changed his mind and revealed the secret, it would give Ra's Al Ghul a vital clue that he used a lazarus pit without his permission and the assassin leader would retaliate against him..

Aftermath

After the Riddler realized this valuable piece of information, he believed that his life would become much simpler; instead, it got much worse. Having irritated the newcomer villain Hush and the Joker, this story would be played out in Batman Gotham Knights issues 50-53. The arc was entitled "Pushback" and in this story Hush comes back for revenge and finds the Riddler and almost kills him by beating him senseless across a rooftop. Seeking refuge, the Riddler would go to the Joker and the Penguin. The Riddler would offer the Joker a valuable piece of information if the Joker would protect him from Hush. The Joker agrees, but eventually Hush with the help of Prometheus defeat the Joker. In his cowardice, the Riddler seeks refuge from Poison Ivy next.

In Detective Comics 797-799 the Riddler would face his most painful humiliation at the hands of Poison Ivy. The two battled psychologically and physically in the storyline entitled "Low" which took place the same time as "War Games" In this encounter the Riddler would seek the shelter from Ivy only to find that she has other plans. Ivy captures the Riddler then humiliates him psychologically as the Riddler attempts to prove his worth to the woman. Ivy would go on to make references to other Batman characters saying...."Look at Two-Face or the Joker, real men who don't need to 'prove their worth' to anyone." In issue 799 Riddler and Ivy faced off in a physically duel with Ivy dominating the match and talking down to the Riddler. In the end the Riddler would give in and finally be broken, leading to the lowest point for the character.

Nigma was stripped of his deductive powers and, fleeing the two, left to rot as a member of Gotham's vast and invisible homeless population. A chance encounter with an ex-NSA codebreaker gave Nigma a positive environment in which to recover his mind. During that stay, Nigma experienced an induced flashback that led him to realize that his father had beaten him many years ago. His father, unable to grasp that his son was brilliant, believed that Edward had cheated in his accomplishments and so his father beat him out of jealousy. Once Nigma discovered this, he also realized that his compulsion was borne out of a strong desire to tell the truth to prove his innocence of deception.

Having made this connection, the Riddler decided that a change was in store. He spent some of his vast fortune, acquired over many years of crime, to get minor plastic surgery and extensive tattooing, covering most of his torso with his trademark question insignia. He returned and killed the codebreaker -- who had pieced together his identity but couldn't act on it -- then promptly stole a priceless scroll out from under Batman's nose. Since then, the Riddler has spent most of his time either legally amassing a huge fortune or attacking various heroes in order to prove his newfound capability. It is notable that he has apparently lost the desire to plant riddles or clues at his various crime scenes, although he still enjoys riddles in an abstract sense, and will occasionally make subtle references to them in the course of his crimes. After attacking and nearly killing Green Arrow and Arsenal, Nigma managed to once again escape before the Outsiders arrived to save them.

Riddler later showed up in Infinite Crisis #1, with a group of villains attacking the Gotham City Police Department while the city dealt with the chaos resulting from the finale of Day of Vengeance. Nigma was back in his green suit and talking in riddles, though he was next seen escaping Arkham Asylum during the world-wide supervillain breakout the Society engineered in Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special #1, which took place only days after the prior supernatural disaster. Nigma re-appeared as part of the Society's "Phase Three" attack on Metropolis.

The Riddler has a counterpart in the anti-matter universe called the Quizmaster, who is a member of Lex Luthor's Justice Underground.

He is slated to appear in the Batman titles One Year Later, seemingly reformed and acting as a private consultant

Names and variations

Many adaptations of the Batman mythos have given the Riddler the real name Edward Nigma (or Nygma) or E. Nigma. Occasionally his full name has been given as Edward E. Nigma. Some have depicted this as a false name and his real name as Edward Nashton.

In the French and Quebecois translations of various Batman titles, his nom de plume has been translated to Le Sphinx referencing the riddle-posing monster of Greek mythology that Oedipus confronted. Sometimes, he's also known as L'Homme-Mystère.

In Italy he is called Enigmista, the literal translation of "Riddler".

In Mexico and Latin America, the Riddler is known as El Acertijo, which literally means "The Riddle". In Brazil, the character is named Charada, which also means "Riddle".

Is he murderous?

The Riddler is scarcely known to kill anyone, setting him apart from psychopaths like the Joker and cold-blooded criminals such as Penguin. In "Secret Origins" the Riddler denounces the other villains, saying, "We've got the Joker killing people, for Christ's sake!" In the Riddler's first appearance, however, he tries to bomb Batman and Robin, who are trapped within a maze, and to smother another character with a maze of Houdini ropes.

In his original appearance in the Animated Series, Riddler is trying to kill his former boss with a mechanical minotaur and also uses various other machines, such as a mechanical griffin and enormous blades, which are capable of slaughtering. In the later episode, "Riddler's Reform", Nygma tries to trap and bomb Batman and goes even crazier when he discovers that Batman escaped. In his first appearance in The Batman series, the Riddler threatens to raise the electricity level on a lie detector machine to the point of frying Detective Ellen Yin, although he fails. In his second appearance, he makes a bet with the Penguin and the Joker about who can murder the Batman. Of course, it should be noted that any appearances in the animated series are not in continuity with his comicbook version.

Other media

1960s Batman

Frank Gorshin played the Riddler in the 1960s Batman television series and spin-off movie, with John Astin substituting a few times on the series. Before the television series, the character was a minor villain, but the exposure of the series - especially with the manic (and extremely popular) portrayal by Gorshin - elevated the character in the comics to a major enemy.

Gorshin also portrayed the Riddler in Legends of the Superheroes in 1979. Although he appears in the first episode of the 1960s Batman series, Riddler was the only one of the four major villains (the others being Joker, Penguin, and Catwoman) who never entered the Batcave. The TV movie, The Misadventures of Adam and Burt, rectified this omission.

Superfriends

The Riddler had his first turn in animated form in the Filmation Batman installments first seen on "CBS Saturday Morning" in 1968 as part of The Batman/Superman Hour with a James Cagney type accent. While he didn't appear in The New Adventures Of Batman, he is shown briefly in the opening theme.

He later appeared in Hanna-Barbera's Challenge of the Super Friends as a member of the Legion of Doom. Playing off the Gorshin model, this Riddler is a hyperactive lunatic whose contrived riddles baffle all but Batman and Robin. He was voiced by Michael Bell.

He made his only solo appearance in a Superfriend short episode, "Around The World In 80 Riddles", where he sprays Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin with a chemical to reduce their intellects to that of five year olds.

Batman: The Animated Series

In The Animated Series, John Glover voiced the Riddler. For this version, the producers decided to play against the popular Gorshin image of a giggling trickster and have the character as a smooth yet odd intellectual who presented genuinely challenging puzzles.

In this incarnation, Nigma was a game designer fired by a greedy executive for suing after not getting royalties for a game he created., and sought revenge as the Riddler by kidnapping him and placing him in an elaborate maze deathtrap. As a testament to his ingenuity, the Riddler was one of the few villains in the animated series who emerged victorious in his first appearance. While he did not kill his victim, the Riddler escaped Batman and had the satisfaction that his former employer was now permanently gripped with a paranoid fear of his return. As with the other versions, this Riddler had a fondness for elaborate deathtraps that Batman would often escape from by "cheating" (using methods that Riddler didn't think of). Rather than silly and over-the-top, this Riddler is calm, arrogant, and sometimes a bit unstable (usually when defeated).The series’ creators admit they didn't use him very much because his character often made story plots too long, too complex, or too bizarre, though his episodes are typically ranked highly among fans.

Despite being a part of the original thirteen members of the Legion of Doom, the Riddler has not appeared in Justice League Unlimited's third season due to the so-called "Bat-Embargo."

Batman Forever

Jim Carrey portrays the Riddler in the 1995 movie Batman Forever with Gorshin as his stated primary influence. He also said that he was attracted to the "stalker" angle added to the character in the script. Nygma is shown to be obsessed with his idol Bruce Wayne, his turn to crime a result of Wayne's rejection of his mind-manipulation invention. Throughout the film, Nygma obsesses over Wayne, copying Wayne's appearance down to a facial mole, and he prevents Two-Face, from killing Wayne. This version of the Riddler employs a device called "the Box", disguised as a 3D imagery device for TVs, that extracts victims' thoughts and transmits them into the Riddler's head, making him smarter and contributing to his mental breakdown. In the end, Batman damages the Box, and Riddler's intelligence is lost. Throughout the film, he plants a series of riddles for Batman/Wayne to find. Although all the riddles are rather easy to solve, it is in fact, by linking a common theme in the riddles (numbers) together, that it is revealed that they have a different solution: the Riddler's identity. At the end of the film, he was captured in Arkham and begins screaming until he learns Batman's identity. Robin Williams was the first choice for the role, but he turned it down. This incarnation influenced the one in New Batman Adventures, the continuation of Batman: The Animated Series: the producers decided to redesign the character to look more like Carrey.

The Batman

In 2005, a new Riddler debuted in The Batman animated series. In this version, the Riddler has a gothic look and is voiced by Robert Englund, best known for playing Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Beyond the vastly redesigned appearance, however, he is similar to the Batman: The Animated Series version of the character in personality and method.

In his first appearance, the Riddler plants riddle bombs across the city and sends Batman and Detective Ellen Yin to stop them from detonating. It all turns out to be a diversion (the bombs contain lime gelatin instead of explosives) so the Riddler can work on his real scheme: to hack into the computer database at Gotham city hall (the location of the very first "bomb") and steal valuable information. After capturing Batman and Yin, he attempts to play a game of 20 questions to guess Batman's identity, while Batman is connected to a lie detector. If Batman lies, Yin receives a progressively stronger electric shock until the voltage becomes fatal. Riddler comes extremely close and only fails because Batman tricks him into stepping in front of his electrocuting machine.

Riddler also appeared in the episode "Night and the City," in which he makes a deal with the Joker and the Penguin that whoever discovers Batman's identity will have control of the city. The Riddler is also the head of a gang of computer hackers.

Video Games

The Riddler has also appeared in several video games based on Batman. He was a boss in Batman: The Animated Series, The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Sega Genesis, The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Sega CD and various video game adaptations of Batman Forever. The SNES game had Riddler re-using the Riddle of the Minotaur Maze from "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" (But this time with the Gordons as hostages) and the chess board from "What is Reality?". In the Sega CD game, which had fully-animated cut scenes, John Glover reprised his role as the Riddler.

External links

Riddler - DC Database Project

Batman villains | Fictional Americans in DC Comics Fictional characters with mental illness | Obsessive-compulsive fictional characters

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