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The Riddler, (Edward "E." Nigma, also spelled Nygma by some writers), 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).

Character overview

The Riddler is obsessed with riddles, puzzles, and word games. He delights in forewarning both Batman and the police of his capers by sending them complex clues.

Like most Batman villains, the Riddler has become a darker, more three-dimensional character in recent years. Whereas he was once portrayed as a playful but sane criminal trickster, he is now the victim of an intense obsessive compulsion. This was first introduced in the 1965 issue of Batman (titled, "The Remarkable Ruse of The Riddler") in which he tries to refrain from leaving a riddle, but fails. This compulsion has been a recurring theme, albeit with a darker edge, as shown in a 1999 issue of Gotham Adventures, in which he tried to commit a crime without leaving a riddle, but fails: "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. Jim Carrey played the Riddler in the 1995 film Batman Forever with Gorshin as his inspiration. The character was also featured in Batman: The Animated Series and The Batman.

Fictional character history

The Riddler's criminal modus operandi is so deeply ingrained into his personality that he is virtually powerless to stop himself from acting it out. He cannot simply kill his opponents when he has the upper hand; he 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, named Query and 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 12-part storyline Hush, it is revealed that Riddler suffers from cancer, which also afflicted Dr. Thomas Elliott's mother. Riddler uses one of Ra's Al Ghul's Lazarus Pits to rid himself of the disease, and offers Elliot the chance to cure his mother as well, provided he pays a large sum of money. However, Elliott is in fact eager for his mother to die in order to inherit her fortune. Elliott, who goes on to secretly become the masked criminal Hush, explains he wants to get revenge on his childhood friend Bruce Wayne. The two of them agree to work together and the Riddler sets Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Joker, Clayface, and Scarecrow out to destroy Batman, with Ra's and Talia Al Ghul, Lady Shiva and Superman being temporarily drawn into the scheme as well.

During the psychotic break that follows exposure to the Lazarus Pit, Riddler deduces Batman's secret identity, and that the late Jason Todd was once Robin. He then tells Clayface to shapeshift into a replica of Jason in order to torment Batman, who is haunted by the former Robin's death. Batman first thinks that Riddler had stolen Jason's corpse and hid it outside of Gotham Cemetery, but it turns out that Jason is alive the whole time. When the Riddler threatens to expose Batman's secret identity, however, the Caped Crusader mocks the threat as harmless, stating that if Riddler revealed the answer to the riddle "who is Batman?", it would become worthless, something Riddler wouldn't be able to stand. In addition, Batman warns him that if he reveals the secret, it would give Ra's al Ghul a vital clue that he used a Lazarus Pit without his permission, and the League of Assassins would subsequently retaliate against him.

Aftermath

The fallout from Riddler's failed scheme is played out in Batman: Gotham Knights #50-53. In the story "Pushback," Hush reappears and beats Riddler senseless across a rooftop. Seeking refuge, Riddler goes to the Joker and the Penguin. He offers to tell the Joker who had killed his wife if the Clown Prince of Crime would protect him from Hush. The Joker agrees, but eventually Hush, with the help of Prometheus, defeats him, forcing the Riddler to flee for his life.

In Detective Comics #797-799, the Riddler faces his most painful humiliation at the hands of Poison Ivy in the "Low" storyline, which takes place the same time as "War Games" In this encounter, the Riddler seeks shelter from Ivy only to be humiliated. Riddler and Ivy then face off in a physical duel, which Ivy wins easily.

Riddler is stripped of his deductive powers and left to rot as a member of Gotham City's vast and invisible homeless population. A chance encounter with an ex-NSA codebreaker gives him a positive environment in which to recover his mind. During that stay, he experiences an induced flashback that leads him to realize that his father had abused him many years ago. His father, unable to grasp that his son was brilliant, believed he had cheated in his accomplishments, and beat him out of jealousy. Once Riddler discovers this, he also realizes that his compulsion is born out of a strong desire to tell the truth to prove his innocence of deception.

Having made this connection, the Riddler spends 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 returns and kills the codebreaker- who had pieced together his identity but couldn't act on it- then promptly steals 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 power.

After attacking and nearly killing Green Arrow and Arsenal, Riddler once again escapes before the Outsiders arrived to save them.

Riddler later shows up in Infinite Crisis #1, with a group of villains, which includes the Fisherman and Murmur, attacking the Gotham City Police Department. He is next seen escaping Arkham Asylum during the world-wide supervillain breakout engineered by the Secret Society of Super Villains in Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special #1, which takes place only days after the prior supernatural disaster. Riddler re-appears as part of the Society's "Phase Three" attack on Metropolis. He is roundly defeated by the Shining Knight; he is struck in the head by the Knight's mace.

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

In Detective Comics #822, The Riddler returns, having spent much of the previous year in a coma due to the one-sided fight against the Knight. He has seemingly reformed, and is now a private consultant on the murder of a wealthy socialite. Hired by the socialite's father, he proves that a photo of Bruce Wayne apparently implicating him in the crime depicts an imposter, and briefly works with Batman to investigate the crime. As a result of his coma, The Riddler has apparently lost his compulsion for riddles, but retains both his intellect and his mammoth ego. Furthermore, he suffered severe memory loss; upon emerging from his coma, he barely remembers his own name. He does not appear to remember that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same, though he does harbor some suspicions of once knowing something about Bruce Wayne.

The Riddler appears to solve the case with the suicide of the apparent murderer, and quickly takes the credit. However, Batman finds evidence that the suicide was a setup to divert attention away from the real killer. Eventually, Riddler loses interest in crimefighting — he finds his cases irritatingly simple — and may return to crime.

In Detective Comics #828, Riddler is a guest along with Bruce Wayne on board a ship during a party. During the party, an old friend of Bruce's falls overboard and is mauled to death by sharks. Bruce suspects foul play, and eventually tracks down the killer, whom Riddler is also close to catching, before Nigma is bludgeoned over the head by a shark-tooth club. The killer pushes Batman out the window, and is about to drop him to his death, when Nigma wraps his tie around an arrow, lights it on fire, and shoots it into the killer's back. As the assailant rolls around screaming, Nigma taunts him, refusing to douse the flames. Batman extinguishes the flame, and responds to Nigma's assertion that they're now allies with hostile dismissal.

As of Countdown #42, Riddler claims to Mary Marvel that he has gone straight and is now a detective.

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, who legally changed his name to Edward Nygma.

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, which means "the Mystery Man" in French.

In Germany, the villain has been called Mr. Sphinx, as well as Der Rätselknacker .

In Italy he is called Enigmista, the literal translation of "Riddler". Similarly the character's Finnish name, Arvuuttaja, is also a literal translation.

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".

In Spain, the Riddler is known as "Enigma"

In Denmark, the Riddler is known as Gækkeren, which, loosely translated, is a person, who plays tricks on others, though not necessarily through the use of riddles.

In Sweden, the Riddler has been known as Gåtan, which is Swedish for "the riddle", and sometimes Gåtmannen (=Riddler Man).

In Russia, he is called Ребус (Russian for Rebus). In some translations, the Riddler is also called Человек-загадка (Chelovek-zagadka; literally, "the Mystery Man").

Other media

Live action

1960s Batman

Frank Gorshin played the Riddler in the 1960s Batman television series and spin-off movie, with John Astin substituting once on the series. The popular television series was inspired by the first Silver Age appearance of the Riddler, with the premiere episode being an adaptation of this issue (Batman #171). Before the television series, the character was a minor villain with only three appearances in two decades, but the exposure of the series - especially with Gorshin's extremely popular interpretation - elevated the character in the comics to a major enemy. Gorshin also portrayed the Riddler in Legends of the Superheroes in 1979.

Batman Forever

While Tim Burton was slated to direct Batman Forever, his intention was to have Michael Keaton return as the title character, and use the Riddler (Edward Nygma) as the main villain. Robin Williams was the first choice for the role, but he turned it down. Burton went on to cast Micky Dolenz who screen tested for the role. Burton's version of The Riddler was to be a menacing psychopath with a question mark shaved on his head. Dolenz's involvement ended once Joel Schumacher was hired to direct. Schumacher instead decided to bank on Jim Carrey for the role.

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 him. 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 descent into madness. In the end, Batman damages the Box with a Batarang, and Riddler's intelligence (as well as his sanity) is lost. Throughout the film, he plants a series of riddles for Batman to find, which lead to the disclosure of his identity. At the end of the film, he is captured in Arkham Asylum and begins screaming that he is Batman.

This incarnation influenced that in The New Batman Adventures, the continuation of Batman: The Animated Series: the producers decided to redesign the character to look more like Carrey.

Animation

Super Friends

The Riddler made his first appearance in animated form in the Filmation Batman installments first seen on CBS Saturday Morning in 1968 as part of The Batman/Superman Hour. 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 SuperFriends 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 Super Friends short episode, "Around The World In 80 Riddles", where he sprays Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin with a chemical to reduce their intelligence to that of two-year-olds.

Batman: The Animated Series

In Batman: 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 intellectual who presented genuinely challenging puzzles.

In this incarnation, Nygma is a game designer fired by a greedy executive for suing after not getting royalties for a game he created. He seeks revenge as the Riddler by kidnapping his former boss and placing him in an elaborate maze deathtrap. As a testament to his ingenuity, the Riddler is one of the few villains in the animated series who emerges victorious in his first appearance; While he does not kill his victim, the Riddler escapes Batman and has the satisfaction that his former employer lives in fear of his return. As with the other versions, this Riddler has a fondness for elaborate deathtraps that Batman often escapes from by "cheating" (using methods that Riddler doesn't think of). 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. The writers described this problem with the Riddler in an article in Comics Scene#43, published by Starlog..

The Riddler is only seen briefly in The New Batman Adventures episodes: first in a dream sequence, then in a rather short appearance where Two-Face attacks him. He also appears, briefly, in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Knight Time", where he is in league with Bane and the Mad Hatter.

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. He is also given a more detailed and sympathetic back story than previous incarnations. In the episode "Riddler's Revenge," he reveals that he was a scientist who, along with his beloved assistant Julie, developed a chip designed to augment the human brain, allowing those interfaced with it to achieve superhuman feats of memory and calculation. This device caught the eye of a predatory businessman, who hounded him to sell the rights, but he refused. The device then horrifically malfunctioned on its first demonstration, a demonstration apparently orchestrated by the very businessman whom he had turned down. Blaming him for his disgrace, Nigma set out to destroy both him and everything he held dear. He rigged the businessman's house with a series of intricate traps, only passable by solving riddles. Batman managed to break the businessman out, much to Nygma's fury. It was only years later that both Nygma and Batman determined that it had been Julie, not the businessman, who had sabotaged the chip; having realized, from her point of view, he was a lunatic, she took Nygma out of the way to have success herself, enjoying the fruits of his research.

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.

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 SNES, 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.

He is mentioned by the JLA's Watchtower recorder in Justice League Heroes. The message, sent to Batman, is "Just now, a toy sells death".

Toys

Riddler has made several appearances as an action figure as part of Hasbro's Batman: The Animated Series and Legends of Batman lines, Mattel's The Batman line, and Art Asylum's minimates line. He has also been produced as a Heroclix.

The Riddler is one of the rarest of Mattel's Super Powers Collection line. He is a repainted Green Lantern figure that was only released in South America. He was also part of the line of action figures The World's Greatest SuperHeroes.

See also

• Riddler's Daughter

External links

• DCDP: Riddler - DC Database Project
• Edward Nygma's Puzzle Web Site : puzzles, games and stories featuring the animated series Riddler.

1. http://www.pennlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/entertainment/1164839111209370.xml

• DC Comics supervillains
• Golden Age supervillains
• 1948 introductions