The Riddler (Edward Nigma or Nygma, or Nashton) is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain, an enemy of Batman, and, in the mid-2000s, a partial ally to Batman. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Dick Sprang, the character first appears in Detective Comics #140 (October 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. The character is often depicted as wearing a domino mask either with a green suit and bowler hat, or a green jumpsuit. His trademark is a black or purple question mark "?". In the Animated Series and Batman movie Riddler has a trick "question mark" cane. The Riddler is typically portrayed as a smooth-talking, yet quirky, 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, 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, where in the former, he was portrayed as a smooth-talking intellectual who presented genuinely challenging riddles; in the latter, he is a much more sinister character with a Marilyn Manson-inspired design based on the traditional costume.

Fictional character biography

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 (as shown in his third comic book appearance). 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.

After a teacher announces that a contest will be held over who can solve a puzzle the fastest, a young Edward Nygma sets his sights on winning this, craving the glory and satisfaction that will come with the victory. He sneaks into the school one night, takes the puzzle out of the teacher's desk, and practices it until he is able to solve it in under a minute. As predicted, he wins the contest and is given a book about riddles as a prize. His cheating rewarded, Edward embraced the mastery of puzzles of all kinds, eventually becoming a carnival employee who excelled at cheating his customers out of their money with his bizarre puzzles and mindgames. He soon finds himself longing for greater challenges and thrills, and dons the guise of the Riddler to challenge Batman, who he believes could possibly be a worthy adversary for him.

Some writers have suggested that the Riddler's compulsion stems from parental abuse that he endured as a child. After Edward got high scores on some important tests in school, his father, unable to grasp the fact that his son was brilliant, beat him out of envy. This, in theory, left him with a strong internal desire to tell the truth, and prove his innocence. This desire manifests itself in the form of his obsession with riddles. Other writers have suggested that his madness, as well as his descent into crime in general, have roots in a yearning to rise above the anonymity that he possessed as a youth.

In Batman: The Long Halloween, the Riddler appears as a smooth-talking, yet odd, informant. He first appears when Carmine "The Roman" Falcone hires him to figure out who the Holiday Killer is. Despite giving several reasonable theories as to who is behind the killer's identity, the Roman eventually loses his patience. Carmine orders his daughter, Sophia, to force the Riddler to leave. Upon exiting Falcone's office, the Riddler is attacked, but for some reason left alive, by Holiday. The attack was planned to coincide with the holiday of April Fool's, and several items pertaining to it were left at the scene. This may be why the Riddler was left alive, as matters are traditionally reversed on the holiday. He appeared again in the same chapter of the story that Harvey Dent gets disfigured in, when Batman comes to him for information about the attack.

He plays a slightly larger role in the story's sequel, Batman: Dark Victory, in which Batman turns to him to figure out the significance of the lost games of hangman that are left at the scenes of the Hangman killer's crimes. He later showed up as a member of Two-Face's jury during the Hangman's trial.

In the one-shot "Riddler and the Riddle Factory", the Riddler becomes the host of an underground gameshow that focuses on digging up dirt on celebrities. Many of the famous people that he humiliates end up committing suicide shortly afterwards, suggesting that perhaps the Riddler did more than just inspire their deaths. In the end, his actions turn out to be a front for his attempts to find the hidden treasures of "Scarface" Scarelli, a Gotham City gangster who lived long before Batman's reign of crimefighting.

In the three-part Legends of the Dark Knight storyline "The Primal Riddle", the Riddler engineers what could possibly be called one of his greatest deathtraps: Batman is thrown into a narrow pit that is slowly filling up with water. The walls are electrically wired, and a set of bumpers are the only thing that prevents the water from touching the walls and causing Batman to die by electrocution. The only options Batman appears to have are death by electrocution and death by drowning, but as always, Batman manages to tamper with the traps design and develop a route of escape.

Riddler had a working relationship with The Cluemaster, although he initially resented the villain for seemingly copying his modus operandi. In their first encounter, he set his fellow rogue up with a bomb and sent Batman off chasing riddles that would lead to its defusal, as well as away from his real plan: to steal a vast amount of priceless baseball merchandise. The two teamed up on a few occasions afterwards, and were working together on a big scheme shortly before Cluemaster's apparent death in the pages of The Suicide Squad.

He seems to be more rational and cautious than his fellow rogues. During the Batman crossover storyline No Man's Land, after Gotham City is ravaged by an earthquake and Arkham Asylum frees its inmates, Riddler elects to flee Gotham rather than stay behind in the lawless chaos that ensues.

It is during this period that he makes the poor choice of attacking Black Canary and Green Arrow in Star City, where he is easily defeated. This event helps lay the foundations for Riddler's future confrontations with Green Arrow (see below).

Hush

In the 12-part storyline Hush, it is revealed that Riddler suffers from cancer, which also afflicted Dr. Thomas Elliot'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 mockingly labels it an empty threat, pointing out 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 pregnant wife, Jeannie, if the Clown Prince of Crime would protect him from Hush. The Joker immediately 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 a great humiliation at the hands of Poison Ivy. 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. Envious of his sons academic achievements in school, and unable to understand his brilliance, his father 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 orchestrating a brutal series of assaults on Green Arrow, as revenge against his defeat at his hands during the No Man's Land era, Riddler gravely injures and almost kills both Green Arrow and Arsenal. He once again escapes before the Outsiders arrive to save them. Sometime between this incident and the events of Hush, the Riddler was hired to steal artifacts imbued with mystical powers from one of Star City's museums, and then distract the authorities so that the related rituals could be commenced. He sends Team Arrow on a wild goose chase around the City, and then reveals that he has an atomic bomb housed in the stadium where the Star City Rockets play. However, as a side effect of the ritual performed with the artifacts, the city is plunged into complete darkness, and Green Arrow uses this to his advantage, moving in and apprehending the Riddler.

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 worldwide 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 defeated by the Shining Knight and is struck in the head by the Knight's mace.

Riddler reformed

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 impostor 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 he retains both his intellect and his mammoth ego. Furthermore, he suffered severe memory loss while unconscious; 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, although he does harbor some suspicions of once knowing something amazing about Bruce Wayne.

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. 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. 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.

In Detective Comics #837 Riddler is hired by Bruce Wayne to track down an experimental drug developed by Wayne Enterprises currently being tested for muscle stamina and cellular regeneration which has been stolen by a lab assistant named Lisa Newman. He discovers that Newman is staying at the same Athenian Women's Help Shelter as Harley Quinn. With Harley's help he defeats Newman and returns the drug to Wayne Enterprises, earning Batman's trust for the time being.

In Countdown #42, Riddler claims to Mary Marvel that he has gone straight and is now a detective. The two join forces to defeat Clayface, and after witnessing Mary's new malicious approach to crime fighting, suggests that she consider finding a mentor to help her control her powers. Or at the very least get some anger management.

In the 2008 miniseries Gotham Underground, Riddler investigates the Penguin's involvement with the events of Salvation Run. He saves Dick Grayson, who was undercover during the Gotham Gang War between Penguin and Tobias Whale and deduces that Grayson is Nightwing.

Powers and abilities

The Riddler has no superhuman abilities, but is a cunning criminal strategist. He is not especially talented in fisticuffs, and sometimes employs weaponry disguised as puzzles, such as exploding jigsaw pieces, or question mark shaped pistols. He is shown to be skilled with engineering and technology, confronting Batman and Robin with unique and elaborate deathtraps. In his new role of private detective, he is shown to have investigative skills that rival those of the Dark Knight.

Alternate versions

As one of Batman's most famed and popular adversaries, the Riddler has been featured in several comics which are not part of the official DC continuity.

• In the Elseworlds mini-series Thrillkiller, Nygma is a psychiatrist who counsels Barbara Gordon. Doctor Edward Nygma, author of Riddle Me This — What do We Really Mean?, keeps Barbara dosed with increasing amounts of valium and encourages her to mix with people she actually loathes. Edward wears a green suit and the cushions of his couch bear the pattern of the Riddler's outfit. Alfred, her butler, takes the drugs away from her at the request of her father Commissioner Gordon who regards Edward as a quack.
• In the Batman/Judge Dredd crossover The Ultimate Riddle, the Riddler uses a reality-manipulating wand-like device he acquired during the Zero Hour crisis to pull Batman, Dredd and six alien warriors together, intending to pit Batman against the other warriors and get him killed. However, Batman and Dredd are able to work together to overcome their opponents, culminating in Dredd shooting Riddler in the shoulder and Batman claiming the device, subsequently using it to return the survivors home.
• The Riddler has a heroic counterpart in the antimatter universe called the Quizmaster, who is a member of Lex Luthor's Justice Underground (that Earth's version of the Secret Society of Super Villains) which opposes the evil Crime Syndicate of Amerika. He first appeared in JLA Secret Files 2004 #1. Similarly, on Earth-3, the Riddler's heroic counterpart (simply Riddler) is married to Three-Face (Evelyn Dent) and is the stepfather to the Jokester's daughter, Duela Dent.
• The character was featured in several issues of Batman and Robin Adventures. In his first appearance, he holds an entire Christmas party hostage, convinced that Batman and Robin are amongst the crowd. This issue is also the debut of his two assistants, Query and Echo, in the DCAU continuity. In a later issue, he kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and threatens Gotham City with a deadly nerve gas. Since Batman and Robin fail to show up, Batgirl is forced to take on the Riddler alone and save her father.
• The Riddler was featured quite prominently in Batman: Gotham Adventures, a spin-off of the TNBA series.
• In the Batman Adventures series, The Riddler makes yet another attempt to go straight in issue #2. Issue #11 shows that while reformed, The Riddler struggles to avoid the temptation of crime as well as planting riddles. To remedy that, Batman recruits The Riddler to answer a great riddle: How did The Penguin succeed in becoming mayor of Gotham City? In the process, he is heavily injured in #12 by The Clock King. At the end of the issue, he ends up in a coma. The series was canceled before The Riddler's fate could be resolved. The story planned for the Riddler would have him emerging from his coma stricken with amnesia, allowing him to solve the greatest riddle, "Who Am I?
• An alternate version of the Riddler appears in the Emperor Joker storyline, in which he is a member of the Joker's Justice League. After learning of the Joker's plans to destroy the Universe, he leads the League in an uprising against him. The Joker's vast and amazing powers cause the plan to fail, and the entire League is destroyed as a result.
• The Riddler also appeared three times in Justice League, working alongside Parasite to battle Superman in various bombing conspiracies, most likely to be led by the coalition of The Riddler and Parasite.

Other media

Television

Batman (TV series)

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. Riddler's real name was never mentioned in the TV show. Gorshin also portrayed the Riddler in Legends of the Superheroes in 1979.

OnStar commerical

In the Batman OnStar commercials, one television spot featured the Riddler. In this commercial, the Riddler sends a message to Batman that he reads using his OnStar service: "What do a river and money have in common?" Batman deduces that the Riddler is trying to break into Gotham Bank and apprehends the Riddler at the bank.

Super Max

According to Latinoreview, the Riddler is one of the villains locked up in SuperMax.

The Batman/Superman Hour

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 episodes, he is shown briefly in the opening theme, wearing a red costume, rather than his traditional green. He is also referenced in one episode.

Super Friends

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.

DC animated universe

In Batman: The Animated Series, John Glover played 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. Riddler's first appearance was in the episode "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?". In this incarnation, Nygma is a game designer fired by a greedy executive name Daniel Mockridge for suing after not getting royalties for a game he created called "Riddle of the Minotaur." He seeks revenge as the Riddler by kidnapping Daniel 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 Daniel Mockridge now 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," or finding flaws in the trap's design and exploiting them; for instance, Batman deliberately went after the flying Hand of Fate device, hotwired it to his palmtop computer and flew towards the center of the maze. The Riddler then chastises that Batman is not allowed to tamper with the Hand of Fate, but Batman snorts he doesn't believe in fate.

In the episode "What Is Reality?", his second appearance on the show, he traps Commissioner Gordon inside a deadly virtual reality video game, which Batman is forced to enter in order to save him. While dodging the traps laid out in the construct and chasing clues, Batman discovers that he can change and mold his virtual body into forms that will better suit the tasks at hand, and he uses this newly-discovered ability to fool the Riddler into causing his program to overload. During the confusion, Batman escapes the construct with the Commissioner, and the Riddler's mind is briefly trapped inside the virtual reality device.

In the episode ""Riddler's Reform" , Riddler’s final major episode appearance , he has seemingly reformed, and a wealthy owner of a toy company hires him to produce a line of puzzles and games that are aimed at children. He deliberately hides clues in the company's advertisements that correspond to crimes that he will eventually commit. After a confrontation with Batman, the Riddler vows to rid himself of his enemy once and for all, and lures him into one last death trap. Batman manages to escape yet again, much to Nygma's chagrin. He is sent back to Arkham Asylum, smitten with rage. His only other appearances on the show were two small cameo appearances in the episodes "The Trial" and "The Worry Men", where he appeared as a puppet. But he has been referenced and alluded to in a few other episodes, as well. 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 New Batman Adventures

John Glover returns as The Riddler for cameo appearances in The New Batman Adventures episodes: first in a dream sequence, then in a rather short appearance where he is robbing a bank. Despite his lack of appearances in the series, he was prominently featured in Batman: Gotham Adventures, its comic book continuation. He is featured in two episodes, "Over the Edge" and "Judgement Day'. In Over the Edge, he is seen with Harley Quinn, The Mad Hatter and the Ventriloquist complaning about Batman on TV. In Judgement Day, where the Judge cuts the rope suspending a giant book in the air, sending it crushing down on the Riddler. Due to the previous nature of the Judge's attacks, this may have killed him.

Superman: The Animated Series

John Glover reprised his role as the Riddler in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Knight Time", where he is in league with Bane and the Mad Hatter.

Batman Beyond

A Riddler Drone, along with Two-Face and Killer Croc, fights Batman Beyond in the opening to "Terry's Friend Dates A Robot". The Riddler's appearance is that of his New Batman Adventures appearence in this episode.

Justice League Unlimited

As part of the original 13 members of the Legion of Doom, the Riddler was originally slated to appear again in the DC Animated Universe in the third season of Justice League Unlimited, but apparently due to a "Bat-Embargo" enforced by Warner Bros., this did not occur. However, his cane is seen as a trophy in the batcave in the episode "Epilogue".

The Batman

In 2005, a new Riddler debuted in The Batman animated series. In this version, the Riddler returns with a Gothic look, and is played by actor Robert Englund.

Edward Nigma was fond of puzzles ever since he was a boy, but his father teased him and wanted him to go out for sports. Eventually Edward grew tired of this life and got a job at a university. Together with another scientist, Julie, they created a memory module device that enabled the user to remember things they may otherwise forget. When enabled, the device would allow the wearer to read books at superspeed and not forget a single bit of information--when they needed to recall what it was they read, a remote control device could enable the device to recall what the user had just read. The demonstration to the dean of the University was a rousing success, but Gorman, a man who kept attempting to steal the fruits of Edward Nygma's labour, constantly pitching a partnership between the two of them in order to capitalise on Nygma's genius and get himself in on the profits sabotaged it, or so Edward thought. After getting Eddie fired from the university which was funding him research, Nygma broke into Gorman's house and tried to play a deadly game of Q&A before Batman rushed to Gorman's rescue. It was in this encounter with Batman that Edward knew he needed more of a challenge and he found it in Batman.

Donning The Riddler persona in his debut episode called “Riddled”, Riddler is able to stump and confound almost everyone in Gotham city--everyone except Batman. Knowing that he would be helping Detective Ellen Yin to discover his riddles, Riddler moved them across the city, stopping his containers of "explosives." The explosives, in reality, turned out to be nothing more than gelatin dessert. Upon discovering this, Batman and Ellen discovered that inside Riddler's clues he left other riddles to his real plans; to steal the information in the city's archive and use it to wreak havoc on Gotham. Chasing Riddler down, they found him at the site of where the original clue was given.

The Riddler next appeared in the episode “Night and the City” where he participated in a three-way turf war between himself, Joker, and Penguin. Riddler made his mark with giant green lights on several buildings that were placed in a pattern resembling question marks, much like Joker had covered the buildings with a bleach-white powder called "Joker White" and the Penguin had spray-painted trails of jet-black paint. All three villains agreed that the title to be "king of Gotham" would go to the one who could capture and unmask the Batman, and Riddler threw off the Gotham police (who were also hunting for Batman) by turning out all the lights in the warehouse that Batman was in, then sending a train (under his control) to cut off the police cars from chasing the Batmobile. Riddler managed to stop Joker & Penguins' minions by opening a drawbridge that the Batmobile barely crossed, but the two themselves were not deterred. Meanwhile, Riddler created a false signal via a transmitter to lure Batman and detective Yin into another warehouse, with hopes of capturing them in a small rocket pod and delivering them to his hideout-an oil drilling platform in Gotham bay. However, Riddler accidentally captured Joker & Penguin instead, and the two proceeded to beat Riddler's minions to a pulp. Meanwhile, Batman arrived and managed to defeat all three.

Sometime later, in the episode “Riddler’s Revenge” Riddler's latest attempt on Gorman's life as he attempted to blow up a boat full of his inventions that Gorman 'stole' from him, hoping to finally exact his revenge on the executive failed once again due to Batman interference and the two were trapped in the explosion of Gorman's shipping boat. Gorman escaped the boat in time before setting off the charges himself with Riddler's stolen cane. It is unknown if Gorman survived afterwards, however, as when Riddler's henchmen The Riddlemen come to pick Riddler up from his location in Gotham Harbor, they give Riddler his cane--whether this is the same one that Gorman took is unknown. If it is, however, it seems Riddler's henchmen may have exacted his revenge for him. Riddler later found out, with the help of Batman, that the real saboteur the day of the demonstration with the memory module was really Julie and not Gorman. Riddler's own desire to be with Julie had clouded his judgment on this matter and he attempted to kill Julie as well before Batman and Robin intervened. Batman defeated Riddler and Robin defeated the Riddlemen. The two afterwards left the police to deal with Julie and Riddler.

Riddler was among the captive victims of Rumor in the episode “Rumors”.

Though brilliant, Riddler is also sick and twisted. With his inability to not give riddles about everything he does, he always leaves that as a weak spot for Batman to exploit.

Other appearances

The Tiny Toon Adventures short Bat's All Folks parodied the character as 'Question Mark'.

Riddler appeared in the Robot Chicken episode "Endless Breadsticks" voiced by Patrick Warburton. When he gives a riddle at the dinner table, his wife tells him "Just ask for the salt."

In the The Simpsons episode Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times, Ned Flanders appears as 'The Diddler'.

The Riddler appeared in the Question's Vertigo Comics series, being convinced to become a "big-time villain" by a prostitute met on a bus. He hijacked it and began asking riddles, killing and robbing anyone that got them wrong. The Question quickly subdues him by asking him philosophical riddles in return. He is outwitted and has a nervous breakdown before being set free as a reward for getting one last riddle right.

Recently the name "Edward Nashton" appears as a person writing to the Gotham Times as part of the viral marketing campaign set up to promote the The Dark Knight.

Movies

Batman (1966)

Frank Gorshin reprised his role as the Riddler in the 1966 film Batman, alongside three other villains from the TV series. As in the series, Gorshin's Riddler is calm and calculating at one moment, then wild and unstable the next. He compulsively sends Batman and Robin clues, which in the film leads to some minor tensions with his fellow criminals.

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, who would be portrayed as a menacing psychopath with a question mark shaved into his hair. 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. Dolenz's involvement ended once Joel Schumacher was hired to direct. Schumacher instead decided to bank on Jim Carrey for the role. Michael Jackson approached Schumacher about the role but Schumacher felt that there was not a place for Jackson in the film. Carrey had stated 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.

Batman & Robin

In Batman & Robin, when Bane breaks into Arkham Asylum's storage room to get Mr. Freeze's cryogenic suit, both Two-Face and Riddler's costumes are visible in the foreground.

Nolan series

Director Christopher Nolan took the helm as director of the new Batman franchise with the 2005 film Batman Begins. In The Gotham Times, a viral marketing website promoting the 2008 film The Dark Knight, Edward Nashton, an alias of The Riddler, is credited for a letter to the editor titled "Dent Cannot Be Believed" in Issue 2 page 2. Although Anthony Michael Hall was rumored to be playing the Riddler, he actually played a reporter named Mike Engel. While doing press for The Dark Knight, Gary Oldman alluded that the Riddler could be the villain in the proposed third film. Doctor Who actor David Tennant has expressed an interest in playing the role. Michael Caine has supposedly confirmed that Johnny Depp is the Riddler in the next Batman film

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 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.

In the PC game Toxic Chill, Riddler teams up with Mr. Freeze. The majority of the game is spent gathering clues whilst battling Freeze, Riddler, and the Riddler's gang with help from Batgirl and Alfred. The Riddler in the game closely resembles the one in Batman: The Animated Series.

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".

The Riddler will be a character in Lego Batman: The Video Game. As opposed to other games, in which he appears in his modern outfit(with an elegant suit and his hat), in this game his costume resembles Frank Gorshin's suit (a suit with a question mark and a mask). He is one of the three masterminds of the Arkham breakout in the game; and leads Clayface, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze and Two-Face, with the goal of stealing the contents of the Gotham Gold Reserve.

The character will appear in Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Action figures

Riddler has made several appearances as an action figure as part of Kenner's Batman: The Animated Series, Legends of Batman and Batman: Knight Force Ninjas lines, Mattel's The Batman line, and Art Asylum's minimates line. He has also been produced as a Heroclix. Five different Riddler figures were produced for the 1995 Batman Forever line, including one version that says phrases from the film.

The Riddler is one of the rarest of Pacipa's Super Amigos line, the Argentinian version of Kenner's Super Powers Collection. He is a repainted Green Lantern figure that was only released in South America. He was also part of the line of action figures called the DC Comics SuperHeroes from Toy-Biz.

Three versions of the Riddler have appeared in the DC Direct line, two based on his first appearance and one based on his look in the Hush storyline. The Japanese toy company Yamato has also produced a figure of him.

Most recently, Mattel has included a figure based on Paul Dini's current incarnation of the character in its DC Universe toyline.

Music

A song based on the character titled "The Riddler" was performed by rapper, Method Man and was featured on the Batman Forever soundtrack.

Roller coasters

Riddler's Revenge, the world's second tallest and fastest stand-up roller coaster is themed after the Riddler. It is located in Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Mind Bender, is a roller-coaster at Six Flags over Georgia outside Atlanta. The coaster was originally silver then later painted brown. In 1997 the park built Batman:The Ride next to MindBender. MindBender was then given a green paint scheme and its trains were painted black and covered with question marks. The ride is lightly themed to the Riddler character from the movie Batman Forever.

See also

• Enigma (DC Comics)

Notes and references

External links

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