Riddler
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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).
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 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 tried to refrain from leaving a riddle, but failed. 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, although the concurrent Batman: The Animated Series preferred to show the character as a calmer, intellectual egotist, more obsessed with proving his own cleverness than in creating puzzles.
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[edit] History and analysis
Edward Nigma discovered puzzles when he was a young boy, and he gradually incorporated them into his criminal career. 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.
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.
[edit] Hush
In the 12 part storyline Hush, it is revealed that Riddler had suffered from cancer, which also afflicted Dr. Thomas Elliott's mother. Riddler used one of Ra's Al Ghul's Lazarus Pits to rid himself of the disease, and offered Elliot the chance to cure his mother as well, provided he paid a large sum of money. However, Elliott was in fact eager for his mother to die in order to inherit her fortune. Elliott, who was secretly the masked criminal Hush, explained that he would only give Riddler the money he wanted if Riddler played along with his "game"; Riddler agreed, and the two of them set Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Joker, Clayface, Scarecrow, Ra's and Talia Al Ghul, and Lady Shiva out to destroy Batman.
During the psychotic break that followed exposure to the Lazarus Pit, Riddler deduced Batman's secret identity, and that Jason Todd was once Robin. He then told Clayface to impersonate Jason in order to torment Batman, who was haunted by the former Robin's death. Batman first thought that Riddler had stolen Jason's corpse and hid it outside of Gotham Cemetery, but it turned out that Jason was alive the whole time. When Riddler threatened to reveal Batman's identity, however, the Caped Crusader mocked the threat as harmless; 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 warned the Riddler that if he revealed the secret, it would give Ra's al Ghul a vital clue that he used a Lazarus Pit without his permission, and would retaliate against him.
[edit] Aftermath
The fallout from Riddler's failed scheme would be played out in Batman: Gotham Knights #50-53. In the story "Pushback," Hush reappears and beats Riddler senseless across a rooftop. Seeking refuge, Riddler would go to the Joker and the Penguin. He would offer 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.
In Detective Comics #797-799 the Riddler would face his most painful humiliation at the hands of Poison Ivy in the storyline entitled "Low", which took place the same time as "War Games" In this encounter, the Riddler would seek shelter from Ivy only to be humiliated. Riddler and Ivy then faced off in a physical duel, which Ivy won easily.
Riddler was stripped of his deductive powers and left to rot as a member of Gotham City's vast and invisible homeless population. Here he gained the trus of an obscure Batman Villain, "Clambake" alias Roger Biske, previously Gotham's most maserful seafood chef, who in a bizzare accident involving boiling chowder, had hundreds of clams grafted to his skin, and a fire for revenge burning in his blood. A chance encounter with an ex-NSA codebreaker gave him a positive environment in which to recover his mind. During that stay, he experienced an induced flashback that led 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 discovered this, he also realized that his compulsion was born out of a strong desire to tell the truth to prove his innocence of deception.
Having made this connection, the Riddler 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 power. 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, Riddler once again escaped 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. He was back in his green suit and talking in riddles, although 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. Riddler re-appeared as part of the Society's "Phase Three" attack on Metropolis. He was roundly defeated by the Shining Knight.
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 successfully - with great flamboyance and in front of the media - 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 appeared to solve the case with the suicide of the apparent murderer, and quickly took the credit. However, Batman found evidence that the suicide was a setup to divert attention away from the real killer. Eventually, he 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, who Riddler was also close to catching, before Nigma was 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 man 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. Nigma also asks Batman if the shark mauling victim was someone he knew. Batman denies it and leaves.
The blow Riddler receives to his head, followed by his subsequent questioning of Batman's relationship with the deceased has led some to speculate that he may be regaining his memories.[citation needed]
[edit] 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. ("E. Nigma" = enigma)[citation needed]
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 Italy he is called Enigmista, the literal translation of "Riddler". Similarly the character's Finnish name, Arvuuttaja, is also a literal translation.
In Mexico, Latin America and Spain, the Riddler is known as El Acertijo, which literally means "The Riddle". In Brazil, the character is named Charada, which also means "Riddle".
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 is known as Gåtan, which is Swedish for "the riddle".
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").
[edit] Other media
[edit] Live Action
[edit] 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 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, Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt, rectified this omission.
[edit] 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.[1] The Riddler was to be depicted as psychopathic, and oddly enough Burton's version of the character was rumored to have a question mark shaved on his head. Dolenz's involvement ended once Joel Schumacher was hired to direct, who instead decided to bank on Jim Carrey for the role as well as introducing Two-Face into the equation.
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 with a Batarang, 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 is captured in Gotham's Arkham mental hospital and begins screaming that he's learned Batman's identity, himself. 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 storyline of the Riddler becoming supremely psychotic even served as the springboard for the character's actions in the 2003 LEGO fan film, Batman: Revenge (The Batman LEGO Film), although the film was not a sequel to Batman Forever.
[edit] Animation
[edit] 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 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 Superfriend 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.
[edit] 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 yet odd intellectual who presented genuinely challenging puzzles.
In this incarnation, Nygma 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. The writers described this problem with the Riddler in an article in Comics Scene#43, published by Starlog.[citation needed].
The Riddler was only seen briefly in The New Batman Adventures episodes: first in a dream sequence, then in a rather short appearance where The Judge attacks him. He also appeared, briefly, in Superman: The Animated Series episode "Knight Time", where he is in league with Bane and the Mad Hatter.
[edit] The Batman
In 2005, a new Riddler debuted in The Batman animated series. In this version, the Riddler has an industrial look, often described by fans as resembling Marilyn Manson, and is voiced by Robert Englund, best known for playing Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street. He was also given a more detailed and sympathetic backstory than previous incarnations. In the episode "Riddler's Revenge," he reveals that he was a scientist who, along with his assistant Julie, whom he secretly loved, 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 Nigma's fury. It was only years later that both Nigma and Batman determined that it had been Julie, not the businessman, who had sabotaged the chip; having realised, from her point of view, he was a psychopath, 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. The Riddler is also the head of a gang of computer hackers.
In the fourth season episode "Riddler's Revenge", Riddler attempts to get his revenge of the businessman, who he still believes to have sabotaged his inventions years ago. Riddler ties up the businessman and plants explosives all over his boat, only agreeing to untie him and call off the bombs if he answers a riddle correctly. However, Batman interrupts, and in the confusion, the (freed) businessman steals Riddler's question mark cane and jumps onto a life raft, then detonates the explosives, knowing full well who the Riddler is and wanting to get the man out of his hair permanently.
Fortunately, Batman pushes the Riddler into a large steel crate and follows him in order to save both the madman and himself. However, the crate somehow becomes pinned under a crane tower deep beneath the ocean, and during this time, Riddler tells Batman how the vigilante and the businessman had gotten involved in his past, and how Batman had inspired his alter ego in the first place. After listening to the twisted tale, Batman helps Riddler figure out who really sabotaged his invention, giving Riddler a reason to help Batman find a way out. Pushing against one of the walls of the crate, the two manage to free the crate of the debris and float to the top of Gotham Bay.
Upon seeing a boat driven by two of his henchmen, Riddler knocks Batman out (Batman had already cut a way out with his mini-laser) and escaped to shore, leaving Batman to be rescued by Robin. Meanwhile, Riddler goes to Julie's house, and ties her up, with the intent to kill her by attaching many of the chips he and Julie made on her at the same time. Since only one was intended to be used at a time he wanted to see what would happen with more. However, Batman and Robin arrive, so Riddler decides to kill Julie with the laser she had been working on. But Batman and Robin defeat the Riddler by redirecting the laser's firing direction to knock down a couple of metal beams and knock him out. However, Batman also shows a shred of sympathy for Riddler, as he decided to not untie Julie and leave them both for the police to sort out, alluding to Julie's betrayal. At the end Riddler sheds a tear shaped like a question mark.
[edit] 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".
[edit] 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 by[[MEGO-1974-1980]
[edit] See also
| Batman | |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Bob Kane • Bill Finger • Other writers and artists |
| Supporting Characters: | Robin (Tim Drake) • Nightwing (Dick Grayson) • Batgirl • Batwoman • Alfred Pennyworth • Lucius Fox • Barbara Gordon • Commissioner Gordon • Harvey Bullock |
| Villains: | Bane • Catwoman • Clayface • Harley Quinn • Joker • Killer Croc • Mr. Freeze • Penguin • Poison Ivy • Ra's al Ghul • Red Hood (Jason Todd) • Riddler • Scarecrow • Two-Face • Other villains |
| Locations: | Arkham Asylum • Batcave • Gotham City • Wayne Enterprises • Wayne Manor |
| Miscellanea: | Batarang • Batmobile • Batsuit • Popular media • Publications • Storylines • Alternate versions of Batman |
[edit] External links
- DCDP: Riddler - DC Database Project
- Edward Nygma's Puzzle Web Site : puzzles, games and stories featuring the animated series Riddler.
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | Obsessive-compulsive fictional characters | 1948 introductions | Fictional child abuse victims | Golden Age supervillains | DC Comics supervillains
