The Riddler - Bijou Planks 34/365

Riddle us this: what cerebral criminal with an affinity for purple and green loves challenging the Dark Knight with cleverly calculated crimes and puzzling plots?

 

One of the Dark Knight's most infamous villains, Edward Nygma enjoys flaunting his intellectual superiority by conducting crimes and leaving clues for Batman to piece together. While this habit constantly leads to the aptly named Riddler failing in his criminal endeavors, his puzzle-problem actually stems not only from his own narcissism and ego, but also from a deep-seeded psychological compulsion. Because of this, the Riddler often finds himself a resident of Arkham Asylum following his inevitable capture.

 

Possessing a genius-level intellect, the Riddler creates elaborate, sometimes Rube Goldberg-esque traps, and is even willing to use innocent civilians as bait. Although not physically imposing, the Riddler's brilliance, neurosis and lack of empathy make him an incredibly dangerous foe. He cares very little—if at all—about the lives of those he uses in his plots and instead only sees them as disposable pawns in his continuing intellectual battle against Batman.

 

Edward Nygma is the Riddler, a master strategist who incorporates riddles into his crimes in Gotham City, making him an enemy of its protector Batman.

 

Golden Age

 

The origin story recounts Edward Nigma's fascination with puzzles from a young age. After a teacher announces that a contest will be held over who can solve a puzzle the fastest, Nigma sets his sights on winning this, craving the glory and satisfaction that will come with the victory. He breaks into the school at night to practice the puzzle until he is able to solve it in under a minute. Due to this he wins the contest and is given a book of 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 mind games. He soon finds himself longing for greater challenges and thrills and dons the disguise of the "Riddler" to challenge Batman, believing him to be a worthy adversary. In his first encounter with the Dynamic Duo, Riddler first tried to confound the crime-fighters with his infamous double-entry Riddle Clues and then tried to kill them both in a booby-trapped glass maze on a pier, sealing the door so they couldn't leave the structure before it exploded, only for Batman and Robin to escape and the Riddler "vanishing" after getting knocked into the sea by the explosion, leaving only his trademark "?" floating in the water.

 

Post Crisis on Infinite Earths

 

Origin

Before the Mask

 

Ed Nygma, Wayne Enterprises employee

 

Before the first appearance "the Batman", Edward Nygma was the trusted strategist of Philip Kane, Bruce Wayne's uncle and the CEO of Wayne Enterprises during Wayne's absence, despite Nygma having what was described as a "questionable past".

 

When Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham and threatened to uproot all the shady plans Nygma had for Wayne Enterprises, Nygma sent the Red Hood Gang after the prodigal son, only for the assassination attempt to fail. His position at Wayne Enterprises now compromised, Nygma departed to begin his endgame for Gotham, giving his boss Philip Kane his resignation in the form of trapping him in his office with a magnet.

 

"Zero Year"

Having strategically calculated his plans for Gotham, Nygma, donning the alias "the Riddler", cut the power throughout the entire city, telling the people that they would need to get smart or die. As the lights darkened in Gotham, Riddler kicked off what would later be called "Zero Year". Working with a vengeful scientist named Karl Helfern, Riddler sat back as Helfern collected all the materials needed to bring the city to its knees. While Helfern's motives were to hurt Wayne Enterprises, Riddler's motives were to make the city of Gotham smarter - to eradicate those that dumbed down the human race.

 

 

Riddler's beginning

 

As Batman was distracted with Dr. Helfern, Riddler used the time to further the survival challenge he initiated in Gotham by blowing up the retaining walls around Gotham. The approaching hurricane that the city had been preparing for was now unchallenged, and the streets immediately flooded with several feet of water. Using a special chemical developed by Dr. Pamela Isley, Riddler hastened the growth of plants throughout the city - now a dark, savage jungle under Riddler's thumb.

 

Working with Lieutenant Gordon and Lucius Fox, Batman discovered the Riddler's location after multiple difficult tasks to find his broadcasting spot, tracking him to the Gotham Museum. Finally coming face-to-face, Riddler challenged Batman one last time by demanding he answer twelve riddles. Batman went along with it for a bit, afraid that the villain would detonate weather balloons throughout the city if he did not play along, but ultimately punched Riddler in the face before the mastermind had a chance to ask all his questions. Turning the power back on, Riddler's reign was ended. Nygma, deemed too dangerous for the usual Blackgate Penitentiary, was put in a straight jacket and detained at Arkham Asylum.

 

The War of Jokes and Riddles

 

Riddler vs. Joker

 

After having been imprisoned for about a year following the Zero Year, the Riddler had become a tool for the GCPD whenever they found themselves stumped during an investigation until the day he finally escaped, threatening every guard on his way out of his cell by simply reciting the names of all of their loved ones. Hearing about a seemingly inconsistent string of murders committed by the Joker, the Riddler visited the clown, telling him he deduced that the Joker had lost his ability to laugh and suggested teaming up to take down Batman would be just what he needed. However, the Joker didn't find this offer funny and shot Nygma in the stomach, beginning the event that would later be called, "the War of Jokes and Riddles".

 

Recruiting every supervillain in Gotham they could, Joker and Riddler both amassed small armies to fight one another, leaving Batman and the rest of the city caught in the middle. For weeks the two sides fought, with Batman unable to contain the casualties caused by both armies; the Bat was forced to ally himself with one side in order to first defeat the other. Batman chose to work with the Riddler, despite Nygma having murdered Kite-Man's young son in a power play, in order to track down the Joker and finally end the war.

 

In the final confrontation with the clown, after Batman had inevitably betrayed him, Riddler surrendered and revealed that every move of the war - even Kite-Man's involvement - was orchestrated by him as a means to solve the ultimate riddle - how to make the Joker laugh again. Batman, furious over all the civilian casualties, attempted to stab the Riddler with a kitchen knife, only for Nygma to be saved by the Joker himself, an act that was so surprising that Joker regained his ability to laugh. The two criminals were both arrested and taken to Arkham Asylum.

 

Other Early Crimes

Sometime not long after the War, Joker and Riddler returned to the streets and put their past transgressions behind them. They, along with the Penguin and Catwoman, were contacted by the Designer - a new criminal in Gotham who volunteered to make their wildest schemes a reality. The Riddler agreed to the deal and asked the Designer for unlimited access to deathtraps to use against the Gotham City police. However, the Joker caused the whole deal to fall apart and seemingly killed the Designer, and the villains burned down his base to leave no trace.

 

At some point, Edward fathered a daughter known as Enigma. Later, perceiving her as less intelligent than himself, he attempted to kill her, though he was unsuccessful.

 

Nygma would later be returned to Arkham.

 

New 52

Death of the Family

 

The Strategist

 

With the Joker's return to Gotham, sporting his own cut-off face as a mask after a yearlong absence, the clown prince took over Arkham and began to spruce it up in anticipation of Batman's arrival. Nygma, still in his cell, asked Joker to let him out using the keycard of a dead guard. Considering Riddler to be a useful ally, Joker decided to challenge the Riddler in order to make sure he was at the top of his game for when Batman arrived. Tossing a toxic gas capsule into his cell, Joker told Riddler that, in order to survive, the mastermind had to figure out a way to get himself out of the cell. Without a problem, Riddler succeeded in his escape, using only one of the multiple ways he had thought of in advance, and joined Joker in his plan, being given the title of "strategist" in Joker's royal interpretation of Batman's rogues gallery.

 

After the Joker's defeat, Riddler was taken back to his cell in Arkham.

 

Forever Evil

When the Crime Syndicate arrived on Earth, the team of super-criminals liberated Riddler, as well as all the other villains around the country, after seemingly killing the Justice League. Nygma, taking advantage of his freedom, immediately invaded the Wayne Enterprises building in order to kill a security guard who had denied him a pack of cards five years ago. Alone in Wayne Tower, having defeated all the advanced security systems of the building, Riddler opened up a pack of cards and played solitaire, waiting for Batman to eventually return.

 

Endgame

During Joker's endgame, Riddler remained in his cell in Arkham Manor while the rest of the city was infected by Joker's mind control toxin.

 

When the city was saved and Batman was seemingly killed, the inmates were shipped off, and Wayne Manor was restored to Bruce Wayne, who was trying to restart his life after receiving amnesia during the Joker attack. However, Riddler, Clayface, and Mister Freeze secretly remained behind and ambushed Wayne as he attempted to move back in, hellbent on ruining his life the same way he ruined theirs by funding Batman. The villains were eventually foiled by the new Batman, and Riddler was brought back to the newly renovated Arkham Asylum.

 

Mockingbird

Using the alias Mockingbird, the Riddler gathered a group of six villains and trapped them aboard a sinking container.

 

 

Fighting the Flash

 

Another formidable opponent - the Flash

 

Sometime during his stay in Arkham Asylum, Nygma became interested in how to stop the Flash, considering him a new and formidable opponent. After a breakout, Nygma gained possession of the Flash villain Heat Wave after he had been left for dead in Gotham during the the Crime Syndicate's invasion. Next, the mastermind donated an army of "protection" drones to Central City through a collection of shell companies and waited until the police force fell right into his trap by activating them throughout the city. Finally, maneuvering public opinion against the Flash, Riddler secretly convinced the police force to allow the Rogues to arrest its city's hero, under the pretense that he was a threat.

 

When the Flash was finally captured, the Riddler revealed himself and took control of the drones that had been sent to patrol the city, threatening to use them to kill anybody if the Flash activated his powers. After the Flash was saved by Pied Piper from police custody, Nygma announced that, if the Flash did not reveal his secret identity to the world, he would destroy Central City by using Heat Wave, his hostage, as a human-nuke. Working together with the Rogues, who felt betrayed by the Riddler, the Flash defeated Nygma and the drones and handed him over to the Central City police to be taken back to Gotham.

 

Rebirth

I Am Bane

Riddler assisted Bane in unlocking a high tech door in Arkham, allowing him access to confront Batman.

 

Defiance, The Society

Riddler placed Deathstroke on trial for appearing to have reformed, and using Hector Hammond's abilities, he convinces the Secret Society of Super-Villains that Deathstroke is indeed evil by showcasing a simulation of the assassin killing them all right before Deathstroke himself is kidnapped.

 

Doomsday Clock

During the Doomsday Clock, the Riddler held an underground meeting with several supervillains to talk about the Superman Theory, but the meeting was crashed by the Comedian, who shoots Riddler in the leg.

 

Death Metal

After Batman accidentally unleashed an ancient evil from the Dark Multiverse, one of the cross-dimensional Dark Knights called the Batman Who Laughs came to Gotham and offered some of its villains metal Joker cards that could give them powers to bend reality. Riddler, serving time in Arkham Asylum, was personally handed a card by the Batman. Riddler used his new power to create a labyrinth around the city, acting as its first line of defense against heroes who wanted to reclaim it. His compulsion to tell riddles was again his downfall though when he was defeated by the newly formed Gotham Resistance.

 

Infinite Frontier

The Hill

A former mob hitman known as "Mr. Fun" went on a killing spree across The Hill, a lower-class neighbourhood in Gotham. The Riddler deduced the "Hill Ripper's" true identity, but rather than report it to the police he instead decided to plant riddles at the crime scene which would lead to an elaborate scavenger hunt ending at the killer's house. However, the GCPD could not solve the Riddles and, as they were no longer cooperating with Batman, the Dark Knight never found out about them. The Batgirls stumbled across his trail of clues, but rather than play his game they just trailed his henchman Killer Moth back to the Hill Ripper's hideout. He revealed the killer's true identity and escaped, but before he left he told Stephanie Brown that her father the Cluemaster was alive.

 

Skills and abilities

 

The Riddler is a criminal genius capable of extraordinary lateral thinking in decoding and formulating puzzles of all kinds. As a private detective during the time he was reformed, he demonstrated investigative skills that rival those of the Dark Knight. However, Batman's observations note that "[Nigma] exhibits personality disorders consistent with a fanatic narcissist, egocentrism, and megalomania crossed with severe obsessive compulsion".

 

Like most of Batman's enemies (and Batman himself), the Riddler has no superhuman abilities but is a highly cunning criminal strategist. He is not especially talented in fisticuffs (although his endurance has grown from having to engage in it over the years), but sometimes employs weaponry that exploits his gimmick, such as exploding jigsaw pieces, question-mark-shaped pistols, and his infamous question-mark staff, known to house a wide variety of technological devices and weapons. He is shown to be skilled with engineering and technology, having confronted Batman and Robin with unique and elaborate deathtraps. He is also well known for being Batman's most intelligent adversary, and with a flexible theme to his crimes compared to similar criminals: all the Riddler requires is to be able to describe his threatened crime with a riddle or puzzle. Riddler once tried to commit crimes without leaving any clues using self hypnosis; however, he learned too late that while he was asleep his unconscious mind left riddling clues, causing Batman and Robin to capture him. Riddler has a grudging respect for Batman in that he is the only adversary that has a intellectual genius equal to the Riddler; in the episode of Batman the animated series titled "What is Reality"? Riddler came close to defeating Batman once and for all; when Batman was forced to engage in a mind battle of the intellect versus the Riddler after Riddler "captured" Jim Gordon's mind in a virtual reality computer, Batman not only saved Gordon but also gave Riddler a riddle of his own: How could Riddler spread his consciousness 32 times more than Batman and still keep the mental concentration to keep his virtual ward "Riddlerville" together? The answer was that the Riddler couldn't keep his "Virtual World together" and instead suffered an emotional breakdown with his mind trapped in the virtual computer world until his next appearance.

 

However, the threat that Riddler actually poses is somewhat inconsistent across his various stories. His most formidable depictions emphasize his intelligence and cunning, portraying him as one of few rogues capable of seriously taxing Batman's mental prowess, while also willing to take the precaution of obtaining firearms to deal with the superhero. Some recent depictions, however, have placed a derogatory focus on his flamboyant gimmickry and relative lack of major victories (even despite this applying to most of Batman's enemies), portraying him as petty, overconfident, relatively harmless, and held in low esteem.

 

The latter approach has proved polarizing, with some fans finding it wasteful in light of the character's classic status and history of compelling stories, while others argue that most of his popularity has come from media other than his comic storylines and enjoy the notion of knowing that his "real" threat level is overrated. In recent years the Riddler has been consistently depicted as a serious threat, with notable successes.

 

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A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

Secret Identity: Edward Nigma

 

Publisher: DC Comics

 

First appearance: Detective Comics #140 (October 1948)

 

Created by Bill Finger (Writer)

Dick Sprang (Artist)

 

The Riddler has appeared before in BP 2021 Day 277!

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/51549562768/

 

He has also been seen trying to ruin Christmas!

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/38394550835/

 

Done